# Craftsman table saw issues



## Brent03 (Jan 28, 2012)

I recently picked up an older model craftsman 10" table saw that was in pretty bad shape. I took an entire saturday stripping it down and restoring it. Long story short, got it running, had problems with the fence alignment with the first cut and bogged down the blade. Instead of backing out of the cut I let the work piece stall it completely. That tripped my breakers and killed the motor. Can the motor be fixed or should I try a new motor and fence, or scrap the whole thing? Money's tight and I need a saw for some projects, what's the best option. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks


----------



## yocalif (Nov 11, 2010)

A model number and a couple of pictures will help WWT members make better recommendations.


----------



## Brent03 (Jan 28, 2012)

Thanks yocalif, coming up.


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*look for a thermal reset*



Brent03 said:


> I recently picked up an older model craftsman 10" table saw that was in pretty bad shape. I took an entire saturday stripping it down and restoring it. Long story short, got it running, had problems with the fence alignment with the first cut and bogged down the blade. Instead of backing out of the cut I let the work piece stall it completely. That tripped my breakers and* killed the motor*. Can the motor be fixed or should I try a new motor and fence, or scrap the whole thing? Money's tight and I need a saw for some projects, what's the best option. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks


It will take more than that to kill the motor. A thermal reset is a small red button about 3/8" dia that will click if you push it in and that was the problem. You could have fried the switch... You may have fried a plug wire.... I doubt if you fried the motor....but maybe you're really that good...just sayin' :smile: bill


----------



## Brent03 (Jan 28, 2012)

Model # 315.228410. I tried craftsman customer service but they were no help


----------



## Brent03 (Jan 28, 2012)

My luck I probably was able to fry the motor. The red reset button isn't moving, hammer??


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*they are weird critters*



Brent03 said:


> My luck I probably was able to fry the motor. The red reset button isn't moving, hammer??


They don't feel like anything is happening... you may have fried that unit. If you can hot wire it without that in the circuit to see if it's the problem I would give that a try. You can't get them from Sears any longer as far as I know, but they do exist.
Nice looking saw, so don't give up on it! :thumbsup: bill

BTW no hammers. Check your circuit for power... GFI?


----------



## Brent03 (Jan 28, 2012)

Thanks bill, I'll keep on it.


----------



## troyd1976 (Jul 26, 2011)

im no electrical expert, but if you cant budge that reset button id definitely look into replacing the overload switch in it.. i had a dewalt RAS that the thermal overload switch wouldn't push in, and upon getting it out of the housing discovered that it had split in two. should be able to get a replacement for next to nothing through parts direct. might have melted it?.
also, is that fence locked on? because it looks like its WAY out of alignment. Im sure you know this now, but always good to make sure a new saw or one that been sitting along time is aligned both blade to miter slots and fence to miter slots. looks like it will be a very nice machine once you have it up and running though. did it include a blade guard? that's the first Ive noticed a micro adjust on those fences, does that still work good?


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

Brent03 said:


> Thanks bill, I'll keep on it.


When motors die they release all their smoke and then when they quit smoking it's too late for rehab or the patch.

It's gotta be a wiring issue or that pesky reset unit. Make certain you are getting voltage to the motor when the switch is turned on ....just be careful and use a neon volt checker or a multi-meter. When removing the motor cover plate have the saw unplugged and if necessary remove the speed nuts on the wires to expose them. then separate them and plug it back in to check for volts. The wires from the switch in the on position will be a black and a white and a green. You should have 120 V across the black and white. One of them probably black, then goes to the reset unit, then on to the motor windings. If there is no voltage coming out of the reset...that your problem.  bill


----------



## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Brent03 said:


> My luck I probably was able to fry the motor. The red reset button isn't moving, hammer??


You may have to depress and hold the button in for a few seconds. The motor may kick when it cools. Check for breakers that may have tripped. Looking at the cords on the saw, they don't look particularly heavy. Are they at least 12 ga?










 







.


----------



## Dierte (May 26, 2011)

troyd1976 said:


> im no electrical expert, but if you cant budge that reset button id definitely look into replacing the overload switch in it.. i had a dewalt RAS that the thermal overload switch wouldn't push in, and upon getting it out of the housing discovered that it had split in two. should be able to get a replacement for next to nothing through parts direct. might have melted it?.
> also, is that fence locked on? because it looks like its WAY out of alignment. Im sure you know this now, but always good to make sure a new saw or one that been sitting along time is aligned both blade to miter slots and fence to miter slots. looks like it will be a very nice machine once you have it up and running though. did it include a blade guard? that's the first Ive noticed a micro adjust on those fences, does that still work good?


