RAS- Loose Carriage??

[Ron Cooksey]

My Radial Arm Saw is a Craftsman #113.197150. I have refurbished the entire machine. It sat for about 10 years in a damp garage and became gummed and lodged like you wouldn't believe. I have solved all but one problem. The carriage is still loose. There is no adjustment between the down facing bearings and the roller bearings that ride up against the track arm. I tried using extra washers to force the roller bearings to the side to make contact with the track arm but it didn't help. I f anyone knows of a way to remedy this I would really be indebted to you.

[bogydave]

I don't know. Missing or totally worn out parts? I've not had that problem to the level you are explaining. Emerson Tool Co. may be able to help.
It's a good saw, hope someone is able to help get it working.

[Don]

Hey, Ron. My simple and quick guess would be that when you re-assembled things you overlooked the eccentric cam adjustments. These washers/ferrules/spacers may look just like the ones on the the opposite side but the holes the bolts go through are drilled off center. It usually takes two wrenches to tighten these, one to loosen/tighten and the other to turn the eccentric cam portion. Provided you received the correct replacement parts, I've never seen a saw that could not be adjusted tight, no matter how much it had been worn. You should be golden with the new parts. Study these carriage bolts and see if you have then on the correct side and understand how they work. Typically you will have two "idlers" meaning two on one side that are in a fixed position, then the opposite two will be the adjusters. Get the carriage firm on the arm first, then adjust heel and toe out using the head pivot under the carriage, then adjust for 90 at the fence by adjusting the arm lock. Here is more info, a quote from member, BogyDave,

QUOTE - Ron. Did it work OK before you took it apart?
On my saw, the 2 left carriage bearings are the ones that are adjusted to tighten the carriage to the yoke assembly, They have 9/16" heads & 1/2" nuts & are eccentric cam type bolts. Make sure the yoke clamp lever is tight then just loosen the nuts & turn the bolt till just snug on the track. If they turn more than 1 full revolution, something else is wrong or it's different than my saw.
Look in the manual (pg 28 in mine) under "adjustments to compensate for wear" : Yoke lock handle adj or adj. carriage bearings.

[Ron Cooksey]

I sure do appreciate the help Don, bogydave! With your comments I was able to find resolve in my mission. The rollers have what I will call a "fixed washer" on them. Meaning one side has a thicker side then the other side when using the center line as a guide. So I simply reversed one roller so that when looking straight on at the two rollers they become off center. (Each are bolted to a small arm that comes out from the carriage). My saw has only one track down the center for the two rollers to guide on. By forcing the guides to be off center I essentially forced them tighter to the track. Does any of this make sense?? I am trying to get a free photo image library website going but it takes time or else I would send a sketch of this thing.

PS: now it's time for the setup... man this is gonna take some time!!

Thanks again!
Ron

[bogydave]

Make allot of sense. Same principle of my saw. As the bearing rollers come closer together they pinch harder/tighter to the track.
Good job

Now go thru the allignment & make some saw dust.
Also you may be able to get a new safer saw guard FREE from Emerson Tool Co. for your saw.

[Ron Cooksey]

Yep, got it last week and a new table top, supports :) and bevel guard arm came with it. SWEET!! I am headed to the shop now to align and start making dust! YAHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ron

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2322070550102840053bGFDvR