Mark1

That 1.75 hp cabinet saw from Rockler looks great. I understand the fellows promoting 3hp, but IMO the thing you should look at adding would be the T-glide fence. That fence is only available with the 36" extension table. In the life of that saw perhaps there will be times you will miss the extra HP, but you will miss the T-glide fence EVERY time you use the fence. I really can't stress that enough. At least compare the T-glide with the standard fence just to see how I pick 'em. Mark

Sycamore nailed it. The 3HP saws usually take 220. On a non-cabinet saw, IMO the market is usually for fellows with smaller shops and no 220. The contractor saw fits pretty well. If power of 1.75 becomes an issue, usually going with a 20 tooth rip blade, or 20 tooth thin kerf rip will turn the trick. Pretty hard to slow down one of those. Mark

Try running your blade higher in the cut. I was always taught to run the blade about 3/8" above the work as a safety factor. Now I'm running the blade at least 1 1/4 " above the work. I find the blade runs cooler. There are safety considerations, maybe this isn't for you. Using a riving knife to reduce kickback has been mentioned. It will reduce the incidence of kickback but not eliminate it. Good idea to have one. Mark

I just bought my son a Sawstop Contractors saw for graduation. There were a few options that really made this saw great. I upgraded to the 36" extension table with the T-glide fence. (The T-glide fence is the only way to go. If you look at them and compare, you'll see right away.) I also upgraded to cast iron extension wings. (This adds mass to the saw making it act like the Professional Cabinet saw.) We also added the Sawstop Mobile base. (There are cheaper mobile bases out there, but the Sawstop picks the saw up squarely so the legs on the extension table don't drag.) I bought locally so there were no shipping charges. Delivery was easy, the nice young man carried it right into my garage. He had a lift gate on the truck. I was done at $2300 and change tax included. I thought the price high but the quality was there. Mark

Why don't you use the wheel as a slip-on tool? Mark

Maybe Ray Seymore @ Seyco would be the guy to ask if his parts would fit. Somehow I just can't make sense of why a saw supposedly identical to the Excalibur is ignoring a former distributor with parts. Why not the 21"? I'll be interested in the review. I hope the review goes into detail about parts interchangeability. Mark

The sand will certainly absorb vibration too, but it's not as heavy or dense as lead shot. Maybe the lead shot is overkill, but I'm sure that would work the best. Try the sand first, that's the cheapest. If it helps, but not quite there, you can do the lead. Either way it beats drilling holes in the floor. Mark

Rather than bolt it to the floor, I'd arrange a lower shelf. On this shelf I'd put 2 or 3, 25# bags of lead reloading shot. This is shot used by shotgun shooters who reload shotgun shells. These bags of shot are dead weight and will absorb vibration by themselves. They won't bounce. This would hold your saw down, yet if you wanted to move it you could without leaving holes in the floor. The disadvantage I see is the expense. Here in Milwaukee Wisconsin, these 25# bags of shot are $34 each. I would imagine they're about the same almost everywhere. Once you lift and hold a bag, you'll understand what I'm meaning. They are just plain dead weight. Mark

Wow, Think about that. A $1500 saw and they give you a list to trouble shoot? I'm thinking that's a non starter. Mark

Iggy, You may want to not give any reviews, positive or negative, before your saw goes back and monies are squared away. It would be a shame to ruffle any feathers that would complicate any exchange. I sure wish you the best on this. Mark

When I was in the tool and die shop, a bunch of guys had these hanging above their bench. In my 5 years at that shop I never heard any complaining or saw repairs. It will be interesting to see how yours holds up. Maybe we'll see if the new ones are as well built as the old ones. IMO, you've got a very versatile tool. Mark

IMO, it's only a matter of time before someone gets their feelings hurt, the way this thread is going. It would be better to have a real review of the King saw that is based on fact. It is true that King doesn't have a sterling reputation, but without a review of the saw it's like bar talk. The thing I'm interested in is, What's the saw like? Any body actually see one? Own one? Mark

Boy, would I be careful on these woodcraft saws. The description only says made in the same factory, no specifications. I did a little digging on king industrial. King industrial is affiliated with King Canada. The Canadians equate King Canada with our Harbor Freight. Couple this with the lower sticker, and I wonder if this is the same as Excalibur saws. IMO, this may be a whole new product. I had an "experience" with the Milwaukee Woodcraft. As far as my feeling is, How much advertising is Woodcraft gonna have to do to get me back in their store? Something happened with Lie Nielsen there also. Things they are a changin. These saws may or may not be the same as the "old" Excalibur. At my house, we don't take $600+ out of petty cash and I'm not gonna be the first hog at the trough on these. I'd feel a lot better reading some honest reviews on these, and not seashells and balloons from some shill. Mark

