Witness the Mighty Powermatic
December 23rd, 2008Gorgeous
I am feeling pretty smug. The new old saw is out of the car. It’s assembled. The car has been vacuumed. The tools have been put away. I am DONE. Look:
I had to order a new plug for it. It has a dryer plug, but my other stuff has 6-50P plugs, so I’m converting this one. I Googled around. Guess what a Leviton 6-50P goes for? About sixty bucks! For two ounces of plastic and a tiny amount of brass! Fortunately Ebay had one for five bucks. Which one do you think I bought?
The miter gauges on this thing are not looking good. I may upgrade.
I’m going to have to figure out the shims and get the top trued up and so forth. It seems like the dead blow hammer was made for this work. You can move the table in tiny increments, and it won’t mar the iron.
I checked the top with a straightedge. You can sort of see daylight under it, but just barely. It would take a pretty tiny feeler gauge to get in there.
I thought the 5 HP motor was a mistake, but apparently there are advantages. You can use any blade you want, and it will cut thick stuff without slowing down and causing burns. I think a lot of people use smaller motors, though. I am pretty sure Kelly Mehler uses a 110-volt job in his table saw video. I believe the saw is a contractor model, because the motor hangs out the side, supported by the belt.
There is a lot for me to learn. In addition to aligning everything, I have to find out how to tension the belts (plural).
I’m so grateful for this thing. What an adventure it has been already. And if I eventually manage to do useful work with it, it will be even better. This whole experience has been a blast. I wish I had a band saw so I could make new throat plates for it.
Now, how do I make myself sell my precious portable?
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:31 PM
I used to annoy one of our facilities guys by calling his bright orange deadblow hammer a “Clown Hammer”.
I’m kinda surprised he never took a swing at my noggin with it…
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:33 PM
That hammer is a joy. It’s one of those tools that make you wonder how you lived without them.
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The orange color is just a bonus.
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:56 PM
The weight of the motor tensions the belt. That’s why the motor is hanging from the belt. The beauty of that system is if the blade gets stuck for any reason, the spinning motor loses purchase on the belt and you don’t destroy anything.
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:53 PM
We put this Incra miter guage on my wife’s Delta:
http://www.incra.com/product_miter_1000.htm
I had to drill & tap the old bar, as the Delta has a wide ‘T’ slot instead of the usual 3/4″ slot.
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:02 PM
You are not done until you get the shims right. The surface of the saw has to be flat, and I mean near-perfectly flat, or you will never get the rest of it aligned — it’s the reference for everything.
If you tightened the holddown bolts for the top without the shims you may have damaged the top by putting a permanent set in it. If you leave it that way you definitely will — the metal will creep. Loosen them, please, and get the shims right. I’d hate to see you permanently damage your jewel.
It’s possible to get it flat using a straightedge and machinists’ blue, but it’s easier with a surface plate if you can borrow one.
Regards,
Ric
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:32 PM
I just bought a Craftsman Digital Miter Gauge #29939 this past weekend for my brother for Christmas.
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Link here: http://tinyurl.com/8ol3au …if I wasn’t such a nice guy, I’d keep it. It’s pretty nice. I’ve already hinted to my wife that I wouldn’t mind seeing one on my birthday.
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It would be a worthwhile addition to your saw, especially if your stock miter is questionable (heck, mine isn’t questionable at all, and I still want one).
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Couple that with a Wixey Digital Angle Gauge, and extremely accurate compound miters will be a breeze (and without a great deal of head scratching either). Link here: http://tinyurl.com/9fsp8b (and on sale, too!).
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I’ve been vicariously enjoying your purchase immensely Steve.
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December 23rd, 2008 at 7:44 PM
J, you are very lucky to be in a position to use phrases like “my wife’s Delta.” A lot of men have wives who sit in the house resenting every penny they spend on tools.
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:05 PM
Don’t sell your portable yet. Good to keep it for at least a long time. As soon as you sell it you’ll discover how useful it would have been for some particular project yet to be thought of.
December 23rd, 2008 at 11:21 PM
Make throat plates with the router.
December 24th, 2008 at 9:41 AM
“I wish I had a band saw so I could make new throat plates for it.”
Is it almost time for an intervention here?
Have a Merry and Blessed Family Christmas.
December 24th, 2008 at 6:50 PM
[quote]
J, you are very lucky to be in a position to use phrases like “my wife’s Delta.” A lot of men have wives who sit in the house resenting every penny they spend on tools.
[/quote]
Steve,
My wife has never begrudged me any toys, whether tools, guns, or motorcycles. I’m the same with her and hers. We have no children and can afford to indulge each other, within reason, of course.
Have you looked at the pics of her woodshop? (I need to update the page a bit, it doesn’t show the Delta saw and a few other things.