Weird Table Saw Blade Burning
DenneheyProduction
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
Long time reader but first time registering and posting.
I’m at my wits end trying to figure out what is going on with our new-to-us Delta Unisaw X5. We are a small production shop and we have had an X5 for a while and when we found another on on marketplace we snatched it up so we could have two matching saws to make things easier for sleds and whatnot. New saw runs great but this blade burning issue is driving me nuts. I’ve tried to toe out the fence a hair but its not really mattering.
I’be attached some pictures to show the type of burn. I’ve tried several different types of blades with it being new ones, less teeth, more teeth. But we’ve had the same system for years now so the only variable is the table saw at this point.
Replies
No photos here to see, a guess would be that your table is out of alignment with the arbor.
Photos are showing I the post from what I can see. I’m going to order a gauge to see but this seems like a different situation.
Easy check, bring the guide alongside the blade and lock it, see if the guide touches both the front and rear tooth of the blade.
“[Deleted]”
Should be good now
Can't see pictures either.
Fixed it.
Fixed the photos or fixed the saw prob.?
Fixed the photos. Sorry.
What is the dark circle on the saw blade? Looks like it could be a blade stabilizer. Did you have the blade set that high during the cut that did the burning? If so, the stabilizer probably did the burning. Your blade height should be so that only the teeth protrude as far as the gullets. Otherwise, something is either wrong with the blade or the saw set up.
That’s just the factory outer arbor washer. We cut oversized wood all the time, to the point we have to rip and flip to finish the cut through so the blade height is usually set high.
I was referring to the larger black ring in the picture on the left. Assuming that is a 10" blade, it looks like 5"-6" diameter.
That’s the burning of the wood against the blade. That’s what I’m trying to figure out why it’s happening.
That portion of the blade appears to be thicker as if there is a blade stabilizer on there. As you said, the extra thick area is rubbing on the wood. Remove the blade and see if that circular piece is removable. Also, lower the blade so that only the tooth gullets are exposed.
Limited number of things it could be. Burning equals friction. Friction comes from unwanted binding between blade and material. Sources of binding might be: blade arbor not 90 degrees to fence (or the inverse, fence not 90 degrees to blade arbor); Material pinched between fence and blade - blade not perfectly parallel to fence; Material pinched in other direction to fence - blade not at zero angle with respect to table top; Friction between teeth and material - Blade not sharp or resin on blade. I've sometimes seen burning when feed rate is too slow but assuming this is not the case here. Maybe check speed of motor i.e. if motor is 220V wired and running on 110V it will be off speed. Good luck.
What happens if you cut on the other side of the blade? Easy with a y-square fence, maybe less so if it’s a Unifence. Might help shed some light.
The big dark circle on the blade looks to be burning/discoloration, not a stabilizer. That can’t be helping the situation—I would clean that off if you can.
You may want to check with the previous owner to see if how hard it was used or how it was used might yield some clues.
The randomness of the burn patterns on the workpiece would seem to suggest an issue with the arbor/ arbor bearings/ and or trunnion assembly. Something may be worn or loose causing vibration or oscillation or causing the assembly to move a little while under load. Listening to both saws running while under no load and while feeding material through might give you some hints. If the problem one sounds more growly it might be something with the bearings.
If you measure the miter slot distances from the front and back of the blade on your original X5 and compare them to the same measurements on the new X5, are they the same? I'd guess the blade, fence, and miter slots of the new X5 are out of parallel. If they are, loosen the four undertable bolts and tap the table to micro-adjust the miter slots back into parallel with the blade. Then micro-adjust the fence parallel to the miter slots.
This was exactly what the problem was. I loosened the four bolts underneath and tapped with a dead blow hammer till the miter slots were equal distance from the blades. I thought I had measured that already but most likely the tape measure I was using wasn’t showing the minimum amount it was off so I ended up using a a different tool to measure from the slots. Sure enough the back of the blade was off.
The previous owner must have never noticed because once I put the zero clearance plate back on it no longer fit over the blade. Cut a piece with max cut depth and it cut smooth and not a single burn mark.
Thanks for the suggestion on this.
I would be inclined to guess the same as elmadura. X5 was Deltas' offshore line and I'm sure quality control was hit or miss. Years ago my friend and I each bought X5 drum sanders and both had problems. The tables were not parallel to the drums and the only way we could stop the feed belt from walking in and chewing itself up was to crank the bejeezus out of the inside end of the rollers and run the outside end loose enough to get a couple of fingers under the belt. They must have had some good machines, and maybe your first saw was good and this one not so much.
I’ll order some calipers to measure between the two saws and see what come up. The burning isn’t nearly as bad or non existent when the blade is lower. This is happening on deep rip cuts. And we have changed the blade multiple times.
If you remove the blade, can you then lay a straight edge across it with no gaps? In other words, is the blade flat? Does the blade remain flat when mounted on the saw?
Got it fixed. Turns out the table top was not aligned with the blade properly. Based on Elmaduro’s suggestion i loosened the table bolts and tapped till it lined up right. Tested with a 3” deep cut through some maple and not a single burn mark.
Previous owner only made basic rips with plywood so I’m guessing he never noticed. Saw was in immaculate shape so it definitely wasn’t beat up on.
Thanks for everyones suggestions and help.
Thanks for reporting back. That is helpful to everyone.