Brand New Steel-City Tablesaw – Vibration – Help
Hello everybody,
About one month ago I bought a brand new Steel City model 35950 with cast iron top. I bought it online through home depot. Beside a series of minor issues (shipped by Home Depot to the wrong address, I received an extra week later with some of the items – like the guide rail of the fence, damaged and most of the hardware missing – then one of the wings had a series of bad gouges on one of the miter slots’ edges and the fence locking knob broke the first time I touched it) all of these issues were promptly addressed by Steel City customer support which thus far has been very good (but the problems hard to address might still be ahead, we’ll see). I just installed the blade, a nice Forest blade for plywood ($152 on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009H5RDE/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00 ). After installing the blade I finally turned it on for the first time to check if it worked. Unfortunately it has a vibration when you turn it off and the blade slows down and it is about to come to a stop. This is a video I took a few minutes ago:
http://youtu.be/BZ8jZCIYwvo
I don’t think it is normal and I wonder if it is an issue with the motor/shat/bearings unbalance. I checked thinking it was a noise done by the riving knife hardware lose and that is not the problem. I didn’t inspect anything further since I could not see anything else and because, by the sound it does, it seems a vibration caused by rotation. I already contacted technical support via email – sending them the same video I posted above, but I also want to hear what experienced people in this forum think. I am not an expert woodworker at all. This is my first “decent” table saw and I bought it thinking that $1300 would have been plenty for something decent….
Any feedback and opinion is greatly appreciated.
Thx, Paolo
Replies
It does it with a different lighter blade as well.....
Customer support
The video is a bit shakey itself, but the growlish sound as the blade comes to a stop would disturb me, as well.
I'd work with the Steel City customer service folks to get to the root of the problem.
Yes, I took it with my phone....
I just tried to run it a few times, to see f there was something lose in the belt assembly and I didn't find anything. I did notice that immediately before making that noise you hear a "click" sound, like a switch./rele. I now wonder if it is just the electric brake ( just checked on the manual and it doesn't say whether or not it has one, but they're pretty common). If it is the electric brake, I don't think it is working the way it is supposed to, I would still not like to hear that noise. I'll see what they tell me tomorrow....
Kinda normal
The click you hear is somewhat normal, it is a function of the motor. The rest of it is not.
Try a couple of things. First, run it without a blade at all and see what it does. Then try it without the belt attached to the arbor. I tend to believe you've got a motor issue.
Something else to consider, switch to 220volt. If you have a way to get 220 in your shop, the saw will run much better, and last much longer, if you up the voltage.
Deleted
Thank you guys.
i tried to run it without the blade and it is not as bad but it is still there. I didn't have time today to take it completely apart (plus, I'd like to hear what the tech support is going to tell me, thus far they have been very nice I have I say) but I finished setting it up. The miter slots are parallel to the blade within 1/128 of tolerance and they came already assembled and alligned. The industrial fence that came with it, that too, already set within 1/128" of accuracy. I couldn't resist so I tried a few cuts and I was very happy with the results (keep in mind that my previous table saw was the entry level craftsman with stock blade, this one has an extremely nice blade on). I really hope they won't tell me to take it to a service center (especially because I would need to figure out how to bring it there since we don't have a suitable vehicle) but the alternative is for them to ship me a new motor and I'll have to swap it. I don't mind if I had to solve a few quality control issues if they solve this last problem since without this problem I really like this table saw.
i did a lot of reading online before buying this saw and I knew that unisaw is just amazing, but it was out of range.When I started thinking about a new table saw i set my eyes on the Ridgid at home depot or the Porter Cable at Lowes. that is how it started, thinking I had to spend $600. It is doing the research on these two options that I decided to spend more (over twice as much as the initial budget) since I understood that I wanted a table with cast iron top and cast iron wings (I contacted Ridgid and they told me that they did not sell cast iron wings for that table saw). I also realized I wanted a nice fence. I had found some wings from a supplier in Canada that could work but, at the end, if you summed up the price for the Ridgid saw ($600) a pair of cast iron wings ($300 with S&H) and a decent fence, another 2-300 dollars, you're right at the price level of this table saw. So, I revised the budget and looked for something in the $1000-1400 range. One problem today is to find a place where you can actually see this stuff before buying it (and I'd be willing to pay extra for this, I would not go back home and order it online, this is how best specialty stores went out of business). I went to the local woodcraft and anything they had was out of range. I was able to see the contractor style Jet at the local Rockler and I didn't like it, for $1,000 it didn't look much different from the table saws at Lowes or Home Depot and it still didn't come with cast iron wings. I was about to buy the Laguna, but one of the sales people there didn't seem too sure it was worthed the $1300 I was about to pay. So, I decided to go for the steel city. And I still feel good about my decision, as long as they solve this last problem. Unfortunately I don't think that, for the same money, I could have found something not made in china. I knew I was taking my chances. I am surprised though, that in that price range, there are not that many choices.
