kwik cut power hacksaw

[andreas]

I just bought this yesterday. Seems to be in good shape, although I don't think the motor is original. Anyone have any tips on how to set this thing up to work properly? Anything I need to watch out for?

[Bob Menard]

No photo accompanied this post

[andreas]

Sorry about the pics. I've posted before and after pics here. I took it apart and cleaned it up. Fellow I bought it from used it in an auto body shop and it was covered in greasy bondo dust. I installed a new motor and replaced some bolts here and there. It cuts well and is true in the horizontal, but runs out to the left (as you stand behind the machine). I'm trying to figure out how to correct this.

[ThomasPowers]

Did you try a different blade with it? If it's not a problem with the bladee then you have to check the alignment of the blade holder.

Keep the running gear oiled!

[Old N Rusty]

I would make a guard for that chain sprocket, it's scarey.

[Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver]

Not sure what you mean by "in the horizontal". So it cuts straight down OK? Check that the back jaw of the vise is square with the blade.

[bajajoaquin]

I think that Grant has it backwards. If I'm reading the note on the picture correctly, it cuts square "front to back" but is off "top to bottom." Or, if the blade were a fuselage of an airplane (or the hull of a boat), it would cut fine in pitch and yaw, but be out in roll.

I'm not familiar with power hacksaws, but I know that in every adjustment article or manual I've seen for a band saw, the very first piece of advice is to start with a new blade, and then go from there. If it's an old blade, change it. If it's a new blade, well, you're all ready one step along in the process!

An old blade won't cut true, and you will be chasing adjustments forever.

[Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver]

OK, that sounds right! Yeah, new blade first.

[Nathan Hall]

New blade, and good coolant flow, heat will reak havoc on these things because of blade failure, also feed could cause it to run off, thats why a lot of times you will see chunks of steel rigged at various points on these and old band saws, more weight behind pivot slows down feed more weight at end speeds up. Neat looking old saw you got there.

[andreas]

Bajajoaquin has it right. It cuts true front to back, but from the top down it runs out. Blade is brand new. I put a square on the base and checked the bar the saw frame runs on, it seems to be good.

[John B]

Is there any lift/wear in the bearings on the pivot arm ?

If you place your square on the vice bed, and check the blade through the arc of travel, it could appear square without any load on,
However if you lower it in contact to cut, the axis may move, and the blade would cut out of square (as you put it from standing at the rear of the machine) to the left due to loading, ie it will lift over the blade, and dip at the other end of the spindle.

The thicker the material, the more pronounced the problem

Hope you solve the problem

[peacock]

I agree with John. Also check the saw frame on the slide bar to see if it is loose , should be a way to take up the slack if there is any.
My saw is a Saw Master, and it was doing things similar to yours. I changed ends with the blade. Mine cutts square with the blade cutting
on the push side of the stroke. The saw at my buddies cutts better on the pull, might give it a try, don't cost much.

[clinton]

So it is possible to flip the blade on these saws? I will try that on mine

[John B]

It is also a possibility that the gib key/shims on the slideway are incorrectly adjusted, allowing the blade to take its own path vertically.

[andreas]

John, gib key? shims? slideway? I have never heard these terms. What are they, where are they on my saw and how are they adjusted? Thanks

[peacock]

Clinton not all saws can be flipped. Some saws have a device to relieve down pressure on the blade for the return stroke.
Better check yours out before you try.

[John B]

John, gib key? shims? slideway? I have never heard these terms. What are they, where are they on my saw and how are they adjusted? Thanks

I am not familiar with your particular saw, and can only go on the pictures.

Generally when machinery has any motion, that motion is guided by slideways.

Slideing parts have to have a clearance to work.

Most machinery leaves the point of manufacture with the moving parts made or adjusted to the specifications required for efficient working.

