craftsman table saw

[tomcar73]

I have an old Craftsman 10 inch table saw from the 50's or 60's....Seems to work...motor pulls the belt fairly well, but the whole thing needs to be "adjusted" or properly set up. Any ideas would be very welcome. I'm trying to decide whether to keep it, sell it or give it away. I may be better off with a good circular saw. Here's hoping for responses. Tomcar73:help:

 

[Sully]

What do you mean "adjusted". Those old Craftsman saws are nice machines but often times suffer from a poor fence design. Have you considered upgrading to a more modern fence design? What's the model number and is it all original?

 

[rbradford]

I have one that's even older and it works quite well. I upgraded the fence. If you're missing the manual, you might look at vintagemachinery.org and look through the postings for publications.

 

[Mark Gottesman]

The Craftsman "100" is a great saw. I restored one that was rusted hulk and put a Delta T-2 fence on it. With the original 1HP motor it will cut anything I need plus do it accurately.

Here is a good solid "realistic" article on that saw
The Master Woodbutcher's Craftsman Saw Exposition Page

If you need to rip 100's of feet of 2" thick rock maple then this is not the saw for you.

At the very least, you may want to replace the arbor bearings, install machined pulleys and a link belt. The original fence is useable, but an upgrade would increase ease of use and accuracy.

I believe there are several tablesaw books or articles on how to adjust and square up a saw. They also work well with thin kerf blades.

Be glad to answer any questions you may have. Also check over at OWWM.org for more info about that saw.

 

[tomcar73]

Wow! Thanks fellas...for all your replys. My old Craftsman is a model 11329960....original fence...1.5 motor rated at 3450. The blade is much newer and I've tried several. My thinking is the whole saw needs to be "set up" properly. It was given to me and I don't know that it has ever been properly set up. The mention of the various web sites and book are very helpful...and I'll certatinly check them...Again, many thanks for your quick responses...I hope I'm using the site properly...if I mess up, please let me know.

Best, tomcar73