Table saw question

Doug Bernhardt · Post by **Doug Bernhardt** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 7:05 pm

I know a bunch of the guys here have wood working tools as well and have something thats been making me crazy. Got a new Laguna table saw a couple of years ago. It is like many others that the motor is on a large upright screw that you crank to raise the blade. It was new when I got it and when setting it up I made the mistake of lubricating the screw with some lithium grease. It was great for about nine months and then it got really difficult to raise blade. I've cleaned the screw several times with laquer thinner but it still seems to get clogged up. I do use 10w40 from time to time to loosen and free up the shafts on my routers etc but hesitate to use anything else just yet. I do have some graphite and silicone lubricants but they're just sitting on the shelf right now. Any ideas?

Post by **Danny Baronian** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 8:45 pm

Thinners ok to clean the carriage screw Doug, assuming you've cleaned the sawdust out. Last thing you want is a pile of thinner laced sawdust waiting for ignition.

Once cleaned, use a spray bottle with alcohol and flush the assembly. No, not the office stash.

Crank it up and down, repeat the cleaning if doesn't raise and lower easily.

After that, apply a small amount of white lithium grease on the lead screw. Silicon or WD 40 for the crank handles only. Supposedly the white lithium grease won't attract dust as much. I use compressed air to clean the carriage every month, and rarely apply grease. Never use silicon or wd 40 on the lead screw, it attracts dust like crazy.

My saw is hooked up to a central vac system which removes most of the sawdust and airborn dust. That alone keeps the carriage assembly clean.

I wouldn't apply WD 40 on the routers at all. Check the chucks once in a while when you do a bit change. Use an awl to clean any dust accumulated inside. If the collet shows wear, replace it. Before you reassemble, run a bar of hand soap across the male threads. The collet will go on and off more smoothly. Oiling the collet can actually prevent it from remaining tight.

Doug Bernhardt · Post by **Doug Bernhardt** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 9:55 pm

Thanx Danny. Will try the alcohol although not my stash of Jack Daniels;=) I should have been more careful at the wording around wd40 and routers. I use it there when the plunge shafts get a pile of dust in them as it flushes that out really well. I'd thought the same might hold true for the saw but not so. I'm not sure the lacquer thinners got rid of the build up that probably started once I used foam for the first few times. It worked so well the first 9months or so........maybe the 9 months has something to do with it ;=) Will drop something(alcohol) more in here tomorrow and let you know how it goes. Just finished a big (freakin' hugge) job and getting to cleaning and tuning things up. This saw/guy has been an on going issue. Saw an old Rockwell saw a few months ago and although ancient it was incredibly well made. The lift was completely different in construction/engineering. More like the contractors saws I've seen. The blade retreated back as well as down when lowered. Someone should start making that arrangement again.

Roderick Treece · Post by **Roderick Treece** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 7:33 pm

Doug,
My suggestion would be to sell everything and meet me down in Mexico. The way the economy is going I'm thinking of selling everything and starting a snow cone business on some beach somewhere.I'd love to have you help me. I've even got nice kinky apron I got from Dave Smith that you could wear. Maybe he's got a photo of it he can post.

Roderick

Doug Bernhardt · Post by **Doug Bernhardt** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 8:59 am

What Can I say Rod..........moving somewhere warm right now wouldn't take a lot of talking me into!

Roderick Treece · Post by **Roderick Treece** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 3:04 pm

I'll have Smitty send you the apron,if it fits you be good to go.

Doug Bernhardt · Post by **Doug Bernhardt** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 9:08 pm

Well here we go again....a late reply to the solution. After quite a while (when the heck did I do the original post?) I got some spray alcohol and a degreaser from Paslode (maker of air tools and nails etc) and gave all the gears(some extremely difficult to reach) a good rinse with the alcohol in a spray balm and a hogs hair brush to scrubb out all the crud that had collected on the grease. Then used the degreaser for a final rinse and of course more scrubbing. Worked like a charm and saw is like the day I bought it. There......so if anyone else was a foolish as I was to grease the inside of woodworking tools......................!!

Robare M. Novou · Post by **Robare M. Novou** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 10:49 pm

Not sure it this applies, but I will give it a shot.

Back in the day, when I was stationed at Holloman Air Force Base.
I used to work down at the Test Track.
One day I noticed a white substance on the rails, and I asked what it was.
They told me "Talc Powder".

I asked, "Why Talc ?"

They said to lubricate the rails for the rocket sleds.

I said, "Why not Grease ?"

They said cause grease would bunch up and slow the rocket sleds down, and Talc would not.

Sounded like a good Idea...check out the video link and see if it worked.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdp4gxfwlv0

Now ask me how they stopped the rocket sleds.

Patrick Mackle · Post by **Patrick Mackle** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 2:27 pm

Talc might work well. And another dry lubricant would be graphite. I bought areosol cans of spay graphite from the Ticonderoga Pencil Company
to spray on glass molds to keep the hot glass from sticking.
Pat

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