kmmcrafts

Sorry to hear about the loss of your wife, I know you say she has been gone for 6 years but I'm not sure it gets any easier.. Happy anniversary to you and happy heavenly anniversary to her. We've been married 30 years this Sept. 11th. I'd do it all over again and if I could change anything it'd be finding and marrying her sooner,

Jerry, I buy factory direct and order them to my specification. ie Most all the other clock suppliers sell what's called a "economy" clock and they have a reverse engineered china made motor and the clock case is made of plastic with plastic spring clips that hold them into the hole. As a clock maker myself I kept having customer complaints about the china made motors not keeping time, not running, etc. and also many many complaints of the spring clips getting brittle over time and breaking when they try to change the battery or the time. SO frustrated as a seller to be selling my beautiful creations with a inferior clock set in so I went on a mission to find the seller that sold the best clocks money could buy.. I purchased 2-3 clocks from every online and searched and looked local to find a good quality clock.. It turns out that most all the suppliers was selling the same junk. In my 2 year long research I somehow stumbled upon the actual company that makes the clocks and reached out to them.. Turns out, I could custom order the clocks however I wanted them.. SO now I order factory direct custom made with all metal casings with friction gasket fit instead of the spring clips and the Seiko PC-21 clock motor with a real mineral glass lens instead of all plastic case and lens with cheap china made motors. The caveat is I have to order in large quantity.. I'm okay with that so long as I'm getting a quality product to use in my own crafts and then I sell them too at a big discount from what you'd get IF you ordered the same "quality" clock.. I'm selling high end clock inserts for the same price as most other sellers are selling the cheap plastic ones.. There are a few places that still sell the all metal clocks like I sell but you're paying $22 - 29 each for them too.. See clockparts.com prices... I'm not really making a profit on the clocks but rather just trying to move them out of my inventory hopefully before the batteries go bad. I try to sell enough to get a new supply every 1 - 1.5 years so I'm not setting on a bunch of clocks with dead batteries and having to supply new batteries.. See next paragraph, LOL Unfortunately my wife last year tried to help "organize" my inventory and she found my clocks in two separate places.. I did that on purpose because one location was a old batch and the other location was a new batch.. not knowing she put them all together.. so now I don't know which ones are the older batch or the new ones.. some of the older batch had bad batteries.. so now I have about 600 clocks and about 100 - 150 is old with bad batteries.. I don't warranty the batteries anyway but I also want my customers to get a good new battery with the clock like is advertised.. so now I'm sending out a new battery with the clocks and the customer might get one of the old clocks with bad battery or they might get a newer clock with a good battery.. if they get a newer clock then they get a bonus extra battery.

You'll need at least two because when someone sees one they'll want theirs Roman numeral too, .. I won't have any in the 1-7/16 size, the ones I ordered are 2" clocks. Funny most scroll patterns use the 1-7/16 but the 2" seem to be the most popular sellers for me.

For those that use clock inserts, what is your preference Arabic or Roman numbers? I realize it could depend upon the project at hand but just trying to figure out if the order I just placed is going to actually sell. I wanted a few of the Roman clocks so in order to get them I had to order a large quantity and now hoping I'm not going to be setting on 1000 clock inserts for years, LOL I know I'll sell some because I'm always getting asked if I have any Roman or if I'll be getting any in the future. I don't personally like them but maybe they're more popular with others, I've always had the oddball opinion in most things so I have to ask for yours. Anyway, Arabic or Roman?

I used to burn edges sometimes while cutting Cherry mainly, and used to be terrible at it with Cherry until I learned to let the blade do the cutting... however since I switched from FD blades to Pegas MGT blades I have not ever had the issue.. I do tend to "like" to cut faster than slower.. not because I'm in a hurry to get products made, I'm just not one to like to watch paint dry so to speak, LOL. Everyone has their desired comfort methods and mine is cutting with the saw running pretty fast.. around 1500 ish strokes per min. so with the Excalibur it runs full speed on the dial.

I've read about the paraffin wax so I got some a few years ago and I have to say "for me" I didn't see / notice any difference in cutting or blade life.. Maybe it works better for certain types / styles/ saw set-ups than others? I don't know but it wasn't worth the effort or money to buy the wax in my experience.

Only thing new I can add that hasn't already been said is jigsaw puzzles.. the kind where you laminate a photo to the 1/8 - 1/4 BBply and cut into a puzzle. I tried regular ply for that once and it was a disaster.. but the BBply has good strength and no voids. I don't make many puzzles anymore but noticed that one hadn't been mentioned yet. I use it for most the other things that others have mentioned already.

