Delta Unisaw Arbor Truing

Warning! Woodchuck action in this video. In this video we correct some excessive arbor runout on my new to me Delta Unisaw. The blade arbor has roughly .003 (.08mm) wobble that seemed excessive to me. I also show the method I remachine the arbor and how I aligned the table to the freshly machined arbor.

[@user-uj1pz4xy5d]

You do have to spend some time setting the saw up... blade, fence, etc. But once done, the saw is great. Fairly compact which is Nice kzbin.infoUgkxXh-4_3-ZT1fFWP91ZV7iVqzElr0lEb-a I did get an Incra Miter Gauge which takes some setup as well. The stock miter gauge can be adjusted in the miter slot with a little painter's tape... this tightens up the side to side play a lot.

[@OldIronMachineWorks]

I know I did the repair on the arbor housing over 12 year’s ago. Knowing me I’m sure I probably used a little sleeve retainer. Nice job Tom, that saw has probably never ran that true. Guess I need to send you another sticker LOL

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Gary. I bet you did use some retainer on that. I really didn't want to heat the whole thing up. Yeah I think I'm going to need another sticker or two to abuse. Thanks for stopping by. All the best, Tom

[@jamesleonard6338]

When removing a split casting from a shaft, in many cases you can just put a pice of flat stock in the split, then insert the clamping bolt from the other side. You may not have had clearance in this case, but it’s a useful tip.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey James. I really expected that shaft to slip right out. I know the guy that put this together and my guess is he used some kind of retainer compound. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@bearbait2221]

As a mechanic how have i not thought of this. Wow i feel dumb. Thanks for the tip

[@steveggca]

As a former cnc machinery installer and current woodworking hobbiest , you are right to line up the t-slot as accurately as possible. next of course is to pay even more attention to the fence alignment. It is almost impossible to achieve perfect alignment of the fence, so the rule is to have the trailing edge of the blade fall away from the fence, NEVER towards. if the gap closes this will cause kick back at worse and push back the rest the time. 0 to at most .005 is fine. Edit : that would be over the full lenght of the fence and several locations, starting near the blade

[@tylergordon696]

I like .001-002 slightly out.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Steve. The fence will be another exercise in patience and alignment tricks. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@Dans-hobbies]

The easiest way to align the fence is with an indicator mounted to something that slides in the miter slot. You might want to check the fence for straightness. I've worked with a lot of delta style ones that are bowed.

[@jimc4731]

Wondering why was the casting holding the spindle and pulley so clean and of a different color than the other castings? Also wondering why you thought you could press the spindle and bearings out when the pulley was still tight on the arbor? Woodpecker equipment makes and sells a gig and gauge for the complete alignment you did and will be doing. Look up pictures in their add and perhaps you will want to make one for yourself as a project for your channel? Keep up x the good work. The program was interesting to say the least! JIM ❤

[@lunchboxproductions1183]

​@@oxtoolcoThe factory fence works well but I highly recommend checking out the Biesemeyer fence system. It may be overkill for whatever you intend to use the saw for, but the ease of use, accuracy and repeatability is a great upgrade to these old saws!!

[@mabmachine]

Tom I was the one that suggested the Bear Crawl base. I agree with you that you can't justify building one for what they sell for. And as you note Grizzly's order fulfillment process is awesome.

[@acraftman2823]

As a cabinet maker of 42 years with a powermatic 66 I bought 34 years ago and have moved to four different states it was fun to watch somebody else do a good set up, I just wish I could true my arbor up like you did but so far I'm the only person that has been bothered by the run out.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Acra. I know the feeling. You wake up in the middle of the night and think about that .003 runout.... Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@metepack4872]

I think you can get arbor washers that have set screws meant for achieving zero runout when the arbor has a bit of wobble

[@joselrodriguez5999]

You had us holding our breath with that tool clearance! 😃

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Jose. Yes that was pretty snug in there. Just don't make any sudden movements when you are in tight quarters. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@JimDillon]

I have stood at one Unisaw or another pushing wood through for more hours than I can count. I'm pretty sure I have my current one set up about as well as yours. One great thing about these machines is that they hold their adjustment for years unless you do something really stupid, so it's worth putting in a couple hours to get that alignment just so. Cheers!

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Jim. I would agree. This saw seems to be built really well. I'm happy to have it in my shop and learn all its secrets. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@jobkneppers]

Tom, I'm a machinist too and a part time woodworker also. I adjusted my table saw years ago and experienced that a lagging fence has benefits (opening wider at the back of the saw when commencing the fence towards the saw when adjusting the size to cut). It means that the back of the saw has space to rumble instead of wedging the old piece of oak on the backside. Remember; at the back the saw goes up and if it grabs from that side the piece of oak/material does the same and flies towards you. Ask me how I know. The benefit of a sawing machine is that you can predict the way the piece of wood/material (I cut aluminium and brass the most at it but tough wood has more tendency to snag the saw because of unpredictable stresses caused by growing in the past winds and saw guard helps some here) will fly. By knowing this (especially when you're cutting in an angle towards the fence) you can keep your groins and other elementary body parts out of harms way... I once cut a chunk of pvc this way and I knew it was hazardous. It grabbed the saw halfway the part and the chunk was buried in my wooden front entrance doors. It was a sunday and I prayed and thanked a lot. Woodworking machines are more dangerous in my opinion than metal working machines. The band saw is a good example. It's used in the meat industry because it cuts bones and tissue fast. For now; thank you Tom. You're my number one and I'm happily married so no fuss. All the best, Job

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Job. The fence will be my next alignment task. I have two fences so I am debating which one will be the permanent fence on the machine. I have some upgrade ideas as well.... Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@Hoaxer51]

@@oxtoolco, You said your saw came with a unifence I believe, I’ve had my unisaw for over 35 years and have never had a problem with the unifence on it. I am a part time home gamer as far as using the saw but it’s definitely a quality tool that’s nice to have around when you need one. I had to build a table extension for the rail on the unifence, but it’s really handy being able to saw something that’s 8 feet long. Good luck with yours and I’m looking forward to the next video.

