kmmcrafts

I've never yet bought a saw that didn't need tuned up new or used.. My DeWalt right out of the box was all out of wack.. I've always had to adjust those hex screws ( on the opposite side of the thumb screw ).. My Hawk 226 ultra was brand new still boxed.. and I had been having issues with the blade flexing during running.. but the tension was perfectly tight when saw was stopped.. it vibrated much more than my older Hawk 220 and the blade wobble was much like what your video showed.. and I kept breaking blades.. it turns out.. to be the little hex screw under the top arm that tightens against the tension lever handle.. on the under side.. I would have thought this would have been set by Hawk before they sent it out.. But I guess not.. I really think your saw just needs a good going through and tune everything up.. Like I said.. they aren't set up and ready to run right out of the box.. same thing with my bandsaw and table saw... so why would a scroll saw be any different.. If I was you I'd also check for that hex screw on the under side of the tension lever.. I've been chasing this since May when I bought my saw.. That hex ( set ) screw should be turned in until it hits the tension rod and then just a bit more of a turn.. You can then insert a blade and test the tension on the blade until it feels like the lever is locking down good.. Probably should read the instructions on doing this in my blade breaking thread from a week or so back.. as I am going off my memory.. which isn't all that great, LOL A lot of this stuff I feel like should be in the manuals.. I'm not sure what is in the newer saws manuals.. but these older saw manuals don't have a lot of info in them that they should have.. Same thing about the DeWalt manuals.. never recall seeing any mention of adjusting tuning the saw.. just how to assemble it.. and maintenance.. nothing about tuning the blade etc..

I agree with ROLF in that it looks like the tension isn't staying consistent throughout the blade stroke.. My 226 Ultra was doing this same type of thing and I kept breaking blades.. turned out to be I just needed to turn in the very small hex screw on the underside of the upper arm...just under the head where the cam lever is.. This was also creating a racket and excessive vibration at any speed much higher than half way up the dial.. I just did this adjustment about a week or two ago and so far the issue seems to be gone.. I do not know if the newer saws have this hex screw or not..

Hope you do well... I did a old tractor show several years ago.. was free to set up so I figured why not.. I had a few tractor and car things.. as well as just a little of this and that that the lady's might be interested in.. I did a few hundred at the one day event that I was set up at for only a couple hours.. I should have listened to the guy ( friend of mine ) that sets up the show and set up for the whole three day weekend.. but he finally talked me into it on the last day.. about half over and I run home and got my inventory..and a table..

Scott, really sorry to hear of the misfortune on your Hawk.. The new Ex is named King Industrial and can still be purchased from woodcraft.com they only offer a 16" or the 30" saw though.. but man the price is awesome on the new King models compared to the actual Excalibur saw.. the 30" one is less than a grand.. Since Scott is used to the way the DeWalt cuts.. the EX I would think be the same other than the strokes per minute are maxed on the King / Ex like saws to 1550 as the Dewalts are 1750.. Ex / King saws have adjustable forward back blade movement.. not as simple to do as the Hawk but really once one gets it where they like.. you would never need to adjust again really I've really been considering selling my two Hawks for a new King saw.. Love the Hawks for thin material.. but can't stand to cut on it on the thicker wood.. just not aggressive enough and makes me tend to push too hard..

Actually they are probably farther ahead by sending out a new one.. I've rebuilt mine a couple times now and the parts alone run close to $200 for a complete new bearing / sleeve replacement.. Just remember the fact that DeWalt doesn't sell just the bearings.. so they replace the whole part that has a bad bearing in it.. so that price bumps up to more than double.. they probably figure why replace the rocker arm for $75 and send the saw back to the customer to have him / her wear out the other rocker arm in another month.. for many of us shade tree DeWalt mechanics we can fix that rocker arm up with new bearings with better grease for about $15.. If DeWalt rebuilt the whole saw like I do by replacing all bearings and sleeves it would cost more than that new saw.. because they don't change just the bearings and sleeves with new grease.. they throw whole new assemblies into it.. I've thought about offering up a rebuild service for bearings and sleeves.. but I doubt many people would want to put $300+ or- into an old saw either.. like I said.. parts alone run close to $200.. while not always needing everything new replaced.. I find that the most troublesome parts are actually the front portion of the saw.. everything below the table where all the sawdust lands.. I have to redo those about 2 times to 1 time of everything else..

Throw something padded under the back legs.. see if it runs smoother.. then try the front legs as well..then all four.. Just to rule out that your stand is truly planted onto the floor firmly.. My 226 is terrible fussy about the floor.. and my floor is real smooth and done right by the pros when my shop was built just 5 years ago.. My 220 was also very fussy.. but I bought some different bolt on feet that was bigger diameter and padded on the bottom.. they was for furniture I believe to prevent scratching wood flooring.. anyway.. it's been running real smooth ever since.. Not DeWalt smooth but still would pass the nickle test.. I'm going to buy another set for my 226.. I can level it out and get it running nice and then someone bumps the saw just slightly and it's all out of wack again.. I don't know what they give you with the new saws for the feet.. but my new old 226 came with feet that was hard plastic on the bottom and they way the stand is formed on the bottom.. they don't seem to be perfectly bent in.. and those little hard rounded plastic feet are worthless to try to get planted firm to the floor.. then that plastic will slide so easy.. just a light bumping into the saw will change the angle of the feet.. I used a piece of the foam squares that you stand on for your feet from harbor freight.. and put under the legs of my 226 until I can get a bigger feet set like I have for my 220.. probably a rug or something would work just to test it and see if that helps on your saw as well.. Seems like they'd give you some rubber anti slip feet for these saws.. maybe they do now.. Edited: just reread and you mentioned side to side blade movement too? maybe you still have something wrong with this saw..

Yeah, I was pretty sure they had the roller needle / sleeve bearings.. just like the DeWalts do.. I know my bearings when I see them.. worked in a bearing supply shop for 2 years as a teenager in high school.. LOL back then most wasn't made in china though..

Yeah, I found that screw on my 26" saw and adjusted it.. no more blade breakage so far... but not on my older 220VS saw.. I'll look again but, I don't think I have one on the older saw..

This same basic question was asked just a day or so ago.. still right on the first page.. You can download a manual etc for the EX's online.. there is a link in the other message about 10 - 12 messages below this one..LOL But to really answer the question.. I don't think there is really much maintenance needed on these saws.. I would think if anything it would be something to do with the tension lever.. the bearings etc are just needle type bearings that have grease in them.. I suppose one could take the whole saw apart and add a little grease every couple years or something... required.. not really.. they expect you to run it until you have a bad / noisy bearing and the replace the whole part with new bearings.. same basic design as my DeWalt saw.. as far as the insides and the arms etc..

Maybe? I have a older Hawk with the barrel clamps.. and I do not see that set screw thing like you mentioned in my post the other day.. I see no way to adjust this on my old Hawk.. because I think it needs it too.. but I didn't see no set screw.. is there one in a different spot? I hadn't had a chance to really look it over good.. but there isn't anything there on the same spot as my newer Hawk has..

Yeah I am not much of one to go to crowded places because the bigger the crowd the more idiots there are like this.. LOL .. Over the years I've rarely purchased any lumber because my brother owns a big lumber mill.. and I've been lucky enough to grab what I need from him.. my issue with getting it from my brother is I have to stand there and pick it off the scrap belt before it goes into the chipper.. he has the workers chip anything under 36" long. Plus it's green and I have to wait for it to dry out.. plane it and he cuts in no meaningful order... ie not all one type of wood.. he may only cut cherry or oak a few times a month or maybe that is all he is cutting.. so it's time consuming for me to stand there when I am specifically looking for one type of wood.. I might have to stand there a week to get that cherry that I am low on.. I have asked him to have the workers save a few out for me and he has finally started listening to my request.. I do have quite a lot of lumber on hand but it all needs stickered and dried.. so hoping I won't need to buy lumber like this again.

So I went to the Wood Expo at LL Johnson Lumber in Charlotte Mi. yesterday.. they have this wood expo every year and always run some good deals on tools and lumber.. have several people doing demos etc. Anyway, I've never really purchased much at the expo so I am not certain if it works like this all the time or was the first time.. anyway they have small packs ( bundle packs ) of lumber typically around 30bft. + or - all of them are 3/4" boards and anywhere from 4ft - 7ft. long. People interested in packs was supposed to grab a salesman and the salesman was supposed to take off the tags and write sold too on the tag on the lumber.. there was shoppers doing this without permission.. there was almost some pushing / shoving in my opinion.. it was crazy.. I was looking at a bundle pack and had it picked up to look at the boards on the bottom side of the stack and some guy come up and took the tag off and wrote his name on it while I was holding it up in the air looking at it. LOL I ended up getting three bundles cherry, oak, and poplar. Anyway the sales guy writes out a ticket for you to take up and pay for your lumber then they move the lumber to a warehouse that you drive up to when you're ready to leave to pick up your order. After paying I browsed around for a couple hours.. When it was time to go I drive to the warehouse to get my lumber and low and behold.. one of my stacks was no where to be found.. they think someone stole it.. what the heck.. I know there are thieves in every corner of this earth.. but always thought that in the woodworking communities clubs etc most everyone was good people.. Iggy, it wasn't you that stole my Poplar bundle was it.. Just joking I'm pretty sure Iggy is a much better person than that.. LOL I bought a very small pack.. I can't even remember how many bdft. it was.. I just know it had some nice wide boards on it and the price was $36.. I want to say it was 27bdft. anyway whoever took it got it for free but in return for my inconvenience the salesman gave me a 44bdft bundle one. Now I wish they would have stole the others too. Anyway, I am not sure I will go to this event for the lumber prices again.. just too much craziness going on for my taste.. Sales guy did say the second day it's not quite so crazy.. I may go back today just to see whats going on.. Maybe buy more lumber.. but not it its a madhouse again. Would have bought much more than I did.. but.. I'd had enough of idiots steeling the tags etc off the boards your inspecting.. LOL

Have fun cutting those.. looks like fun to me..

How did you go about measuring that? I ask because I have the older Hawk with the barrel clamps.. I'm pretty sure mine has much more movement than that.. My newer Hawk I have two positions for the lower blade holder to fit into.. one position is for a more aggressive ( faster ) cutting and the other is more for slower higher detailed pieces.. I would think all of the older Hawks should have the same amount of movement.. I would also think that if your saw was worn so much so that would make this movement much more than how it was designed for it would be very noisy running and also seems like you'd have more issues than just the forward back motion of the blade..

I put on the shelf liner on the top board.. then use clear packing tape to tape the stack together.. Then I stick the pattern down..

Don't say that.. I just ran out of it today..

Well so far today I cut out 3 clock orders on the Hawk with no blades breaking.. not quite sure what adjustment I made that actually fixed it since I did a once over on a complete tune up of the saw.. I am thinking the culprit was the little allen screw under the head of the top arm as Scrollsaw703 mentioned.. as the tension lever itself feels like it locks down better.. Now that the orders are cut.. back to putting the Jeep back together..

Well I have paint on the Jeep now so maybe I will be able to get back at my saw soon.. Here are some pictures of my process on the Jeep for anyone that might have an interest.. Jeep had some rust on the bottom of the drivers door where I made the small patch.. and the passenger side door I cut the whole bottom off and made a new one to replace it.. rest was just lots of dents.. replaced front fender, bumper cover, and grill ( parts painted off the Jeep and need to be installed yet. ).. Anyway.. enjoy the pictures of another type of hobby I enjoy doing, LOL This is a list of the pictures in order of what was going on here.. 1. Driver door rust hole 2 Cut rust area out 3 homemade patch in place ( sorry no welded photo) 4 passenger door cut off 5 patch test fitting 6 Painted drivers side 7 Painted Passenger side ( only painted the lower portion of the doors ) 8 Front fender shine..LOL Sorry if this is sort of off topic.. Just thought I share other works I do.. Now.. back to working on the Hawk for a day or so so the paint on this can cure good before re-assembly starts.. BTW.. FYI.. Body shop here wanted $3700 to do this job.. I'll have just over a weeks work into this.. and about $700 in parts & supplies..

Thanks every one for the comments.. That's what I do now that I have my Hawk.. Love being able to have some pre-loaded blades of different sizes ect too.. I use a Sharpe and mark the bottom of my holder what size the blade is for easy reference.. The Ford was cut on my Dw788 before the Hawks showed up..

Pattern isn't really a scroll saw pattern.. I purchased the pattern from a artist that does designs for CNC metal work.. Many scroll sawers think you have to have a "scroll saw pattern" doing a search for DXF files will bring up a whole new view of designs that are typically used for CNC plasma cutters for metal art.. many of them don't need any modifications whatsoever to be used for scroll work. This design was just the truck.. I added the small area below the wheels so I could mount it to a base.. and of coarse the clock portion on the back.. Design is from DarensGraphix on etsy.. DarensGraphix

Well, my saw isn't really all that new.. the newest one is the Ultra which is 1998.. My 220 is more of the vintage of your 216 I think.. as I have the old style round barrel style clamps in that 220..

I prefer flat blades.. but I can cut most anything with either one.. I always called them cheater blades.. always thought there was no skill needed to use them.. apparently I am wrong though.. because I see many post like this.. and not just for spiral blades either.. I know people that can't stand flat blades.. guess I am gifted in that I can use either or.. This entire truck was cut using a 0/1 spiral blade.. I inserted it to do the veining.. but was too lazy to change to a flat blade to cut the rest of it out..

Both my 220 VS and 226 Ultra have the holes.. I don't know for sure but my 220 came with the lamp inserted into the bigger hole.. so that is how I put it on my 226.. I think it's what they are for.. however I could be wrong too..

There is a video on their web site that says something to the effect VS & Ultra series VRS the BM series.. they probably explain it best in the video.. I've always found it odd there is no mention of the G4 saw ( that I recall of ).. The ultra has a lower blade adjustment for aggressiveness.. so does the BM's.. but the BM's have variable adjusting.. where as the Ultra just has two positions to put your blade holder into.. Also the lower table angle and or the lower arm was redesigned and on the BM series the arm protrudes through the table angling mechanism where as on the older Ultras the arm is behind the table angle so I have to reach in behind the angle mechanism to change my blade etc.. They do have different motors as well.. otherwise.. same basic saw.. I also have a old 220VS that I bought last year Oct.. took me forever not to break blades on this saw too.. I'm sure it's just a learning curve for my ultra.. My 220VS is from 1993.. and my ultra is from 1998 according to Hawk.. Really like to sell both of my Hawks .. and get the new BM series saw.. But people aren't really paying much for the older Hawks.. while I only gave $100 for my 220VS and $400 for my 26 Ultra.. I'd probably be pressed to get much more than that from them.

I agree with RJ.. While I have done some real small shows.. I've never really done anything spectacular. I've learned quite a lot from this video and appreciate you taking the time to do this...