Thought my $90 used table saw was a paperweight until I found the manual online for $4
I picked up a rusty 10 inch table saw at a garage sale in Reno for $90, figuring I could at least use the motor for something else. Then I found a PDF of the original 1998 manual on a woodworking forum for $4 and saw the blade alignment specs needed a feeler gauge, not my eyeball guess of 'looks straight.' Does anyone else here keep buying dead tools just because the repair manual is cheaper than a new one?
Get a set of feeler gauges from Harbor Freight for like 5 bucks, they're the same thing the manual calls for and you'll use them on every tool you fix. Ngl checking blade alignment with your eyeball is how you end up with burned cuts and kickback, so that PDF basically saved your fingers. Tbh old tools are almost always worth saving if you can find the specs, the motors alone on those 90s saws last longer than the new stuff.