New hawk keeps breaking spiral blades!

[William Young (SE BC)]

Hi Jeff;
I got a chuckle out of your comment

I wonder if deep down they are owned by Hyundai.

With utmost respect I would like to point out that Hyundai is not *just a Hyundai* anymore like they use to be.
I agree they had lots of problems back in the Hyundai Pony days but those days are long gone. . The modern day Hyundais are right in there with most of the best in later years but without the highest sticker shock like some makes.. Mine is a 2002 Accent which is considered the very base model in the whole lineup. It has been from coast to coast in Canada twice already and has been over much of USA. While approaching 90,000 KM now it has been virtually trouble free except for new tires and first set of brakes (which I installed myself) as well as a routine set of spark plugs even though it didnt need them. The gas mileage is absoloutly fantastic.
There are a lot of Hyundais in our part of Canada . Might say my particular area of BC is dubbed Hyundai country. The nearest town to me has sold more Hyundais than both the Ford and GM dealer combined in the past year. There is no Chrysler dealer in that town to compare to.
I was just wondering if you were aware of those facts or not. Hyundai also bought out Kia when they were having problems and now even Kia is being respected as a high value low maintenance vehicle since Hyundai is incorporating their strict manufacturing processes into the newer Kia's
W.Y.

[haze59]

Thanks for your input. Hawk recommended a new top holder and seems to have worked. Ive been using flat blades, I think I may be converting. Thanks again.

[Rolf]

I have not had any breakage problems in 1.5 years. I probably don't put as many hours on the saw as you do Jeff, plus you cut more hard woods than I do.
I just bought some more blade clamps (extras) for my G4. They are a simpler design but didn't work on my saw. RBI modified a couple and sent them to me with a couple of the original G4 design clamps. Their support is super no hassles. The new design will probably work better with the spirals as they have a smaller contact area, We will see and I will post again.

[Rivari]

I use 2/0 spirals quite often and Ihave experienced no problems with my G4 snapping blades. I wish I could offer a solution here...

What I can add though is that I have been having problems with my clamps. I get alot of slipping blades, I've prepared my blades with a touch of sandpaper but the slippage continues to occur. I hate to over muscle the clamps and possibly strip the set screw...any ideas how to cure this would be helpful.

[Rolf]

Rivari
Which clamps are you using, the solid aluminum block or the multiple piece assembly?

[BobD]

Hi Todd,
Did you hit the tip of your set screw with sandpaper too? After a while, the tip will get "hardened" and not grip as well. Put some 220-grit sandpaper flat on a surface, and rub the set screw across it a few times...that should help too!

I usually do it at least 1x a week with my Shopsmith.

Bob

[workin for wood]

I'm using the solid aluminum block blade holders and never had a problem with those. My re-occuring nightmare is the two little fingers that hold the blade holder in place break off. I've also had to replace the spring on the back of the saw 3 times now. They keep telling me too much tension breaks the fingers, but I know what tension is right. If I crank it any looser then the blade bows or breaks. I believe that the wood I cut is too strong for the little fingers to pull against. It's a shame because it's an easy fix...make the fingers fatter. It's so stupid...it's like trying to catch a 50 pound carp with 2 pound test.
Lets vote out the chief engineer at hawk and put me in charge. I'll fix have that saw upgraded before lunch.

[Rivari]

Rolf, my G4 has the aluminum block clamps.

Bob, I didn't think my set screw even made contact witht he blade. Just from what I can see it looks like my set screw just applies pressure to a set of "fingers" inside the clamp housing. I do agree though that touching up a seet screw needs to be done, my old Dremel is a good example of that.

[BobD]

Sorry about that...I've only got one of the old Hawks here at the office...I'm still waiting for them to send us the G4...

Bob

[Rivari]

Never an apology needed Bob, I should have been a bit more specific.