Member postings for Jez Hunter

Update on my Kennedy resurrection - from a very unskilled operator.

Here is what I have achieved and learned so far with all the generous advice from you all….

The lever to keep the boom elevated was simple and quick to make with 6mm and 8mm mild steel rod, articulated with a small bolt, an 8mm compression spring and a handle. Works perfectly.

The machine switches itself off now using a flat piece of alloy which presses against the switch when the boom is fully lowered. This was a simple design but quite tricky to get right. It’s not perfect and I would not leave the saw completely unattended.

The saw did not cut straight - I tried a 1” and 1.5” width blade which did the trick but could not source one with any more teeth than 14tpi and this kept getting stuck as it was too aggressive. 18tpi is definitely the sweet spot for my machine even with pulley belt dressing to make it stickier. I changed the belt from lathes.co.uk which did not solve the slippage problem and cost £28. The off centre cuts stopped when I rebuilt the dash pot and put a 96mm x 8mm tension spring between the dashpot arm and a 6mm bolt whose tapped hole I found on the main casing. I bought the spring from eBay for £3.96.

The dash pot bellows was equally simple but took me a few goes as I do not have a metal lathe. I butt welded 2 sections of 25mm flat mild steel and then cut out a 20mm depth disc using a 40mm diameter HSS hole cutter. This made the diameter 37mm which was just right to slide up and down the pot cylinder. It was easy to drill out 3 x 8mm and 3 x 6mm holes which provides the route for the oil to flow. I found that all 8mm holes and there was too little resistance. I found any bigger disc and the plunger caught. There is much scope to improve this if I aligned the rods better but it works. I made the bottom washer from 0.8mm alloy in a similar way. The two rods were made from 8mm mild steel with a length before bend of 4 and 4.5 inches respectively. I used SAE 90 gear box oil and found, thanks to a mate of mine, that the a Clio steering rack boot acts as a perfectly sized rubber cover. I had to fill the pot pretty full for the dampner to work from top to bottom of the cut.

My last job is to construct the depth gauge stop so any pointers most appreciated.

I am also looking for a 45 degree vice that Kennedy made as an optional extra if anyone knows where to source

Thanks once again - such an enjoyable project.

Jez

Vic,

I saw the comment about the felt oilers and wondered the same. Mine is set up as yours is. I have had a look at a few of the manuals I have and I cannot see any reference to the felt oilers.

Jez

Thanks Jamie, brilliant clear guidance.

Vic, your saw is awesome.

just wondered if anyone has the specifications of the tensioning spring that opposes the dampener? I will buy a few but rough Renfrew and diameter would be very helpful. I think the gauge is 1.5??
Thanks again

Jez

Hi,

I am now in the process of building the dash pot “bellows” from scratch. I think the Kennedy 60 is smaller than the Kennedy 90 which is my model. Does any one have any specifications for the Dash Pot plunger for the larger model? I think the internal diameter of the pot is 38mm.
I also wondered why the plunger has 2 rods? I can see one is the linkage to the saw assembly - I think that is the central rod. What does the second do and do I need to make it? Thanks very much in advance.
jez

I have just got some SAE 90 to top up the dash pot. Is there a simple way to top it up?

thanks in advance.

Adrian and Brian thank you - those photos clear it up nicely. Does the 90 have a similar spring to oppose the damp pot? Do you know the dimensions and / or a source to procure?

Dave, thank you and excellent idea. Do you have a link to the blade you sourced? Thanks

I have finished the modifications and posted them to my album. Thanks for your help. I have decided to rebuilt my damp pot from scratch as the saw is not cutting straight and I think this is due to the lack of dampening. My final photo in my album shows a missing alloy block which would normally be attached to the damp pot. Does anyone have any suggestions or close of photos of how the damp pot and alloy block afix?

Thanks once again

I have just looked over my machine and it all makes sense. I will post a photo when the mods are done.
thanks once again

jez

Thanks Dave,

do you have a photo you can share of this?

jez

Thank you. So helpful. Do you have any photos showing the linkage at the T bar handle end? There is not much for me to work off on mine and every photo I see has the connection slightly obscured.

Thanks Dave,

On off switch issue sorted. I have uploaded a few photos to my album. You can see the top rod is missing and I am not sure what it is or where it attached to from the steel ring.

The saw works fine without a dash pot, would you suggest leaving alone?

Jez

Thanks Dave,

there is no metal box on / off switch - it is a plastic switch on the side of the electric motor housing. There is no locking mechanism for the arm.

jez

HI, Sorry for resurrecting an old topic however as a newbie to this site, I have just purchased a Kennedy 3-5 Mobile Power Saw which I think is a Kennedy 90. I have bought some literature off lathes.co.uk but these are not very helping in working out what is missing and what I need to replace it.

I have an identical problem to Ken's. I have no damper pot other than the steel resevoir, I am not sure if there is an automatic switch off function, but if there is, it is missing, there is no depth gauge and there is a fixed rod missing between the damper pot linkage and a round steel eyelet at the end of the hacksaw arm distal to the saw.

I am very keen to restore this brilliant machine if anyone is able to help with drawings, photos and suggestions, I would be very grateful. I don't have the skills to make parts but keen to get them made if someone was interested.

Many thanks in advance

Jez