bb
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Post by bb on May 31, 2015 9:19:27 GMT -5
I've recently purchased the KSS 400 and I have some general questions. First couple of questions are on rails. What length rails do you guys use to rip 8' sheet goods? Does the 160 and 110 together work well? I think it would work given the KSS 400 doesn't have the two adjustment gibs that track saws have. This means the saw can start and finish a cut farther off the rail than saws with the two gibs. Let me know. I don't see the MT55 in my near future since my TS55 is still going strong, but, can you share rails between different saws without splinter guard issues? That brings me to my next set of questions, blades.
I ordered a few extra blades with my saw. I cut a lot of PVC trim and sheet goods which is very hard on blades so a cheaper blade would be nice. The problem with other blades is the thin kerf, and riving knife the Mafell saws come with. I know guys like 7 and others use different blades, what has your experience been with these thicker kerf blades? Any issue with the thinner riving knife? I also cut aluminum from time to time, is there a Mafell blade for this and does anyone have experience cutting metals with the KSS 400?
I know Tom G. already talked about making your own case, getting the Mafell, or Systainer, and the 770 rail, if anyone has anything new to add on this topic please chime in.
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Post by wrightwoodwork on May 31, 2015 10:12:04 GMT -5
If I'm ripping sheets I use the 1600 and the 1100 rails. Which works really well. Now if I'm cross cutting the sheets I tend to use 1100 rail with the angle attachment and use an 800 rail with the 1600 as it is what's available. I should get another 1100 rail. It does work with the 800 rails it's just a bit more footery but still possible. I like to have the rails set up for both cross cuts and rips at the same time. Last year the houses I was doing all had plastic facia and soffits using the standard 32 place and turning the good side down wasn't much of a problem and any chips that did occur where irrevalant as the cover strip would hide them. There was also some honeycomb like plastic lining. That liked to chip very easily if set at full depth I did find that if I set the depth about 2 or 3 mm more than needed it almost helped to eliminate the chipping. The only thing is plastic used to stick to the saw with static. A proper blade for plastic will be better. I've no experience on cutting metals so can't really comment on that side of things
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Post by jonathan on Jun 1, 2015 3:28:13 GMT -5
I look forward to you hearing your findngs regarding the KSS400 Brice.
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Post by 7 on Jun 2, 2015 1:22:35 GMT -5
I've recently purchased the KSS 400 and I have some general questions. First couple of questions are on rails. What length rails do you guys use to rip 8' sheet goods? Does the 160 and 110 together work well? I think it would work given the KSS 400 doesn't have the two adjustment gibs that track saws have. This means the saw can start and finish a cut farther off the rail than saws with the two gibs. Let me know. I don't see the MT55 in my near future since my TS55 is still going strong, but, can you share rails between different saws without splinter guard issues? That brings me to my next set of questions, blades. I ordered a few extra blades with my saw. I cut a lot of PVC trim and sheet goods which is very hard on blades so a cheaper blade would be nice. The problem with other blades is the thin kerf, and riving knife the Mafell saws come with. I know guys like 7 and others use different blades, what has your experience been with these thicker kerf blades? Any issue with the thinner riving knife? I also cut aluminum from time to time, is there a Mafell blade for this and does anyone have experience cutting metals with the KSS 400? I know Tom G. already talked about making your own case, getting the Mafell, or Systainer, and the 770 rail, if anyone has anything new to add on this topic please chime in. I am not sure my answer is very relavant because it may not apply to a broad audience. I do all types of construction- managing large jobs, managing small jobs, hands on work: tile, framing, finish work, decks, sheds, built ins, etc etc. This is the reason I wonder if my info will apply. I use the KSS 400 mainly for framing on certain jobs (regular worm drive a lot still too) and decks. If I am going to cut melamine, veneered MDF, MDF sheets, etc then I always use either the MT55 or one of a couple different table saws. My point being that an absolutely perfect cut isn't usually crucial. That said the cuts are very nice. I don't even know if I have very slightly moved the splinter strip by using thicker kerf blades from time to time but I haven't noticed any decrease in cut quality as a result. Even if my splinter guard is a small fraction away now it doesn't really cause splintering problems. I have used the KSS300, 400 & MT55 all on the same F guide rails with random different blades although I use the MT55 far more than the others on the F rails. I haven't noticed a cut quality compromise even on the occasional critical material like veneered MDF. I think the cheapest blades I own are some Oshlun blades I got from amazon- I use them for Trex & Timbertech decking which dulls blades much like PVC. They are a good fit for that. I have also used the diablo, mafell, & tenryu blades. I have the 770 rail- I like it but hardly use it. I bought it right before a big shelving job in a cold storage room and it was worth getting it just for that job alone. I wouldn't mind getting the case...I could make one but never will, too busy. I'm almost positive the 160 and 110 rail connected are enough to cut 8' sheets. I'll double check when I am using them on the next job.
