hotshot

This is the my first coin I've cut on the Hawk BM. The Pattern was purchased from Sue Mey. I was curious is the Hawk could do it, but it cuts this type of thing pretty well. The coin was a once U.S. bronze one dollar, that I flattened to .025" and is about 2" tall.

Kevin, you might be right about the rotation of the clamp re-centering the blade, it would take some accurate measuring to see if that was the case. If it did rotate, that might stress the blade, in which case you would want the blade centered which might be a trick for BM users that are blindly loading it for top feeding. Which blades are you using? If you have your clamp in the "aggressive notch", I'm thinking you might need to "up" your blade selection if you haven't already. I think there is an important difference in how blade travel work in the 788/EX/Seyco/Delta vs the Hawk. On the Hawk, when you up the aggression, you are changing the angle of the blade coming down. If you look at the blade motion of the EX style saws, it looks like the blade remains perpendicular to the table, but shifts forward and backwards. So, on the Ex/788 style saws, as soon as the blade hits the wood and begins cutting, the blade bends a little back and keeps constant contact with the wood, eliminating effective blade travel. However, the forward pressure is going to create a kind of hammer drill effect, which I think helps it out when cutting thicker wood but still allowing tight turns. I will say, it is annoying trying to approach a new cut, from a steep angle, with a saw with too much aggression. I don't have my head wrapped around the slanted blade approach of the Hawk, or how that actually effects accuracy and agressiveness. With a spiral blades, while moving/cutting sideways, any blade travel is bad, and may cause a kerf that might be larger or less predictable than desired. If I'm using spirals, the Hegner would be my goto saw. If the Hawk clamps can handle spirals, Hawk might be equally effective.

Hey Iggy, I probably didn't explain myself well. We are using the same saw and clamps, but I was talking about the blade position inside the clamp, not the clamp position itself. Here is an example where the blade is placed towards the edge. It could have been just as easily placed in the middle, or against other edge. When I'm blind feeding, if I'm not paying attention, it could be anywhere. The bigger the blade, the less of an issue this would be because there is less wiggle room. For accuracy, I'm trying to place my blade against the back edge, which creates a solid stop, and should help with consistency. With that consistency, I then adjust the aggression. Again, I doubt this is your issue with the size of blades you are using, but for others that happen by this information, it might be good to consider. (I marked the top red to readily tell my old clamp from the new)

I use 3 in 1 every time I use the Hegner. The manual says every 10 hours, but it's easier for me to remember if I just do it before every use.

Iggy, if your positioning is moving, I would think that would be bad. However, just as a sanity check, blades can be placed in that bottom clamp from anywhere from far forward, to far back. That would create a distance difference that might make a difference. I started to purposely put my blades to the back of both top and bottom, so that I have a "positive stop" to create consistency. While I'm tweaking my blade travel, I stopped blind feeding the bottom clamp, and started using that top accessory arm so I can see clearly to ensure the blade is flush. That is probably not your issue, but I think it was causing me some issues, so thought it was worth mentioning. You might find your optimum position, and mark it with a magic marker to make that movement easier to detect/measure. I may do the same.

I thought I had the Hawk trimmed out to it's lowest aggression setting, at least according to what I thought was factory default. When I tried to cut a coin, I had so much blade travel I couldn't see the lines. You ever have that rotten feeling in your stomach when something is wrong that you might not be able to fix? So I tried another approach to tuning it. Since the Hawk can run so very slowly, I could actually put the tool in the lower adjustment, and tune it while the saw was running. (I'm sure this isn't supported) There for a minute, I didn't think it was going to work, but then all the sudden, the saw fell into an almost motionless setting. You can imagine my relief. Anyway, of all my saws, the Hawk is the only one capable of being tuned on the Fly. The EX can sort of do this too, but you have to loosen the motor bolts, so I'm thinking that doesn't count.

