Which Harbor freight Saw

[Gulf]

Re: Which Harbor freight Saw

I see potential for an after market product.

Any one that wants to patent the idea and approach the wet say moguls, go ahead. Just, please, cut me in .

[Les]

Re: Which Harbor freight Saw

I see potential for an after market product.

[Gulf]

Re: Which Harbor freight Saw

Gulf, I too have been filling and refilling the bucket. I am totally digging your toilet tank valve idea. I have a friend who will be building in the future I may try to see if he would let me do that for him.

David

Thanks' David,
It would be a simple job to drill a hole in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket and plumb it to a garden hose. It would have saved me a lot of steps, and some aggravating moments when I was ready to cut but, the pump did not have enough head of water over it to pick up . I'm just too lazy and to close to the end to rig one up .

If you do, please let us know how it works.

[Dino69]

Re: Which Harbor freight Saw

Gulf, I too have been filling and refilling the bucket. I am totally digging your toilet tank valve idea. I have a friend who will be building in the future I may try to see if he would let me do that for him.

David

[Tscarborough]

Re: Which Harbor freight Saw

Here is mine. It is not a HF saw, but if you can afford the 1400 buck outlay, you can probably sell it for almost what you paid for it if you keep it clean (probably $1200, so the net-net is cheaper than an HF saw and it cuts a lot better). In addition to the 5 gallon bucket, take a tupperware container a little bigger than the pump, wrap it all in an old washcloth and ziptie it closed. The pump will last longer and the water will remain cleaner.

[Gulf]

Re: Which Harbor freight Saw

No doubt place your pump in a bucket of clean water next to the saw. Way better than in the muck.

David

For most of my build, I have been filling the bucket each time it got low with a garden hose pistol nozzle. If I had it to do over again I would rig up a cheep toilet tank valve .

[Dino69]

Re: Which Harbor freight Saw

I am using the old saw right now on my build and it is holding up fine. I am also using a fairly cheap segmented blade, $35, for all my cutting. It is still going strong on course seven. I cut fairly slow.

I like that you can angle the head on the new saw. The adjustable guide tray looks like a winner of an idea also. I am not sure how the tray slides, but the old one is easy to clean if it gets all gritted up.

No doubt place your pump in a bucket of clean water next to the saw. Way better than in the muck.

David

[shuboyje]

Re: Which Harbor freight Saw

I've built 2 complete ovens on one HF blade and it still looks to have a lot of life left in it. In my field of work we use expensive blades to cut daily. I was taught from the start of my apprenticeship to take it slow, let the blade do the cutting and not to force it for best blade life.

[RandyJ]

Re: Which Harbor freight Saw

I don't have any idea how long the HF blades last but I got one of the Ridgid segmented blades and only used it on paver stones so far. I made probally 70 + cuts and the blade still looks new. Seams like a great blade.

Randy

[drunklaw]

Re: Which Harbor freight Saw

I had the old version of the HR Saw and had the sames issues with the on/off box. I bought the new version when I started my build (40" dome) last month. I have used it for all of the cuts on the dome. I was able to get it for $269.00 and use the 20% off coupon making it $215.00. I bought the extended warr. after talking with the employees who said all you do is bring it back for any issue and they just give you a new unit in the box without question. This includes the pump dying.

The Good: new saw tilts to 45 deg and has adjustable guide for tray top. The tray is larger and has rubber padding. Water tray is plastic and lighter to move around.

The Bad: rubber pad is unsticking. LOUD motor.

I bought the HR blade and its about 50% remaining

Just my 2 cents.

MK

[Gulf]

Re: Which Harbor freight Saw

Gulf,

Not to hijack this thread, I was wondering why my blades were not lasting. But after you mentioned about the 70% alumina brick the light bulb came on. My bricks are 65% alumina high duty bricks from a steel mill and I was only getting about 1.5 -2 courses per blade. I am on blade 9 right now, granted they are cheap blades from Ebay. So "rjdeal home", feel good you are only on your second blade.............

I just gained a whole new respect for your build. Damn! I'm surprised that you ain't in to more blades that that. Prior to my oven, I had only cut bricks with a brick set. When I installed my retaining walls, I soon found out, that picking and sorting was the only way to go. That sht is hard.

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: Which Harbor freight Saw

Gulf,

Not to hijack this thread, I was wondering why my blades were not lasting. But after you mentioned about the 70% alumina brick the light bulb came on. My bricks are 65% alumina high duty bricks from a steel mill and I was only getting about 1.5 -2 courses per blade. I am on blade 9 right now, granted they are cheap blades from Ebay. So "rjdeal home", feel good you are only on your second blade.............

[rjdealhome]

Re: Which Harbor freight Saw

Gulf:
Yes, that's the HF blade that I was using. Maybe I got a bummer, but I was down to the bare steel by the third course, as I mentioned earlier. There was absolutely nothing left on the edge, and all it would do was grind away on the brick, throwing sparks out all over the place. Actually,it was a bit disappointing, because it had been tearing through the brick earlier on, and overall I have been very happy with the saw.
We'll see how it goes with the Husky blade---may be no better in the end.
For what it's worth, I'm just cutting medium duty Maryland firebrick, manufactured by Mt. Savage. I'm putting an angle on the sides, but not beveling, so that is three cuts per brick.

[Les]

Re: Which Harbor freight Saw

I am not sure how much longer it would have lasted but I screwed up and tried to cut one + or -70% alumina lime kiln brick which is what my retainer walls are made from.

Yea, I sent a few harbor freight blades to purgatory cutting paver's. They seemed to do well on the softer firebrick - they didn't stand a chance against something hard.

[Gulf]

Re: Which Harbor freight Saw

I have used the old saw which has served me well, but the pivot head would certainly be useful.
One thing I would recommend is the purchase of a diamond blade at some place other than HF. I had purchased the HF diamond blade (about $30) at the time I got the saw, but it wore out by the time I finished cutting the floor, soldier, and the first two courses. Got a Husky replacement blade at Home Depot. Haven't used it enough (cutting three additional courses) to know if it will last longer, but it was $39 compared to the $30 HF blade, and it seems to be holding up better.

Rjdealhome,
Is this the blade that you got from HF?

I was about to send some praises this way on the HF blade that I used for a what I thought was a heck of a lot of cuts on my oven. Atleast, by far what you got, and more than what most would need to finish their ovens.
I'm not knocking the HD blade because I don't have any experince with it. It just wasn't available at my local store at the time I needed a replacement. I am not sure how much longer it would have lasted but I screwed up and tried to cut one + or -70% alumina lime kiln brick which is what my retainer walls are made from.