[@componenx]

I find the bandsaw to be one of the safest power tools for metal or wood, as long as one keeps ones fingers away from the blade. Table saws deserve the most respect.

[@johnpietros9439]

I’m a wood worker and did the same thing. Precision is good

[@AmateurRedneckWorkshop]

Wow that is probably as accurate as that arbor has been the whole life of the saw. Thanks for the video keep on keeping on.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Harold. Nothing like killing it completely. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@genecarden780]

I believe when you introduced us to the unisaw you said you had a beismeyer fence. Use it. It is a far better fence than the stock fence. So much so that delta bought Beismeyer. ( you probably already knew this ,but just n case you didn’t) Also , as others have said don’t let your machinists mind make you align the rip fence perfectly parallel to the miter slot. Leave the back of the fence a couple of thou wider. Wood sometimes moves a little when it is cut. You might want to check out william ng’s video on making a crosscut sled. “5 cuts to a perfect crosscut sled” He gets comments like “ it’s woodworking you don’t need to be that precise” Next order a Forrest blade you will be amazed at how smooth the cut is.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Gene. I already watched that video. A sled is coming pretty soon. I mounted the Delta fence first because it didn't require drilling the table. I will most likely mount the Beismeyer pretty soon. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@russellforrest1730]

Enjoy watching you beetle about in the workshop so much. Always makes my day when a new video comes out. BTW, really like the random content, metalwork, woodwork, history, ideas, shop installation all great. Can't wait to see wire EDM content!

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Russell. You and me both. When I get stopped on one front I move to something else. Just have to keep the wheels of industry turning. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@msquared6324]

Always good to see content from you Tom. Never take the term "give it a little bit of English" lightly from a man that collects hammers. Out comes the blue molly and suddenly Tom Looks like Pappa Smurf. Nice work around on truing the face of the blade flange. You are spot on for truing to the T slots, then using those to align the table fence. Typically the real serious woodchucks use a dial indicator (though not a test indicator) to dial off the side of a blade. Table saws are a great way to rough-cut aluminum sheet and plate stock! Put some UHMW or even teflon on the face of your fence, which makes pushing stock through the saw much easier.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey M. In a previous life I cut quite a bit of metal on a table saw. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@jsteifel]

welcome to the wood side 😄. I don't use grease on my worms, or any part. I use teflon. it avoids clinging wood dust and flour. For that fence and top : Polish the top with a sand paper, continuing to get finer and finer, then use paste wax. For the fence, you might be better off with either a melamine side plate, or self stick hdpe to provide a nice smooth surface. May the wood be with you.

[@sbrunner69]

Also checkout team mclube sailkote. It’s awesome on cast iron tops and saw blades.

[@JackHoying]

I agree that grease is not to be used inside a tablesaw. I use Panef Stick Lubricant. Stays dry and works great. Google seems to suggest that it's sold by AGS now.

[@unclefrogy743]

grease and woodworking tools do not play well together. I have had good luck with paste wax for all the adjusting screws and the top.

[@bmalovic]

Some dry silicone lube will be fine, but grease... no no...

[@oxtoolco]

Hey J. That is probably good advice. I was thinking that is a really messy area under there and minimal grease was in order. I'll find some dry teflon lube and try it out. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@dagwood1327]

Aligning the top to the blade and then the fence to both of them is primary for safety. If the fence gets tight on the outfeed side it will be easy to kickback. It looks like it is cutting fine.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey David. My feeling right now is the fence may be a little tight on the outfeed. It seems to produce some additional slight cutting as I pass the blade centerline. I will most likely take the Delta fence off pretty soon. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@PaulA-uz5tk]

Great video. I appreciate your methodical approach to dialing it all in. I have a 1944 Unisaw. The fence isn’t as fancy as the upgrades that I’m seeing in the comments but mine has been fine. I measure at the blade as a habit and always will, even if I dropped $500 on a high end upgrade.

[@threegreencharms]

There was a set screw on the pulley Tom ☺️

[@pgeorge175]

Dude, Tom. You're killing me with that sticker placement. Please do a follow up vid where you line it up.✌️

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Hobbies. It either has to be dead straight or way the heck off. There is no in between. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@edsmachine93]

Nice work. There probably never was a closer one. Thanks for sharing. Take care, Ed.

[@Likeaudio]

I love this video Tom. It's so informative, and sketchy!

