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  1. #1
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    OMGA questions

    Looking into OMGA saws, and I'm wondering what the capability is of these saws in terms of their accuracy. Is the finished cut very precise?

    I'm using the Kapex now and when it is used for carpentry type work it is pretty spot on, but in heavier woods it will leave a slight convexity to the cut along z-axis. I assume it is not quite rigid enough for crosscutting thick hardwoods.

    The downside to the OMGA is a limitation in capacity but anymore I'm starting to feel that this is a sacrifice worth making and that larger surfaces will simply have to be cut using something else.

    I'm looking at the belt drive saws used and waiting on a deal or if I buy new it will be one of the direct drive saws, likely the IP300
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  2. #2
    I have the kapex and a 6 year old omga saw. 3 phase. Forget the model. They are completely different machines. The omga leaves an absolutely perfect edge. The Festool is a great saw too, but nothing like my omga saw. I use the Festool for site work mostly since getting the beast.

  3. #3
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    Thank you, Sam!
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  4. #4
    Brian!

    I thought no more new machines.

    This is a sickness. For me the sickness is a complete lack of patients and or accepting anything less than perfection in a machine or the work I make.

    So what are you gonna paint it midnight blue gray and green and hope the wife thinks it’s a kapex

  5. #5
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    Haha, that is a good strategy! Try as I might, I just can't help but look to see what's out there.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  6. #6
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    Patrick, there's not a tool in Brian's arsenal that isn't top-notch....at least that I saw when I visited him not long ago. He has very good taste in tools!

    Brian, that thing you ask about seems to be a beast...nice that it has an induction motor, too. Less of a screamer perhaps?
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  7. #7
    I know of a guy up in Connecticut with one of every Omga looking to sell.

    Only problem is he is not coming even close to giving them away. He is looking to sell his whole shop, everything is top notch but his used prices are very high. If you want his contact info I would pass it along.

    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Holcombe View Post
    Haha, that is a good strategy! Try as I might, I just can't help but look to see what's out there.

  8. #8
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    I just sold mine a couple months ago! Just didn't get enough use in my shop so I reluctantly ended up moving it on. I had the 14" version and it's a tank! Very accurate, very heavy, and very powerful. They are fairly easily repairable if you do something bad to it, unlike the lighter duty saws on the market. And the one time I needed parts the people at Omga were very pleasant to deal with. Also worth noting is that the way they're built they are also easy to adjust for square. Can't say anything bad about them.....except that moving them is a pain in the back!

    good luck,
    JeffD

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Duncan View Post
    I just sold mine a couple months ago! Just didn't get enough use in my shop so I reluctantly ended up moving it on. I had the 14" version and it's a tank! Very accurate, very heavy, and very powerful. They are fairly easily repairable if you do something bad to it, unlike the lighter duty saws on the market. And the one time I needed parts the people at Omga were very pleasant to deal with. Also worth noting is that the way they're built they are also easy to adjust for square. Can't say anything bad about them.....except that moving them is a pain in the back!

    good luck,
    JeffD
    Awesome, appreciate the sound of that. I've come to appreciate cast iron quite a bit.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  10. #10
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    Patrick, that is a nightmare. Any “tool” like that, is not really a tool at all.
    It is a LIABILITY to good and accurate work, and to the business owner’s bottom line. Especially a tool as cheap as that.
    We do one of 2 things with that quality of a tool- framing, or dumpster filler.

    Tools are designed to aid us in the pursuit of good and accurate results, not hinder us.

    We size all our parts on the slider. Occasionally, I wish we had the Omga style machine, but not enough yet to pony up....

  11. #11
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    I had an OMGA at my old shop, but at the new one I have to run a converter and it was inconvenient to switch on the converter so I sold it. I use a Old Delta 34-080 now, and once tweaked it cuts just as good as the OMGA. It is unique in that the blade is bolted to a jackshaft that is about 8" between the bearing, very heavy cast iron. I'm not sure an OMGA is worth what they cost?

  12. #12
    Brian,

    I have an old Delta also. Mine's a 14". Glassy cuts. I paid $300. and it came with a blade worth most of that.

  13. #13
    Peter,

    It is that’s why I don’t use it except to cut checks off my sticks before milling.

    If I sent you pictures of the shop before I took the position. Man o man o man what a disaster it was. Gotta give my boss credit though as he made the business all on his own out of necessity with little prior experience.

    Add to it in two years I have been with him he purched a three pack of used but very nice Scmi shaoerscwith feeders, a new Scmi widebelt, a used t73 in great shape, a Scmi line bore, a class630 24” planer and miles of duct work and electrical upgrades and my hats off to him.

    Prior he was running a pile of old shakers with 1” spindles that were crap when new with clamped on fences that had to be shimmed ever direction imaginable all in need of new bearings hooked up to pretty much no dust collection. They literally just had piles and piles of chips behind them. They had ducting to them but guys would just leave them wide open sitting on the ground. It was nuts but is pretty slick now.

    Brian buy the Omga cuz I’m about tapped out and can’t buy anything for the rest of the winter.

    Quote Originally Posted by peter gagliardi View Post
    Patrick, that is a nightmare. Any “tool” like that, is not really a tool at all.
    It is a LIABILITY to good and accurate work, and to the business owner’s bottom line. Especially a tool as cheap as that.
    We do one of 2 things with that quality of a tool- framing, or dumpster filler.

    Tools are designed to aid us in the pursuit of good and accurate results, not hinder us.

    We size all our parts on the slider. Occasionally, I wish we had the Omga style machine, but not enough yet to pony up....

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Prashun Patel View Post
    No interest in a regular old table saw?
    Not so much, I’d like an old iron slider if I had the space.

    Quote Originally Posted by Kevin Jenness View Post
    Hard to imagine reaching 42" for the handle on that OMGA radial arm saw.

    I found a couple of OMGA miter saws on Craigslist for the shop I used to work for. I forget the model # but they have 14" blades, weigh a ton and cut accurately with no need for tweaking the results.
    Pretty sure it is automatic, air operated.

    Quote Originally Posted by Ben Rivel View Post
    Cant even say how many times Ive thought hard about buying an Omga 1P300... Its the cut capacity that keeps killing me. I just love the cut capacity of the SCMS like the 12" Bosch Glide Ive got. That and of course the price doesnt make it easy either. I LOVE Festool and have a bunch of their tools, but wouldnt touch the Kapex until they come out with a new model with a different motor. Way too many people in the US having issues with that 120V motor for my taste.
    Same reason I didn’t buy it the first time around. Kapex seems like owning a boat, happiest days of owning it are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. I’ll probably keep mine for wide rough cuts or until all of the bad things I say about it are forgotten.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    I'm not sure where he would be able to fit it, Prashun. His big machines are crammed into a diminutive sized one-car "garage" and his shop-shop is at basement level without a whole lot of free space. (but to his credit..it has a very comfortable floor to work on. LOL) I'm almost thinking that an old-iron RAS might be a challenge for him...
    Totally, it is pretty packed. One of my fellow WW’s suggested Graule, their smaller saws seem the best of both worlds and not too space consuming. Out of my range new, but if something good and old crops up...

    Quote Originally Posted by Patrick Walsh View Post
    Peter,

    It is that’s why I don’t use it except to cut checks off my sticks before milling.

    If I sent you pictures of the shop before I took the position. Man o man o man what a disaster it was. Gotta give my boss credit though as he made the business all on his own out of necessity with little prior experience.

    Add to it in two years I have been with him he purched a three pack of used but very nice Scmi shaoerscwith feeders, a new Scmi widebelt, a used t73 in great shape, a Scmi line bore, a class630 24” planer and miles of duct work and electrical upgrades and my hats off to him.

    Prior he was running a pile of old shakers with 1” spindles that were crap when new with clamped on fences that had to be shimmed ever direction imaginable all in need of new bearings hooked up to pretty much no dust collection. They literally just had piles and piles of chips behind them. They had ducting to them but guys would just leave them wide open sitting on the ground. It was nuts but is pretty slick now.

    Brian buy the Omga cuz I’m about tapped out and can’t buy anything for the rest of the winter.

    Sounds good
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  15. #15
    The Festool is a light duty install saw.

    The omga is a saw.

    I have four of the omga's. I don't have a kapex, though it's a nice install saw.
    I buy whatever I want, and there'sno comparison between the two.

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