I struggled for quite a while to try and get the blade adjusted
parallel to the miter slot. Thinking I had a Delta Unisaw (purchased
second-hand), I loosened up the 4 bolts that secure the tabletop to the
cabinet and tap-tap-tapped. I couldn't get any adjustment.

I phoned Delta and it turns out that I don't have a Unisaw. Mine is a
10" Cabinet Saw 36-750 sold in Canada. This is similar to the Hybrid
saw they sell today. The trunnions are mounted to the tabletop.

Amazing! I was able to get the blade within .001" using my new dial
indicator. It sure makes a cleaner cut. I was seeing alot of burn
marks cutting 3/4" melamine with a crosscut sled. Now there is no
burning.

Now, the Delta Tech explained that I should clamp each of the trunnion
brackets to the tabletop before loosening the trunnion bolts and
adjusting. Does this make sense?

I did not do this clamping step. I found that it was very fiddley. No
matter how hard I'd try to keep the blade in alignment during the
re-tightening of the trunnion bolts, when I final-tightened the
front-right-side bolt, the blade skewed such that the back of the blade
was closer to the left-hand side. The only way I finally got it into
alignment was to start off with the blade an equal amount skewed to the
right side, then tighten up the bolts. It finally came out within
..001"

Do I need to re-do the whole alignment now that it is aligned?

Would the step of clamping the trunnion brackets have prevented the
assembly from twisting during the tightening?
Thanks for your help.

Mr Fixit eh

Now, the Delta Tech explained that I should clamp each of the trunnion
brackets to the tabletop before loosening the trunnion bolts and
adjusting. Does this make sense?

Yes, you do not want the thing flopping around while you are adjusting it.
Using the clamps means that the trunions are held in place firmly enough
that you can move it with the blow of a mallet or 2x4, but not by any lesser
means.

I did not do this clamping step. I found that it was very fiddley. No
matter how hard I'd try to keep the blade in alignment during the
re-tightening of the trunnion bolts, when I final-tightened the
front-right-side bolt, the blade skewed such that the back of the blade
was closer to the left-hand side. The only way I finally got it into
alignment was to start off with the blade an equal amount skewed to the
right side, then tighten up the bolts. It finally came out within
.001"

This is why the clamping was suggested.

Do I need to re-do the whole alignment now that it is aligned?

If it is aligned, it is aligned. If you want to re-align for practice, go
ahead.

Would the step of clamping the trunnion brackets have prevented the
assembly from twisting during the tightening?

It should help with that. Yes.

-j

Mr Fixit eh wrote:

alignment was to start off with the blade an equal amount skewed to the
right side, then tighten up the bolts. It finally came out within
.001"

Do I need to re-do the whole alignment now that it is aligned?

Tighten the *hell* out of the bolts (without getting them so tight you crack
the cast iron) then run away fast. Once you get it to within 0.001" it's
time to quit while you're ahead. DAMHIKT.

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/

"Mr Fixit eh" wrote in message

Now, the Delta Tech explained that I should clamp each of the trunnion
brackets to the tabletop before loosening the trunnion bolts and
adjusting. Does this make sense?

If you don't trust the guy from Delta, I have no reason to think that you
would believe me either. To me it makes a lot of sense.

J said If it is aligned, it is aligned. If you want to re-align for
practice, go
ahead.

Practice....ha, ha, ha. I posted the question because I was
desparately hoping I didn't have to go through the torture again.

Ed said If you don't trust the guy from Delta, I have no reason to
think that you
would believe me either.

It's hard to trust anyone when you've been trying to adjust a Unisaw
that it turns out you really don't have after all !!!!! :-)

Thanks for the help. I'll check the alignment every few months and
pray that I don't have to do this again for a very long time. When I
do, I'll try the clamping thing.

Mr Fixit eh

Ok, so apparently the answer was that I should have used the clamps.
Two weeks/ 30 cuts later and the blade was way out of alignment
(.014").

I gave it another go last night with the clamps, and I added lock
washers to the trunnion bolts.

Does anyone have torque values for the trunnion bolts, I really don't
want to strip/ break a bolt.

Another thing I found out by trial and error is that even with using
clamps, the right-hand bolt in the front trunnion tends to pull the
alignment out-of-whack during final-tightening. I found I got best
results by tightening this bolt to final torque first, then tapped it
back into alignment, then tightened the other bolts up tight. This way
it stayed in alignment better.

Any other tricks I should know about.

Mr Fixit eh

See my earlier post on this same subject...
You are killing yourself for no reason...

Mr Fixit eh wrote:

Ok, so apparently the answer was that I should have used the clamps.
Two weeks/ 30 cuts later and the blade was way out of alignment
(.014").

I gave it another go last night with the clamps, and I added lock
washers to the trunnion bolts.

Does anyone have torque values for the trunnion bolts, I really don't
want to strip/ break a bolt.

Another thing I found out by trial and error is that even with using
clamps, the right-hand bolt in the front trunnion tends to pull the
alignment out-of-whack during final-tightening. I found I got best
results by tightening this bolt to final torque first, then tapped it
back into alignment, then tightened the other bolts up tight. This way
it stayed in alignment better.

Any other tricks I should know about.

Mr Fixit eh