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Dot. Gotta love me some sketch! Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@ThrowingItAway]

As a professional wood worker who has done this same job of alignment, I use my 12" rule and a blade that I know is true. After I get it close, I spin the blade to a few different positions and measure to make sure there's no error. You don't need it any closer than what you can perceive with your eye, or around 0.010". The vibrations of the machine, the blade, the play in your jig, and everything else will matter more. However, having a bad arbor can cause serious blade issues, binding, rough surface finish, etc. This is far more important than alignment of the table and greatly improves blade efficiency.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Throw. I didn't want to introduce any blade or mounting errors into the measurement. It was fun to fuss around and dial the whole thing in. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@peteferguson7024]

Know someone that was trained as a machinist in the late 50s and worked many years in the industry. His hobby was more wood working than any kind of metal working, but the accuracy required for metal working was always on display in the woodwork. There was even a dial indicator on the planner, because that last 0.010" is critical when getting a piece of oak down to size😀. Some of the nicest stuff I've seen came from that shop!!! CAn't wait to see your next wood project!! Great solution to avoid having to weld up a casting. Thanks for video chuck.

[@davidsnyder2000]

What a good job on getting that table saw dialed in👍😉 I completely understand chasing 3 thousandths run out. With machinists things are always not good enough lol😄 Can always be made better 😊

[@danbreyfogle8486]

I have been a woodworker for over 60 years and have never once had an indicator on my saw, guess I never thought about it. My Unisaw is a 1999 version and it is dead on accurate, they make a great piece of equipment. Great video.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Dan. Well don't start now with the indicator. You might open up a can of worms. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@Ideasite]

One other thing - give Forrest blades a try. Best thing I ever discovered for a table saw. Woodworkers seldom learn techniques for properly truing & squaring anything. Wood, itself, moves around so much that they can usually ignore it. But, if you build with machinist precision on equipment that's been properly tuned, the results are dramatically better. You can teach woodworkers a great deal.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Patrick. A nice fresh Forrest blade is on my list. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@nightowl19696]

Those table saw are really nice. I just changed the bearings in my dad's saw. I'm sure you saw it but there is a set screw or two in the pulley pushing on the key. Anyways keep up the great work always love your videos.

[@alanmony1582]

I never saw Tom remove that set screw either. The whole time he had it on the arbor press I was talking to myself "Tom, take out the set screw". I can't believe he didn't see it!

[@noelhenderson7337]

@@alanmony1582 I'm also wondering if the two slots on what looks like the ring are actually used to loosen the ring.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Alexy. Yes I got the set screw out prior to gronking. Just didn't show it on camera. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@oxtoolco]

@@alanmony1582 Hey Alan. Yeah I took it out off camera. Probably should have mentioned it. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@oxtoolco]

@@noelhenderson7337 Hey Noel. Those slots are a threaded ring to retain the bearing on that side. The shaft slides out in the direction of the flange theoretically....Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@briantaylor9266]

From one woodchuck to another, now you need to align the fence to the miter slot and/or blade. I've been watching your videos for some years now. I've transferred a lot of your knowledge to my woodworking. Thanks for that. Just last month I went through the exercise of aligning my table saw, and due to your influence I was not happy until I had sub-thou alignment.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Brian. Thanks for the nice comment. Next up will probably be mounting the Biesmeyer fence to the saw then aligning the rip fence to the blade. Cheers, Tom

[@MyShopNotes]

You got the job done. Next time, if there is one, you need to remove the set screws in the pulley, then the nut on the end of the shaft and then keyed washer and the spanner nut.

[@appahman]

LOVE it! my favorite videos of yours, tom is when you did the bullet vise. the fettling and problem solving is mother's milk

[@jdmccorful]

Nice exploration of job. Thanks.

[@daki222000]

North america's most accurate delta saw. watched it as were it a movie. thanks for sharing Tom. cheers.

[@pobox1641]

Hi Tom Here is the manual and parts list for your Rockwell Delta UniSaw. Page 11 and 12 show the saw arbor parts in a list and exploding illustration. In spite of the many comments Rockwell Unisaws were made to be precise machines and that amount or runout is not normal. I have owned several and have had no problems with adjusting them for runout and adjustment. Once you reached the limit of adjustment in the second table hold down bolt tighten it and loosen the first bolt and continue to Make your adjustment by taping the table on the corner over the first bolt in the opposite direction. There is play in all the bolt holes. I am not sure but play in the arbor may be adjusted by the retaining nut. Maybe creating a bit of preload on the arbor shaft. I have been a cabinet maker for over 58 years and I don't see much difference in being a good cabinet maker and being a good machinist. Shaper and planer blades must be ground to within a thousands and installed with the same precision. I work to very tight tolerances and use many of the same measuring tools you have in your shop. A single shaving from a sharp and well adjusted hand plane may measure less that 1/2 thousand of a inch. Sloppy work will show up in any trade! This has lead me to your side of manual work. I have made casting patterns for the Dockyard here in Halifax and that requires a knowledge of your trade so that a casting will have the proper specs to allow for draft , shrinkage and "machine finish” Pattern making may be on the same level as tool and die work. I have been following you on youtube for as long as you have been there and I have learned a lot from you. This I thank you for! I have the best late model 10” South Bend Heavy I have ever seen, Bought it used from CBC Radio where it was kept in a locked room and only used for repairing mike stands and such by a trained machinist . Like most gov agencies they bought every accessory they could. This lead me to purchase more tools, a Deckel Jig Borer from the Dockyard (log show it was used only once) a Hardinge TM mill and a beautiful surface grinder, a Parker Majestic ,and much more. Like you I have a machinery habit that I can’t control. LOL Best of luck with your new shop and your new to you Unisaw.

