How do I fix this? - Wilton Power Hacksaw

[1Bad55Chevy]

A few months ago I picked up a Wilton power hacksaw at an estate sale and it works awesome! The issue i am having is with the fence to set the cut angle.

The bolt pictured has a standard washer/nut on the back side which makes it almost impossible to adjust accurately.

I assume when this thing was new they didn't intend for you to hold a ratchet on top, a wrench on the bottom, a protractor with your foot, and adjust the angle with your nose!

Is there supposed to be some type of T nut in that slot?

I measured the width of the slot to be .45".

Any help on this will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Beerhippie]

A few months ago I picked up a Wilton power hacksaw at an estate sale and it works awesome! The issue i am having is with the fench to set the cut angle.

The bolt pictured has a standard washer/nut on the back side which makes it almost impossible to adjust accurately.

I assume when this thing was new they didn't intend for you to hold a ratchet on top, a wrench on the bottom, a protractor with your foot, and adjust the angle with your nose!

Is there supposed to be some type of T nut in that slot?

I measured the width of the slot to be .45".

Any help on this will be greatly appreciated!

I'll bet you can find a carriage bolt that fits the slot.

 

[NORDFORD]

Do you have any clamps?

 

[finn]

A few months ago I picked up a Wilton power hacksaw at an estate sale and it works awesome! The issue i am having is with the fench to set the cut angle.

The bolt pictured has a standard washer/nut on the back side which makes it almost impossible to adjust accurately.

I assume when this thing was new they didn't intend for you to hold a ratchet on top, a wrench on the bottom, a protractor with your foot, and adjust the angle with your nose!

Is there supposed to be some type of T nut in that slot?

I measured the width of the slot to be .45".

Any help on this will be greatly appreciated!

I think mine has a carriage bolt.

It’s not exactly a precision tool, though.

An angle grinder or better yet, a stationary belt sander is a wonderful accessory.

 

[OccupantRJ]

You can drill and tap a relatively short piece of flatbar to act as a self holding nut once it rotates and stops against the casting. I have done this often in this sort of situation.

 

[Beerhippie]

You can drill and tap a relatively short piece of flatbar to act as a self holding nut once it rotates and stops against the casting. I have done this often in this sort of situation.

Or use a carriage bolt as it likely did originally.

 

[RTM]

measured the width of the slot to be .45

Looks like a 7/16" carriage bolt is your salvation.

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[1Bad55Chevy]

I am probably just going to go the carriage bolt route. I wonder if I will need to drill out the fence because thats a 3/8" bolt thats currently in it.

 

[The Cobbler]

you might find that a 3/8 carriage bolt works fine . a little bit of slop room there might not be a bad thing. I would try it before i went ahead & drilled it out

 

[Beerhippie]

The square section of a 3/8" carriage bolt measures out to ~ 0.41". I'll bet that fits.

It's a carriage bolt. Buy a few and find the one that fits.

 

[RTM]

little bit of slop room there might not be a bad thing.

I bought some tool a while back where the slotted portion was very poorly cast and the bolt they supplied would not make the full Arc. So I went through and filed, but the smaller bolt is a nice touch. Looks like you want to get a ratcheting one sided hand knob for that too, eliminate the need for the wrench near the fence.

 

[mbatarga]

I modified/upgraded the fence on my metal bandsaw using a t-nut from some metal clamping hardware I had. I cut and filed the t-nut a little narrower to fit into the slot underside. Also like what RTM above mentioned, I had to clean up the slotted arc as the width was not consistent along the arc. I also had to shorten and round off one end to allow the bandsaw fence to adjust all the way to 90 degrees. The fence is tightened in place with a regular bolt rather than a socket head such as yours.