Kevin, I think we may need to see a picture on this one. ------Randy

Even with a really waxed table, there was too much drag to freely spin my medium sized fretwork pieces around. For those of you that have experienced this on the dw788 table (with the heavy mill marks), you already know what I'm talking about. BM table mill marks (at least on my particular saw) are "sharper"/more pronounced, if that makes sense. Anyway, the drag was unacceptable. This image will give you an idea of the issue. So, I took a trick from the dw788 playbook, and used the same general approach many have done on the 788 to smooth my Hawk table. 1. Got out the random orbital sander, but on the 110 grit, and went over the table.2. Switched to 220 grit and went over the table3. Put a cloth over the end of the sander, and put that sander on steel wool4. Put Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish on the table, With just a cloth covering the end of the sander, I buffed it several times5. Re-Waxed it. So, did it work? Absolutely. There is very little drag and I can predictably spin the fretwork piece now. Anyway, maybe someone out there will find this helpful, maybe even a 788 owner with aggressive machine marks in their table. -------Randy

Stoney, I hope you are right, and I had that same thought. A few days ago I emailed and asked Nilus about making me some clamps drilled with #8 instead of the #7 bit to fit the m6x1. Haven't heard back, but, he hasn't said no yet. It would be nice if they would sell the better thumbscrew, but really, if they would just offer the clamps drilled and tapped for the M6x1, I would be happy. Since the existing clamp works for most users, I'm not sure how far they will go to accommodate me. Iggy is using the bigger blades, so he can probably get by with what he has just fine. I guess we will know if he has any blade slippage. It would, I think, make a difference for Doug and myself.

If I was closer, I would take one off of you. I would love to try the 788 refresh.

Except I had to make my own porridge that was just right :-)

Shees, I read the manual, it said "Remove" the bolt holding the pitman arm to the lower arm. I thought, hmmm, wonder how long it would take me to get that all back together. Well, I expected a washer between the arm and the pitman, but there were a couple of "bearings" recessed into the arms. Kinda cool. But these bearing hold the arm tight between them, so I remove the bearing, and let the arm go to it's "natural position" to see if it was evenly spaced in the housing. After some experimentation, I ended up on the same marks as the saw was when I started. Then, it took a long time to get that crazy bolt lined up perfect enough to make it back through the arm and bearings. Vibration is about the same, but I do know how to change out the bearing now. They were a little "gritty", so I put some oil on them, and worked them until they turned more freely. Where were these bearing made? It's not a big deal to me, but I thought is was interesting. I looked and evidently this size is rare, so I'm sure there is not a U.S. source. (.5" x 1" x 11/32"). There was something a little disturbing that happened and I'm not sure what to think about it. The rear two nuts seemed really tight, and maybe a little "not straight". I'm thinking "cross threaded." They came out, but when I put them back in and started tightening them, I could feel them "not tighten" up. Freaking Aluminum!!! Probably Karma biting my butt for pointing out the "Made in China" bearings. I stopped before I completely stripped them . . . I think. The others are tight enough, and are holding fine, but it was a little disconcerting. Last thing I want to be doing is taking the whole thing to a machine shop to drill out and re-tap the holes. The saw is running as smooth as before.

Yes, I think you are right about the pitman arm. But I noticed something interesting during this exercise. It looks like Bushton may have marked the "Factory Location" of the assembly with a black marker. The marks line up with how I received my saw (which is comforting). Of Course, it could have been the prior owner also, so that would be less comforting. Anyway the unit is still loose as I scour the manual trying to determine how they line up the assembly with the pitman arm. If I move the assembly, it stays (not springing into any natural position. So it's not obvious, other than the lines drawn on the table, where the assembly should go. If the Bushton folks didn't put that mark there, they probably should. This way the owner could quickly glance and see if something moved during shipment.

Ok, that threw me for a sec, but I see what you did, I might give that a try.

That is awesome news!!!! You will have to see if it will pass the Nickel test.