Hi Hotshot, I'll try to go over this again, being more specific. Major diameter on the M6 screw is .236. I looked up what is the recommended tap drill size, and it's 5MM (.200). I initially told you about .190, which would be a #11 drill (.191). In retrospect that may be a little tight, although it is 80%. (FYI, a number 10 drill is .1935, #8=.199, #7=.201, and 13/64=.203) In industry, if you don't have a 5M drill, a number 8 is recommended. If Bushton supplies the holders drilled 13/64 (.203) that's kinda big. I don't know where the 13/64 came from, my guess would be they're drilling it with a #7 drill (.201). Just to spin your head in a complete circle, a drill will usually cut oversize. If you use a .201 drill, you'll probably get .202-.203 if it's sharpened correctly. I'm wondering if you may be taking the long way around the park on this. I went to Amazon, (not my favorite place) and they sell 1/4-20 thumbscrews priced 20 for 10 bucks. In my minds eye, I see you wanting to standardize your saws so all use the same thumbscrew on the blade holder? Maybe it's past the point of diminishing return to do this. (What do I know?) I don't want this to sound condescending, I am trying to be helpful. In my career, I've taught quite a few apprentices and the toughest ones to teach were the ones that wouldn't ask questions. If what I'm writing doesn't make sense, you have to say something. One tough aspect of teaching is to me, everything I say makes perfect sense. It's been known to leave people scratching their heads more than once. Mark

Hi Hotshot, The tap drill size runs about 80%. This is pretty much a standard in the metal working industry. The example here is 80% of a .250 hole is .200. All my life I've used a #7 number drill, (.201) as the tap drill size for 1/4-20 thread. This 20% thread gives adequate strength without the tap breakage. I have used larger tap drills in exotic material for the sole purpose of not breaking taps. I can't ever remember drilling smaller tap drill sizes, although I probably have. Metric is no different. Just figure 80% of the major diameter. If you ever measure the screw that threads into this tapped hole, you'll see that it is smaller than 1/4 inch. This is to eliminate the need for the tap to cut dead sharp corners. Don't overthink this, just use 80%. If you feel the need to close up the clearance, you'll need to measure over thread wires and start working with pitch diameter. I don't know how you would adjust this since the tap will cut the pitch diameter it is, and the screw is what it is. The way this is done in industry is by grinding the threads of the screw that fits in. This is coupled with custom ground taps. If you want to see what ground threads look like, take apart a micrometer and look at the threads on the spindle. I hope this helps you out. Mark PS An M6 thread would be (theoretical) .236. You should be drilling about .190, or so. A .203 tap drill would only yield 14% thread. IMO, that's a little thin. From what you've posted, that doesn't sound like the direction you want to go.

If you've ever watched a major league pitcher, you will see them grab a small white bag close to the pitchers mound. That bag is full of powdered rosin. The Marine Corps silent drill team uses powdered rosin on the bottoms of their shoes to prevent slipping. When a turkey call (box type) needs "tuning up", rosin is applied to the cedar box to get a little friction. This will cause sound to come easier, and affects the pitch and range of the sound. It is also used in bullet casting to flux the molten lead. The dross produced is skimmed off, and the lead is purified. I'm sorry, I know how to use it, I really don't know what the heck it is. Mark

I only know what I have read and can surmise. The nylon washer on the upper arm on the hawk saw seems to let the clamp lever turn and loosen. I'm wondering if this isn't exacerbated by being in close proximity to that wedge that needs lubrication. What if a fellow were to clean this washer and coat both sides with a little powdered rosin? The rosin won't attract moisture or hurt anything and will create a mild gripping surface. Any thoughts? Mark

I''m not wanting to hijack this thread. Maybe you could give a sort of review of the new Jet saw. I don't see too much around on them from unofficial sources. Mark

I'm watching this review with great interest. I'm not a scroller yet, looking to buy a first saw. I don't want to make a bad decision on a saw and I don't want to buy a "starter" saw. A starter locks me in to buying two which I can't afford. I've been looking at a Hawk, and in doing the homework, know the BM series is quite different from the previous RBI saws. Reviews mostly run "seashells and balloons" so honest reviews are like gold. I know from previous experience there are usually issues to work through with any mechanical device however, design/engineering issues are much different than materials and workmanship. What you are experiencing doesn't seem to be unusual for a brand new item. It always seems there are a few things to work through. I'm appreciating your honesty and your unwillingness to badmouth your saw. This is a very interesting review. Mark