Jim Erickson

I bought a Wen 6510T new off e-bay. Only paid $67 for it, but it hasn't been delivered yet. Don't know whether I'll really get the sander or not. At that price, I half way think the listing was a scam. The delivery date is supposed to be 6/15. We'll see if it actually is delivered or not. Thanks for all your comments. Jim

Do you all use spindle sanders? If you do, which one. I'm thinking it would be handy to use on inside curves. Bench or floor model? Spindle size? Thanks for your thoughts. Jim

I have to add comments about the set up as well. In prep for re-sawing some expensive (is there any other kind) hardwood a few days ago, I tested cuts on some softwood scraps. My saw wanted to drift a bit. I got out my machinists squares and started to check the blade, the fence, the table, and the guides. I discovered that the blade was not exactly parallel to the miter slot on the table. I have euro type guides on my saw (Mini-Max 16) which I don't particularly like, but they came with the saw and work OK. Anyway, I've noticed over the years that one of the guides spins more than the other. (right side/left side) I put the square on the guide bar, and discovered that the guides weren't exactly parallel to the blade. Fortunately, there are adjusters for the guide bar on the saw. I ended up slightly changing the adjustment. The adjustments involve 4 set screws. As I adjusted the screws, I made test cuts. After about three tries, the saw cut parallel to the fence, and I re-sawed the hardwood board. Don't remember if I ever adjusted the bar before, of if I even knew the adjusters were there. Long and short of it is: saw adjustment is really more important than the blade. Jim

I haven't done a lot of resawing, and I don't know what you have in mind, but I've done what I needed with my regular 1/2" 3 tpi skip tooth blade. I have several wider blades, but don't want to bother with the set up involved with blade changes. If you're going to do a lot of resawing, or only resawing then maybe a dedicated resaw blade would be better. Jim BTW, the 1/2" 3 tpi blade is the blade I use on my saw most of the time.

Regarding the fence, I'd make my own. Did that for my son in law's Rikon about 15 years ago, and it's worked well. I made it kind of like a little Beisemeyer. I welded mine, but you could build a bolt together unit without too much trouble. Jim

I agree with Ray. Following up with a description of the fix is really helpful to others who might encounter the same or similar problem. I guess some people are too fixated on the problem at hand to think about others. Pity. Jim

What size? Thanks. Jim

Table is aluminum. Digital protractor eh? Thanks. Jim

I think I want an inclinometer so I can accurately set the table tilt on my Hawk scroll saw. Do I need one, and if so which one should I buy. I'd appreciate comments and experiences. I could also use it for my table saw. Thanks for the help. Jim

Thanks Ray. I just checked, and sure enough the top clamp was not centered. I adjusted it, The anvil screw must have course threads because turning it just a little centered the blade. Bottom clamp looked centered. After that I checked the side to side plumb, and had to reset the table. Thanks for pointing this out. I probably never would have figured that out, and just written off any resulting cut error as simply operator error. Jim

My blade, even in the less aggressive position, is not vertical. It tilts slightly forward, at the top and of course moves up and down in a slight arch. I think that arch is smaller in the Hawk and Hegner machines than most others because of the design of the machines. My guess is that somewhere during the up/down stroke the blade is actually perfectly vertical. Haven't bothered to move the arm up and down and measure to see. Jim

Thanks Fred. I do have the saw set for aggressive cutting, so I don't think the back of the blade is square to the table. Thank you all for the advise. I'll check the tension of the blade, and practice moving the material more carefully. Jim

Frank: Have you considered an abrasive planer rather than a regular one? Years back I bought a Grizzly 12" abrasive planer to go along with my 12" DeWalt portable planer I already owned. The abrasive unit is much better for small stuff. Cuts a lot slower, and more precisely. I don't know whether Grizzly still sells the small one like I have. It's preformed pretty well for me. Typical Grizzly, crumby switch, and requiring adjustment out of the box, but a solid performer. One thing though, it makes a lot of dust, so you need to hook it up to a dust collector. BTW, you can flatten wood with a planer. It involves alternately planing both sides, taking off the high points and making the board flat. Jim

I've been doing some practice cuts on my Hawk, and I need to know if my results are typical, or whether there is something about my technique that is producing this result. In prep for my first project, which is a box, I have been cutting out small circles in some 1 3/4" pine. The cut outs end up being cones rather than cylinders. The first cut out caused me to check the table/blade setting, and I discovered a small discrepancy in the adjustment, which I corrected. The second was less cone shaped, but still larger on the top than the bottom. Similarly, the third is also cone shaped. Is this to be expected, or is there something I'm doing wrong? I'm cutting at 5.5 on the speed control, using a #9RG-9/6 TPI PGT DBL tooth blade. BTW, I don't completely understand the blade designation. They are blades that came with the saw, and are the previous owners labeling. Any helpful comments are appreciated. Thanks. Jim PS: the circles are about 1.25" in diameter.

Kevin: I did misunderstand. Went and bought myself a 1/8" roll pin punch so I'd be ready when I needed to knock out pins LOL. Thanks for the info. Jim PS if I ever decide the change out the nose assembly, I'll have the right tool.