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Post by oregon on Aug 3, 2015 14:01:00 GMT -5
Hi,
Pretty new to the cutting experience, so excuse the ignorance. I have a lortone ls-12 that I picked up (for extremely cheap) and looks like I have to replace the arbor on. Hoping it'll be a better experience than the 14 drop saw.
Anyway, I was surprised that the flats on top of the carriage and the bearings were underneath. I haven't used this saw before, and it does have a replacement motor. If memory serves, induction motors can be made to start in either direction. I got to wondering if the blade was supposed to cut up from the bottom, thus allowing the bearings of the carriage to ride on the rods rather than wearing flats in them from the blade cutting in a downward motion. The blade would also be closer to the oil pan which could mean more oil still adhered, but also less time to cool.... I realize blades have a direction, but just wondering what the direction of rotation is supposed to be for this saw.
Thanks, for the help, Rick
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Post by jakesrocks on Aug 3, 2015 14:20:51 GMT -5
On slab & trim saws, the blade should always cut down. This helps to prevent the rock you're cutting from trying to ride up the blade & bind it.
Unless your blade already has a direction arrow printed or stamped on it, mark the direction with a magic marker before you take it off. Not all blades are directional, but just play it safe before taking the saw apart.
You might want to look for a replacement motor if you think your old one might reverse itself. Any AC&R shop should have a pile of good used motors that have been removed from old AC units.
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Post by captbob on Aug 3, 2015 14:25:05 GMT -5
What Don said, except he left one thing out... Welcome to the forum! And just so you know, once you get that saw up and running we love to see pictures of what you are cutting.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Aug 3, 2015 17:20:09 GMT -5
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Post by oregon on Aug 3, 2015 17:58:42 GMT -5
OK, like the table saw then, All makes sense, but what's the point of having the bearings underneath the rails,while the metal bars will eventually get flats worn onto them? Just curious about the design. Think the arbor has a bit of wear and the front bearing doesn't feel too great, looks like I'll have to double my investment ... Blade looked to have a slight wobble, but think some of that was the arbor. We'll see after I get it up and running. I guess it's an older model, the hood is free instead of hinged, Green instead of the current blue. Anyway, if it's not too hot (105 a couple days back ) hope to do a Prineville excursion later in the week. Thanks for the help. Rick
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Post by oregon on Aug 10, 2015 23:41:34 GMT -5
Looks like I need to wait on a new arbor to take a slice into some of last week's finds. First time out around Prineville - need to find some spots off the beaten path, but we did ok for just using the guide books... Ochoco jasper Maury Mountain, Cattle stuck in the guard made for a long detour on some dubious roads, had to really work for any sizeable chunks at the main site... Moss Agate:
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Post by catmandewe on Aug 11, 2015 9:18:21 GMT -5
You can probably reuse your arbor shaft, just throw some new bearings on it and get to cutting! Hardest part is getting the alignment.
Welcome!
Tony
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Post by oregon on Aug 11, 2015 11:03:38 GMT -5
You can probably reuse your arbor shaft, just throw some new bearings on it and get to cutting! Hardest part is getting the alignment. Welcome! Tony That's what I was hoping, but I picked up the new bearings after this trip, and the shaft is worn allowing play where the front bearing rides. Front bearing was pretty bad, and it was locked on the shaft where it was worn, so was actually wobbling in the pillow support... Might as well do it right since I still don't have heaps invested in the saw yet.
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Post by bobby1 on Aug 12, 2015 12:29:19 GMT -5
It is easier to do it right the first time and save having to pull it apart again. You won't have to replace these parts again for many years. Yes, the tops of the rails wear down from the constant contact from the carriage wings but you just re-tighten the bearings until the carriage doesn't flop up and down. The adjustment is done by the screws on each bearing support. If you grab the carriage and try to pull it up and down and you get movement then adjusting the bearings is needed. If there is a lot of movement then you need to loosen the bearing arbor and move the bearing closer to the rail. If the movement is about 1/8" or so then you adjust the screw so that you are flexing the bearing support and moving the bearing closer to the shaft. All of this can be done by propping the saw up from the bottom tray. I notice that on the new diamond Pacific saws that use a similar carriage and bearing assembly they have made it so the bearing adjustment can be done from the top of the carriage. Their saw is built much sturdier, too. Bob
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,709
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Post by Fossilman on Aug 13, 2015 14:32:00 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum Rick....................I'm in the Williamette valley,here in Oregon... Oregon is rock heaven....
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Post by oregon on Aug 16, 2015 23:23:21 GMT -5
Thanks for all the help - Putting things together this evening, and I'm a little baffled by the carriage bearing arrangement. I think I have all the nut/bolts & parts in the right place. Dark for a picture, but The saw is on its side. This is the underside of the carriage. There are three support points, each has a bolt with a bearing & three nuts bolted though a slot on the carriage and to a steel L bracket (I'll call this the 'bearing bolt') . This bracket has a threaded hole on the other face and the screw with a jam nut (I'll call this the 'adjustment screw') that tightens against the bottom of the carriage base. I hadn't looked to closely while taking things apart, but assumed those adjustment screws would cinch the bearing closer to the round bars to tighten things up. But those adjustment screws can only aid in pushing the bearings away from the round bar. So do I just tighten down the nuts on the bearingbolts to cinch things down and then tighten the adjustment screws to help support things?
I'm tempted to drill a hole in the carriage and have the adjustment bolts just snug up the bearings from the top. Bob's description above sounds about like what is needed here. I just don't understand why the Lortone engineers put in adjustment bolts, and they would actually work by bending the support tabs or such? Seems like it wouldn't have been hard to make this work in a much more robust fashion... Other than the carriage, I've cleaned up every thing else fairly well, have my dial indicator out to check the blade alignment after I cinch down the carriage. The blade is showing it's age, but seems fairly straight. Still less then $100 into the saw, so...
Oh - one other question - the bolts to hold both the pillow blocks on the arbor, and the bushings on the auto feed rod are way undersized compared to the holes in both of those spots - I imagine this is to allow for more 'adjustment'? Saw doesn't seem to have been modified/tinkered with too much so I think these are original bolts, thinking of upgraded them to slightly larger bolts.
Thanks for all the help. Looking forward to using this thing.
Rick
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