MK Morse Dry Cut Saw

Recently purchased a MK Morse Dry Cut saw and figured I would put up some photos and my initial impressions. Pictures are a little dark due to crappy lighting in the garage, but should be better than anything else I could find online!

It arrived well packaged and in good condition. No concerns there. Comes with a 66T blade and a pair of goggles and ear plugs that were not mentioned anywhere I could find. The goggles aren't the nicest I've ever seen, but they are Z87+ rated (projectile rated IIRC). Nice addition.



Cardboard box was thick and strong and on the interior lots of styrofoam to hold in secure in transit.


There also were specifically formed styrofoam pieces around and in the saw/vice area to protect that too. Great addition to protect it in transit.

The saw is heavy and beefy. It's a cast aluminum base and it is very thick. The vice is also incredibly thick and I have no doubts about its strength. Nothing on this saw is quick release, which makes adjustments take longer, but it also means things like plastic quick adjust handles won't break (*cough* evolution *cough*). The blade guards auto retract and are also thick metal. They aren't thin sheet metal guards. Everything is built thick and heavy. It's incredible. Vise adjusts very smoothly (albeit a bit slow with no quick release). I have heard on other saws with the quick release, however, that the quick release mechanism is usually one of the first parts to wear out. Probably why MK Morse decided to pass on that option.





CONTINUED IN POST 4 (THANKS PHOTOBUCKET FOR RUINING IT)

Cut your speed square down to whatever size you need.

Agreed, speed squares are cheap and you will need to this operation often enough to justify having a dedicated square.

So just lop off the last 1" of the corner closest to the vise handle.

(and you are setting the square off the actual blade, not just the cut out for it to plunge into right...?)

On another note, can you tell me what those two set screw looking allen head bolts on the pivot point of the arm to the right of the spring are for?

Congrats on the purchase. I love my 14" dry cut saw.

CONTINUED FROM POST 1




It does have a chip tray too. Couldn't find any info on that online.


The vise does adjust up to a 45 degree angle. The markings are pretty accurate, but I would still advise using a tool to double check the angle and not necessarily rely on the markings (the pointer is fairly large, and I found it was more accurate when set with a speed square than using the markings on the vice).




And speaking of adjusting the vice, does anyone have a better idea for a tool to set the angle of the vice?

The 7" speed square is right on the edge of being too large (and may even be too large, causing me to be off a degree or two with the square). I like how the speed square has a lip I can stick in the slit in the table for the blade. I can stick the lip down there (which was machined out as far as I can tell, so it's a good reference point to set the vice), but the end of the slit is rounded (end mills can't cut a square corner) and I can't tell if the speed square is being deflected slightly and thus screwing up my angle of the vice. I would love something like a 5" speed square, or some other angle measuring device with a lip on it.

Any suggestions?

tarbellb said:

Agreed, speed squares are cheap and you will need to this operation often enough to justify having a dedicated square.

So just lop off the last 1" of the corner closest to the vise handle.

(and you are setting the square off the actual blade, not just the cut out for it to plunge into right...?)

On another note, can you tell me what those two set screw looking allen head bolts on the pivot point of the arm to the right of the spring are for?

Congrats on the purchase. I love my 14" dry cut saw.

Click to expand...

They hold part of the mechanism that helps actuate the auto opening blade guards as you lower the blade down. It holds another piece that pivots on it and pulls to open the guards.

And yeah, cutting the speed square down was my first inclination. I'll probably just pick up another for $5 or so then and cut it down! I really like the aluminum Empire/Craftsman ones for checking squareness. The edges are ground for precisions.

I set the vise against the edge of the slit to start, then lower the blade to dial it in, so yeah, it does end up square or offset relative to the blade.

Seriously love this thing so far!

I do a lot of cutting for custom trailer building and repairs and I was less than impressed with the longevity of a Morse blade I had purchased. Be sure to follow the manufacturers instructions for use very carefully and ideally, have a good system for dust collection otherwise tiny chips of steel get !!EVERYWHERE!! I ended up having some embedded in the fabric of my underwear even. Not good. Wearing of eye protection, though always a good idea is even more so with the use of this blade.

If you have used this already, you may already know this but this is just some extra information for the rest.

I have since went back to abrasive blades.

earlthegoat2 said:

I do a lot of cutting for custom trailer building and repairs and I was less than impressed with the longevity of a Morse blade I had purchased. Be sure to follow the manufacturers instructions for use very carefully and ideally, have a good system for dust collection otherwise tiny chips of steel get !!EVERYWHERE!! I ended up having some embedded in the fabric of my underwear even. Not good. Wearing of eye protection, though always a good idea is even more so with the use of this blade.

If you have used this already, you may already know this but this is just some extra information for the rest.

I have since went back to abrasive blades.

Click to expand...

What type of saw were you using the blade on?

Loscaldazar said:

They hold part of the mechanism that helps actuate the auto opening blade guards as you lower the blade down. It holds another piece that pivots on it and pulls to open the guards.

Click to expand...

Interesting, I was hoping/thinking they might adjust the (vertical) angle of the blade. It is a major down fall to the 14" chop saw design, inability to adjust the swing action.

Im finding some adjustment issues with table:blade accuracy. Maybe Im asking to much from my 14" dry cut, but it seems like a adjustment that should be accounted for?

This saw is nearly identical to the original dry cut saw the Porter-Cable 1410. Use a drafting triangle to set the 45.

I have the rage saw, probably a cheaper version but I did replace the blade with a good quality Morris. I was cutting 1/2" rebar, it lasted maybe 200 cuts. I am not sure the blade model, but it wasn't the one for light steel. I had a hard time finding one meant for heavy cutting (like Rebar),, I ended up using my torch for the last 100 cuts.

Loscaldazar said:

What type of saw were you using the blade on?

Click to expand...

Dewalt