On Thu, 10 Nov 2005 07:18:37 -0500, Greg wrote:


[Announcer's Voice:]
When we left our heroic wooddorker last week, he was about to
discuss assembly of the extension tables and fence. But now, a word
from our sponsors...
[Switch to Pandering Ad Reel]
FireStorm... FireStorm... Whatcha gonna do with that FireStorm...
ad nauseam... Video of Bruce Phillips trying to install a screw
with a drill running counterclockwise. The screw slips, and he
slices his arm on the CMS - affectionately named Radial Arm Saw.
The escaping blood covers the screen which fades to a red logo.
[/END]

OK - it wasn't all that funny. Maybe I need a new straight man.
And a technical proofreader as well. Whadda ya want fa free...

Part One left off at the point where the extension tables and fence
were about to be assembled to the saw. And I know some of you out
there are cringing at the thought of this...

But for you guys that flip to the spec's and then leave the magazine
on the rack, I'll throw out a few measurements for ya...

Factory blade angle setup was pretty close.
90 d blade angle was 90.4
45 d blade angle was 45.4

Looks as though the guy really tried to get it, but his tool was off.
(I hate it when that happens...) Double checked my tool... yep still
there. Checked the geared protractor as well - yep, good to go.
Minor quibble, just an observation.

Blade to Right Miter Slot parallelism was off by .008" over 10".
This will have to be corrected - I prefer this to be spot-on.

Yes you should. you do so by moving the table. Be careful not to lose
the dimension when correcting the alignment. afterward go to 45, full
elevation and verify your clearance. And I'm assuming you have the
motor weight hanging when you checked and no longer have it supported.
If not get that weight on when you adjust and check.

Miter Tracks were parallel within .002".
Good enough, and there ain't nothin you can do about it, neither.

Magnetic switch is an NHD brand MS1-09D-R - an OEM version of an off
the shelf switch. It does do current sensing and power fail shut-off.

Power cord has an interesting N 6-15 plug on it that fully shields the
electrical outlet full-circle. Nice touch, although it's imported.

Now I'll comment on some of the accessories.

Blade Wrenches. Usual stuff. Cheap steel flat stock wrenches,
probably die cut, and soft. One thing I can't quite figure out is why
they bothered to put a bend in the arbor wrench. It really makes it
useless, as the cleanest approach is from directly above. Go figure.
Could be something different about the left-tilt vs. right-tilt model,
could be because I'm a southpaw, _could be_ they bought a box of them
on eBay. I'll hammer it out flat later - or add it to the collection
of _other_ useless wrenches and drivers.

Laser cut, hardened. not cheap,functional, work fine. bend is to give
passing clearance between the two wrenches in the event you slip
release. the arbor nut wrench will not bang the knuckles of the hand
holding the of the arbor shaft wrench and vice,versa. also gives the
heel of the hand holding the arbor shaft wrench some clearance from
the blade, a good thing. They are specific purpose so you will not be
inclined to put them in your tool box and not have them close by when
you need them.

Get one of the outboard flange nut combination accessories. They are
delightful.

Handwheels are heavy, give a smooth feel to the mech. I am not
convinced that they are not imported, but it's possible. The curious
thing is, the included 1/8" wrench doesn't fit the allen head
setscrews. The grub screws are 5/32"... or is that 4mm?

Probably not supplied, can't remember. Smaller allen wrench might be
to fine tune your insert. it is not 4mm and based on your manufacture
date, probably domestic.
They are not the finely machined handwheels that came on the Navy's
latest flying toy, but are cast-iron and dripped in black gloss paint.
The handgrips are bare steel, probably zinc but possibly nickel
plated. They and their axles are press fitted into the wheel. Mine
could have used a wee bit more pressin', as they rattle a touch now
and then, and move axially 3/8" or so. No biggy.

Hard to find the perfect place. should have an o ring to minimize
rattle. They are, however machined steel that has been plated. you
can press them in further if it is desireable.

Rear Fence slide leaves .018" clearance between a flat table and the
lower edge of the fence facing. We'll talk about this later...

There were 4 3/8" flatwashers and 2 3/8" lockwashers missing from the
hardware pack for the fence. But I've got a cabinet full of 'em.
(No, I didn't lose them.)

The Blade Guard - what can be said about this pinnacle of engineering
prowess and UL/CSA approval that I didn't cover in an earlier post.
Simply meeting some UL/CSA standard as to the existence of a blade
guard doesn't equate into a useable OR well designed feature.

agreed

What it
DOES indicate is that MFG's designed some minimal, crappy contraption
that was needed to barely pass spec 20 years ago, and hasn't put one
iota of though into it since. This applies to ALL manufacturers.

No it doesn't. It indicates that it hasnt been changed not how much
thought had been put into it. it was looked at regularly by at least
one manufacture. Look, the dilemma is that if you are UL/CSA listed
and you compete against those who are not you stay within their
guidlines and offer what is required. You don't add a bunch of cost
over and above your competiitors and price yourself out of the market
still hampered by UL/CSA rules. and possibly still have the user pitch
it into the corner.

I can't speak about what "thought" all manufactures have put into it
and neither can you, just the output.

Very good after market guards are not hampered by the rules because
they are not sold with the saw. If they were they would not be
approved.



Let's take a poll - how many people here like OR use the guard that
with their saw? A show of hands, please... Nuff said.
At least this one came with a longer tab that retains the plastic
guard in the upright position - barely. It'll still fall on your hand
and introduce it to that nice, sharp WWII. Yep, not one iota...

Those darned extensions. I've heard a million stories of grief about
mounting them. It's actually a pretty easy job - to a point. The
manual doesn't show the proper orientation till later on - when you
have to take everything back apart if you get it wrong - but it's
pretty obvious how they go - to me. Wasn't a problem, but I can see
someone, somewhere making that mistake - twice. g

Hold one extension table up, aligned vertically. Hold the bottom with
one hand, the pre-assembled screws and washers in the other. Balance
the top against the side of your head if you have to. Put the screw
into the CENTER hole, and when it's just finger snug, simply rotate
the table to the horizontal position and install the other two.
Balance does the work for you. Don't torque those screws just yet.
The switch bracket is also mounted under the front screw on the left.
Another pan-head bolt holds the switch bracket at the front.

I only mention this because I've heard others tell tales of struggling
on the floor, upside down underneath the saw table while trying to
hold the extension's entire weight and the screws, and align it to the
saw while attempting to install the screws.
Now THAT would be a real PITA. g

So, rinse, repeat. Then wipe the top down with kerosene, rust buster
spray, whatever you've got that isn't too flammable and cuts this
stuff. Don't dribble it into the mech. Prepare for a mess on the
rag, your pants, your shirt....

The wings don't have an entry bevel cut on them like the saw table.
You would think that a cross-model generic design would match all the
tables - including the bevel - especially the top end, but not yet.
So there is a point that hangs over the front edge of the saw table.

Tables are beveled before they are ground. have a variable chamfer
length on the front end because the tables are not ground to a set
block but to clean up leaving as much material as possible. Matching
would be impossible without assembling specific wings to a table and
post beveling. extremely costly. and for what purpose. the purpose
of the entry bevel is for the miter gage entry. the miter gage does
not span to the wing. what I reccommend if asked is to file down the
point on the front wing/ table intersection once installed. keep from
gouging soft stock.

So, it's cleaned up and you back up to get a better view of the
results of your labor.

Well, gotta go. Hate to leave you in suspense, but I guess there will
be a Part III after all. And don't forget to buy that Ovaltine.


Greg G.