Lesson learned on my MM16 BS

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Well I guess this proves you're never too old to learn new things and make new mistakes. I've never tilted the table on my MM16 but today I needed a 15 degree cut so I loosended the bolt and tilted the table. It seemed like a struggle moving the table and this should have tipped me off. But nooooo.

Well I'm about half way through with my cut when I hear an abnormal noise and so I shut off the saw. Before I could fully depress the brake I see the blade coming off the wheels and contacting things it's not supposed to contact. BTW this is my Lennox 1" carbide blade. I opened the doors; that is I tried to. The blade had come off and jammed the lower door shut. After working on this for a while I finally got it opened to see the blade had cut off part of the lower door inner lip. Oh well some metal working for me. After trimming the loose metal I saw what had happened to cause this.

I had accidentally hit the lower guide with the table and knocked it way out of alignment. After studying this I realized you have to LOWER THE LOWER GUIDE when you tilt the table so you have the proper clearance. I'm writing this rant so others won't do the same thing. O.K. so maybe I'm the only one to do this and I did feel really dumb when it happend. Me and my Mini Max have recovered for now but I don't know about the blade. Alan in Md.

[Jim Becker]

Thanks for the tip, Alan. I haven't had the need to tilt the table yet, but will certainly take heed to your warning about adjusting the guides as part of the process! Whacking a $190+ blade into the steel door is not a nice thing to discover...

[Bruce Page]

Alan, thank you for the heads-up. I haven't needed to tilt my table either but I'm positive I would have done EXACTLY the same thing!!

Jim, I only had to give $135 for my 1" Lennox carbide tipped blade. I think someone owes you a rebate!

[Jim Becker]

Jim, I only had to give $135 for my 1" Lennox carbide tipped blade. I think someone owes you a rebate!

Bruce, I didn't pay $190, either. Not even close. I was quoting list price from MM because there is no "one price" for such things it seems.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Wow...makes me really think! I probably would have done the same thing myself. Glad both you and your machine are safe.

Maurice

[Chris Padilla]

Bruce, I didn't pay $190, either. Not even close. I was quoting list price from MM because there is no "one price" for such things it seems.

Festool is the king of one price....

[Bruce Page]

Bruce, I didn't pay $190, either. Not even close. I was quoting list price from MM because there is no "one price" for such things it seems.

Whew! After reading your post, I thought that I got an exceptional deal and that almost never happens!

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Well I guess this proves you're never too old to learn new things and make new mistakes. I've never tilted the table on my MM16 but today I needed a 15 degree cut so I loosended the bolt and tilted the table. It seemed like a struggle moving the table and this should have tipped me off. But nooooo.

Well I'm about half way through with my cut when I hear an abnormal noise and so I shut off the saw. Before I could fully depress the brake I see the blade coming off the wheels and contacting things it's not supposed to contact. BTW this is my Lennox 1" carbide blade. I opened the doors; that is I tried to. The blade had come off and jammed the lower door shut. After working on this for a while I finally got it opened to see the blade had cut off part of the lower door inner lip. Oh well some metal working for me. After trimming the loose metal I saw what had happened to cause this.

I had accidentally hit the lower guide with the table and knocked it way out of alignment. After studying this I realized you have to LOWER THE LOWER GUIDE when you tilt the table so you have the proper clearance. I'm writing this rant so others won't do the same thing. O.K. so maybe I'm the only one to do this and I did feel really dumb when it happend. Me and my Mini Max have recovered for now but I don't know about the blade. Alan in Md.

What do you think happens to a carbide tip when it cuts metal as happened in this case? All the tips are in place and seem pretty sharp. You think the hardness of carbide means this blade is still sharp? Just wondering about this. Thanks for the kind words guys. Alan in Md.

[Tom Scott]

Alan,
You're tip is too late for me. I did this same thing shortly after I got my MM16. The 1" blade (not a Lennox) was in place, I loosened up the table bolts (not the easiest of procedures on the MM), and kep pushing and pushing to get it to the correct angle. Finally realized why it was so hard to rotate the table when I moved around to the front and saw the blade kinked because it was restrained by the lower guides...luckily before I turned on the saw, though.
This is my first BS, and I figured it was one of those things everyone else knew but me. Sorry for your incident, but glad to know I'm not the only one.

Tom

[Bruce Page]

What do you think happens to a carbide tip when it cuts metal as happened in this case? All the tips are in place and seem pretty sharp. You think the hardness of carbide means this blade is still sharp? Just wondering about this. Thanks for the kind words guys. Alan in Md.

Alan, carbide is a lot harder than the mild steel of the door lip and it doesn’t sound like you put any side load on the blade (the carbide teeth didn’t pop off) so I’d reinstall it and go for it. Obviously, it is not as sharp as it was, but it is probably still sharp enough.

[Brian Buckley]

Alan, sorry to here of your mishap. However, thanks for the warning. I have a MM 20 on order.

[Michael Perata]

The least well designed part of the MM16 is the table tilt. I have not seen the new ones but I understand they did some rethinking there.

As for $190 for a carbide blade, Chris P. paid for mine. All that was necessary was to be there at the Sacto show when he bought that monster F/S and tell MM I sent him.

Thanks bro!

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Alan,
You're tip is too late for me. I did this same thing shortly after I got my MM16. The 1" blade (not a Lennox) was in place, I loosened up the table bolts (not the easiest of procedures on the MM), and kep pushing and pushing to get it to the correct angle. Finally realized why it was so hard to rotate the table when I moved around to the front and saw the blade kinked because it was restrained by the lower guides...luckily before I turned on the saw, though.
This is my first BS, and I figured it was one of those things everyone else knew but me. Sorry for your incident, but glad to know I'm not the only one.

Tom

Tom, I guess this is a case where misery likes company. Like anything in life you live and learn.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Alan, carbide is a lot harder than the mild steel of the door lip and it doesn’t sound like you put any side load on the blade (the carbide teeth didn’t pop off) so I’d reinstall it and go for it. Obviously, it is not as sharp as it was, but it is probably still sharp enough.

Bruce, So far so good with the blade. I used it for some thin cuts and it seemed o.k. but the real test will be with resawing. Man was it sweet BEFORE. At least now I know to lower the lower guide when tilting the table. Now if I had only read the owners' manual that's available online I would have known this.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

The least well designed part of the MM16 is the table tilt. I have not seen the new ones but I understand they did some rethinking there.

As for $190 for a carbide blade, Chris P. paid for mine. All that was necessary was to be there at the Sacto show when he bought that monster F/S and tell MM I sent him.

Thanks bro!

Yep, I agree the tilt design on the table could be better but it works a WHOLE lot better when you lower the lower guide.