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Subject:
Procedure
Response To:
question ()

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In Jersey
Sorry, Bill. Missed your question.

1. Unplug the saw.! ;) Remove the doors, table, and fence rail to give unrestricted access to the wheels.

2. Install a blade and tension to the gauge setting.

3. Hand-spin the wheels so that the blade stabilizes on both.

4. Using a depth gauge or a combo square, measure the distance from the front rim of each wheel to the blade at three points, 1) at first contact, 2) top (or bottom) center, and 3) where it leaves the wheel. This will tell you how your wheels sit and whether they are parallel (as opposed to co-planer).

5. If the driver wheel is "cocked" you'll need to shim its mounting to the saw's frame. I had to use a couple of pieces of 1/64" brass foil.

6. If you have to shim the driver, recheck the top wheel's blade-to-rim alignment.

7. You may have to also shim the top wheel which is done by shimming one side of the bracket that the bearing carriage rides in. Again, recheck the rim-to-blade distances

8. With the wheels parallel, take a good straight edge that is long enough to span both wheels, and attach 4 equal spacer blocks that will rest on the rims of both wheels but keep the straight edge clear of the saw frame (I used double face tape). This is the "co-planer gauge". Reinstall and re tension the blade. If all four blocks now make contact with the top and bottom of each wheel rim, your wheels are co-planer. If one set of blocks doesn't make contact, measure the gap from block to rim and proceed to pack out that wheel with washer(s) (I used brass shop-made washers as steel washers that size were way too thick) to bring it out flush and co-planer.

That's what I did when I first got the saw, and I haven't needed to readjust it in the 12 years I've had it.

Hope this helps

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