I've said many times that I do wax my saw tables depending on how much use at least once a month and a couple times a year I also wax the whole saw stand and all.. The fine sawdust falls completely to the floor instead of sticking the the machine and stands.. much easier to take the vac and clean up the shop a lot better plus it wards off any corrosion that might try to set in.. Keeps the equipment looking good and well cared for even though I run the heck outta my saws.. they all look new still..

Man, I hope what I had read in the past was just a misunderstanding from whoever posted it. If it's anything like my old Dewalt you'll love it and should be trouble free for a lot of years. I production cut with mine for 4 years before it needed anything. Production cutting is probably an understatement too.. I ran the heck out of that saw.

I also hope that Joe gets a good experience as I did with the DeWalt I had and that some of the topics I have seen was just that couple lemons that slips past QC. Not only for Joe but any other person that buys a DeWalt saw since they have been proven by many to be a great saw hopefully that trend continues. I would be curious if the new DW says made in china or not, It's just something I read from somewhere.. I honestly don't care where it's made so long as they continue with a quality standard that they are known for.

Well, from what I've "read" the DW saws had moved production to another facility in China instead of the place in Taiwan where they moved to originally when they switched to the types 2 saws. It may be just another issue of getting the moved ( if this is true ) machines or people / and machines dialed in to make a good product again. The type 2 saw got a bad rap because of issues when the first move happen but they eventually made a great saw once all the bugs got worked out. You still see people say stay away from the type 2 saw.. that switch over happen in the early 2000's I believe. Seems like that is when quality control should be the best for checking machines etc.. making sure the parts are made correctly etc.. But then again, new facility, new people etc.. do they know what it's supposed to be in the first place? LOL

That is too bad to hear that the quality of the DeWalt has went down hill, You are not the first I've heard this from unfortunately.

I've talked to a few others with same model saw and they are all that way even the current ones.. some of the others also expressed to Hawk about the issue and got the same basic answer. They offered to let me return it, I chose to keep it as it's not an issue with larger blades like I use the majority of the time, and with the less aggressive cutting you don't need as small a blade like you would with a Excalibur.. That is unless you need a specific fine detail in the pattern itself.. I know one person that also chose to keep it and one that actually took the return option. It's a great saw, just the so called soft start was what I was used to with the older saws, I've grown used to the saw the way it is.. The 3-4 people I know all said that the ad on the site is misleading about having a soft start, I agree with them.. Even suggested they remove it from the site.. maybe they have now but they didn't change it for a long time. They have upgraded their outdated site to show what parts are in inventory and what isn't etc.. They have nice saws but man the website, manuals, and customer service is not the best, though they have improved on customer service too some but I haven't dealt with them much since I don't really need any parts etc.. EDIT: No my Hawk wasn't a first of them, that was the Excalibur being one of the first made from china saws..

You must have had the very old 12 -20 inch saw that didn't have the front tension lever? Shouldn't have to adjust it but one time on the little newer saws.. One in the picture has up front tension. Like I say many times, they all look close to the same but really big improvements on newer ones.

I think the best one is probably the G4, that said I don't have personal experience with one.. but I've talked to others that say they have the "soft start".. I really like the Ultra too. Those two are probably the best made saws Hawk made.. BM series are nice saws, I just don't like that instant on. I called Bushton to ask about the soft start and I think they confused it with delayed start. ( ie the soft start feature of the older saws is just that, you hit the pedal and it "ramps up to speed slowly" ) I asked them about it because they're advertised as having soft start. Their words to me was yes it's soft start, so I said well something wrong with mine then because when I hit the switch its on at instant speed that I have the dial set at. Then they back peddled and said well it's soft start but it's just a quick delay of milliseconds that you hardly even notice, I said okay but with small blades it breaks the blades.. They say they recommend turning the saw on at a slower speed and the manually ramping up to the desired speed.. That's what soft start is supposed to do, I like the saw and not a issue for me since I don't use real small blades often and if I do I use a different saw. But it could be a problem for some folks that mainly use small blades or only have the option for one saw to use.

I actually liked my old saw with the round clamps... Kinda wish I had kept it. I never had a problem with the holder going MIA once I put a new spring clip on.. I know you replaced yours or tried to but it didn't work for you. Kind of feel something isn't right with your saws set up but I'm not there or the one running it so I can't say for sure. I believe your saw is older than the one I had and maybe the position of where the clip mounts to the arm changed or something over the few years difference.. I'm not sure but I never had the holder go to the floor after replacing the worn out clip. I know Hawk made A LOT of changes and upgrades throughout the years.. unlike Hegner who studied their design and fine tuned it before sending them out to customers / users.. Hawk sold what they came up with and took feedback from the users and improved along the way. Unfortunately Bushton doesn't seem to like criticism and think they have built the best saw in the world and it's your problem if the saw isn't exactly how you think it should be. There are things they took away from the new saws that the old saws had and I think it wasn't a improvement.. Probably the biggest pitfall of the new Hawk is they did away with the "soft start" motors.. you hit the pedal and it's instant on at your speed setting which jerks the saw and is a lot of un-needed stress on a blade. I don't have a issue with mine but I could see it being a problem with small blades.. Probably not a great saw if you typically use real small blades.

