Flexible shaft for table saw hand crank

[Peter in CT]

I have an older Craftsman contractor table saw and I would like to re-position the angle adjustment hand wheel from the right side and turn it 90 degrees to face the front of the saw.

I was thinking that I could a flex shaft to do this.

I this a good idea?

Has anyone done this?

I realize that I will have more play and the angle adjustment might be more difficult, but I use a digital angle angle gauge anyway, so I am thinking that it would not be a problem.

[gMike]

I've got a similar Craftsman contractor saw with the adjustment on the side. I think your idea is good but don't know if a flex shaft will be strong enough to rotate the trunion.

Recently my saw wouldn't go all the way to 45 degrees. I cleaned up the screw but still had the same problem. The side of the saw was deforming (oilcanning) as I got close to 45. The handwheel is mounted to the side sheet metal of the saw. I reinforced the side with 3/4" ply and that solved the problem.

My concern about the flex shaft is that the torque necessary to rotate the trunion might be too much for the attachment point of the shaft. I do like the idea of moving the crank to the front of the saw, it would be much more convenient!

[DrunkMonkey]

I knew I'd seen where someone had done this. Look for the "Decked Out Ridgid Model R4511 Table Saw #9" blog over at LJ.

[Peter in CT]

Thanks for the input.

I had the same concern and was going to do the plywood mode as well.

I will check out the thread at LJ

[JGrout]

If I were trying this I think I would rob the elevation parts off an old RAS and fabricate brackets to hold the parts in place.... the gear drive would be far superior to a cable....

JMO

[toolie]

DrunkMonkey said:

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I knew I'd seen where someone had done this. Look for the "Decked Out Ridgid Model R4511 Table Saw #9" blog over at LJ.

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i followed those instructions on a c-man 113 and it worked like a charm. i added a lever across the tilt handwheel for more leverage and it made dialing in almost any angle i wanted really easy. if i could post pics here, i'd share what it looked like. really nice not having to reach under the saw to adjust the blade

on this forum, a member ( the member who developed the box joint jig that is now sold commercially) attached a wixey digital angle cube to the tilt handwheel axle which allowed for very fine angle adjustments. a little effort to combine those two modifications would make for one great set of modifications.

[DrunkMonkey]

toolie said:

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i followed those instructions on a c-man 113 and it worked like a charm. i added a lever across the tilt handwheel for more leverage and it made dialing in almost any angle i wanted really easy. if i could post pics here, i'd share what it looked like. really nice not having to reach under the saw to adjust the blade

on this forum, a member ( the member who developed the box joint jig that is now sold commercially) attached a wixey digital angle cube to the tilt handwheel axle which allowed for very fine angle adjustments. a little effort to combine those two modifications would make for one great set of modifications.

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Good to hear that the mod from LJ worked on a C-man 113. I'm planning on building a workstation for mine and had thought about incorporating it. I actually had forgotten about until I saw this post. Had to favorite it and may see if I can add it. I have an old C-man 90 degree drill head I could probably use.

[Boatman53]

I would use two 45° bevel gears and straight shaft. Shouldn't be too hard, and a good idea.
Jim

[SceneryMaker]

I wonder if anybody has tried a small electric linear actuator?

[EricU]

what would the linear actuator be good for?


I have a couple of right angle gearboxes in my junk pile. I'll have to check to see how close to 1:1 they are. Seems like the way to go. Those right angle drill attachments are a little on the wimpy side.