Kennedy Power Hacksaw Gaiter

A Kennedy hacksaw in need of some TLC has found it's way into my possession recently! I've read the threads I've found on here as it needs a replacement spring and damper adjusting rod.

My question for other owners is where they've found suitable replacements for the rubber gaiter? The closest I've found are for generic motorbike shocks; they all seem to be quite long and don't have the narrow neck, which I assume helps keep the oil in the pot.

Thanks

Jamie

Jamie, odd you should post that, mine split last week.

Rather than motorcycle fork gaiters, I was thinking car steering arm gaiters or maybe car shock absorber gaiters.

Some of the latter fit over the chrome piston rod at one end, rather than the larger washer.

Let me know if you find something, and I'll do likewise.

Bill

p.s. hello and welcome to a very helpful forum.

Edited By peak4 on 07/09/2018 21:59:30

The gaiters from car steering racks would be suitable.

I'm glad this post appeared. My one has needed a gaiter since it came into my possession. Has anyone got a photo that shows the switch trip mechanism. That on my machine is missing.

There's at lest 2 different methods, one has a long arm which moved a switch on the end of the motor. Mine has a separate box in front of the motor with a simple large toggle switch

There's a couple shown HERE

Mine has the same box as in the one on the "Model 90", but mounted on the other side in front of the carrying handle, which is clearly shown a couple of photos above on the one with the switch on the motor.

Hope that makes sense

Bill

Glad I read this thread. I’ve had one of these for years and always thought it was home built.

Where does the gaitor go? Mine has none. Also, is the tube with the damping mechanism meant to be filled with oil?

Doh! Why didn't I think to look at the "Lathes" web site. Thanks very much. I'm hoping that might be enough to go on.

Cromwell tools who market the "Kennedy" brand are still trading. Worth a call?

The gaiter can go over the tube though most photos do not show one. It doesn't fully seal as there are 2 rods going through it

You can use car engine oil, just half fill the tube, that works on my 90.

Lots of them have the auto off removed. I found that cutting off a large-ish lump caused the free end to drop before being cut through, which lets the saw move right and jam on the hanging piece, which means the belt slips and then smokes and ……………. You need to add a support on the cut off side about 2" wide which helps a lot though I would never leave it to finish sawing un-attended.

You can make a new switch off arm, 1/8" wire will do.

Photo's of gaiter fitted to saw and spare one I found, which would be suitable, is from a clutch slave cylinder.

I also have some pdf files of the original manual, if anyone would like a copy, I don't think I can upload pdf to this posting.

Thanks for the gaiter suggestions everyone, will do some more hunting around. Maybe a trip to the Kempton autojumble would turn up something.

One last question whilst there's some other owners here; On the rod from cam wheel to saw head, mine has clips on the saw head pin but the other end the cam wheel shaft doesn't have a clip or even a groove to locate one. I can't tell from the pictures on lathes.co.uk whether there should be one here or if it's designed that way to give some leeway in alignment.

Closeup from Lathes page below.

Cheers,

Jamie

The conrod on mine is the same as pictured above, with only a clip where it attaches to the saw frame. There is some sideways play if you wiggle it, but not when it’s in operation.

The only problem I’ve ever had is a tendency for the large flywheel to move in towards frame, but I think I just need to replace the grub screw which should hold it in place.

I wonder if one 3D printed in flexible filament would be robust enough?

Neil

The crank pin on mine is a socket headed shoulder screw, akin to One Of These

Bill

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll see how it runs once it's cleaned up and go from there.

Bill, if I do find a suitable gaiter I'll add a link to this thread as well to help future owners.

Jamie

Pic of gaiter I have used as a replacement on Kennedy No 6 hacksaw. The one on the left is the original, (someone seems to have cut the top off Chris' one.) The one on the right is a track rod end boot, which I got from a car accessory shop.

I don't think the gaiter needs to be a concertina type, as its main function is to keep muck out of the damper pot, and the top of the original was not secured to the rods that pass through it, so the boot will do this and can be secured to the top of the oil pot with thin wire if you don't have a skinny "Jubilee" clip.

For those that haven't seen them, if you look in my photos for an Album called "Kennedy Hexacut No 6" there is copy of the original maintenance instructions in there.

My dash pot cover is is the same as Robbo's.

There is no long tube on mine like Jamie's so without the cover I would imagine the oil would go everywhere.

Photos in my album including one of the switch trip and a similar socket head screw arrangement to Bill's.

'E' clips on both ends of the saw frame pin.

Roy

Whilst cleaning up the saw I had a brainwave about the gaiter - a section of cycle inner tube should do the job until something better turns up. I knew there was a reason I hung onto those old punctured tubes!

Good idea Jamie . One of the more unusual drive belts I have seen on a Kennedy was made of two sections of inner tube put together contrarily and stretched over the pulleys. But this time the tube was from a truck. It worked well enough.

Sorry to hijack on the OPs post but I'm just wondering would anyone have a copy of the owners manual for the Kennedy power hack saw?