A Rockwell/Delta 10" Table Saw

This shabby old saw was in my deceased next door neighbour's garage for God knows how long.

My deceased neighbour's son has sold the house,^[1] so he was getting rid of a great deal of stuff. He let me have this old saw for nothing.

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There's no Model No. I.D. Plate on it anywhere that I can find There's a lot wrong with it. If I can set it right, I'll have a half-decent 10" saw to replace my ancient 8" Beaver. We'll see how this goes.

This is going to be a very disjointed, jumbled up post. It's really only going to be notes on what I'm up to at any given time.

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The single biggest issue with this saw is that it needs new arbor bearings. If I can successfully replace those, then the saw becomes worthwhile to restore to pristine condition. If I fail at replacing the bearings, then the saw is scrap metal. So, I'll start with getting the arbor out.

Removing The Table Insert

The table insert should just slip out easily -- it's theoretically just held in place by gravity. But on this saw, I had to hammer it from underneath bit by bit with a big brass punch to free it; it was somewhat seized in place. The insert appears to be a zinc casting, so it's easily cracked or broken. Here's a view of the thing out of its pocket finally.

It was a fine item in its day, but it's in rough shape now. There's a crack in the edge opposite from the one you can see, and the whole thing is pretty badly distorted.

The Blade

Remove a 15/16" A/F hex nut (RH thread), a flange washer and then the blade.

The Elevation Screw

The elevation screw must be removed in order to be able to remove the arbor assembly. I saw an e-clip on the elevation screw that looked like it might be key to removing the elevation screw, but removing that e-clip got me nowhere -- the screw still would not back off and come out. I'm going to have to get the saw off its stand so I can turn it upside down, and see how the elevation screw really does come out. Once I have the elevation screw out, it should be possible to remove the elevation pivot pin, and then remove the whole arbor assembly. First, though, I have to remove the rip fence, its rails and the table extension to lighten the load.

The Rip Fence

The rip fence just slides off the ends of its rails when it's unclamped.

The Rip Fence Rails And The Extension

Each rail and its spacers is attached with two screws and two nuts.

The extension is attached with three screws w/split lockwashers.

Back To The Elevation Screw

It turns out that I was correct that the e-clip I noticed on the elevation screw was key to removing the screw, it's just that the screw-shaft was balky about leaving through its hole. I put Vise-Grips on it for extra leverage and that did the trick. I got the screw out. Here's a view of it.

There was also a grip-ring to contend with, but that wasn't difficult.

Elevation Pivot Pin and Arbor Casting

Now there's the big elevation pivot pin to be removed.

With its e-clips removed, the pin wasn't too difficult to coax out of place; it wasn't seized. And with that pin removed, the entire arbor casting is free to come out. Here it is.

Now I can attend to the bearings -- the single biggest defect the saw has.

The Line Cord Plug And Wiring

This stuff is in very poor condition, and will have to be replaced.

I'll get a better on/off switch for it too.

The Arbor Pulley And V-Belt

In the following photograph, note the setscrew protruding from the bottom of the pulley's groove, and the groove in the underside of the v-belt.

That setscrew is actually the correct length, it's just that the screw has loosened off almost to the point of falling out; hence the screw's protrusion. And you can see what the screw's protrusion has done to the underside of the v-belt -- it's pretty awful.

Needless to say, a new 40" v-belt is in order. I may go with a link-style belt, if I can scrounge up the money for one.

The Arbor Pulley

Neither the pulley nor the Woodruff key were inclined to leave home. For the pulley's removal, I ended up using a socket wrench for a  punch, so I could punch the pulley further onto its shaft. That dislodged the pulley, then I was able to pull it off with a two-jaw puller without distorting it. The Woodruff key wanted coaxing with a small cold chisel and a hammer. Bit by bit I got it to leave its keyway. Here's a view of those items off their shaft.

That pulley is a precious thing; it has a 17mm bore -- not something I could easily find a replacement for.