I own the same saw. The micro adjust is a joke. Im actually looking into a new fence system.


----------



## Brent03 (Jan 28, 2012)

For not being an electrical expert you still know a whole lot more than I do! I'm always up for a challenge though. If you notice in the pic I got the hammer before your advice. Barely tapped it and lost it the motor housing. There was no smoke or electrical smell when it died so that could give hope right? The fence is definitely after market not org part and has to be tweaked into square, I should've known better than to use it, I can accomplish my cuts with the miter and jigs, I was to impatient and just wanted to try it.


----------



## Dierte (May 26, 2011)

Brent03 said:


> For not being an electrical expert you still know a whole lot more than I do! I'm always up for a challenge though. If you notice in the pic I got the hammer before your advice. Barely tapped it and lost it the motor housing. There was no smoke or electrical smell when it died so that could give hope right? The fence is definitely after market not org part and has to be tweaked into square, I should've known better than to use it, I can accomplish my cuts with the miter and jigs, I was to impatient and just wanted to try it.


Show a pic of the fence. Im pretty positive thats the stock fence.


----------



## Brent03 (Jan 28, 2012)

I believe the cords are 12's. I'll double check. Dierte, where are you planning on picking up the fence, yes this one is a pain


----------



## Brent03 (Jan 28, 2012)

Is this the stock, guy said it was a replacement, he was not too savvy on it either though.


----------



## Brent03 (Jan 28, 2012)

Here's the cordage and my handy work on the reset button


----------



## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

woodnthings said:


> It will take more than that to kill the motor. A thermal reset is a small red button about 3/8" dia that will click if you push it in and that was the problem. You could have fried the switch... You may have fried a plug wire.... I doubt if you fried the motor....but maybe you're really that good...just sayin' :smile: bill


Exactly my first reaction.

George


----------



## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Brent03 said:


> Is this the stock, guy said it was a replacement, he was not too savvy on it either though.


That looks like the replacement fence I got for my saw. A very good fence. I particularily like the "t" slot in the side of the fence.

George


----------



## Dierte (May 26, 2011)

Yeah that fence is slightly differrent then mine. Couldnt tell on my phone. Im looking into the t2 fence as a replacement.


----------



## troyd1976 (Jul 26, 2011)

Thats a fairly common fence on the later Craftsman contractor's saws..and its well regarded by a lot of folks,least worlds better than the original style fence craftsman used on the previous saws. might just need to do some adjustment on it to get it to work as it was intended..

OK now for the major thing WTH is that chunk of extension cord haning out of the switch box? is someone rig a receptical end to it? first thing id do is get that crap out of there. i would assume it was perhaps to have a shop vac or something of that nature start at the saw, but still mildly retarded IMO. if things moved enough when you had the problem just might have been enough to jostle lose that home wiring job, thusly blowing the breaker.


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I agree*

There's one too many cords on that switch. Why? 
If you get around to removing the end cap on the motor use an impact driver to remove the Phillips screws or you will round them out and be "screwed" rather than unscrewed. If you are reluctant, bring that formerly "perfectly good" motor to a repair facility where they are equipped to make the necessary repairs. Don't bugger it up so that when you do need help no one will want to .... :no:


----------



## Brent03 (Jan 28, 2012)

Thanks gentlemen, yes that is a homemade secondary outlet wired into the power switch. I wasn't thrilled about that either! I'll do my best not boogerin' up the taiwan screw heads. I'll also give a little more love to that fence. I appreciate everyone's help. Should have it back to life by next weekend. I'll throw up a thread with progress, hopefully good progress.


----------



## tecshop (Feb 16, 2016)

Hi!

I have a Craftsman Table Saw Model 152.221140 that has gone out of square. After checking all the possibilities, I've come to the conclusion that the blade is not square to the miter gauge slots. Seemed like an easy fix until I looked in the owner's manual and tried to find instructions on how to adjust the trunnion assembly to bring it back into square and realized that there are no such instructions! Does anyone know how to make the adjustment? I really do not want to start loosening things without know ing what I'm doing.

Thanks much!


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*how many bolts are there?*

Some have 6 some have 4. You'll need to stand the saw on it's back so you can both wrench and measure at the same time.