[@michaelweatherhead9470]

Watch your fingers 😉 Tom. Great video thanks, take care of yourself and family and be Blessed.

[@comictrio]

Many years ago I bought a new Delta Contractors table saw. After assembling the saw, I discovered the blade arbor was 45 thousands out. I removed the arbor and just made a new one. I considered just returning the saw, but it gave me the fun opportunity to make a new arbor.

[@truckguy6666]

Thing about these larger commercial grade saws is they benefit greatly from an industrial rip blade with the wider kerf and wider plate. The thin guys like diablos from home depot are great for small or portable saws. But a real cabinet saw with the heft and the motor to turn the bigger blade get far far smoother cuts especially thru hardwoods and stuff. I think its just a more rigid setup, as the chip-slingers would say. Surely you can relate :-)

[@shawnhuk]

I agree completely! However, that run out Tom had is a finish killer no matter the blade.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey truck. I agree. I picked up a thin kerf blade at Lowes just so I had something fresh. I will most likely mount a nice Forrest blade when I can find one for a decent price. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@metepack4872]

@@oxtoolco Ridge Carbide make some excellent blades too

[@farmalltomf]

BLUE MOLY! My day is complete! I also am diggin' the "time to do some sketchy stuff".............. great vid Tom! I have to laugh though, I dabble in both wood and metal, and your machinist tendencies are an order of magnitude above what is required for wood butchery! Rock on!

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Tom. Yeah that blue moly got out of control pretty quick! Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@nobbysworkshop]

Excellent repair Tom. Wood work and metal work are not that far part really. I started learning wood work from my dad 65 years ago, and that really help me with this new hobby in metal working 7 years ago. It's all sawdust and swarf anyway!! Cheers Nobby

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Nobby. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@nilzlima3027]

hey there Mr. Whizzard why not remove the nut holding the spindle in place and the set screw on the sheave then try the press?

[@paulatkins894]

Good video. Tuned up many saws for my woodworker friends. Always drove me crazy that those arbors were 'so far off'. I always re-turned or touched up the pulleys while I was at it. I like the tramming idea and the jacking screw. Would have saved many frustrating hours and bloody knuckles.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Paul. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@richardellis3141]

that operation made me nervous, nice work, thanks for the video.

[@Ideasite]

Hey Tom, I was originally a woodworker before I got lost down the machining rabbit hole. After spending the past decade outfitting my metalworking equipment, I can report that I've never stopped working wood, too. I was lucky enough to find a European, 5-function machine: a Robland X31 sliding table saw, jointer, planer and shaper combo that also has a mortising attachment. My ability to level & adjust this wonderful machine has been greatly enhanced by my machining experience. The best work I've done is when I combine woodworking & precision metal work. I hope you find as much enjoyment as I have and continue to. BTW - shapers are unbelievable. I also have a power feeder and got really lucky on quite a few auctions for Rangate and Garniga shaper cutters. The stuff that's possible without ever being anywhere near the blade is remarkable. I can load stock into a magazine and sequentially feed parts past the cutter and into a bin. The depth of cut and speed are all held rigidly constant using a 4-wheel power feeder. It's amazing how quickly you can achieve flawless results.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Patrick. I totally agree that trades have a lot to learn from one another. Cross pollination is a powerful combination. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@billdlv]

Nice job Tom, no kill like overkill! I just got an e-mail from woodpecker selling their align-a-saw setup for doing what you just did. Where I used to work we had a system, forgot who made it, but it had a ground blank you installed on the arbor and an indicator holder that you slid in the miter slot...

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Bill. I was thinking about all kinds of alignment tooling to build when I was doing this. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@TheRealMotoNut]

The Woodpecker stuff is next level.

[@steveggca]

I realise that the jokes about woodworkers VS metalwork is just that ,good natured humour😁 How many people outside of the plastic molding industry, realise that until the mid 80'S, before it became a metal part, molds started out as beautiful mahogany carving (pattern)? the mahogany carving was covered in a protective paint coating and then placed on a large bed mill duplicating machine, along with a block of tool steel. think very larger chest freezer for a car bumper skin. stylus of various diameters and matching endmills would then trace the pattern until the necessary metal was removed. as an aside to that, in a period of less than 10 years mold making mills when from hydraulic duplicators to being retrofitted with electronic stylus ,to removing the stylus, because 3d software became usable and reliable , to replacing bed mills with horizontal boring mills because they were less costly and because the chips fell out of the workpiece and into a chip conveyer (there are a LOT of chips in a bumper mold).

[@scottsession7789]

Now you know, Gary would have done all that disassembly and assembly in his sandals. If your really going to pay tribute to Gary and his machinery you need to be near barefoot when moving heavy machinery. :):) All good, I watch Gary's videos when he puts them out and enjoy them very much. A great video as always and man that rain on the roof requires some mastery to deal with, I might just be snoring out in that workshop. all the best Scott

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Scott. I'll have to get some Old Iron Machine Works tribute sandals for all the woodworking videos. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@docktorwho6703]

Hey Tom had it happen to my dad couldn't get straight cuts from rented cabinet saw ,he went through every one at rental place, so we fixed the best one doing proper initial set up turns out a shim was installed backwards at the factory. Every one this rental place had purchased had the same flaw. Anyway I have lived in both worlds metal precision and 1/64" close enough wood working guess I'm a glutton for punishment

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Doc. Half the fun is fussing around like this. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@MR619Can]

nice to see you doing some machining Tom!

