dagnabbit - table saw broke!

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stayalert

stayalert

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I bought it used for $200 ~1985....My seard craftman flex drive table saw. Its been great all these years and I've used it a ton. Well...the flex drive just broke and I don't currently have extra $ laying around...Tomorrow I pick up a broken bent shaft weedwacker to see If I can cobble the flex shaft in the weedwacker to the table saw....No $, so worth a try right????
 
stayalert said:
I bought it used for $200 ~1985....My seard craftman flex drive table saw. Its been great all these years and I've used it a ton. Well...the flex drive just broke and I don't currently have extra $ laying around...Tomorrow I pick up a broken bent shaft weedwacker to see If I can cobble the flex shaft in the weedwacker to the table saw....No $, so worth a try right????
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Desperate times call for desperate measures....

"Stayalert had safety glasses in his pocket...now he has no eye in his socket" :D Be Careful :idea:
 
Harumph! first free weedwacker is a fancy jobbie wit interchangeable heads - therefore flexible shaft is too short and small in diam. Dump didn't have any good prospects yet either. paert is ~ $100 if I can find it...I've not given up yet on the free/cheap option yet.....
 
LOL

stayalert said:
Harumph! first free weedwacker is a fancy jobbie wit interchangeable heads - therefore flexible shaft is too short and small in diam. Dump didn't have any good prospects yet either. paert is ~ $100 if I can find it...I've not given up yet on the free/cheap option yet.....
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Your table saw is probably powered by a few hp electric motor. Most curved shaft line trimmers are 1hp at the most. The cable would not hold up even if it did fit.

The general rule I go by is you need 3 times the gas motor to replace an electric motor. Say there is a 1 hp electric motor is on something, you will need a 3hp gas motor to take it's place. The electric motor is a constant torque motor. This works in reverse as well. You can replace a gas motor with electric, just divide by 3. If you are running a 10hp gas motor, you can replace it with a 3.5hp electric motor.

it may seem like I'm rambling but if you have a 12" table saw with a 5hp electric motor, you would need to find the drive cable out of an 18hp line trimmer to hold up to the torque load it will see.

You may want to check the manufactures website. My old sears 10" table saw had lifetime warranty on the drive cable. There was a sticker on the side of it stating it.
 
Today I paid $112 for the Sears part to be sent to my house....I'll check about the sticker but am doubtful. I decided to stop dicking around with broken weed wackers because everytime I get a free one I end up fixing it for like $4 in parts....The one I just got (IDC 530) has a spent fuel primer bulb and fuel line....The fuel line I have but the primer bulb will set me back ~$2.99....:rolleyes: If my wife catches me working on another small engine before I finish painting the house there will be trouble.....:D
 
Don't be a dumba$$ like me. Fix it right with the correct part. Table saws are powerful and you don't want things to go wrong.

BTW, my thumbs were the same size until my table saw "shortened" one about a quarter inch.

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replacement parts from craftman's site is very easy to order. but if the org part was a peice od s*** you'll just be paying good money for more of the same! i had a 10" saw fence that lasted 10years. i say lasted, because i had to do various things to keep it working, untill it totaly fell apart. ordered the right repalcement parts, and they looked like they were thinner. and some of them didn't even belong to that assembly!! i cobbeled them together and they broke about the second time i tryed to adjust the fence.so now i'm looking at replaceing the whole fence with something that i can actually use..not cheap like the genuine sears parts
 
fledglingme said:
replacement parts from craftman's site is very easy to order. but if the org part was a peice od s*** you'll just be paying good money for more of the same! i had a 10" saw fence that lasted 10years. i say lasted, because i had to do various things to keep it working, untill it totaly fell apart. ordered the right repalcement parts, and they looked like they were thinner. and some of them didn't even belong to that assembly!! i cobbeled them together and they broke about the second time i tryed to adjust the fence.so now i'm looking at replaceing the whole fence with something that i can actually use..not cheap like the genuine sears parts
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That was painful to read.

Look for a VEGA 'utility' saw fence, very good quality at a reasonable price- compared to Beismeyer, Delta (same company anyway), Jet, and the like. You will still pay upwards of $300 for the fence system. If you take the time to true the blade to the table slots, and true the fence to them as well, you can get good results from a Craftsman table saw.

Or you could find a used Jet, Grizzly, Powermatic or the like for a few hundred more, with a nice fence. The precision and power benefits are amazing.
 
thank you spike- i have looked up the fences you mentioned..they look like just the ticket. and i will be buying one of them in the not too distant future. money seems to be my major huddle at the moment. i only posted because i was so dissapointed with the quality of sears replacement parts. i know your right about the usefulness of a good quality fence..i've gotten so used to the lame sears one, that i've forgotten what good quality tools can do. i have to accept my fair share of blame here.. for putting up with the old fence as long as i have.
 
-Spike- said:
Or you could find a used Jet, Grizzly, Powermatic or the like for a few hundred more, with a nice fence. The precision and power benefits are amazing.
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To be clear (I wasn't :o) that paragraph was referring to buying a used saw, with a fence system included. Might be more 'bang for the buck' for you than putting a good fence on a homeowner saw. Depends on what you're gonna do though- I used a VEGA fence on a 40+ year old Craftsman saw for many years, and still have the saw today playing second fiddle to an older JET I picked up cheap.
 
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