New Hawk has arrived

[DRugerH]

Very nice saw.  I was looking at saving up for one of those, but as of last week, I am the owner of a "new to me" G4, and after rebuilding it (PO used it heavily), I am very happy with it, so I'm sure you will be as well.  Amazing saw.

 

Dan

[Rolf]

On 11/20/2021 at 10:13 PM, DRugerH said:

Very nice saw.  I was looking at saving up for one of those, but as of last week, I am the owner of a "new to me" G4, and after rebuilding it (PO used it heavily), I am very happy with it, so I'm sure you will be as well.  Amazing saw.

 

Dan

Good for you! When people ask me about buying older Hawks I always suggest staying away from the older ones. When I first tried a Hawk it was a pre G4 model and you had to reach around the Table tilt mechanism to get at the lower clamp. and it did not top feed. I still preferred it over the Hegner that I was trying. The main reason was that there was more room under the upper arm for my style of scrolling.  The G4 was a dramatic redesign.

[kmmcrafts]

The new BM series is basically a G4 with a better motor bearing block etc. so it's really a G4 with upgrades. They claim to have issues with the G4 motors bearings getting worn / hot and snapping the motors shaft so they upgraded the motor / bearing to resolve the issue.. Also machined the uprights from solid aluminum at the back of the BM series rather than having the casted uprights.. otherwise same saw I believe.

[Rolf]

23 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

The new BM series is basically a G4 with a better motor bearing block etc. so it's really a G4 with upgrades. They claim to have issues with the G4 motors bearings getting worn / hot and snapping the motors shaft so they upgraded the motor / bearing to resolve the issue.. Also machined the uprights from solid aluminum at the back of the BM series rather than having the casted uprights.. otherwise same saw I believe.

I may tear down my G4 motor after the holidays and check the the bearings. I don't remember ever checking them since 2005.  The only issue I am having is that the connector pin at the pitman arm and lower arm keeps walking out.  Have to see what that is all about.

[DRugerH]

You might need to replace the pitman arm and pin  I had that issue when I purchased my G4.  Of course, both the pitman arm and pin were very worn out, and made my saw sound like it had a rod knock.  I wonder if the pin walking out is an early sing of wear.  Now that I have the new pitman arm and pins, it fits very tight.  I had to use a clamp to seat it.  

I think that pitman arm and pin was only like $10.  Not sure of the other pin you are referring to, but give them a call and they can get you the parts you need cheap.  Replacing them is very easy too. 

Dan

[kmmcrafts]

3 hours ago, DRugerH said:

You might need to replace the pitman arm and pin  I had that issue when I purchased my G4.  Of course, both the pitman arm and pin were very worn out, and made my saw sound like it had a rod knock.  I wonder if the pin walking out is an early sing of wear.  Now that I have the new pitman arm and pins, it fits very tight.  I had to use a clamp to seat it.  

I think that pitman arm and pin was only like $10.  Not sure of the other pin you are referring to, but give them a call and they can get you the parts you need cheap.  Replacing them is very easy too. 

Dan

Hard to beat the parts prices for Hawk parts.. I think one could rebuild the whole machine for less than $75.. I rebuilt a DeWalt several years ago and all the bearings and parts totaled $230.. Did the same with my Excalibur last year and I had nearly $300 in parts. I also feel the price of a new Hawk is quite reasonable considering the quality of saw they are.. being able to run one for several years before needing any of those low cost parts..