New hawk keeps breaking spiral blades!

[haze59]

Recently got a used Hawk220VS from a retiring scroller. Ive had a Dremel 1680 the last 4 years. I use 2/0 spiral blades mostly, with no problems. The Hawk cuts great for about 45 seconds then BANG! Very frustrated. Tension seems good, I tried less, more, and yelling. Anyone have an idea? Thanks. Haze

[Buzz]

Breaking Blades

Haze59. I don't have a clue, but it may possibly be a bad bearing which may be hard to detect. You could try calling Hawk at 800-487-2623. The few times I have had to call them, they were most helpful.
Buzz

[PeteB]

There's an adjustment on the Hawk, for slack in the quick-release tensioner (the small lever near the top of the blade), that may eliminate some variation in tension that could be causing your blades to pop. It's the brass Allen screw under the lever.

Dummy me, though, I don't remember exactly how to do it, and I don't think it's in the manual, which I've misplaced at the moment, along with the Allen wrench I'd use to test it. Guess whose shop needs a cleaning.

I think you simply release the main tension lever at the back of the saw. then snug the Allen screw, not tightly but enough to eliminate play.

Pete

[haze59]

I called Hawk, told me about set screw adjustment. It did need a little adjusting but still breaking spiral blades. I put in a reverse tooth and didnt have any problem. I just cant figure this out. Thanks for your input though. I'm new to this computer stuff, being able to talk to other scrollers is pretty cool. Haze.

[Daryl185]

Haze here is a link to Hawks forum hope I am not over stepping by posting this
http://cybermessageboard.fatcow.com/...ools/index.php

[Marsha]

Recently got a used Hawk220VS from a retiring scroller. Ive had a Dremel 1680 the last 4 years. I use 2/0 spiral blades mostly, with no problems. The Hawk cuts great for about 45 seconds then BANG! Very frustrated. Tension seems good, I tried less, more, and yelling. Anyone have an idea? Thanks. Haze

A very big sledge hammer might work.
Marsha

[haze59]

Thanks, I'll check it out.

[workin for wood]

Once in a while I think about the sledge to my Hawk. It breaks something almost once a month. pretty dissapointing for a touted industrial grade machine. The people in service are great for getting me parts, but how about fixing the root of the problem. I have enough free warranty Hawk parts lying around to have payed half the cost of the machine. I wonder if deep down they are owned by Hyundai.

[Rolf]

Hyundai is sneeking up the quality list.Who would have expected that.
I have the G4 and have not had any problems with blade breakage.
I tension my 2/0 spirals at the same tension as the 2/0 flat blades.
If the blade adjustment on the 220 is the same as on my G4 I have the Cam lever at the back pointing straight up before tensioning a 2/0.
Does your blade holder move up and down when you flip the front tensioner?
I ask this because a friend of mine has a G4 and his cam assembly had come apart and he didn't realize it. The front tensioning lever had no affect. I took it all apart and repaired it with. He has had no problems since.

[earlinjax]

I had a similar problem. Lately, it has not been as bad. What I did was: Slow down the speed of the saw; switched to FD "new" spirals. Saw speed is probably the worst culprit. Rememeber, you are using a 2/0 blade.

Sometimes I can cut until the blade dulls and sometimes only a few minutes. There may be a variance between blades but I suspect it is cutting technique. Also, with the Hawk you have to bottom feed and it is easy to get a kink in the blade. There probably is a formula involving saw speed, kink, material = heat = broken blade.

When putting the blade in the blade holders, try to keep the blade as vertical as possible, Especially, in the top holder. If not put in straight the top of the blade will bend and not only does that make it difficult to feed through the start holes it also breaks the blade fast. As you continue to remove and insert the blade from cut to cut I find some times the blade stretches and the longer blade is harder to get it straigth in the top holder. I have nipped off a little of the blade at times to solve that problem.

Hope it gets better. I prefer mostly flat blades but some cuts are a heck of a lot easier with a spiral.

EarlinJax

[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]

EarlinJax

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?