On the Accessory arm, there are some holes (above the air line) meant to be used to hold the clamps steady while you tighten the blades. This isn't quite a sophisticated as the Hegner approach, but I think it will work fine. Of course, my saw didn't have the hole drilled in the correct location for their newer clamps Nilus said the existing holes were for prior blade clamps, but that they would add the third hole for the current clamps going forward. I have no warranty (for multiple reasons), so they are not obligated nor did they offer to fix it, which is ok, because I have a tweak that will work for me. So the forward hole that supposed to fit my clamp, per the manual is too low. There is nothing I can do about that without grinding into the arm. The second hole, which was for some other clamp is too high, so I can work with that. That just means I have to find a spacer and glue there to make it fit. So I rolled a piece of metal (A Fat Coin) to a thickness of .066", and glued it above the second hole. If it stays there, it will work fine. Here is how it supposed to work according to the Manual First Hole Intend for this per the diagram above, but too low Second Hole Intended for another Clamp Type, but too High Here is the fix with the metal Spacer SuperGlued into Place

I'm thinking there is a lot more moving mass on the Hawk, so I don't know it will ever be as smooth as the 788/EX, but mine is good enough for me, and is probably less vibration than the Hegner which is also moving a lot of mass. -----Randy

Iggy, how does this compare to your 788? My 788 is a bit smoother, but the vibration is manageable, so I'm happy. Where is your harmonic range now (mine is at 6 and 7), but fairly smooth outside that range. Will it pass the nickel test with the saw turned all the way up? So glad you got this resolved. I know you do a different kind of work than me, but will still be interesting to see how this works for you. I don't have any issues with the blades sizes you normally use. I've been top feeding for years, but have switched to bottom feeding on the Hawk because it is just less hassle, even for a seasoned top feeder. That move has made the saw much more enjoyable for me. After I get a little time under my belt, I will force myself back into the top feeding mode until I can do it without the struggle.

I am very very excited by this news. These saws have been available from Axminster and Carbatec for years, and more recently Pegas, and now King (or Excelsior). I would have expected King to keep the Excelsior brand on the saw which I thought was very cool. However, I was tired of seeing EX available all over the world, except for the US.

Kevin, I don't think you can judge this type of saw based on any cheap Chinese saws. There is much less to go wrong on this type of saw than on your 788s. We might have to look for you a good used craigslist Hegner and see if you can wear one of those out.

One cool thing about these clamps they are symmetrical. So, you can place the knob on the left or the right. So that means if I'm used to using it on one side, and the threads start getting sloppy, I can move the set screw to the other side, turn the clamp around, and continue using it as it was. I really should have an extra set of clamps for the EX, because last time the threads wore out, even the set screw wouldn't hold, so I was down for a few days while Seyco shipped the new ones. If that happened on the hawk, I just grab another spare clamp and continue on. But probably the coolest thing, you pay $20 and you have another clamp and thumbscrew. I expected them to be a bit more, so I'm glad Bushton didn't take advantage.

If I could suggest one thing to Bushton that might really help, it would be that "On a premium saw, your customer expect attention to detail." The sticker thing is not important, and just wasted a little of my time, which is pretty normal for learning a new tool, so moving on. If this is the worse thing about the saw, then the BM will reign as the best saw ever.

Hey, acknowledging that you were dead right on this . . . This one "bit me in the behind" as the sticker they put on the saw is for the G4/220. I assumed they were still using those stickers because they were still relevant. The manual does have the corrected (and much different) settings. I missed this because I passed over it in the manual, assuming the correct info would be on the easy accessible sticker on the saw. Yep, kept doubting myself because I couldn't get the settings indicated on the sticker to work for the #2/0 blades. When I talk to Bushton next, I'll suggest that the stickers are so far off that they do more harm than good. If the stickers have bad information, there is no benefit that I can think of to have them on the saw.

Man, I totally missed this post . . . but that is freaking awesome!!!!!! Seems like the Hawk Thumbscrew modification would be just as doable. I would have to find a machinist to do this for me though as I don't have anything that accurate. My chances are probably better on drilling/tapping, but I like this concept a lot.

That should make it trivial to reset it when it moves. I re-adjusted the older clamp and will see how it does. If it moves, I'll re-locktite it.