There are various ways of providing slideways on machinery dependant on what mechanical operations are being carried out, the most common ones being dovetail types (as on milling machines and lathe cross slides), flat and vee (as on lathe beds), rectangular (as appears to be similar to your saw pics) and occassionally you will come across round slideways but these normally do not have adjustment, (new bearings being fitted to compensate for wear)

It is not usual practice to have finished machined parts that fit exactly (with the exception of the round slideways), so most are "fitted" to suit.

This "fitting" may involve the use of an adjustable insert such as a parallel or tapered strip of wear resisting steel that can be adjusted by applying pressure by adjusting screws situated on the outer edges of the slides, (they can also have screw adjusters that will increase the depth of insertion if the clearances on the slides or packing) These adjustable strips are what I term gib keys, Gib keys may or may not have a head on them which is utilised to locate the depth of the insertion

Shims are very thin strips of steel that can be added or removed to alter the clearance on moving parts (Like very thin spacers)

After a long period of use the slideing parts will wear.

To help compensate for this wear, you can adjust the clearances by altering the position of the key or shim whichever is appropriate on your machine

By looking at you pictures, it would appear that there are 4 screws securing the moving saw frame to the slide arm from the sides,

I would suggest examining that area, to see if there is excessive movement sideways there, and if so, see if there are any shims(Packing pieces) that can be removed, to close this space up

On the top of the saw's frame you also have two adjusting screws which if you release the locknuts, can be adjusted to remove any surplus movement in the vertical axis (This may not initially be apparent due to the weight of the saw)

I hope this helps and does not confuse you further.

[pkrankow]

I have seen blocking used in the vise to allow different portions of the blade to be used while cutting, so the blade lasts longer. Several pieces can be stacked in if needed so the saw is cutting on different teeth for smallish stock.

If the saw has an auto-off the saw can run "unattended". An auto-off switch can be rigged easily. I would recommend "unattended" be it running while you are doing something else in the shop.

As for the run out, there is probably a fairly simple answer to it, and hopefully it is an adjustment and not a rebuild. Make sure the machine sits level, and the frame has no twist in it.

Phil

[clinton]

Clinton not all saws can be flipped. Some saws have a device to relieve down pressure on the blade for the return stroke.
Better check yours out before you try.

Thanks for the heads up on that, I do not think my saw has that. I just picked it up on Friday its a small craftsman 14 inch blade saw. I cuts very slow 10 min to cut 3/4 inch bar stock and that was a new blade 10 TPI. I want to try a 14 TPI blade but I need to order it

[pkrankow]

Thanks for the heads up on that, I do not think my saw has that. I just picked it up on Friday its a small craftsman 14 inch blade saw. I cuts very slow 10 min to cut 3/4 inch bar stock and that was a new blade 10 TPI. I want to try a 14 TPI blade but I need to order it

That is probably about right on this machine. These are phased out for band saws in industry because of the time to cut. They are great for a small shop because they are bullet proof reliable.

Phil

[andreas]

I think I have found the problem with this saw not cutting straight (running out to one side). The piece that tightens the blade into the bow (see pic) had been (poorly) repaired at some point, and as the blade was tightened, the blade became twisted. I made up a new piece and the saw now cuts straight and true. Thanks for the help.

[Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver]

I sold a power hack saw once that had what was known as a "Johnson-bar" drive. The had two jaws so it always centered in the same spot and there was a linkage from the vise to the crank that changed the stroke of the saw. So, if you had a 2 inch part in the saw it might take a 12" stroke, but if you had a 12" part in the saw it only took a 2" stroke! This allowed all the teeth to be used, many hack-saws only wear out the teeth at the back end while the rest of the blade is like new!

[Michael]

I just picked up one of these last weekend. I"ll try and find a motor today. Not too worried about the cutting time, and it'll take up a lot less space than the horizontal bandsaw. No vice parts save the one fixed jaw. Jury rigged vices seem the #1 mod to these saws on a Google image search.

[Kyler Brown]

I was having some problems with the my blade not running straight.  I liked the advice here about getting the new blade first, and if that doesn't work, well then you're one step closer to finding the real problem.  Thanks for sharing all of your inputs, as this has helped me out quite a bit!  http://www.kwikcut.com.au