[@oxtoolco]

I was relieved to see that I remembered how! Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@brucematthews6417]

I'm sure someone below already mentioned this but the usual way to even up the blade with the T slot is to mount a blade and mark ONE tooth. Swing the blade and measure to the T slot from the plate beside the marked tooth at each extreme just before the tooth falls below the table. Blade is dialed up as high as it can go for this procedure. By using the same tooth you ensure you're not bringing any runout into the picture. Mind you, with your long extended dial you're replicating the blade diameter so 3/4 of a thou is way beyond what is actually needed for your Unisaw.... Sweetness it is..... You WILL notice a nice improvement when doing ripping cuts with the saw drive collar being trued up like you did. I get nice smooth "glue ready" rip cuts on my saw and it's got roughly .002 to .003 of runout at the rim of the disc just inside of the teeth gullets. Your blade is likely at least as tight as that given your maybe 1/4 to 1/3 thou at the rim of the drive collar. The finish is a combo of low blade runout and being nicely set parallel to the T slot and the rip fence similarly being set true to the T slot.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Bruce. The blade seems too flexible at full radius to make measuring it easy. I did see that in the Delta manual after I aligned mine. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@JeremiahL]

Not that I've been super impressed with Grizzly, but 100% agree with your comments about Northern tool. They take for absolute ever to ship anything. I needed some air fittings for my rapid air set up, and ended up buying them on NT website.. 4 weeks later and the parts showed up in the mail like a couple of stray dogs. I ended up getting pissed buying the parts locally (for more money), then later taking the NT parts back to the store after they showed up.... I know that back in the day 6-8 weeks was industry standard for shipping, but lets face it, we've all been spoiled by amazon... waiting a month on anything just won't cut it anymore.

[@truckguy6666]

Making a woodchuck smile with this one, Tom

[@vendter]

Great timing. I have the same saw that I am about to rebuild. BTW, I have almost as many woodworking machines as metal working machines.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Vincent. One cannot have too many machines. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@gecko2345]

We are going to have to start calling you Norm now!😄

[@accuracymark]

The savings grace is the desire to do it right!

[@rolliekelly6783]

I bet you will be glad when the drought finally breaks.

[@angelramos-2005]

Good video,Tom and really solid tablesaw.I never thought of cheking the alignment of the arbor in my Delta tablesaw after so many years of good experiance with it but I´l suggest to keep in mind that real wood is a live material and that have some humidity and may be still green and it may have a lot of tension within and bind.What I don´t like about that saw is that you have to have your face infront of the incoming running blade when you turn it off.Thank you.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Angel. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@jonrbryan]

I think the flange is press fit on the shaft, which goes out in the other direction after unscrewing the bearing retaining ring. But truing it up in situ worked fine.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Jon. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@JackHoying]

I've been a cabinetmaker for 40 years, and rebuilt a 1974 model Unisaw in the 1990s, long before I dove into hobby machining. At the time, my only precision tool was a dial indicator. I had the same amount of runout as your saw had, but no tools to easily deal with it. What I ended up doing was powering the arbor up out of the cabinet using a spare electric motor. I then used a 4" disc grinder that was clamped on a heavy board and slid it slowly up to the blade hub. I was quickly able to get results to under .001 runout. Definitely sketchy stuff! The stamped blade washer on my saw was also warped, and I was able to flatten it adequately by rubbing it on sandpaper that was on the flat tablesaw top. Now that I have a lathe and surface grinder, I've always thought about making a precision washer, but haven't gotten around to it. Maybe some day.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Jack. I would have loved to see that operation. I did have the thought of trying to do the correction in place but quickly gave up on that. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@azarellediaz4892]

You mentioned several times that you are now a woodworker and I must point out that there’s not that much difference between the two. I do both also and the main difference is the medium we use on either profession. I turn wood on my wood lathes, I have a planer, sander, bandsaw, jointer, shaper, and several different saws; the only machine exclusively designed for metal are my milling machine and my welders.

[@NickToland]

That was great!

[@outsidescrewball]

You need to create “the wheel of suggestions”, give it a spin and that is your next table saw upgrade video!!…IMO, great knowledge is contained in the comments…KOKO

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Chuck. I agree. The comments are where you get great ideas. Thanks for stopping by buddy. All the best, Tom

[@gmsteve455]

Nice work with truing up the arbor and aligning the table. I suffer from similar problems when the indicator doesn't read zero - it has to read zero! 🙂I have the same saw and have been interested in modifying the casting that you were working with to accommodate a riving knife like the one that Clint Muller made a few years back. I'd love to see your take on this mod. I'm having trouble figuring out how to allow the riving knife assembly to rotate around the arbor and still retain the arbor bearings as intended. It's an interesting mod that improves the safety of the saw. It looks like a fun mill and lathe project.

