Thread: Contractor/cabinet saw

Hi all
As per my previous post below I am now the owner of a second hand carbatec ctj-650.
This saw basically came up on gumtree in the rare perth market so i grabbed it!
The previous owner only attatched one wing and the other still wrapped up. The motor may be a little undersized (1.5hp) but i will find out if this is the case in the coming months i guess. Saved me a 15amp upgrade but seems to cut well with a slower feed rate.
Some points i noticed on buying and my thoughts/questions so far:
Bad
Table top quite rusty, mitre slots full of 'gunk' guessing wd40 and sawdust.
Fence really sloppy. Awkward looking blade guard system.
One wing sagging badly from main table.

Good
Main table dead flat
Very sturdy on legs looks in pretty good condition (no paint chips etc)
Motor sounds good , looks in good condition

Loaded into my suv, bloody heavy! Maybe should have taken off the motor to do so! Got home removed motor and manovered onto stand and rebolted down. Came with manual too which i have to say is actually quite good, excellent english, better than the chinese english warning sticker on the side!
cleaned out cabinet, sanded snd waxed top and fitted other wing. I noticed why the wings sagged so badly he hadnt fitted any of the grub screws to level up tops, did this and now smack on.
As i havent yet got a digital gauge i measured blade to left hand mitre slot, this was out by nearly 4mm! Looking online found how to move the trunnions (nothing in manual). Did this and got pretty close will need to fine tune with digital gauge.
Next i checked the blade at 90 degrees to the table. No matter what i did the blade was always either out at the back or front whenever i moved the angle. After mounting the motor and aligning i spun the blade and there is definite arbor wobble. Removed and checked arbor all clean etc, changed blade and same thing. Looks like i will need to grind it flat Again i will need an accurate gauge to measure and sort out.
Next check, fence. As i said fence was extremely sloppy, sorted this easily with the screw adjustments but i just cant seem to get it to run smooth along track as one of the screw adjustments always seems to be furthe out than the other to get close to parallel. When locked the rear of fence 'moves left' so to get in line with mitre track i had to back off one screw. May need further tweeking on my part but seems horribly easy to put it out of line. Im guessing its because its an 'entry saw' id love to upgrade but too many other things needed at the moment!
next job the splitter, guard. One word, horrible. This thing is so clumsy and inaccurate. I stripped down and followed the book for installation. It said to allign splitter to left hand of blade, adjust two scews to move into position. All well and good except it doesnt move over far enough to do this! Top section of splitter is just flimsy rubbish and not straight, guard is clear plastic really wobbly and awkward. I can see why the last owner ditched it completely.
i will too once i make some zero inserts with my own splitters.
Tried a few test cuts, lots of vibration at first until i realised i hadnt altered the saw from moving trunnion! Realigned this and now not perfect but i guess its what you can expect from contract saw. Even with the brand new stock blade cuts were very nice on some spotted gum. Nice but not 100% square see above.
stock throat plate is awful, just cant get level with the table even with 4 screw adjustments. Probably need to shim up but going to making my own anyway......
All in all I think its going to be ok when fully set up. My next buy is a gauge, dust extractor (sawdust goes EVERYWHERE with this saw) and good general purpose blade and build an outfeed table.
sorry for long winded post and keep you updated!
Dan