bench top table saw adjustments

[grybeard22]

ok guys bear with me im the new kid on the block and the first time here for me.
I just a beginner as we all were at one time so im not to wood smart when it comes to saws yet ....lol ....but by trial and error have learned alot!!
Anyway to the subject at hand.... I have a cheap table saw that I picked up used for a few $ that im trying to fix....it runs fine just that it cuts terrible..
this is a central machinery from HF and the model is 45804-5vga..its a 10" with 2hp motor.
When you cut with it weather its a crosscut or a rip cut you phycically have to push the wood threw with quite a bit of force..now the cuts are square and ok its just that you have to use quite a bit of force against the blade (new blade by the way).
The wood is not burnt in the cut and it rips very slowly...I tried a short 2x4 (about 15 inch) and had to keep backing it up so the speed would return...it pulls down rather quick.
I have tried adjusting the blade in relation to the miter slot ..front to back square and the blade is square to the table ...the only adjustments I could find on it was adjusting the table to the blade ...nothing that I could find did any adjustment on the motor itself...by the way this is direct drive.
I also have an old shopmate 8 inch TS and this ol thing is a dream to cut with compared to this one but the table is so small its hard to use with anything of any size and thats why I was hoping to get this one going.
I sure would appreciate any suggestions on this

Thanks

[Dave]

I'll put my two cents worth in. Don't know if it will help or not. A couple of things you might check. What is the amp rating on your motor? It needs to be 13 amps to run well and 15 amps is even better. Are you using an extension cord? Extension cords will pull your power down a lot.
Is your table smooth and slick? A coat of paste wax on your table will make your material go across it a lot easier, although that is probably not your problem.
I have a Delta 10" saw. The low end Shopmaster. I haven't had it very long but so far I am satisfied with it. It is only 13 amps, but it will cut through 2 x 4's if you don't try to push them through too fast. How does your saw do with 1" material?
Are your 2 x 4's straight. After you get them part of the way through does the end that you feed through first go back together? If so this will bind your blade and slow you down. If this is the case, put a piece of 1/8" or 1/4" material in the saw kerf and see if that helps.
It's also possible that your motor just doesn't have the power it once did. Sounds like you have everything squared up like you should.
I don't know if anything I've said will help or not, but you might try some of what I've told you. Sure won't hurt anything.
Good Luck.
Dave

[grybeard22]

thanks Dave for the reply and the advice

The saw does have a 14 amp 2 hp motor and is direct drive, and I am using it direct to the plug socket with out an extension cord alto the power cord does seem pretty light and I dont think this is the original cord either.....but thats going to change tonite.
I did think about the binding bit and installed a homemade kirf guide of sorts on the back of the blade...did help some but nothing to brag about
One thing I did notice was that there is considerable amount of play in the motor mount and this allows alot of movement in the motor and blade ....so I am going to see if there is a way that i can tighten tht up some and see if maybe that makes a difference.

Last but not least I will pull the motor and check the brushes and the amachor to see if they are damaged or something ....I am leaning heavily on that idea because it feels like its not getting the correct voltage for power,
Like u said it sure cant hurt anything

Again thanks for the advice it is greatly appreciated!!

[Dave]

Once again, best of luck to you. Let us know what you find out.
Dave

[grybeard22]

well dave here is an update with the saw
I went over that thing with a fine tooth comb ...so to speak...and got all the adjustments done and right on the money.

How ever it still would not cut worth a darn ...still had to put an unusal amount of pressure on a 2x4 for instance to get it to cut threw.
I finally pulled the motor and checked it and everything was in good shape ...so I reinstalled that back on the frame...now this is where I found the sourse for the problem .....after reinstalling the motor I seen that it still had a fair amount of movement even thou everything was tight....as far as mounting bolts and the like.

There is a bar about 3/8ths in diameter and runs the full length of the frame and I discovered that it was badly worn at the mounts on both ends.

Well I had a friend of mine make me some small shime's for this bar that I could insert on both ends to take up the slack and it worked beautifully!.....it now cut pretty fair.....at least I dont have to put alot of preesure on the wood anymore and it will rip a 2x4 at a decent pace ....nothing like my old belt driven shopmaster but I didnt expect it to .

Anyway it is fixed and I have used it quite a bit this week and am happy with its performance ....for a cheap HF saw it does good for what I wanted.

Again thanks for all the help

[Dave]

Glad to hear you got everything fixed and going well. Npw you can make all kinds of sawdust. Have a ball!
Dave

[dananne]

Not that you need two saws but I used a Makita table saw, 10 inch, that had an accessory table, with fence and all that made it into a real table saw. The accessory table had a hole cut in it that you just dropped the little table into and it fit flush, and gave me a large surface to work on. Don't remember the dimensions of the accessory table but I could crosscut boards up to four feet long with it, like cutting an 8 footer in half. Also it was wide enough front to back to handle a sheet of plywood. Not easy, but much easier than I can on my current little 10 inch from K-Mart. The miter groves matched, they were just routed into the accessory table, and the fence was full size for the accessory table. If you build your own, the fence is the only part that would be a real challenge. A home built may not be as good as a store bought and it may not last long, but it may allow you to do something that you couldn't do otherwise. Good luck and keep working the wood. It will help you have a long happy life. It has me.