Need help/advice with "new" refurb Felker TM-75 alignment/cutting

[cjmartin315]

I recently purchased a refurb'd Felker TM-75 from Construction Complete. It came really fast and short of a cracked portion of the motor cover (which CC said they would take care of quickly) it looked pretty good. I worked last nite on the cart alignment since it was off by a bunch. I moved the left hand bars (at front and back) and got the blade to run in the center of the trough and at or less than 1/32" taper along teh full table travel.

Here's my problem (or at least one of them It appears that the table is higher in the back and also low on the right. The blade wants to dig into the cart at teh start of the cut. It slides reasonable well on the carriage. I was trying to cut 12"x12" into (4) 2 7/8"x12" slices and couldnt get them to stay in one piece. I kept constant slow pressure on the feed and there was lots of vibration in the first 3" of cut. The blade looks like it has lots of wobble (like when you turn it by hand it isnt turning form the central axis of the blade) I thought maybe the vibration could be due to the fact that some of the 12" tile hangs over the back of the table, but not sure. The blade seems to want to pull itself in a jerky manner into the tile. I went really really slow and a few times I was able to get it not to crack, but when it did it seemed to always break at or near the same place (about 4" into the cut towards the point where the fence met the front of the table. I read many of the posts on TM-75 and alignment and am at a loss.

Has anyone has similar problems?
How do I level the table right to left and front to back? (this may be part of the problem as the top of the tile where the cut begins is higher than the part on the fence)

The blade looked new, I can get a dressing stick from work tomorrow, but there were sparks flying at times (even with slow feeds). The tile is American Olean Earthscapes. The saw seemed to labor a bit even at slow feeds.


Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Jay

[Mike2]

Jay, referring to the exploded parts diagram on page 16 of the Operating Manual, find roller brackets numbered 12 and 16. The upper bolt holes are elongated allowing for cart height adjustment.

The vibration you feel concerns me. That saw must have been whacked real hard for the motor cover to get cracked. That's a real heavy casting. That saw might be toast.

Some blade wobble is normal and usually it will straighten itself up once up to full RPM's.

Earthscapes is a super hard porcelain tile. If you have much of it to cut you should probably upgrade to a better quality blade like the 8 inch MK 225 Hot Dog. It's a good match up on that saw for porcelain. I recommend it.

[cjmartin315]

Mike,

Thanks for the quick reply. I ordered a Hot Dog blade the other day when I started reading about people experience cutting porcelain with the OEM blade. I havent goten it yet.

I will level the table over the weekend and give it another try. It looked liked the bolts that attached the motor cover were overtorqued which is "hopefully" what cracked the motor cover, but maybe it got hit too.

I work for a ceramics company and I know well that vibration is the enemy when it comes to cutting dense cermics (which I would classify porcelain as) with even small amounts of residual stress. I am hoping that once I get the table leveled and the hot dog blade on there the vibration will cease. If it doesnt it will be a LONG project. I will be doing a 6x6 and 12x12 hopscotch for the floor, 6x6 with an accent row for the shower alcove and a 6x6, 3x3 hopscotch (in opposite colors as the floor) for the vanity countertop. I bascailly will have to cut 4 6x6 per course in the shower, miter a few bullnose, cut the edge pieces for the floor (I get the CNC guy at work to mill my toilet flange tiles), and cut a few 12x12 up to make 3x3 (what I was doing tonite). I have to be able to cut reasonablly clean as most cuts will show.

Just to confirm I ordered the MK225 8" Hot dog -continuous rim but not really and wanted to make sure it was the right one (not the one with the true continuous rim).

Thanks Again
Jay

[Mike2]

MK225 8" Hot dog -continuous rim: That's the one Jay. It's a real good porcelain eater.

Some people have reported problems with the 10 inch version of that thin-kerf blade flexing but the 8 inch format on a TM-75 seems to be a near ideal combination. For regular ceramic tile if you have any to cut, I'd recommend using the stock blade that came with the saw. The Hot Dog can produce excessive chipping on thin glazed ceramic tiles but for porcelain cutting, it's a real winner.

