modify 226vs for top feeding?

[jimbro]

Hi gang - just picked up a rbi 226vs off craigslist. First time I'd ever seen one in person. I love it but I was wondering about converting it for top feeding. It appears the only thing preventing the top arm from coming up high enough is a bolt in the back that stops it. I'm guessing this is to keep a broken blade from stabbing you in the face. I also have a delta p20 that catches the top arm in case of a blade breakage and thought I might be able to make something like that or just a spring loaded stop that would allow the arm to be lifted higher and just remove the original bolt. Has anyone tried this? Is there some other function for that bolt that I don't realize? Thanks for your input.

[jimbro]

O.K. - I'm gonna go for it. Plan is to make an aluminum bracket and attach it to the piece that holds the blower nozzle. It already has two little holes drilled in it for some reason. I'm going to measure the height of the P20's arm to table when it's in the captured position and place my bracket at that height. The bracket will be 2" long with velcro on it and on the top arm so the arm with be captured if a blade breaks. I'll then remove the stop bolt at the back of the RBI. I'll post some pictures when it's done. TRY THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!

[hotshot]

Jimbro, you get this to work well, you will be a hero to many . . . .

I'm excited to see how this turns out

--------Randy

[stephenD]

Yup, I'll thank you if you are successful at this.

[JimL]

Those 2 little holes are for mounting the lower blade holder and inserting the new blade and then tighten the screw. The pivot pin of the blade holder goes in the hole. Now the holder can't turn. Like a third hand. Its on page 13 of my manual.

[jimbro]

Hi JimL - Thanks for the info. When I conceived of this project I didn't have a manual but have since downloaded the ultra 226vs manual and see what you're talking about. I don't know if my saw is an ultra or not - it's not written on it anywhere. Looks like it though and it does have the dc motor. Anyway I have been able to tighten the blade by hand, however I've got some ideas in case it does become a problem. Having problems finding the aluminum I want locally but I have done a mock up and it works good so far. One problem is the back cam. If you use it in any position other than full on it loses its setting. hmmm

[jimbro]

Keep the faith - parts are in the mail! I'm pretty confident this is going to work. Goal is not make any non-reversible mods to the saw. I'll keep you posted.

[jimbro]

The parts arrived on Friday and I now have a top feeding 226VS. Before you start rioting in the streets let me give a couple of caveats.
First of all I had to make a tool to hold the bottom blade holder while tightening or loosening. The 'tool' is a short piece of 1 X 2 oak that I cut into a L and notched for the blade holder. It fits between the hex nut for the pitman arm and the tall tilt base (item #032). A small hook keeps it from falling off. This adds an extra step that you may not want to deal with but I don't mind. It's quick and easy to use.
Secondly, I got rid of the rear cam-over handle (#011) and replaced it with a knob. The lever would not hold its setting when the arm was lifted. To keep the tension rod (#092) from turning, I replaced the round pivot (#079) with a piece of 1/2" delrin that I tapped for 1/4 -20. I tightened the nylon inset hex nut (#065) on the tension rod against the delrin to act as a jamb. This keeps the rod from turning when the knob is adjusted and works great. However - I need to do some testing to see how well the delrin holds up. Plan B would be to use some bronze bushings and a tapped steel rod.
I want to get everything tested and finalized before posting pictures so bear with me please.

[hotshot]

Very very cool. When you are ready, a video would be awesome in showing the top feed process. ------Randy

[stephenD]

I'm still looking forward to this.