I replaced the downfeed control on my Wellsaw 58B with a cheapo
hydraulic cylinder, I think it was nearly the smallest dual action
cylinder that Surplus Center carries. Anyway, it was about $48.
From one port to the other I plumbed two branches in parallel.
One has a needle valve and a cutoff (off/on) valve in series, and the
other branch has a check valve. At the top where the branches
rejoin, I added a little brass cylinder designed to remove air
from hot water in a home heating system. This has a cap that
unscrews so I can top up the fluid. (If you think about it, when
the piston is all the way down then there is a different volume
of fluid in the system than when the piston is all the way up
because the piston rod displaces some fluid.) The brass cylinder
allows the amount of fluid to vary a little. It's on the return
side which is at very low pressure so it doesn't overflow - a
big funnel would work just as well.

In use, you set the needle valve for the rate of descent you
want, then open the cutoff valve and the saw will feed down.
At the end of a cut, you shut the cutoff valve and just lift
the saw and the fluid runs back through the check valve and
the saw stays put until you open the off/on valve again. It
works very well but leaks a little - I'm going to tear it down
and redo the (brass 1/4") piping using "Christy's Ultra Seal
Pipe Thread Sealant" from T. Christy Enterprises, Inc.; Orange, CA;
1-800-BLU-GLUE. It's recommended for hydraulic oils, amongst
many other things and claims to be "Suitable for: Gasses up
to 3,000psi; Liquids up to 10,000psi."

I didn't design this, I copied the hardware off a very expensive
big DoAll horizontal saw.

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington


Steve wrote:

Anyone know of a company that sells these at a reasonable price? I
have one on my saw and it is done. I called the company that built the
saw and they want $89.95 for a new one. I only paid $150 for the saw
used so I am definately not going to spend that kind of money. Anyway,
I was going to use a cylinder from Surplus Center that Roy Hauer
recommended but the problem is that the rod goes all the way through
the cylinder. So when I let the blade down it would hit the bed pan. I
could drill a hole in the pan but it kind of defeats the purpose of
having a pan in the first place. Any suggestion greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Steve