OCtoolguy

Charley, just out of curiosity, what pieces and parts would you be most interested in from this saw? I'm getting a bit of negative feedback from the cook and I might have to let it go. She maintains that I have enough stuff around to fix and I should concentrate on cutting wood instead of dragging home more stuff to "fix".

Kevin, it's all about the piping and the size of pipes to each machine. There is a whole thing in the engineering of the system in order to get what you want/need at each machine. I had one of the cheaper vacs. It was a one horse/110 unit. I dedicated it to my Unisaw back in the day. It did a great job. I bought a fine filter bag for it that did a much better job of filtering the dust out. Anyway, if you take the 4" hose that usually hooks to these units and pipe it down to what you need at each machine it works great. I have the Fein that I bought used and have it necked down to 1" pvc at my Dewalt. I bought the flex line stuff that has a funnel shaped nozzle. Both above and below the table. It works great. The next one I build for the EX is going to be 1 1/2 pvc and I'll try necking it to 1" and see what happens. There is a ton of suction at the nozzles and that is where most of the noise comes from. I don't even hear the Fein in the back ground.

It sounds like the tension wedge that is way back in the upper arm is stuck. Either that or the tension lever itself is bound up. Either one is easy to fix if you are at all handy with tools. There are some great videos on youtube on how to disassemble the whole saw. It probably is a matter of taking it apart and cleaning and greasing the pieces that make up the tension mechanism. If you were closer to me, I'd do it for you. But sadly not to be. Try taking the blade out of the clamps and lifting up the upper arm. When you do that, are you able to move the tension lever a bit more? The mechanism is made up of a rod that connects to the lever and runs the length of the upper arm to a wedge clear at the back. That wedge slide back and forth to "lift" against the arm and put tension on the blade. Hard to explain. I can see it in my head but hard to put into words.

Thank you Charley for taking the time to write all that. The bearings that are bad are ball bearings and one of them is missing some of the balls. I am going to see if I can find a sealed bearing in the same size/specs. From what you wrote regarding the blade clamps, I understand how they work. But the bottom clamp seems to be either missing some parts or is just badly worn. It grips a number 12 blade quite well. That's what I installed for a test run because it is big and tough. This is going to be a fun project but I can't spend too much money on it. If I don't keep it, I don't want to get buried in the cost. Once again, I'll keep you in mind if I decide to just part it out.

Did you know that Hotshot actually split a coin in half? I was amazed.

I just sat and watched the video on the Bushton site that goes into great detail on how to use the lastest of the 220 and 226 Ultra saws. I see now how the lower blade holder works. I think I understand what JT is having trouble with. I think there should be a better way of holding those blade holders besides putting the end of the pins in a hole. Maybe a box or flat end on the clamp similar to what the Hegner uses would be better. JMHO>

Great news JT. And a master sleuth you are. Since I don't have a Hawk, what you are saying is a total mystery to me. But, sometime down the road in the future, I might own a Hawk and I will have this excellent knowledge to fall back on. I would have to think that you would be able to replace just the roll pins unless the holes they go in are elongated. I hate roll pins. Why not use a good old hardened bolt/screw? In fact, why not see if you can do that? Just a suggestion.

Thanks a million Charley. No hurry on the manual. I would just like to have one. I have a manual for every power tool I own. It's funny you mentioned that skate key. I found it stuck to the motor as you said and wondered what it was for. Now, I'll have to figure out how to use it. I messed around with the saw for a while this afternoon. The one thing that is sad, to me, is that the light is missing. I don't know what to look for as it is just an empty hole in that arm. I will probably have to do some major "tightening up" of everything on the saw. I may never get as much use out of it as you have yours but I love tinkering with this stuff and if I can resurrect it, well that will just a plus under my name in Heaven. As to parting it out, if it comes to that, I will definitely keep you in mind. Ok, I hear the boss calling me to dinner. Gotta run. Thanks for all you do. Ray After doing some reading and communicating with Rick at Rick's Scrollsaw site, I have come to the conclusion that this saw is an early model of the type 1/2. It had a light at one time because the switch is still there but everything related to the light assy. is missing.

Charley, I just added a post to the end of this thread asking for anybody who might have an owners manual if I could get a copy. I see now that you have the type 1 so I guess you are the guy I'm talking to. Would be a great imposition to scan your manual and send me the file? If you don't have time or inclination, I will understand. I'm just anxious to find out as much about this saw I bought as possible. I can see now that I have it that it has a lot of miles on it. The two main bearings at the rear of the saw are both worn out so I will have to replace them before I do anything else. That seems to be where most of the wear is and lets the arms sort of "flop" around. The lower blade clamp seems hinky too so I want to try to figure out what is either worn or missing on it. It still clamps the blade as it should but it is just loose. I put a large number 12 blade in it to check it out and it runs up and down the rpm range but it definitely needs some tender loving care. I will consider it another hobby. Anyway, let me know if you can help me out.