@OCtoolguy It's what I don't see , I don't see holes in the accessory arm for the "Ultra" blade holder to set in to change the blade.. The Ultra saws blade holders have a small roll pin to go through then and they're notched out so when you place the holder into the hole ( that's not on this saw ) on the accessory arm the notch rest on top of the arm so you can loosen the thumb screw to change the blade. Another give away is the lack of a line-loc flexible air blower tube.. but a lot of those older saws had been upgraded to the line-loc so the lack of holes in the accessory arm is a dead give away that it's a old saw. Everything from 1996 ( Ultra and newer ) to the current BM series have those holes in the arm to hold the blade clamp for changing blades..

I'd pass on it, if it was right around the local area then maybe.. This is a old saw 1995 or older saw with the round barrel clamps and likely the motor that they had issues with. Unless it's been upgraded to a newer motor.. I heard they stopped offering the motor upgrade kits so now if a motor stops you're on your own.

Yeah, Hawk had a lot of different models over the years and some of them aren't worth as a boat anchor, LOL I see way to often people saying those old single speed saws are worth $500+ just because it has the Hawk name and is orange in color.. Unless you really know what you're looking at they all "look" the same at a glance..

Well, reading the instructions and watching a few YouTube videos on this stuff I decided I'm not going to use this for the project I originally bought it for. Partly because this says temps must be 70F or above or it won't dry.. This project is a rush order sort of and our temps went from 70's - 80's last week to snowing and rainy cold this week. Project is to be delivered next week. So spar urethane is going to be the finish for this one. They also recommended using this epoxy on small projects and work your way up to larger stuff once you get some experience using it.. Don't know how small they are saying but this sign is 24 x 15 and the mix I bought here 16oz.. they say 4oz covers about one square ft. Doesn't leave me much to spare if I were to mess something up.. I'll play around when it gets warmer outside and make some coasters or something really small to learn the tricks to the trade of this stuff before I mess up a time sensitive project.

Local sign maker suggested this stuff for finishing an outdoor sign I’m making. Just wondering if anyone here has used this stuff before? If so any tip or advice I might should know about before going all in blind, lol

Think it'll depend on the projects you make. I have the Ridgid brand, bought used with a awesome heavy Ridgid stand for a very good deal, so I don't know anything about the WEN but "other" WEN tools have turned out to be decent for me for the price etc. Like others have said the belt sander doesn't have a lot of surface area so you're not going to sand a real large area. I use it quite a lot to sand the bottom of my desk clocks to be sure they're flat before gluing to the base. I also have a combo belt / disc sander but I have to say it's nice to be able to sit the clock on the table of the spindle sander rather than hope I'm holding it level so when I glue it to the base it's standing straight, LOL.. Also nice that the table top can adjust for angles fairly easy if you do need to sand a angle. I do "carefully" sand the edges of my cutting boards on it too.. If you keep the table top waxed and slick it so the bigger pieces you sand can glide across even though the belt is small if you can move steady you're able to sand those 13 x 17 inch cutting board edges with fairly easy.. you just have to move steady and even pressure. A cutting board doesn't have to be precise like some things might need to be but again, easier to sit it on a flat table and glide it across than to try holding it on my belt / disc sander. I can't say if I've ever used the spindles as I use the belt part most.. so as I said, guess it depends on your projects you make.

Just did a search on alternative waxes on google, here is what it says. What replaces Johnson's paste wax? Minwax seems to work just as well as Johnsons. Also Renaissance micro-crystaline wax. The Renaissance is a lot softer and a little goes a long way.

Me too, not quite 30 years but I bought a can back in 2007 and still using it today and I wax about 2 times a month all the surfaces of the saw tables bandsaw, tablesaw, drill press, planer, and I even do the bottom side of the dremel plunge router so it glides across the wood when I used to us it. I am getting close to being gone as the bottom of the can is bare but still around in the edges. When I found out they was discontinuing it I found a new can on eBay so I bought it. Should last me probably close to the rest of my scrolling years..

You can take those apart and remove the broke one and put it back together, I've read there is a special tool you can use to simplify that.. I've had good luck just soaking the parts in very hot water for a few minutes to help them slide back together easier without cracking or breaking them..