Soft starters

[yetloh]

I recently bought a Makita mitre saw and I am generally very happy with it. It needed adjustment to to bring both angle settings into 90 deg but that may be down to it being a display model at Axminster.

However, there are two things about it that I hate The first iis how useless the standard dust port is even when connected to a good workshop vac. I guess they are all as bad as one another in this respect and I have largely solved the problem by making a ply box connected to my extraction system to shroud the rear of the saw. This is highly effective but can only be used for 90 deg cuts. Given that such cuts represent at least 98% of my usage I can live with that and the shroud can be removed in about 10 seconds when necessary.

The other hate is the really hard jolt on start up. Does anyone know if there is an electronic soft start device that can be used with machines of this sort?

 

[Monkey Mark]

Does it have an induction motor or brushed?

 

[yetloh]

It's a brush motor.

Jim

 

[Myfordman]

I have a Makita mitre saw and hate the instant start especially as they have implemented a brake which is quite good.

Designing a soft start for it is on my round-2-it list. The problem will be finding out how they have done the brake and make the soft start compatible with that.

Having found out how they do the brake. I should put one on my Bosch ROS which seems to run on for ever when I'm waiting to put it down on the bench.

 

[NazNomad]

This is precisely why I rarely used my Makita router until I had it mounted in a table. You needed two hands to hold it and another hand to switch it on ... and two more hands to hold the workshop still ... and divine intervention to stop it affecting the Earth's rotation..

A brute of a thing which would have been improved a million-fold with a soft-start.

 

[MattRoberts]

Haha, yeah - I used to brace myself like I was in a tsunami when I turned the Makita on

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I had an old Bosch 1700 router, my mate had the 1600, his was instant start mine was soft and they were to totally different machines to use - mine was miles easier. I had a Makita 9" disc cutter that's kick would put the average mule to shame.

 

[ColeyS1]

Haha, yeah - I used to brace myself like I was in a tsunami when I turned the Makita on

I quite often do the same, till I realise the piggin leads not plugged in

Coley

 

[finish_that]

I have the 9" Makita disc cutter - my understanding is that it is the tool that caused soft start to be invented ;-)
It should come with an assistant who lectures "assume the brace position" every time its picked up.

 

[yetloh]

I have a Makita mitre saw and hate the instant start especially as they have implemented a brake which is quite good.

Designing a soft start for it is on my round-2-it list. The problem will be finding out how they have done the brake and make the soft start compatible with that.

Having found out how they do the brake. I should put one on my Bosch ROS which seems to run on for ever when I'm waiting to put it down on the bench.

Interesting. I would be very interested to know how you get on when you get around to it.

Jim

 

[graduate_owner]

On the subject of electric braking, I was using my SIP mitre saw one day when it suddenly started emitting black smoke and would not switch off when I released the switch. I dismantled the switch etc and found a burnt 'thingy' with wires protruding. I put it all back together intending to source a replacement thingy, (but actually expecting to have to buy a replacement saw as I thought the motor had burnt out). I must have got the wiring wrong because - I tried switching it on and it worked ( no smoke ). The only difference is it no longer has an electric brake. So I can only assume that the black thingy is something to do with the electric brake and I by-passed it by mistake when I wrongly wired the switch.

So the end result is a saw that slows down gradually but is still useable, and is safe in my opinion because the blade is enclosed in a plastic guard anyway, although I don't suppose H&S would agree.

K