[@6minutemedia543]

Delighted to see that you have your camera set to manual focus and not auto as favoured by many others. Nothing more annoying than seeing it push and pull when various objects come into frame. A wee tip for you, most folks have trouble with glare on their indicator crystals, appreciate you toning it down a bit. Try a light dusting of hair spray to produce a translucent but matt surface.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey 6. Auto focus for these kinds of videos is a nightmare. The indicators are another issue. Tried many things that don't work. The green film on the face of the larger indicator works OK. What does not work at all is any kind of polarizing filters or films. I reduce the exposure sometimes when I see the indicator face blowing the image out. I appreciate you noticing the effort! Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@matthewkantar5583]

Mine was off by a similar amount, but with 16” blades. Machined it in situ with a stone in a router.

[@ROBRENZ]

Nice saw, I could have used that this weekend. ATB, Robin

[@gregorymacneil2836]

I contacted the engineers at Delta about acceptable spindle / arbour runout when I rebuilt my Unisaw (30 years). They told me ± 2 thousands was their quality control standard. They also told me that while additional runout would increase the incidence of saw tooth marks it would not necessarily effect the accuracy or utility of the saw. I guess if you plan to plane the wood after it is cut then saw tooth marks may simply disappear.

[@thomashornerjr.6616]

I was initially thinking you were going to mount this up and drive the sheave and grind the face of the arbor washer. I imagine that would have taken longer to set up perhaps. Great work!

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Thomas. That would work as well. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@grafixbyjorj]

Yes, that's where I thought it was going. Good of Tom to think up something even more sketchy

[@lordaleksandre]

Good luck with the jet fence, I suspect you will need it. Even the beismeyer style is a significant improvement. The Unifence is the underated gold standard. Astronomical price these days.

[@michaeltilse4233]

I once helped a woodworker with the runout on his table saw. I bolted an angle plate and a linear slide, like a compound, so that the travel went on a line through the axis, then attached a makeshift boring bar type setup with a carbide lathe tool. This reached down through the cutout in the top, and I was able to turn on the saw and plane a few thousandths off the rim of the flange. It was a janky setup, and screeched like the dickens. But it took off enough to make the blade run much truer, if not perfect. Another idea would have been to do a similar setup with a hobby tool and a small grinding stone, take it slow and see what happens. I wouldn't do it again that way, but he was happy with the result. Those flanges are hard steel.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Michael. Good point. I didn't test the flange to see if it was hard. That would make some sense why my tool was squealing. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@nickhenscheid369]

I have a similar era Powermatic 65 that had similar runout issues. I ended up re-grinding my arbor flanges in-situ using a die grinder on a solid arm Noga indicator stand. My lathe doesn't have a big enough bore to chuck the whole arbor which is why I went that route...it worked great but was a little tedious. I also made myself an alignment plate out of a piece of precision ground 1/4" aluminum plate - you can buy them commercially, too. The alignment plate goes on the arbor like a blade, then the indicator is mounted to a little sled that runs in the miter slot instead mounting it on the arbor. It's much less annoying that way, you just run the indicator back and forth along the alignment plate.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Nick. You might want to check that aluminum plate. MIC 6 plate is typically not that flat for us metal heads. I see the utility of doing it that way however. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@nickhenscheid369]

I checked it, it was flat enough for the job. Came in a 2-pack and one was good, the other less so. The other important thing to calibrate is your fence parallelism...this is where the Biesemeyer wins out in spades. Maybe the older Delta fences were better but the pipe fence I had on an 80's Delta was utter crap at staying consistently parallel w/. the blade. Cheers, love that you're posting videos again. Great stuff.

[@joemiller105]

I was watching with my kids in the room, now they’re singing Time to do some sketchy stuff, doo dah do dah.😂

[@zodak9999b]

As I'm watching Tom true up this saw, I remembered his video from 6 years ago where he was making flat lapping plates. And in my head, I saw him with two more of these saws, getting the tables perfectly flat. The thing is... it didn't strike me as absurd.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Pete. You might be one to something......Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@joe-e-geo]

"Time to do some sketchy stuff" lol first thing I thought of involved a strap and the bumper of a pickup truck.

[@RRINTHESHOP]

You got it done.👍👍

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Randy. Where there is a will there is a way. Thanks for stopping by. How you holding in the white stuff? Cheers, Tom

[@mikekellam365]

Two verify the squareness and perpendicularity, look up the 5-cut method to verify fence and miter guage accuracy.. The numbers NEVER lie!!

[@terryallemann2654]

I have rebuilt a number of old table saws Powermatic ,Delta Unisaws up to 16 inch Northfield and Fay & Egan. The best way I have found to true arbor face is after rebuild with new bearings I assemble all the way to putting table on the mount a tool post grinder on cabinet with a cup wheel then running the saw with out a blade but a small sleeve with nut pushing against the flange the raise the saw blade with crank facing flange usually can get run out within .0002.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Terry. That sounds like an excellent method. Truing as an assembly it the best way to do it. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@therealme613]

NO BS!!! Return to the previous episode for toms take on personal safety !!! 😂🤣 tell the neighbors to put on their safety squints!! It’s also hard to see in the footage but Tom was standing in a bucket of water with a hair dryer during the lathe operation😂🤣

[@bulletproofpepper2]

Thanks for sharing. I will have to get my dad to watch the video. He is a woodchuck but it sounds great. You need to build a miter sled ? All the woodchucks build love the miter sled.

