Hawk owners

[Sawduster]

I recently purchased an older ( 2001 ) Hawk 226 still in the box. The saw performs well but I am having trouble with what I will call the blade " bouncing "
That is to say the vertical stroke does not seem square. Not sure how to explain. My 788 blade, when running , looks just like it does when at rest.
The Hawk blade , however looks " blurry " as if the blade is not traveling truly straight up and down . It is difficult to gauge the cutting point when starting from the edge of a project. Once the blade bites, it gets more manageable , but still does not seem true and smooth. The manual does not address this that I can find. Anyone have any input ? on a side note, the saw does vibrate quite a bit, to the point that I can feel it in the plywood floor of my shop at higher speeds
Thanx for any info you can share

[Cutting Cathy]

Hi Robert!! I'm not sure if this is what you mean, but check out this thread . Is this what you mean?? I don't know if you got the same operators manual with your saw that I have (manual #: 703-5729) but if you do on page 26 there are instructions for "Front cam-over handle and its blade holder bracket set screw adjustment". When I had the problem (which seemed like it was a forward to back movement) I called them and they walked me through it. By tightening that set screw the blade doesn't seem to move like it was. Let me know if you can't find this in your manual. I can give you the instructions from mine if you need them. Hope this helps!!!

Cathy in NE

[millwab]

Robert,
I have an older model 220VS that I bought used. It doesn't have the "set screw adjustment" that Cathy talked about. I was concerned about the apparent forward/backward "motion" of the blade, and when I called the Hawk tech support person (sorry, I don't remember his name now) he told me that was intentional. His explanation was that the blade is straight up-and-down on the cutting stroke and backs off a bit on the return stroke for kerf clearance. Mine has that same "blurry" look as yours when it's running "freely", but has never been an issue when actually cutting. Unlike yours, though, I do not have any kind of vibration issues. If in doubt, give the tech support a call — they are very helpful.

[Jim8Mad]

I don't own a Hawk so I may not be of much help here. But I did recently purchase a used Delta 40-570 and I had some problems with vibration and blade movement. At first I thought it was the usual forward and backward movement that some saws have, and the vibration could have been caused by the portable workbench I had it clamped to at the time. I also seemed to be going through blades much faster than with my Dremel saw. Once I started cutting a small and delicate fretwork piece I noticed I didn't have much control over the blade when I made tight turns or did really small cutouts, and this is when I saw the blade was actually bouncing side to side also. The bushing in the upper arm was worn and caused the arm to move side to side when the saw was running at anything over 1/3 speed. This is what I determined to be the problem so I ordered a new upper arm (couldn't get just the bushing by itself). I haven't installed it yet so I don't know for sure if that was my problem, but I am almost positive that's it.

I suggest trying to move the upper and lower arms side to side without a blade installed to check for any sort of movement. There shouldn't really be any sort of movement and this may indicate a worn bushing.

Like I said, I'm not a Hawk owner so I may be way off on this one. Good luck!

The hawk is designed to cut forward on the down stroke and moved back a bit on the of stroke. This is a great design which gives you greater control over the wood and your piece is not get stuck in the blade smack up and down in a noisy finger smacking chatter. So the hawk scroll saw blade should local blurry when it is in motion.