The arbor bearing that's now exposed is an NTN 6203LB -- 17mm bore x 40mm OD x 12 mm width. I can get a replacement for that at Princess Auto. The opposite bearing is probably the same, but I won't know that for certain until I've gotten it out.

The Arbor Bearings

With a great deal of hammering, I've gotten the arbor assembly mostly apart. Here's where I am with it presently.

The bearing at the pulley end still feels ok (though I mean to replace it regardless). The bearing at the saw blade end is a ruin and must be replaced.

I'd like to get that bearing off without disturbing the factory installation of the saw blade flange. So, what I may have to do is get the balls out of the bearing, and the outer race off. Then I'd have access to the inner race to grind through it until it eases its grip on the shaft and can be forced off.

'Got It!

The bearing is off.

I had to grind clear through the inner race to get it to where I could force it off the shaft, so I did some very slight damage to the shaft, but it should have no ill effect.

The next thing I want to do is chuck that shaft in the lathe, and check the flange for axial run-out with a dial indicator. If it's perfect, I'll try to install the new bearing from the pulley end. If it's flawed, then I may as well pull the flange off and install the bearing from the threaded end, as it's supposed to be done. (I should have checked saw blade flange axial run-out before beginning, but frankly I wasn't thinking straight -- didn't know what I was doing. Oh well, now I know.)

Saw Blade Flange Axial Run-Out

Here's my setup for checking run-out.

It turns out that axial run-out of the flange is over 0.007"; that's abominable. So, all that bushwah I went through to preserve the factory installation of the flange was in vain. I'll press off the flange, and deal with the run-out after I've installed a new bearing, and reinstalled the flange.

Pressing Off The Saw Blade Flange

Here's the arbor on the press, about to have its saw blade flange pressed off.

And here are the two pieces separated.

That was a breeze, really. The flange pressed off nicely, with no complaints. It may have helped that I had applied penetrating oil to it a few days ago.

Next up is to replace the e-clip that indexes the bearing's axial position on the shaft, and install the new bearing. Then I'll reinstall the flange, and check its axial run-out again on the lathe.

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Bearing And Flange Reinstalled

That went pretty smoothly. I rechecked the flange's axial run-out, and it was 0.001" better than before, but still unacceptable. I sharpened a lathe cutter and turned down the face of the flange; good outcome -- zero (or near zero) axial run-out. I completed reassembly of the arbor, and I appear to have a defect-free arbor assembly now.

This business of machine restoration is more complicated, and fraught with peril, than it may appear. I could still run into a defect that renders the machine worthless -- e.g. blade to mitre gauge slot parallelism impossible to achieve -- so I can't just set off to paint the stand and the chassis as I go, and risk wasting all that work and material. I have to prove the whole machine out first. In a nutshell, here's what I have to do:

• Fully reassemble the machine, and prove out all of its functionality/adjustability
• Dismantle the machine for cosmetic restoration.
• Cosmetic Restoration.
• Reassembly.
• Final adjustment/proof.

It's a heap of work, but then it's not as though my Day Timer is loaded with other commitments.

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End Of Part I

This post is getting long. See 'A Rockwell/Delta 10" Table Saw -- Part II' for the continuation.

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Note:

[1] There is, of course, much more to the story.

Bob, my deceased neighbour, was a pillar of the community, and the best next door neighbour one could ask for. He was thoroughly enjoying his retirement, especially his fabulous gardens, when he was struck down several years ago by esophogal cancer. The world is neither a just nor fair place.

Bob and his wife Linda were very close -- always together. After Bob's death, Linda's spirits never really recovered, and her health began to decline. She contracted cancer, was treated for it, and currently resides in a convalescent home. She's not in a good way. She underwent drastic surgery on her jaw, and her recovery process has not gone well.

All of that left Bob and Linda's son, Jim, no choice but to sell the house, which he has done as of this writing. The new owners have yet to move in.

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