Anybody use them? They don’t seem to be widely distributed and, IMOO they make a miserable, awful, finger-bashing-bad-job-so-we’ll-deal-with-raggedy-cuts-for-another-year task into a merely not-fun task. I can’t believe I waited so long.
Oh, and one more thing, when I’m declared god of contractor saws, I’m going to include an access port for at least one front trunnion bolt…
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I used to have a Craftsman contractor TS that I installed a set on. They do make fine-tuning the adjustment easier. However - at least on the model sold to fit the Craftsman, once the setting was dialed in you'd have to remove the rearward adjuster. Otherwise it interfered with the blade-tilt mechanism. You could tighten things down before removing it and putting the factory hardware back in place, so your adjustment efforts weren't wasted. It's just that you couldn't leave the rearward portion permanently mounted on the saw - unless you didn't plan on ever making a bevel cut.
Take a look at the new Ridgid contractor's saw in HD the next time you get there. You don't have to wait until you run the world, the adjustment problem has already been solved.
Ridgid redesigned the saw to make blade to table alignment an easy 5 minute job, accurate to a couple of thousandths, simply by adding two bolts and a little cam lever. They also added a lock to the front trunnion and a spring loaded clamp to the rear trunnion so each trunnion assembly will stay fully engaged while the alignment is being adjusted.
I can't believe it took 50 years for someone to make this simple change on contractor's type saws.
John W.
The PALS--costs $2 to make; they sell for $20, and are worth $200.Regards,
Boris"Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934
Has anyone had trouble installing the PALS system? I have some vague memory of one report, but as Ed says, not too many of these in use it seems. When I got my old blue Jet saw, it was out of alignment to an alarming degree and I only made it worse trying to fix it. Ended up having to get a Jet tech guy to solve the problem. Am very nervous about the idea of loosening anything under there again, but the PALS would be a welcome improvement in the long run.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
"I'm going to include an access port for at least one front trunnion bolt..." Hmmmmmm, given how old my saw is, I might just make an "access port" LOL!
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
I installed them recently on my Delta Contractor Saw (20+ years old). They worked great. Following the directions I replaced one of the existing trunnion bolts at a time with a stud. I installed the PALS and had no trouble re-aligning my saw. I used a dial indicator and a Master Plate on the arbor flange. The saw has never worked better. I highly recommend the PALS.
BTW, be sure to tighten the nuts on the studs and add a locking nut to each - you don't want the trunnion moving around due to vibration.
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