The Hawk is GONE

[Iguanadon]

I've never had so much trouble giving away a $1400 saw.  LOL  

I had heard about this local organization and reached out to them about donating the saw and it was finally picked up today after a couple months of back and forth and hurricanes, etc.  http://kidsmakingit.org/

Now... is anyone interested in two completely worn out, 1 year old DeWalt's?  I have one right now and my current one is starting to make the telltale noises of being on it's last leg.  Anyone that already rebuilds them or are interested in trying... they're yours for free.  You just have to come to the beach to pick one or both of them up.  The second one may not be ready for a couple more weeks as I want to be sure it truly is wearing out.

Edited November 2, 2018 by Iguanadon

[Rockytime]

Looks like neither Ray nor I got lucky. I thought we made pretty good offers. Glad it went to a good cause!

[OCtoolguy]

Hey AmazingKevin, are you close to Iggy? Two more 788's for your collection.

 

Edited November 3, 2018 by octoolguy

[orangeman]

Iggy,

I gave a couple of worn out  DeWalt's to a guy in the Gwinnett Woodworkers Club. They know how to repair them. I don't think they would travel to the NC beach however.

You might want to consider a Delta for your next saw. I bought one and love it. It has a locking mechanism on the arm which is handy when inserting a blade up through a pilot hole.

The Delta also has a 5 year warranty. Bought mine online from Home Depot and had it shipped to my local HD store. One thing however: the Delta does not fit on the DeWalt stand. But it is an easy fix to modify the stand.

bb

 

[kmmcrafts]

2 hours ago, orangeman said:

Iggy,

I gave a couple of worn out  DeWalt's to a guy in the Gwinnett Woodworkers Club. They know how to repair them. I don't think they would travel to the NC beach however.

You might want to consider a Delta for your next saw. I bought one and love it. It has a locking mechanism on the arm which is handy when inserting a blade up through a pilot hole.

The Delta also has a 5 year warranty. Bought mine online from Home Depot and had it shipped to my local HD store. One thing however: the Delta does not fit on the DeWalt stand. But it is an easy fix to modify the stand.

bb

 

I don't know that Iggy would like a Delta.. I know they are basically the same saw.. BUT... that locking pin deal to hold up the arm is a rather pain in the behind for a person doing production cutting.. and used to the Dewalt  style. He has the easy lift set up on the DeWalt as I do.. which makes the arm pop up when the blade is released.. He also just bought the dust deputy dust collection set-up which may work on the Delta.. I realize the Delta is slightly cheaper but if you plan and time your purchase right.. the DeWalt goes on sale a couple of times a year for $399...with stand and light.. and from a business standpoint.. replacing one every year is just a tax write off anyway.. and if you just plan to replace every year. well it just becomes part of the business as long as you're expecting to do this.. and specifically put that into the business budget.. Usually what happens is people spend all their profit.. and when the saw quits they get all bent outta shape about it.. same for any tool in the shop... they don't last forever without needing repairs or replaced..

The 5 year warranty doesn't make it last any longer.. and the experience I see others have with the service center repairs.. well that's a hassle too.. just easier to plan a yearly saw and let someone else deal with the old worn saw..  

[OCtoolguy]

29 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

I don't know that Iggy would like a Delta.. I know they are basically the same saw.. BUT... that locking pin deal to hold up the arm is a rather pain in the behind for a person doing production cutting.. and used to the Dewalt  style. He has the easy lift set up on the DeWalt as I do.. which makes the arm pop up when the blade is released.. He also just bought the dust deputy dust collection set-up which may work on the Delta.. I realize the Delta is slightly cheaper but if you plan and time your purchase right.. the DeWalt goes on sale a couple of times a year for $399...with stand and light.. and from a business standpoint.. replacing one every year is just a tax write off anyway.. and if you just plan to replace every year. well it just becomes part of the business as long as you're expecting to do this.. and specifically put that into the business budget.. Usually what happens is people spend all their profit.. and when the saw quits they get all bent outta shape about it.. same for any tool in the shop... they don't last forever without needing repairs or replaced..

The 5 year warranty doesn't make it last any longer.. and the experience I see others have with the service center repairs.. well that's a hassle too.. just easier to plan a yearly saw and let someone else deal with the old worn saw..  

What arm lift are you referring to Kevin. I have the Jim Dandy on my Dewalt but it doesn't pick the arm up automatically. I have to lift it and then it stays up. Is there another one that I don't know about?

 

[kmmcrafts]

11 minutes ago, octoolguy said:

What arm lift are you referring to Kevin. I have the Jim Dandy on my Dewalt but it doesn't pick the arm up automatically. I have to lift it and then it stays up. Is there another one that I don't know about?

 

Same one you have.. and yeah sometimes you do have to lift it a little.. sometimes not.. Maybe you need more tension.. I believe there is different spots to put the spring for more or less tension on it.. I know I do have to push down on the clamp area when installing my blade because it doesn't always drop all the way back down for a good blade tension..  

[OCtoolguy]

34 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

Same one you have.. and yeah sometimes you do have to lift it a little.. sometimes not.. Maybe you need more tension.. I believe there is different spots to put the spring for more or less tension on it.. I know I do have to push down on the clamp area when installing my blade because it doesn't always drop all the way back down for a good blade tension..  

I have mine set at the strongest point and I lubed the sliding screw/washer to take the drag off of it. I'll have to see if I can get it freed up a bit. Thanks.

 

[kmmcrafts]

1 hour ago, octoolguy said:

I have mine set at the strongest point and I lubed the sliding screw/washer to take the drag off of it. I'll have to see if I can get it freed up a bit. Thanks.

 

Come to think of it.. mine didn't either at first.. I've had a rattle back there for some time and figured it was bearings again.. maybe that screw has worked loose and there is no tension or drag whatsoever on that..  Hmm.. I haven't used my DeWalt in about a year now.. actually close to 2 years but did use it last year for the holiday orders that came in.. because I was more comfortable with that saw... as the Hawks and Excalibur was new to me and just didn't have the "feel" for them yet.. I bought all new bearing and sleeves for the whole saw.. and had big plans to rebuild the DeWalt this summer.... guess what? Haven't even touched it, LOL..