[@rickherrell9451]

I've been a woodworker for over 50 years and there is one thing I would say to a new woodworker it's this...SLEDS ARE YOUR FRIEND! I heard you mention in a previous video that you're not used to getting your fingers so close to spinning blades, well, a table saw sled solves that problem. I have several different types and I keep my big one on my saw at all times. Only when ripping is it removed.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Rick. I have been watching sled videos for a week now. Zeroing in on the design features I think I want in mine. Definitely on the short list. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@mpetersen6]

While I admit that a well tuned Cabinet saw is a joy to use I for one have never understood the rational of the elevation mechanism used. Because the arbor swings in an arc there is no constant amount the blade lowers or raises when the hand wheel is turned. If the arbor assembly instead was raised or lowered 90° to the table a constant amount of movement per hand wheel rotation could be achieved. This would make fine adjustments to depth of cut much easier. There could e CD en be graduations on the hand wheel.

[@intagliode]

Thanks Tom. My OCD was maxed out at with 0.75 thou runout. Until you put the sticker on the piss to counteract that issue! 👍

[@oxtoolco]

Just keeping it real. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@bearbait2221]

HO NO!! Not the dark side. Please no not the wood stain no no no please no. As a fellow metalhead I also dislike wood take the wrong cut and start over with steal you can just weld it back together. That looks like the best built wood saw ever i can see why you like it. Great now i need 1 thanks a lot pal:) p.s luv ur stuff i could watch you make a paper plane and would enjoy it. Thx for the time you take to teach. I'm sitting at the front of the class. I will mail you an apple from Alaska to put on ur desk it will arrive in a few months :0

[@oxtoolco]

Come join me and we will rule the dark side together....

[@lloyd4768]

Being a metal worker really helps when you need to fix or restore woodworking equipment 👍🏼. You might want to use a dry lubricant for the saw so saw dust doesn't stick.

[@oxtoolco]

He Lloyd. I am already shopping for some spray dry lube. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@johnm840]

In my rookie days, got a new chuck for lathe and got it to like .002 or 3 , thought it was good enough. Back at work the machine shop fellas gave me sh!t to a new level. of shaming Went back and got it to zero with indicator I had. I would have had that error in all of my work if I had not listened to old guard. Still think about that when doing that type work.

[@sidetrackmetalworks2058]

Well done, sir. Next thing you know, you'll be doing segmented wood turning! Thanks for the arbor walk-through. I wonder what my saw measures out as?

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Sidetrack. Slap an indicator on it and see. I thought that .003 was a little too much at that small of a mounting diameter. We will see if it translates into nicer cutting. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@alaspooryorick9946]

Oh damn... I see what you're doing haha! When I did that repair to my saw, I just used a stone clamped to a tractor counterweight sitting on the saw table. Took the runout right out and didn't need disassembly... to fix the main problem I had to take it all apart and re cut the bore for the blade lift hinge pin, but I felt like I'd saved myself work haha!

[@alaspooryorick9946]

This was before I had any metal working equipment, so by 'recut the bore' I mean oversize the hole on one end, wedge it with an old flathead driver bit and a hammer until I had zero movement on an indicator when raising and lowering the blade, then fill it with steel filled epoxy and angle grinder it all down flat... I cringe at it now, but 10 years later with a much pricier saw sitting next to it, that's still my favourite table saw that I use for 99% of my work

[@alaspooryorick9946]

That saw's one of those bastards with the trunnions hanging off the table too... serves me just as well now as it did when I was a seriously broke student though 😂

[@alaspooryorick9946]

I nearly forgot epoxying a piece of aluminum extruded c channel into the wollered out mitre slot and flushing it to the saw table with a no.5 stanley jack plane.... to be seriously broke is to be seriously inventive hahaha Works a chaaaarm!

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Yorick. I would love to see that sketchy setup! Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@alaspooryorick9946]

@@oxtoolco right on, I'll take some pictures when I'm back at the farm next week! Thanks mate haha

[@bkoholliston]

Long time woodchuck here. I usually set up on the blade instead of the arbor. You unplug and raise the blade up all the way, pick a tooth that has been ground on the side you are working on, mark it, and then indicate the distance from the outside of that tooth to the miter slot spinning the blade from the front to rear by hand. You can't use the saw plate on the blade since they are not reliable in my experience. I have a bar I made that fits that miter slot with zero play. You also want to set the rip fence parallel to the blade/miter slot using the same setup flipped over to indicate miter slot to rip fence. As someone else said below, you never want the space between the blade and rip fence at the back of the blade to be smaller than at the front. Kickback is no fun.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Bk. I was worried about the flexibility of the thin blade I had causing problems in the measuring. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@dansvec5411]

Back in the day. 003 run out was normal for these. Quality in the 70s on woodworking machinery was very sloppy. We took brand new machines apart and trued them up. It was not unusual to file out the adjusting slots on the base to get the table properly aligned. We trued up arbor flanges in place using a coarse whetstone

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Dan, I would be interested to see what the runout is on a new factory Unisaw at the arbor. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@dansvec5411]

@oxtoolco Tom, I got out of that business quite a while ago, and I don't have access to a comparable new saw. However, keep in mind, saw blades turn at 3600 + rpms, screaming fast by machine shop standards. They tend to spin stabilize and flatten out as they spin up. I have an old Grizzly that cuts very well with run of the mill blades. Even Harbor Freight's better blades are quite good and will produce very nice cuts . I have a small factory in Iowa (20 people) doing precision screen printing on bottles and mugs. I all of our printing machines in my basement work shop using my table saw, a mini mill and lathe. I have a center guided rip fence on the Grizzly by Incra with a micrometer adjustment and routinely hold. 010 or better. The machines are mostly 3/4" paper phenolic, which is as good as aluminum but easy to cut on the saw. I use it like a horizontal mill. Btw, when aligning the saw top to the arbor, use a good blade and mark the spot where you indicate relative to the miter slot. Then rotate the blade so you always indicate using the same spot. This takes care of any blade wobble. Happy woodchucking!