I talked to a friend of mine and his opinion is " see if you can send it back. That's ridiculous for a $1,000+ item with absurd shipping costs." My problem is time, I have very little of it, and returning this one, receiving a new one and putting it back together or getting a different one seem all tasks requiring more time than, hopefully, getting this one to work properly. At least I hope.
So, worse scenario they tell me I need to send it back for repair or they won't replace the motor: I'll probably replace the motor with a nice 220 volts, and keep this saw. If in the next weeks you see a new topic like "best 220 volt motor or a tablesaw" you'll know whose post it is....
Thank you,
Paolo
Deleted
Just tried using a different outlet, one with a 20 amp circuit, and it still makes that noise...
Deleted
Absolutely correct
Paolo,
Most likely, the very same folks that built your saw did indeed build the others you mention. It sounds like Steel City definitely needs to address their quality control as the saw you received should have never left the factory in that condition. That being said, it sounds like customer support is working with you to get this resolved.
Back to the issue. The "click" you are hearing actually occurs twice, once when you start the saw and then again when the saw is shut down. Basically the motor is shifting in and out of "run" mode. You can't hear the first one because of all the other noise, and the second one should be followed by a period of free-wheeling. Each motor is different, so that free-wheeling varies, but you certainly shouldn't experience any kind of growl or shudder at shut down. It can only be one of two things; the motor or the arbor bearing. That was why I wondered if it did it with the belt removed. Removing the belt will also give you a chance to assess the bearing. Since you have a service center fairly close, you should be able to get this diagnosed and resolved without too much additional "stuff".
Converting to 220 is simple and straight forward. It consists of a simple wiring change inside an access panel on the motor, a new plug on the end of the power cord, and possibly a simple change in the power switch. The motor itself is convertible. There are definite benefits to that conversion, but it is certainly not something you have to do immediately. Your saw is designed to run on either voltage and running it in it's current configuration is fine until you're ready to make the change.
Please don't hesitate to keep asking questions, as most of us on here are quite willing to assist in any way we can without condescending and belittling remarks. Once you get this resolved, you'll really enjoy exploring all the things this saw will allow you to do. Just in your test cuts you've already seen how much fun is ahead of you. Please keep us informed of how this goes.
P.S. If you have to take the saw to the service center, take a look at renting a pickup from either Lowes or Home Depot. They have pretty reasonable rates, all things considered, and will let you get this taken care of. I know it sucks to spend any more money on this, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Since you bought this through Home Depot, a conversation with them might be in order. I would think providing you with one of their rental trucks would be a great customer service offering on their part.
Deleted
Deleted
Deleted
Vibration
You need to tension the belt.
the motor has one bolt/nut that allows it to move up/down to remove the belt.
with one hand pushing down on the motor and holding a wrench to the nut.... I used my other hand to tighten the bolt.
With just me pushing down on the motor to add tension to the belt it took 90% of that vibration away (same as yours... While turning off it would vibrate)
i did add a hardened 5/16 flat washer under the bolt head and replaced the one under the nut too.
i think once I have help to push down on the motor and tighten the bolt it will be fine. Just need an extra set off hands.
vibration
I use a v belt linked one from Rockler that has smoothed out all my machinery. Stiff belts (new) can be a problem as well as motor alignment to the belt. Check all moving parts for problems and grease if they accept it. Check th erunout of all moving parts without the belt to see they have pressed or attached out of alignment.
Steel City Table Saw
Paolo and Anybody,
I, too, recenlty purchased a Steel City model 35990C and I get a growl when turning the machine off. Also, the Steel City I have is 1.5 hp vs only 1 hp on the old Craftsman saw I got rid of. The Steel City saw seems to have less power than the old Craftsman. While cutting a 3/4" thick of birch using the blade that came with the saw, the saw stalled twice. Was your problem resolved? Do you also have a power issue?
"My problem is time, I have very little of it,"
I'm worn out just reading your posts, look at what you are going through now. Your friend gave you some good advice. Take it back to home depot and ask for a refund, the big box stores are usually pretty good about this.
Why buy a Chinese machine when there is so much American made cast iron floating around? I purchased a 1950's unisaw in the mid 80's, it has seen heavy use most of the time I have had it. Rewound the motor once and changed the bearings once. It is still smooth as silk.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-ROCKWELL-DELTA-UNISAW-34-450-10-INCH-1-1-2-HP-SINGLE-PHASE-TABLE-SAW-/290911609711?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43bbaee36f
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rockwell-Delta-Unisaw-Table-Saw-/271201978486?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f24e5c876
http://www.ebay.com/itm/rockwell-UNISAW-/330918749690?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d0c4b65fa
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Delta-Rockwell-Unisaw-table-saw-3hp-3-phase-/390593187657?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5af12b0f49
Whatever you decide to do, wish you the best of luck.
Rob
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled