# table saw binding/bogging down



## ep3297 (Mar 16, 2016)

Hi-

I have a delta 10 inch table saw (34-670) I picked up on craigslist a few years back. I dont use it often but up until recently it has worked flawlessly. Back around Christmas, I noticed it starting to bog down a bit and eventually kicked the built in breaker from over-heating. Fast forward to now, I'm ripping 5 ft sections of "select" 2x4 into 3/4 in strips for a porch swing. The wood is pine, nice and dry, and I even gave it a "haircut" so as to have a smooth edge to run down the fence. Still though, every time I put it to the blade, you can hear the motor bog down. In no time, its over heating again and tripping the breaker. I realize 2x4 is a tough board to rip so I slowed down to a snails pace (REALLY REALLY slow), still trips. I figured the blade was dull, so I put on a brand new one (24t and 60t - just what I had laying around). Still the same. In all, I've double checked the blade is parallel to the fence, changed outlets, upgraded my extension cord, bought a 2 ft 12 gauge extension cord (thats as close as I could get to the outlet itself), and vacuumed all the dust I could get from inside the motor area. The motor is direct drive as near as I can tell (no belts)..... I've read post after post looking for ideas, but I'm afraid I'm beat. 

Thoughts?


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Welcome oh nameless person to the forums...

you could have a bad arbor/motor bearings...
run switch isn't kicking in...
or you may need a new motor...


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## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

Welcome. Please take a minute to fill in your profile. We like to know a little bit about the people we are helping - things like name, location, shop equipment, bank account numbers. (OK, I was kidding about one of those...).

Is the blade cutting cleanly? It's possible your fence or arbor is misaligned. I had an old CMan that would bog down when the fence lost it's parallel to the blade. It did that a lot before I deep sized the whole thing...


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## ep3297 (Mar 16, 2016)

Will do! Sorry for the lack of details, I was looking into this and had to set up the account on my lunch break.


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## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

Ryan, welcome to the forum,
sound like you have run all the checks so I would have to agree with Stick you need find how much your motor is drawing. If you do not have the equipment to check you need to pull it and have the motor checked


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Hey, Ryan; welcome!
You know that you can post pics from your _own_ hard-drive. It's only links and stuff from the 'net that you can't post til you've made 10 previous posts...it's an anti-spam thing.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I had a Sears 1 hp direct drive that I used for maybe 25 years. It quit on me once and it turned out to be the starting relay. It got replaced with a better one and is still going. You would probably need a motor repair shop to diagnose that.

As mentioned make sure the saw isn't binding in the cut. 60T blades require more power to run. The fewer the teeth the easier on the motor. Bearings are also a possibility. If they are starting to drag then that makes the saw work harder.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

@ep3297...
Ryan...
the mention of the extension cord upgrade...
if you (or the previous owner) starved the saw electrically, even a little, the motor could have built up excessive heat and was ''cooked''...
look inside of the motor (if you can) and see if something had crawled in there and is now causing issues.....


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## mark greenbaum (Sep 26, 2010)

Dull blade? Gummed up blade? Fence alignment? Extension cord too small of wire gauge? (I used to trip the thermal breaker on a CM RAS due to lame extension cord gauge.) Look at the simple fixes first, then dig into the deep stuff.


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## BOjr (Dec 1, 2012)

Check the brushes and a 60 tooth blade is the wrong blade for ripping. How did you check the alignment of the blade? It doesn't take much out of alignment to bog down a blade.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

I'd check fence alignment. My old Delta 10 inch saw was one hp, and the fence was kind of light weight. Didn't have to be misaligned by much to burn and stall the motor.


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## rwl7532 (Sep 8, 2011)

Is the saw belt driven? Could it be slipping?


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## cocobolo1 (Dec 31, 2015)

I'm with Tom on this one. I used to have one of those direct drive saws. I think in general they were all underpowered.

The fence was about as close to useless as you could possibly get.

Yes, the 60t blade is not for ripping, the 24t is for that job.

If the saw bogs down on some 3/4" stock - you should try that - then the motor has likely done its' useful life. Those smaller saws really did not do well on thicker stock.

You might try removing the fence and clamping a piece of 2 x 4 on as a temporary replacement fence making absolutely sure that it is dead square with the blade. If anything, a tiny bit open at the back of the fence will help alleviate the binding.

A further alternative might be to try a smaller blade.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Is it on 110v, or 220v. ? maybe if on 220v, the one side of the breaker is weak. Sounds to me more like bearings or motor problems of some sort.

Herb


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## cocobolo1 (Dec 31, 2015)

Herb Stoops said:


> Is it on 110v, or 220v. ? maybe if on 220v, the one side of the breaker is weak. Sounds to me more like bearings or motor problems of some sort.
> 
> Herb


I'm not aware of any of those small saws that run on 220 Herb.

I'm more inclined to agree with you that it's a motor problem of some sort.


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## ep3297 (Mar 16, 2016)

Thank you all for your input.

When I checked the blade for alignment, I measured the front end and back end of the blade against the fence. I agree the fence is a bit cheap on this model. If it push on it a little, I can get the back end about 1/16 inch out of alignment. Not sure if that is a significant amount or not. It doesn't seem like much to me. The last board I ran through was a little twisted and caused it to trip more than the rest, so I am pretty sure its not binding on the normal, straight boards.

After everything I've read, and listening to everyone's thoughts, I'm afraid its going to be a motor issue (or one of the switches). Either way, that is beyond my skill to diagnose and correct. I looked over the documents posted by Stick486 and it might as well all be written in Greek. I think my next move will be to print it all out and take it to a buddy of mine who knows a little bit more about the mechanical side of things.

Thank you all again for your help! This has been a great first post with helpful and timely responses. I'm sure you will all be hearing from me in the future.


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## cocobolo1 (Dec 31, 2015)

Ryan, in all honesty I think you will be far better off to look for a better quality used saw.
Something like Craigslist might produce an inexpensive saw.

That 1/16" is enough to open up the back of the fence.

Are you getting black cut marks on your wood? If so, that is likely a dull blade.


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## ep3297 (Mar 16, 2016)

no, its not burning the wood at all. The cuts look perfectly normal except for where I let the blade slow to a stop when the motor kicks out.

you think I would be better off just getting a new saw than having this one looked at? because of the quality of the saw or because of the money required to get this one back up and running? This one came off Craigslist for cheap, so dont worry about hurting any feelings. I'm just looking for honest advice.


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## cocobolo1 (Dec 31, 2015)

ep3297 said:


> no, its not burning the wood at all. The cuts look perfectly normal except for where I let the blade slow to a stop when the motor kicks out.
> 
> you think I would be better off just getting a new saw than having this one looked at? because of the quality of the saw or because of the money required to get this one back up and running? This one came off Craigslist for cheap, so dont worry about hurting any feelings. I'm just looking for honest advice.


Ryan, let me assure you I am not intending to hurt anyone's feelings in any way.

Many years ago I think I may have had two or three of those direct drive saws. They simply never did have the power to cut very well...it's just the nature of the beast. I used them on the job site purely for their portability.

Once you get your hands on a better quality saw, which inevitably will be a belt drive by the way, I'm sure you will be much happier.  

Look for things like a motor which can be wired for 220v, cast iron top, a good quality fence, and quiet operation.

You might have to cough up two or three hundred dollars for it, but you can expect it to last you for decades.


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

In the for what it's worth category, i had a cheap Delta with a direct drive motor back in the early 70s that had a persistent problem related to the backing flange the blade sets against. Those were pressed on the motor shaft, fit poorly and tended to flex with rip cuts. The aw never popped a breaker but the cuts were ratty. I talked with Delta about it at the time and their response was basically "sorry can't be helped". Ended up using the saw as a work bench.


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## firstmuller (Aug 28, 2014)

Have you just run it without cutting any thing and will it stay running or will it trip out. If it trips without cutting it sure is the motor or bearing of belt slipping was was suggest above.
Allen


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## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

I saw a post on another major woodworking forum where several users stated a thin kerf blade is a must for this saw. No reason given, and I certainly don't have one, just offering another suggestion.

just my .02 cents, Canadian, so take it for what it's worth.


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

Welcome Ryan;

There is a shop in our town that work on electric motors. I took a table saw motor motor to them about two years ago and he said it was a capacitor and replaced it for $10. They didn't charge anything for finding out what was wrong with it. I am sure you have a similar store near you.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

"...just my .02 cents, Canadian,"
-Vince

Just for clarity, we don't have pennies up here anymore; anything between $.0 and $.05 is rounded up or down. $.02 would be rounded _down_ to zero...just sayin'


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## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

Thanks Dan, but.....

before I retired (in 1997) from my career with the Mounties I always had a spare cup on my desk. My buddies would walk by and drop pennies into it as my "retirement" fund. I collected about 200 which I kept in one of those Tim Horton's Christmas cans after I left. I told the guys I only needed to collect enough to buy a bus ticket to Mexico so that I could go down there and sell T shirts on the beach.

Anyway, gave that can to my grandson for his collection.


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## thomas1389 (Jan 4, 2012)

DaninVan said:


> "...just my .02 cents, Canadian,"
> -Vince
> 
> Just for clarity, we don't have pennies up here anymore; anything between $.0 and $.05 is rounded up or down. $.02 would be rounded _down_ to zero...just sayin'


>02 Canadian....approximately .015 U.S.
I think now we should be giving a nickels worth.


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## cocobolo1 (Dec 31, 2015)

vchiarelli said:


> I saw a post on another major woodworking forum where several users stated a thin kerf blade is a must for this saw. No reason given, and I certainly don't have one, just offering another suggestion.
> 
> just my .02 cents, Canadian, so take it for what it's worth.


The reason for the thinner blade is because it removes much less wood, thereby reducing the real load on the blade. The difference is very noticeable when you are cutting a difficult wood.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Ryan when my Sears quit a new relay was only $25 and the saw ids still going (but not for me anymore) so it was a reasonable fix. But you'll still have that same underpowered saw with a crappy fence when you're done. A few years ago a buddy offered me his old Rockwell 10" for a $100 when he wanted to upgrade. The Rockwell has a larger motor on 220 volt and is twice the saw the old direct drive was. I put an after market fence on it (Accusquare- very good fence for less money) even though the Rockwell fence was usuable and it will do almost everything my unisaw will do.

I do recommend using a good narrow kerf rip blade with that saw. It will help some and as I said, the fewer the teeth the better. I ran a fairly decent Freud that was about $60 on mine.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Speaking from my own experience, i had a well tuned Delta that i bought new. Direct drive. OK for simple things, but not very precise and way under powered. Best thing I've done in woodworking was to give it away and put down the money for a serious table saw, in my case, a Laguna 10 inch Fusion table saw. It has a very nice fence, is belt driven and the 115 volt motor is 1.75 hp, so it works nicely. 

I bought a Woodpecker gadget for setting the fence with a dial caliper and it is set out about .003. The cuts are amazing. Changed my whole experience of woodworking for the better. So I come down on the side of getting a good table saw. It is the center of any shop and the one investment in which I would get the best you can afford. I know lots of people here like their Grizzly saws, but after very careful research, I settled in on the Laguna Fusion. And the motor is set up so you can run it on either 110 or 220.

Let us know what you choose to do.


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