Thread: Jacob 12' Table Saw - any info?

'Jacob' was just a local brand name put on a generic made in Taiwan saw. There's quite a few members on here with these saws. See this thread - Baker machinery 305mm and this one - Hafco SB12 - handle turning but blade not elevating
The SB-12 is a later model, but the basics of the saw are pretty much the same.

Thanks aldav!

It seems like you have a similar saw. Do you have any experience getting parts for it?

Nope! What parts are you looking for? These saws are pretty simple beasts.

The arbour and/or the bearings. It doesn't spin very freely and the whole machine wobbles a fair bit. I'm hoping that replacing the bearings and aligning the pulley/belt will help solve that!

actually, take the approach of taking it all apart and seeing ! Wobbly usually to me implies the mass of the blade isn't properly centred. Check it seems to be tracking well (no great runout) and if you have a blade with a different size arbour and using a washer/spacer, then make sure that it is seated properly within the flange washers. Another option would be to try it without the blade and see if that changes the balance.

My personal bet with an older saw is that I'd replace the belt, it's often sat with pressure on it and develops an oval that makes it wobble badly.

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actually, take the approach of taking it all apart and seeing ! Wobbly usually to me implies the mass of the blade isn't properly centred. Check it seems to be tracking well (no great runout) and if you have a blade with a different size arbour and using a washer/spacer, then make sure that it is seated properly within the flange washers. Another option would be to try it without the blade and see if that changes the balance.

My personal bet with an older saw is that I'd replace the belt, it's often sat with pressure on it and develops an oval that makes it wobble badly.

I've replaced the bearings in the saw arbor, they're a standard item you can get from any decent bearing supply place. I could feel that the bearings had tightened up over the, more than 20 years, that the saw has been used. I guess nothing lasts forever. Provided you aren't ham fisted you won't have any trouble replacing them yourself. All of these saws 'wobble' a fair bit, I've gotten used to it, although I find it does vary with individual blades. I mainly use 10" blades except when a cut depth of over 70mm is required. These saws are pretty scary when using a 12" blade at full cutting height (might just be me ). It's pretty handy when you need it though.

I only use a normal vee belt but some people swear by segmented belts as a 'calming influence' on the shakes and wobbles, vibrations might be a more kindly description. You will see in the other threads the limitations and fixes for these saws. As a cheap starter IMO they're a good thing, heaps better than a Triton.

Thanks for your responses! I'll have a go at pulling it apart and changing blades/belts etc.. Although I do think the bearings will need to be replaced! Hopefully ill be able to do that myself as you've said

i recently pulled mine apart.
its similar but a Rexxon brand i think.

put new bearings in, cleaned it all up and painted all the mechanicals.
Came up really well.
I put a brand new 12 inch blade in
aldav is on to it, it is a bit daunting the big blade.

but fairly easy to do , i made one mistake which i figured out this morning.
I didnt put the mitre pointer back on and the lifting shaft was able to slip back and forward.

daniel

Little update - I pulled it apart and replaced the bearings. Turns out the pulley wheel was loose on the arbour and had damaged it a fair bit. I got the arbour reground and put on a new pulley wheel. It has reduced the vibration/wobble a bit but its not gone. Next step will be to replace the belt. Possibly with a segmented belt if I can bring myself to spend the money!

Has anyone had issues with the blade alignment? My blade doesn't really sit parallel with the mitre slots. Having just put it all back together I'd like to avoid taking the whole thing apart again to fix that issue!

Originally Posted by Pafage1

Has anyone had issues with the blade alignment? My blade doesn't really sit parallel with the mitre slots.

Ha ha, yes! When you put it back together you would have noticed that the tilt trunnions (that bolt to the table with large cap head screws) have an elongated hole in them. This is to allow the saw mechanism to be adjusted to the table and hence the mitre slots. It's a complete PITA to get the adjustment right.

However, there are a couple of strategies that can help. Firstly set the front trunnion in the centre of the trunnion cap slots and firm the cap head bolts, not too tight. The front cap head bolt behind the tilt cast extension is a nightmare to get to and you can't see anything so that's why you do these first. You can then move to adjusting the rear trunnion cap. If you mount a large diameter quality blade, raise it to maximum height, and run a straight edge (a piece of aluminium extrusion is ideal) alongside the blade across the table. The straight edge allows you to measure the distance from a mitre slot to the blade alignment at the extreme front and back of the table.

Now loosen the rear cap head bolts just enough so that you can still move the trunnion casting with a suitable clamp. Run the clamp from the appropriate side of the trunnion cap to a suitable fixed point (a bolt in the table or the side of the cabinet for instance). Tighten the clamp to adjust until you're happy with the alignment, firm up the cap head bolts, check the alignment again. Repeat as necessary until you're happy. If you haven't got enough length in the trunnion cap slots move the front one to give you more adjustment at the rear. Don't forget to tighten the front cap head bolts when you're finished.

Good luck.

Amazing! Thanks for the advice aldav, much appreciated. A little easter weekend project I think!