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Where do I lubricate Delta Contractor’s Saw?

joeyh | Posted in General Discussion on June 4, 2013 07:05am

I have a 1985 Delta Model 10 Contractor’s Saw. Very suddenly it has become almost impossible to crank the blade up or down. I applied WE-40 to every place that looked plausible without any success. Does anyone know precisely where I need to lubricate?

Thanks in advance for any advice

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  1. calvin | Jun 04, 2013 10:26pm | #1

    joey

    I've used that saw among a whole bunch of others.  In all cases-unless some goofy raise/lower assembly-the best bet is to blow off/brush off all the moving parts.  Most have a gear with teeth or threads that run through a threaded bushing.  Clean off/blow off this and most other places including the motor if housed in the saw base.

    Then I liberally apply PB Blaster Dry Lube to all the moving parts-especially those gears and threads.  Look closely, there's usually a shaft that the carriage runs up and down on.  This needs it as well.  It guides the carriage and keeps it true to the table orientation.

    Oil or grease collects sawdust and gums it all up.  The Dry Lube seems to last the longest-but nothing is forever.

    1. joeyh | Jun 05, 2013 08:49am | #3

      Since I've already sprayed a bunch of WD-40, wil it be okay to add Dry Lube without provoking some kind of cataclysmic chemical reaction?

  2. DanH | Jun 04, 2013 11:03pm | #2

    If it happened all of a sudden, I'd look for a gear that's gone cattywompus or some such.

    1. joeyh | Jun 05, 2013 08:51am | #4

      I think you may have hit on it. I'll do a thorough examination.

      1. Yersmay1 | Jun 10, 2013 12:58pm | #5

        crank assembly

        It sounds like I own an identical saw.  This problem confounded me a few years ago... I lubricated everything in sight but the crank would remain stiff.  I finally took the entire trunion assembly to a tool repair guy and it even took him a while to diagnose the problem.  Turns out the crankshaft has a metal sleeve that surrounds it... the interior of this metal sleeve is not exactly round.  It is 'eccentric'... and that means if you rotate the metal sleeve, you will find a sweet spot where the crank shaft inside it will turn freely.  If the sleeve has slipped into a different position, the crank shaft will bind on the internal surface of this sleeve.  Once he found the 'sweet spot', he etched some markings on the sleeve so that it could be perfectly positioned another time. 

        A hint -- I believe the sleeve can be rotated out of position if you don't remember to really unscrew the locking knob before you rotate the crank.  Now I don't touch the crank until I am really sure the locking knob is really loose. 

        Good luck!

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