Checking the Alignment of the Saw Blades

This article will discuss what steps you should take if you suspect that one or more of your 5 blades are out of alignment. Maybe you have “Crashed” a blade or blades or maybe one of the blades has become misaligned overtime. This article will cover what do if this occurs. First let’s talk about a what a “crashed” blade is. Is crashed blade occurs when the Retro C’s carriage tries to move in, toward the stationary side while there is still lumber in the saw. When this happens one or more of the saw blades themselves can become damaged, break or bend. But more often than that, the entire head will move slightly on the motor mount that connects it to the frame.

Typically this is noticed by operators that say the saw is cutting boards to the wrong length. For example if a crash happens on blade 2 & 3. One of the heads will be forced out and will end up cutting the lumber long. Blade 1 and 4 will then cut off “more” (even though it isn’t more than it should be) of the lumber instead of just dusting the ends. This can effect the pivot points and be the cause for improper lumber cutting.

• The first step is to check the alignment of the material feed arms as well as the alignment of the carriage itself. For more information on how to do that please follow these instructions.

• Once you have verified that the saw is properly aligned, the next step is to manually set all the blades to 90° and then verify that all the blades are at 90° (using a T-square) and run a board past all the blades. If one of the blades misses the lumber while all the others just “dust” the end of the lumber you pretty much know that one of your heads was jammed back and needs to be adjusted back to the correct spot on the mount. For more information on what to do next please contact Enventek tech support 269 815 4150 for more specific instructions.