Thread: Noise in Worm Gear of Table Saw

I would wash the screw with some spirit or petrol etc then spray it with one of those dry lubricants. its about $20 a can but should last for a long time.

Mal, the belt we were talking about in the other thread, when mine is about to go i get the same noise. Do you think it might be that?

No I don't think it will be the belt as I only replaced it about 2 months ago.
I might pull it apart again. Maybe it is not aligned properly?
Mal

I don't have a Jet TS, so I'm not sure exactly how their trunnion is set up but I'd check the faces of the gear teeth that correspond to that section of arc for pitting, chips, etc.

If 'twas any other worm-screw setup (eg. a steering box) that'd be my immediate thought...

Skew,
Yes I will have a look at worn worm gear.
I only bought it in 2005 and I can't say it has had a lot of work so initally I didn't see this as a problem.
There is a section in the Jet Manual that deals with this so I will have a look in the next few days.
I had a look at the pulleys today and they seem OK so I don't what else it could be.
I will try some more trial and error unless someone has a fix.
Mal

The worm gear itself is probably OK. If a section of that was damaged, it'd tend to grind in the same spot every handle rotation.

From your description it's the other gear - or an arced rack? Whatever it is that the worm-gear drives, anyway - that may be damaged. (Or possibly simply not lubed enough.)

Could be the same problem as my TS had with what was commonly described in medical terms by others here as "crud build-up on the worm gear".

After having to dismantle just about everything to get to the little bugger, it was found caked in crud and seized. It was soaked in Kero' for a few days and brute forcefully persuaded to come loose with thankfully no damage to the mechanism. A few people here suggested INOX was the go so I went with it: http://www.inox-mx3.com/inox.htm

The issue with these screws is we dont clean them after each use so you my get dust on them, that gets damp and gets into the nut threads. To get correct as springwater says you have to pull it apart and soak out everything , brush out the threads dry it off then I have a dry lub which I think is tethlon that I spray on it, rebuild and its like velvet. I wouldnt use it much if its jamming as it will wear and could ruin the accuracy. You can get dry lub by mail, Just google it.

Im thinking the noise described has nothing to do with dust etc. Something is catching or is grating againsed each other.

Originally Posted by Lignum

Im thinking the noise described has nothing to do with dust etc. Something is catching or is grating againsed each other.

yeah it's all assumption at the mo but I teel you what, a build up of crud on the worm gear can get things out of wack.

Originally Posted by springwater

yeah it's all assumption at the mo but I teel you what, a build up of crud on the worm gear can get things out of wack.

Not really as i have the same saw as Mal and know the sound he is talking about

Fair enough, I wouldn't wish a cruddy worm gear on anyone

Well I have been working through all the suggestions in this thread. Thanks for all the input.
At this stage I have fixed the problem and my best guess is that I had too much pressure on the timing belt. This may also explain a broken belt about once a year and the fact that the same problem did not occur on the tilt mechanism which has similar worm gear but no belt.
Basically I loosened the two bolts that hold the pulleys and just retightened them as they hung without any additional pressure on the belt and the noise is gone.
Of course this had to be my last attempted fix.
This is what I did prior to my timing belt fix and they may have contributed in some way.
I inspected the worm and trunion and the teeth appear to be in perfect condition although there was a lot of saw dust that I removed.
I sprayed the gear with Inox and the noise did disappear but it seemed it was still lurking if you know what I mean.
I cleaned it again (I did not remove the parts as I am not sure I would put it all back together correctly) and sprayed on White Lithium Grease but the noise persisted.
Finally the timing belt as mentioned above.
So for the moment the problem has disappeared. If it recurrs, I will repost.
Thanks for all the input.
Mal

One point I failed to mention was the pivot points of the plate that holds the motor. The noise could have been coming from there so I gave them a good dose of White Lithium Grease also.
Mal