Determine which way the trunnions need to rotate to get the blade parallel to the miter slot and about which of the bolts that will work. Once you've determined which way to rotate the trunnions, and which bolt is the "pivot", loosen the other bolts enough to allow the trunnions to bump over the correct amount OR use a lever to nudge them into alignment. Next measure the blade to slot for parallel again and tighten all the bolts.

It's not rocket surgery, just common sense and accurate measurements. Good Luck.


----------



## toolguy1000 (Oct 4, 2012)

Brent03 said:


> Is this the stock, guy said it was a replacement, he was not too savvy on it either though.


that is the OEM fence for that saw.


----------



## Shop_Rat (Dec 22, 2015)

tecshop said:


> Hi!
> 
> I have a Craftsman Table Saw Model 152.221140 that has gone out of square. After checking all the possibilities, I've come to the conclusion that the blade is not square to the miter gauge slots. Seemed like an easy fix until I looked in the owner's manual and tried to find instructions on how to adjust the trunnion assembly to bring it back into square and realized that there are no such instructions! Does anyone know how to make the adjustment? I really do not want to start loosening things without know ing what I'm doing.
> 
> Thanks much!


The blade heel adjustment procedure for your saw is on page 27 and 28 in your owners manual. This procedure actually moves the table. It looks like the motor and blade are attached to the cabinet and not trunnion hung.


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*He's right, I was wrong ....*

This only applies to a contractor type saw:



woodnthings said:


> Some have 6 some have 4. You'll need to stand the saw on it's back so you can both wrench and measure at the same time.
> 
> Determine which way the trunnions need to rotate to get the blade parallel to the miter slot and about which of the bolts that will work. Once you've determined which way to rotate the trunnions, and which bolt is the "pivot", loosen the other bolts enough to allow the trunnions to bump over the correct amount OR use a lever to nudge them into alignment. Next measure the blade to slot for parallel again and tighten all the bolts.
> 
> It's not rocket surgery, just common sense and accurate measurements. Good Luck.


Sorry for the confusion as I didn't read the model number correctly. :surprise2:



This applies to a hybrid type saw with the trunnions mounted on the cabinet and the table is free to move separately:



Shop_Rat said:


> The blade heel adjustment procedure for your saw is on page 27 and 28 in your owners manual. This procedure actually moves the table. It looks like the motor and blade are attached to the cabinet and not trunnion hung.


You must own one of these Shop Rat? I have a 22124, now discontinued, but I love that saw and the Biesemeyer fence it came with!


----------



## Shop_Rat (Dec 22, 2015)

Unfortunately I do not own that saw model. It might be a step up for me, but I'm getting along O.K. with my contractor saw (remember, I'm also the guy who adores his radial arm saw). I found the manual online for his machine simply because I've never heard of an owners manual that wouldn't let you in on how to adjust for parallel. I thought maybe the whole world had gone mad. If you can't tune your tools, they'd have to be thrown away. Oh wait! That's the direction in which we seem to be going anyway! 

Sorry. Rant Off.


----------



## tecshop (Feb 16, 2016)

Thanks for the advice! There are no relevant instructions on pages 27 or 28 of the owner's manual. Looks like 4 bolts that hold the two trunnion assemblies directly to the table.

Do you think that it si those 4 bolts that hold the keys to the kingdom for squaring things up?


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*4 bolts are the key*



woodnthings said:


> .
> 
> Determine which way the trunnions need to rotate to get the blade parallel to the miter slot and about which of the bolts that will work. Once you've determined which way to rotate the trunnions, and which bolt is the "pivot", loosen the other bolts enough to allow the trunnions to bump over the correct amount OR use a lever to nudge them into alignment. Next measure the blade to slot for parallel again and tighten all the bolts.
> 
> It's not rocket surgery, just common sense and accurate measurements. Good Luck.





tecshop said:


> Do you think that it is those 4 bolts that hold the keys to the kingdom for squaring things up?


Follow the procedure above for the adjustments.


----------



## tecshop (Feb 16, 2016)

Thanks for all your help! Finally found the correct owners manual on one of Sears' sites that contains ALL the pages. Probably should have looked there first!


----------



## Pineknot_86 (Feb 19, 2016)

Might be hard to find a Sears replacement motor if it is real old. I would take the motor off and see if a motor dealer can match it for shaft size, RPMs, etc. Might be cheaper that fixing it. Hopefully, it is something minor.


----------