[TileArt1]

I get the CNC guy at work to mill my toilet flange tiles

Cheater!

[JSaffle]

I purchased a Felker refurb last August (before the rebate deal on new ones ) along with the 8" MK-225 hotdog blade for a project with Earthscapes tile. I had some alignment and squaring problems that I was able to correct by adjusting the guidebar and by shimming between the rollers and the cutting table. I also had a problem with the rollers being loose. Felker was really good at supplying replacement parts when I explained the problem.

The blade cuts the Earthscapes tile rather well and quickly. I experienced some very small surface chipping along the cut regardless of how quickly I cut, but I think that this may be due to the irregularity of the surface of the tile.

In most cases, I found that two perpendicular edges of the Earthscapes tile would be square while the other two edges would be slightly out of square. This will make a small difference in your cut if you place one of the out of square edges against the rip guide or the back of the table.

Jim

[cjmartin315]

Mike and others...

OK I played around trying to get the table level and I certainly got it better (the leading edge isnt nearly as high as it was) and at least teh blade is reasonably square to the table. Here's the problem...I dont have my Hot Dog blade yet, and I am still trying to cut the Earthscapes tile, but I still get lots of vibration. The vibration isnt from cutting (although I am sure it adds to it) because I can just power up the saw and the vibration is enough to take a 3x6 piece against the fence waiting to be cut to 3x3 and it will actually move on the table. To me this seems excessive, but wanted to see what others thought before I called Felker or Customer service at Construction Complete. I checked and the motor head is tight on the arm and the blade is tight so I am lost. When you do start the cut you can feel the tile vibrating. If you push down very hard on the tile, it gets slightly better but eventually the piece breaks anyway. Have you guys got any ideas???

Thanks
Jay

[Mike2]

Jay, no way would that amount of vibration be acceptable. What you have there is completely outside the norm for that saw which has the capability of running silky smooth.

I'd do one more thing before calling Construction Complete with a warranty claim. Remove the blade entirely, then power on the saw checking for vibration. If the vibration remains, call CC. Saw's toast.

[John Bridge]

Hi Jay, Remove the blade and run the motor, not for a long time but long enough to check for vibration. It might just be the blade. If it's not the blade the saw should be returned.

[cjmartin315]

Mike and John,

I did as you guys suggested. I removed the saw blade and replaced the washer and nut, tighetned it back up and...well the water in the tray no longer looked like the Bellagio fountains. Almost no vibration at all, nothing even close to what I had with the blade on! I checked this AM to see if HD had 8" blades, but they only had a 7" Hot Dog but my 8" is in transit so hopefully I will have it early in the week. I will test the saw with that blade and if all is well, I will call CC and see what I need to do about the blade (I have to check on the replacement motor cover they owe me anyway). If it still wants to act like my unbalanced washing machine, then I will pursue sending the saw back. Based on the test you guys suggested, hopefully the blade will be a quick fix and I will be back in business. I have no WP (Wife pressure) as I bought the saw as a way to begin working on a countertop for the bathroom that I havent even started working on yet

Thanks for the helpful suggestion
Jay

[Mike2]

Jay:

Just for giggles, while waiting for that Hot Dog to arrive, how about mounting that factory blade again. This time double check that it is fully seated onto the arbor of the motor. Clearances between arbor spindle and the blade's mounting hole are very tight and I can see a possibility of the blade being mounted in a "cocked position, causing mucho vibration problems.

Or could it be that the blade is severely bent? Do you see a noticeable wobble if you manually spin the blade?

[Brad Denny]

That's probably a good idea Mike. I know in a rush I have done that myself. The Hot Dog will be an improvement, though, and if the factory blade is good you don't have to use it as a discus.

[cjmartin315]

I remounted the blade, and while I spin it by hand or wait for it to spin down it does look like the blade is slightly bent, but looking at it off you wouldnt necessarily think that. I will wait for the Hot Dog and then make sure it is just the blade and pursue a replacement.

Thanks to all for your suggestions
Jay