"Mark Wells" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have a Dewalt circular saw. It's probably about 10 years old. I'm
working on a design for a panel saw, so I started analyzing my saw more
carefully. The base plate of the saw appears to be warped. If I put
it on a flat surface, one corner is up by about 5/64" (actually about
2.25mm). That seems unacceptably warped to me and probably explains
why the saw doesn't seem to cut that well. Are my standards too high?
Anybody else had a problem like this? I was considering flattening it
on sandpaper like a plane sole, but that seems like an awful lot of
metal to remove. Any other ideas? I have considered trying to bend
it, but it doesn't seem like that will work.

Mark


Mark,
Don't panic - its only a Dewalt. The sole plate is the least of your
worries. The real problem is the mounting for the plate, they are inherently
week. If I was building another (built one - sold it) panel saw, I would
not use the factory sole plate at all. I would build a new sole plate,
mounted to the saw permanently. With only enough movement to allow for
changing the blade and for accurate setting up of the blade angle to 90.
and it should have a replaceable zero clearance insert.

I sold my home-made panel saw to a local cabinet shop. They used it for
several years and now have closed down.

Dave