I went and picked up the saw today. It is a Q3- 40-650 type 1. I had no idea that there was a type or type 2 or whatever. Anyway, I downloaded the manual and it is for the type 2. Does anybody have a copy of the type 1 that I can get? I can't find where the manual section is here on SSV. I thought I could but I can't.

If you can find a used Fein or Porter Cable vac that has the power tool trigger, it only runs when I'm cutting and it's very quiet. Granted, it's still noise but I like it better than having a fan blowing the dust around. I hate wearing a dust mask but sometimes, if I think about it, I'll still wear one. I have a box fan and furnace filter to the right of my Dewalt. It works fairly well.

If I was still working for wages, I'd have to agree but since I'm not, well like I said above. Every dollar helps.

It's funny though, if it had been $39.95, I might have gone for it. I just thought it was overpriced. Probably only cost them a couple of bucks to produce.

I guess I'm just a cheapskate. I looked at it and thought $50 for that? So, I made my own with some PVC and a few other pieces. My system works great. I'm going to make something similar for my EX. I guess it is just me but I can't spend money on something that I can make myself. That and the fact that now, I'm on a fixed income and have to watch every dollar.

A used scanner should be easy to find. Most printers now include a scanner so folks have sold off their stand alone units. Do you have any kind of a site like our "craigslist"? I find everything I want on there.

Have searched out a source in the U.K.? I would think they would have to be cheaper and more accessible in your own country. Try searching under the name Niqua or something like that.

I don't have a Hawk but to me what you are describing sounds like what others have suggested. Try going in and re-adjusting the blade clamp anchor screws. The ones that the blade butts up against when you clamp the blade with the clamp screws. It sounds like one of them, or possibly both of them have moved. I don't know how others do it but, I have a shirt pocket steel ruler. I back the anchor screws out far enough that I can put that ruler in and run the clamp screws up to it so it is clamped in place. I then run the anchor screws in until they touch the back side of the ruler. Once I've done that, I back the clamp screw out about a half turn. That will release the rule. Then run the anchor screw in a half turn. Once I've done that, I put a blade in and check for square. If it needs to be adjusted one way or the other at least you have established a starting point. By doing it this way, you should also be able to see how much difference there is between the upper and lower arms. Now, keep in mind that I'm a novice at this and I might be all wet but so far, this has worked for me on both my Dewalt and Excalibur saws. I know that the Hawks have a different system but it should still be somewhat the same. I hope this works out for you JT.

And if you think about it, so do lawyers and doctors. Just practicing.

I guess I gotta get me some of those.

The fun for me is the challenge of learning new techniques. Right now, I'm learning to do compound cutting. I have a plan for a votive holder/candy bowl type thing that requires cutting 8 side pieces that are compound cuts. I practiced in some very hard scrap wood and now, I finally cut out the pieces today to get started on it. The compound pieces are red cedar and the other parts are walnut and red cedar. Should be fun. But, my point, and there really is one, as I was practicing the other day, I realized how intense I was and my jaws were very tight. I had to physically sit back, stretch my neck and shoulders and I rubbed my cheeks and jaw muscles. I had no idea how tied up I was and I was really concentrating on my cutting. This hobby is about way more than just cutting stuff out. It's an art form and I want to be as good at as you folks all are. There, I made my point.

I'M Going to set my sights on a Hawk now Kevin. But, not until I find a deal like you did. I'm going to be studying all the Hawk specs so I can go in armed with knowledge. I'm not adverse to one of the older ones with the pulley/belt system either. I would need to know what models and dates to watch for so I don't get something too old.

I just bought the saw as far as I know. The seller contacted me and said he is selling it cheap because of the throat plate being gone. He says it runs. I didn't get into the blade clamps. I guess I should have. I'll email him back and ask. Thanks Stoney.

I was thinking that if I buy this saw and I don't care for it, I should make a buck or two on it. I just love tinkering with stuff to make it work right. I guess that's what made me sell the Hegner. I couldn't make it work the way I thought it should without spending a ton of money. Now, someone else can mess with it.

I figured that for $30 how wrong could I go. I already wrote the seller and told them that I'd take the saw as long as it runs. The plate that is missing in the pics is not a problem either. I can either make one or spent another $10 for the factory plate. Thanks to you fellers for the comeback.

I seem to remember reading about these saws somewhere and the general consensus was that they were pretty good. Should I take a gamble and buy this one? It's only about 15 minutes from me. https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/tls/d/delta-variable-speed-scroll/6714833756.html