DSavant Posted February 24, 2020 Report Share Posted February 24, 2020 I own the Bosch 4100 table saw attached to the portable stand and mount. I've worked with the saw for maybe 3 years without incident, but within the last week the blade adjustment has seized on me several times. I've been thorough in my cleaning of the undercarriage using compressed air and silicone based lubricants. No random wood chip has lodged itself in the gears. I have seen that others online have had this problem with the 4100, but have yet to read or find a fix. By turning the tool upside down and having it rest face down, (table top on the ground) with the assistance of gravity I was able to get the motor to move on its spindles, but in the upright position it consistently gets stuck or seizes. Bosch is sending me replacement gears for the blade adjustment crank. The service person acknowledged that other owners have had this issue and this seems to be Bosch's standard "fix", but I am skeptical. The gears are made of plastic unfortunately, and it seems reasonable that they would wear, but my gears seem to move freely in accordance with the crank, but they just aren't able to push the saw and motor north and south on the spindles. Anyone with any experience solving this problem it would be great to hear from you. Thanks in advance. Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingless Posted February 24, 2020 Report Share Posted February 24, 2020 Welcome to the forum. Has the tool been lubricated as-defined in the owner's manual? https://www.boschtools.com/us/en/ocsmedia/2610048783_1117_4100.pdf If the shafts / gears / wheel is turning, but no up / down, then I would clean / lube the two #56 shafts, the #58 and #60 drive as a starting point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSavant Posted February 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2020 Thank you for the exploded diagram! I have used a silicone lubricant. I will reference the PDF you so generously provided. Thanks Wingless! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowdaddy406 Posted October 26, 2020 Report Share Posted October 26, 2020 Mine got stuck. I had to wd40 the guide pins. Works good for now. Might need to grease later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwayne Biggar Posted December 10, 2020 Report Share Posted December 10, 2020 After a long time mine stuck solid in the down position. It’s been sticking the last month or so, after reading about the spindle being at the front I tried lifting the back end on some arm that seems to serve no purpose. Anyway the mechanism snapped and noticeably moved into alignment, if I lift on the back, it raises and lowers like a new saw. Mine is 8-12 years old, I’d be pissed if it were new. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nailer Posted December 12, 2020 Report Share Posted December 12, 2020 Thank's @wingless, For your help. It's working now... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingless Posted December 12, 2020 Report Share Posted December 12, 2020 4 hours ago, nailer said: Thank's @wingless, For your help. It's working now... Great mews. Thanks for the update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptremblay15 Posted December 27, 2020 Report Share Posted December 27, 2020 Sorry to revive an old topic, but I'm hoping that someone can help me with the same problem: My 4100 blade adjustment just suddenly stopped responding. The gears are turning, and if I reference the diagram that wingless posted, the rod #58 turns - although only if I use a socket wrench to turn the end of it by grabbing the #64 lug nuts. The blade adjustment goes up and down (what I presume is #201) but the blade does not raise or lower, it's just stuck in the highest position. Also the wheel doesn't make the gears turn, I imagine that's a whole other issue. I keep staring at that diagram trying to figure out what part could be responsible for the blade lowering if the rod mechanism is working. The saw is not even a year old, and unfortunately Bosh's service is horrendous, they're asking me to ship the saw to a small repair shop across town by FedEx. I have half a mind to sell the saw as-is, try to recoup my losses and go with something better built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingless Posted December 27, 2020 Report Share Posted December 27, 2020 Welcome to the forum. The #31 slides up and down in the #55 when the #58 shaft is rotated, using the control not shown in the image having a gear that mates to the #61 gear. If the parts don't move then cleaning and lubrication is a good first step. Parts that slide and parts that rotate must slide/rotate instead of binding. The #31 slides up and down on the #56 shafts. The #58 shaft screws into the #60 receptacle. Also, the actuation shaft and shaft bushings not shown in the image must be free to rotate. It may be that the #30 set screw has loosened, permitting the #60 receptacle to move w/o also moving the #31 frame. If that is the case, first turn the adjustment so the #60 is fully bottomed into the #31, then tighten #30. (Note: don't use Hurculean force to overtighten set screw and partially crush the receptacle.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moses Posted December 30, 2020 Report Share Posted December 30, 2020 I have had a similar problem. The first time it happened I was in the middle of a project so I flipped it upside down and did a quick cleaning of the plastic/nylon gears and the threaded rod that raises and lowers the blade. After it happened to me a second time I did a little more complete job. The first thing that I noticed was that the crank handle will fail before any real damage is done. The handle just spun on the shaft. Not sure if this is part of the design or just lucky. The gears and the threaded rod (58) were caked with saw dust and after I cleaned them both up along with the guide rods (56) I lubricated everything with a spray silicon lubricant. I will keep an eye on it to make sure that the silicon is sufficient to keep the gears in good shape. My hope is that the silicon lubricant works and it should keep saw dust from building up in the gears and the threaded rod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrence wieland Posted January 7, 2021 Report Share Posted January 7, 2021 I talked to my technical support and they reported this is a common problem with the Bosch portable table saw. I agree with the post above but you can take out the #56 guide rods they have C clips on both ends that have to be first removed. On the gear side the gear attached to #58 has to be removed first by knocking out the pin that holds the gear in place. The blade has to be at a 45 degree angle to move the shaft out to get the gear off. once the gear is off you can remove that #56 shaft on that side. I always left one #56 guide rods in place so that the motor doesn't drop out. I don't think it matters what side you do first. I cleaned any grit of the shaft and clean out the shaft guide holds with a brush and isopropyl alcohol. They also told me you may have to change out the gears and shaft if they are damaged or corroded. I think spraying the guide rods (56) with a silicon spray is a good idea and always blow the dust of when completing the days work so it doesn't set up. Kind of a pain in the you know what but that probably what it takes for me to maintain and keep the saw working smoothly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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