stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Feb 13, 2011 18:03:39 GMT -5
$39 bucks. I also bought one of the hf cheap blades for $5. The saw has a 5/8" arbor and the blade was 1/2 but a little dremeling and I was cutting! This saw is pretty loud and sprays like crazy (hence the mods I have already added). But for trimming up slabs this little machine rocks. Seems to have plenty of power.
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Post by deb193redux on Feb 13, 2011 19:12:13 GMT -5
yes. it works well. the noise wa my main problem. over time I have even started to avoid restaurants with poor accoustics.
FYI. The 7" saw HomeDepot had for $50 last xmas runs wisper quiet. I suspect the HF saw has sub standard bearings, but for the price ....
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Post by johnjsgems on Feb 13, 2011 20:03:16 GMT -5
The MK145 has a universal (Ryobi) motor that is 1/2 hp and 5500 rpm. It screams like a Skill saw right out of the box. The HF probably uses a similar motor.
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Post by deb193redux on Feb 13, 2011 20:52:24 GMT -5
glad to know the 145 is noisy too. I was blaming the cheap saw and thinking I should have gotten the 145. but I guess I did not do so bad if the 145 is noisy too.
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Feb 14, 2011 10:55:03 GMT -5
The Workforce is a nice quit saw (I've had one for years) but finding thin blades to trim out preforms is all but impossible (unless you want to pay more for the balde than the saw). I always wear earplugs when I'm sawing anyways (something about the pitch of cutting stone just goes right through me)so the noise was not a huge factor. THe cheap HF blade (you gotta look carefully as they sell at least a half dozen different 4" blades) is super thin (something like .008) and cuts real nice. I'm gonna order a better blade for this but nice to know I can get a decent blade anyday of the week at my local HF. All in all I'm happy to have a littl trim saw that uses thin blades!
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Post by deb193redux on Feb 14, 2011 13:26:48 GMT -5
I think it has become almost meaningless to refer to "WorkForce" and confuses a lot of people here. The one that got famous here, because it came with such a better than expected blade, is no longer sold. What Home Depot now sells under the same name, is in essence the QEP tile saw that Lowes always had. So there are two very different saw designs, and some unquantified difference between the blades. Once two things have the same name, the name kinda loses its value.
But I was actually speaking about something that was not even being sold using the name "WorkForce". Home Depot sells the new incarnation of the WF for $88 or more. It is quieter than the HF 4", but not whisper quiet.
The saw I spoke of (I made a posting on it last Dec.) was a special lot of no-name 7" tiles saw that they had on sale for $48 bucks. The blade was OK. The motor was so quite that I would not have known it was running except for the splashing water. I was so impressed, I bought a second one to lend to my friend Sara.
I agree about the thin blades. The whole reason I got a 4" in addition to the 7" and 10" trim saws I have was because the only place I would consider a thin blade is on a smaller diameter. Even at 6" I have had too much trouble with blades less than .020" bending on me.
I got a no-name .008" from Lopacki for pretty cheap, and I got a MK 303 .014" from jsgems for a good price (but not as cheap). I have not tried them out yet because I was so upset by the noise the day I used the 4" with the blade it came with. Still, I will set up the thin blade at some point. My bandsaw is so slow that I only use if if I need both thin-cuts AND sharp curves. I am hoping the HF 4" with the thin blades can be my goto saw for when I need thin cuts but not curves, and I know it will be a lot faster than the bandsaw.
I also really like the fact that the table is tight around the blade. Most tile saws are made to have the table tilt and this means a big slot/depression around the blade and small bits of work fall down into it.
Happy cutting!
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drjo
fully equipped rock polisher
Honduran Opal & DIY Nut
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,581
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Post by drjo on Feb 14, 2011 20:23:19 GMT -5
deb193redux, What size flange washers are you using on the thin blades?
Dr Joe
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Post by deb193redux on Feb 14, 2011 20:47:51 GMT -5
well, I have just been using whatever was on the saw. I gues it might make sense to get some larger ones to use with the thinner blades. Good point.
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drjo
fully equipped rock polisher
Honduran Opal & DIY Nut
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,581
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Post by drjo on Feb 16, 2011 8:44:00 GMT -5
1/3 the size of the blade and real thin blades can benefit from even larger ones. I use 3"-4" flanges on thin 6" blades and have never lost a blade.
Dr Joe
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Post by deb193redux on Feb 16, 2011 10:56:02 GMT -5
Do you have a good source for the flanges? I see a couple of sizes in the Lorton and Diamond Pacific catalogs. Don't see anything quite right at places like McMasters
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