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MK wet saw

| Posted in Tools for Home Building on March 28, 2004 06:39am

Ok, so sometimes I get in a foul mood and it seems like all I do is complain…so?

I have a MK 370 wet saw, and I don’t like it.  The head does not tilt, so miter cuts are a problem.  I knew that when I bought it, and thought it wouldn’t be an issue, but it bothers me.  That’s my fault.

It does have two real problems:  The sliding table has a guide on the left side that is a round sleeve that slides on a guide tube, and for some reason it is very sensitive to torque.  If you push the table on the left side, it does ok, but if you push from the middle or right side, it puts just enough of a twisting motion on the tube so that the table either won’t move at all, or is jumpy.  And yes I keep it lubed.

And the dang table isn’t flat.  It is made of heavy plastic, but apparently not heavy enough, because in it’s +/- 12″ width there is a sag of 1/8″.  And when I cut large limestone tiles, there is a real tendency to snap the last inch of the tile.

maybe I should advertise it on ebay alonside that Ryobi router table.

 

Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell’em “Certainly, I can!”  Then get busy and find out how to do it.  T. Roosevelt

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Replies

  1. rez | Mar 28, 2004 06:46am | #1

    nah

    whole 'nother breed of animal

    i just got the mk100

    does the same thing with the sliding table

    way around it is to just go ahead and press on the left only

    sucks ya

    see, you shoulda listened to the guys on the tile forum

     
    1. User avater
      EricPaulson | Mar 28, 2004 05:57pm | #2

      Those saws might be fine for light cutting, small tiles and stone.

      For production you have to move up to the bigger Felker/Dresser type saws. Horsepower, and heft and $1000.00+. I am still using one that is probably close to thirty years old. It's been resussitated numerous times, but you can't kill it.

      Eric

      1. rez | Mar 28, 2004 06:14pm | #4

        I should be able to cut brick with it alright? Please tell me it is so.

         

        1. User avater
          IMERC | Mar 28, 2004 06:16pm | #5

          Dream on.......Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming....                                        WOW!!!   What a Ride!

          1. rez | Apr 07, 2004 01:46am | #18

            So I spent 6 bills on the MK100 as something I didn't need that I could have got by on with a $300 machine?

            So what added advatage did I get for my extra $300 now that I already got it?

            "just nail that board up there!!!"

             

            "look, lady..."

        2. User avater
          EricPaulson | Mar 28, 2004 11:07pm | #7

          Not sure what (if) you're asking...........

          .......but yes, I have cut bricks with mine although there are machines that are specialized for doing such. It's like you don't want to use a machine to cut bricks on Tuesday and then use it to cut $20.00 stone tiles on Wed.

          When my boys were young'ins, they would coerce me to cut stones in half that they had gathered up. That was cool, also have cut a lot of bottles and a few other things from time to time.

          The saw is a workhorse, just needs a little belly rub once in a while, and it is getting harder to find replacement part so being innovative is a big plus!

          Eric

          Felker, Bay State, Dresser, just recalling names......

          1. rez | Mar 29, 2004 12:43am | #10

            The saw is an MK-100. I have this silo brick I was hoping to use the saw on as well as standard firebrick.

            Is it feasible to expect ok results with it on these brick?

            I take it to keep two blades going, one for tile and the other a sacrificial for the brick?

             

          2. rez | Mar 29, 2004 12:44am | #11

             

             

          3. User avater
            EricPaulson | Mar 29, 2004 03:28am | #13

            Use a dry diamond blade on a Makita right angle grinder.

            Thems is BLOCKS!

            There other option to cut those.

            Eric

  2. Tomar | Mar 28, 2004 06:03pm | #3

    I have one, too.  I'ts as bad as you say.  Charge me a little more and give me something that does the job.

  3. WorkshopJon | Mar 28, 2004 06:27pm | #6

    Ed,

    What Firebird said.

    "Those saws might be fine for light cutting, small tiles and stone.

    For production you have to move up to the bigger Felker/Dresser type saws. Horsepower, and heft and $1000.00+. I am still using one that is probably close to thirty years old. It's been resussitated numerous times, but you can't kill it."

    Probably true,

    I have an HF saw that is probably identical.  There are "tweaks" you can do to make it work much better.  One biggie is to axe the slide guard and regularly lube the slide.  I use 0W30 synthetic, but any medium weight oil should do.  Also, when not in use, keep the table in the vertical position to keep the rollers from "flat spotting."

    Jon

  4. andybuildz | Mar 28, 2004 11:30pm | #8

    The HK I bought about 20 years ago for about $1200 is as straight as an arrow.

    Only problem I ever had with it (recently) is the switch which I changed.

    I've cut tons of brick and tile on that bad boy and have no complaints

    whats_so_ever.

    Just out of curiosity for my dim mind,why do we use the  _ symbol?

    I just did cause I just felt like it.

    Be well

                  andy

    My life is my passion!

    http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM

    1. UncleDunc | Mar 29, 2004 12:07am | #9

      >> ... why do we use the _ symbol?

      Back in the days of typewriters, it was either impossible or annoyingly awkward to change fonts in the middle of a line, so a convention arose of using underscores instead of italics to indicate emphasis. First you typed the words, then you backed up and typed the underscores.

      When computers came along, only the most expensive printers could restrike a line, and for text on a CRT, backing up to add the underscores wasn't even possible. So then the convention arose of putting an underscore before and after the word to indicate that in an environment where such a thing was possible, it would be underlined.

      1. andybuildz | Mar 29, 2004 02:43am | #12

        Thanks Unc.good answer.

        Not to hijack this thread.yeh right.tee hee......why are the letters on a keyboard so outta sorts.

        I heard a funny/understandable  response to that but lets hear yours first.

        BE hijacked

                          andyMy life is my passion!

        http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM

  5. alwaysoverbudget | Mar 29, 2004 05:51am | #14

    i lube mine with dishwashing soap every hour or so,just a couple drops and it keeps it clean and slippery.larry

  6. User avater
    RichBeckman | Mar 29, 2004 03:06pm | #15

    LOL! I have the MK 370. Granted, it has been lightly used, but I love it. I've never had the table hang up while sliding. I get accurate and fast cuts though ceramic tiles under 12" in size.

    I've not cut "large limestone tiles" on it, so I can't speak to that.

    OTOH, if I thought I would be cutting large limestone tiles, I would probably have bought a larger saw.

    It sounds like you may be asking more of the saw than it is designed to do. If you really want to unload it, E-Bay might be a viable option. But I would market it as "selling because I need a saw for larger cuts, this one is fine for smaller tiles".

    Rich Beckman

    Another day, another tool.

    1. Sancho | Mar 29, 2004 09:05pm | #16

      I have the 770 which is a step up but simular to yours. I spray WD40 on the rails and body to clean it after every use and and spray the rails with WD40 before I use it. Never had a problem. Maybe you are forcing the cut. They cut a little slower then their big bros 100/101. so slow down your feed rate.

       Also what condition is your blade in. You can clean them with a pumice stone prior to use it helps to. Much like a TS they have different blades for different uses . I bought a after market (non mk blade) for cutting granite and porciline and it works great.  

      Darkworksite4:

      El americano pasado hacia fuera ase la bandera

      1. MGMaxwell | Mar 30, 2004 02:43am | #17

        A minor hijack here. I think WD-40 is a better solvent than a lubricant.

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