This answer will be considered way out by most but here goes, call a local
automotive machine shop and ask them the width capacity of their vertical
mill. If it sounds like it will fit....tell them what you have and get a
price quote on cutting a .004" flycut. If you have a welder you can use a
nickel based rod to build up the hole, and then it can be machined down
(nickel machines easily but will hold up for along time, I have used it on
unreplaceable exhaust manifolds). Of course this means you will have to
remove the table top for the saw...........but depending on machine shop
rates in your area could save you the price of a new saw if a reliable
repair is absolutely necessary. Just my two cents worth. If you decide to go
this route, email me and I will try to dig up the info on the nickel based
rods I used. You can try standard machine shops, but usually the automotive
types are cheaper. Lyndell
"Dave G" wrote in message
om...
Folks,
Need some advice here. First, a disclaimer. I hereby acknowledge
that the best solution is to replace the item in question with a new
(or used) PM/Jet/Grizzly/Delta/whatever. Not an option. So rest your
itchy trigger fingers, and save the bandwidth.

On to the problem. I have a Craftsman tablesaw (NO, I cannot
replace it). The top is "dished" towards the center. The lowest spot
seems to be just ahead of the throat--it's about 0.04" lower than the
sides. In his book, "Mastering Woodworking Machines," Mark Duginske
mentions filling low spots with epoxy paint. I've also thought of
filling with some kind of auto-body filler.

So my questions--is this enough of a flaw to be worth correcting
for a properly tuned saw? Otherwise, it's in excellent shape--arbor
runout 0.002, miter gauges parallel to each other to within 0.001,
blade dead-parallel to miter gauges. On the other hand, how can I get
the blade perpendicular to the top when the top's not flat? And has
anybody done this, and what material would you suggest? I'm thinking
of building a "dike" around the throat and miter slots, then flooding
the top with something that'll self-level, letting it harden, then
gluing sandpaper to a sheet of glass and sanding the top flat.

Comments?