"Dave" wrote in message
oups.com...
Grady wrote:
I am on the hunt for a hydraulic cylinder for my 4x6 import saw.
[...]

Can anyone say this is a significant improvement? To me it seems a bit
odd. What should matter is limiting the maximum force on the blade. A
spring system adjusts the force applied to the blade. A hydraulic
system simply lowers the blade at a defined rate with no relation to
the blade pressure. How do you tell if the needle valve / rate of
descent is adjusted correctly?

The hydraulic lowering provides damping against "bounce", and prevents the
saw from hogging in thin materials. It's an adjuct to spring or gravity
feed, not a replacement.

With thicker material, the cut rate limits the drop rate. With thin
material, the cylinder limits the rate. You separately adjust feed rate and
weight on the blade to accommodate the material and blade pitch/speed.

LLoyd