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bb
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Post by bb on Jun 2, 2015 20:02:45 GMT -5
I haven't had much to use the KSS 400 on but I did get to make a few cuts today on some 2x material. I've had the riving knife hang up an a couple of compound miter cuts. I first though maybe the blade was deflecting in the cut but after a second look I saw the riving knife was misaligned, sort of angled out of alignment. I haven't dropped or handled the saw roughly so I'm not sure I did anything to cause this misalignment. As of now I was able to flex it back into place and it seems to be working. After hearing about others having good results with wider kerf blades I'm sort of not a fan of the thin kerf Mafell blade design. Also, the mechanism/arm that holds the riving knife is a little flimsy allowing the riving knife to flex quite easily.
Another issue, I'm getting some binding setting the depth on the blade. Raising the saw up works kinda okay, but lower it I get binding and it makes adjusting the depth a pain. If I torque the handle down as I lower the depth it helps. I don't think this is a matter of lube, I'm fairly sure it's binding on the posts the motor rides on. I'm going to give it a little time to see if it works itself out, or I learn a better technique.
The good is the saw is fun to use and I was surprises at the cut quality of the 32t blade on prefinished maple ply. It was perfect, no splintering of the veneer at all. Dust collection was also better than I expected too when hooked up to a dust extractor.
If anyone has advice on the depth adjustment issue, I'm listening.
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Post by GhostFist on Jun 2, 2015 21:52:32 GMT -5
Holding the saw in both hands off of a table or workpiece, does the base move freely, up and down when manipulating the depth lever? Making sure the depth lock is disengaged of course? I know that's the most basic of trouble shoots, but I had to ask. The parallel rise and fall system on these saws certainly takes some getting used to. I had trouble with it at first but now I quite like it. If the depth is not easily adjustable with the lock disengaged, there is a problem with the saw. Also curious as to what was out of wack with the riving knife. was it bent? This should not be a problem out of the box. I own the smaller 300, and it is a solid little powerhouse, done everything with it for 4 years now not a thing is out of place.
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bb
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Post by bb on Jun 2, 2015 22:10:30 GMT -5
Yep I've disengaged the lock, I use two hands, it doesn't move freely. After hearing how yours works I'm a bit more concerned about it now.
Yes the riving was "bent", although I'd say bent would be sort of a strong word. Very slightly bent that caused it to not be perfectly aligned. So as I pushed the saw into the cut, as the riving knife is about to enter the kerf, it hung up because it wasn't aligned. I seemed to fix that pretty easily.
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Post by 7 on Jun 2, 2015 23:25:08 GMT -5
That's not too cool. I have never even noticed the riving knife on my 400 so needless to say it hasn't been a problem. I'll take a close look at the depth adjustment next time I use the saw but I don't think mine is sticky at all. I'll see if I can think of any reason why it would be though. I like the Tenryu black blade, I think it is about a medium kerf.
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Post by MrToolJunkie on Jun 3, 2015 0:05:41 GMT -5
I do not think the riving knife should bind out of the box - I have had zero issues with my KSS80 - it was perfect on the first cut. I might give Timberwolf a call and see what they have to say on that issue.
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Post by wrightwoodwork on Jun 3, 2015 0:38:31 GMT -5
There is a knack to the rise and fall mechanism. Sometimes it does get stiff usually giving all the moving parts a spray with lubricant including the rods the saw slides up and down on. Also I usually find it is best to use the left hand and put a slight pressure to the right as pushing up and down
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bb
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Post by bb on Jun 3, 2015 6:53:57 GMT -5
I sent Timberwolf an email early this morning, I'll let you guys know what they say.
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Post by GhostFist on Jun 3, 2015 9:22:36 GMT -5
Could you do a phone video showing the problem here?
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bb
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Post by bb on Jun 3, 2015 15:38:33 GMT -5
Could you do a phone video showing the problem here? I did shoot a quick video for the guys a Timberwolf to see, and they've never seen this problem before. They don't have a KSS 400 there to look at to offer some ideas to help trouble shoot the problem. I talked to David on the phone and he offered to have me ship my saw back to them to look at or said I could do a little exploring on my own without voiding the warranty. I decided to take a quick look at it myself. I removed the blade and the top black plastic portion of the upper blade housing, that part that has "Mafell" and "KSS 400" printed on it. This allowed me to see and clean all the linkage of the depth adjustment lever and the rods the motor housing rides on. I am pretty sure there was some debris in between one of the rods and the holes in the motor housing they ride in. The depth adjustment works so much better now. Once in a while it will have a little resistance from 0-10mm depth when plunging down. Other than that occasional blip, it works smoothly. I had the saw apart, cleaned, a little lube and back together in short order. That was far easier and faster than sending it back. I should have shot some pictures when I had my saw apart some you guys can see exactly what to clean if yours ever gets gunked up-although it's straight forward so you won't have any trouble figuring it out on your own if the need ever arises.
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Post by wrightwoodwork on Jun 3, 2015 16:17:00 GMT -5
That sounds good. A problem that I have had on both versions of my kss400 saws is the saw guard not returning. To fix it I end up striping the guard off and giving everything a good clean then reassembling and it usually sorts the problem
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Post by GhostFist on Jun 3, 2015 21:01:19 GMT -5
I do some regular maintenance of a similar order on my 300. Still out of the box you expect it in proper working order
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