[@TKC_]

I did this repair on a saw without disassembling it. Just ran the saw without a blade and touched a stone to the arbor washer squarely units the job was done, built in table saw lathe…

[@patrickduffy5142]

I'm impress you didn't involve the surface grinder somehow. I think another sketchy method of honing in the runout is a rotary tool with a grinding bit moved into the saw plate contact ring while you have the arbor spinning via the saw motor and the grinding bit spinning via the rotary tool. This is usually done just removing the blade and cover without disassembling the saw. Good luck on the wood side. Beware the rabbit hole of woodworking hand tools... bridge city tools makes some nice machined hand tool porn but they sold out to some overseas company. Sauer and steiner make some stuff that might be up your alley for inspiration of great tools you could machine.

[@garychaplin9861]

In my experience 1/4 to 1/2 a thou run out is great. Most of my saw blades have some run out and you can use the run out in the driver to cancel some of the run out in the blade.

[@iteerrex8166]

Nice hanging out in shop with you, Tom. Nice fix, just don’t add a DRO to the fence 😂

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Rex. How did you know I was thinking about that already? Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@iteerrex8166]

@@oxtoolco Because if I got a high quality table saw, I would try 😂. At least check and see how feasible it is.

[@bobtherat99]

I learned along the way (From a Machinist turned WoodChuck) that the saw blade is a really thin gyroscope. Any arbor run-out translates to wibly-wobly waves that makes for uneven force required to push the wood.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Bruce. Hey! I resemble that remark. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@LightAndSportyGuy]

On a table saw, the fence is the key to happy woodworking.

[@melgross]

I had the same problem with my grizzly cabinet saw when I bought it, oh, about 32 years ago, shortly after grizzly began. I did the same thing. A light facing on my lathe and it’s been accurate ever since, to better than plus minus 0.001”. It was off by plus minus 0.006” as bought. These numbers are at the edge of a 10” flat plate. This seems to be a problem with most of these saws, no matter who makes them, and any price. A number of years ago, Fine Woodworking did tests of a number of cabinet saws and found the accuracy to be all over the place. I’m writing this before the video is over, so I don’t yet know the results (that’s the fun of posting early) but the screw end isn’t really that precise when compared to the bearing surfaces of the shaft in relation to the backplate. Well, we’ll see how it turns out, likely just fine. But I also made a new outer washer exactly the diameter of the plate, with the exact sized raised outer ring to touch the blade. It’s important those are the exact same side, and anything larger or smaller will cause the blade to dish in or out depending on which is larger. I also take each blade when I buy it and do the old match the blade inaccuracy in flatness (even my Forrest blades aren’t perfectly flat) to the inaccuracy of the spindle, and the result is pretty much perfect accuracy for a good blade. I’ve been doing woodworking and metalworking, including machine design and construction, mots of that time. While metalworkers seen to be contemptuous of woodworking, the two are closer than one might want to believe. You can be sloppy with either, or precise, it’s up to the person. Over time, tolerances in woodworking have (ahem!) inched closer to our metalworking standards. A lot of people. Are the mistake of thinking of carpentry when mentioning woodworking to metalworking. I used to be a partner in a professional audio manufacturing company where I designed speaker drivers and crossovers. We made our own cabinets. Believe me, in order to get proper cabinets made, accuracy needed to be no more than a couple of thou off in size and squareness. There’s really not that much tolerance allowable in this.

[@christurley391]

Thanks again

[@mikecannon6529]

Well that sure looked familiar. I just had mine apart to replace the key on the motor pulley, of all things. The set screw was still loctite'd in place.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Mike. I had the set screw out. Probably should have mentioned it on camera. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@frankmora8336]

This reminded me of a long time ago, before I even knew what a machinist was. Laid some cinder block for a fence for a machinist friend. He was complaining to me that over 20', it was a 1/4" inch off. For real. Seems like a over kill for a unisaw, LOL Later in life he went with me to look at a lathe to purchase.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Frank. 1/4 inch? Holy smokes that's a mile off. I would have torn the whole thing down. We do things at work here that are a 1/4 inch over several miles. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@timholsten]

If you melt some graphite into some candle wax, then lube those gears it won't draw the sawdust like that lube will. i use my wife's old scented candles, makes it smell nice too.

[@11zekim]

I was hoping you'd clamp a compound to the table and true that hub @ 4,000 RPM without even removing it from the saw, à la warped brake rotor. Thanks for meeting me half way.

[@joell439]

Runs smooth now….. 👍👍😎👍👍 A little dose of Lipton English improves everything.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Joel. I need to figure out how to get this English in a tube and sell it. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom