Kity Litter

[TheKnottyOne]

There are times when I despair of myself, particularly when I engage myself in the dark art of auction site negotiations. I recently hit the 250 mark of transactions on the aforementioned site and really should know better than to think I have found a genuine bargain. On this occasion, I "sort of" did, a Kity 149 at a knock down price, I couldn't resist.
I say "sort of", and its the "sort of" which is the reason for this post, as my Kity arrived with a slight problem (well several slight problems actually, but nothing that wasn't sortable in a short space of time).
Its problem is a common one of many things of a certain age and that is TEETH, or to be more precise, lack of them. I am not talking blades here for although this Kity purrs contentedly, her bite is more than adequate for the jobs at hand. No, it is the teeth on the crank handle to which I refer.
For those unacquainted, there is a single crank handle on the 149 which alters both the angle and depth of the blade on a push-me-pull-you arrangement.
Ok so its not a complete disaster, I can move the blade around still and lock it in position, but its not as easy to set up accurately as it would be had the previous owner shown more regard for her dental well-being.

I rang up Kity UK to see what the cost of dental implants would be (well a new crank wheel) and was greeted by someone who must have been away the day they did the "customer care" course. I explain my predicament and ask about a course of treatment. Not in production any more, can't help. Any suggestions where I might try? No. What would you do if you were in my position? (I like this tactic when things get sticky). Nothing. Well thank you for your help. Bye.

I know Kity has been taken over by Shebang, but I sort of assumed that Kity UK might still know someone who can get hold of spares for one of their most popular models, but alas, alack, my enthusiasm in nursing this Kity back to health appeared completely one sided.

So... HELP! If anyone knows of anyone anywhere who might be able to provide a crank handle for a toothless Kity 149 I would be eternally grateful if you could share the knowledge with me

Kind regards

Simon

 

[Blister]

Hi , Have you tried getting back to the seller on the site ?

If its faulty and not disclosed as faulty in the listing you have grounds for a dispute

more so if you paid by paypal , even if you are not able to return the item you should be able to agree a refund of some sort

 

[MickCheese]

I am not familiar with the Kity 149, could that be the 419 table saw?

If so it is still in production and D&M in Twickenham sell them but the Axminster TS200 is the same, so if that is the saw then maybe Axminster will have a solution for you.

Mick

 

[jasonB]

Try Toolmart (Kityuk) they were main dealers before NMA took over.

As said have you got the number right?

http://www.kityuk.com/

Jason

 

[stuartpaul]

I've had a 419 for some time and find that toothed wheel to be it's achilles heel. I change angles very carefully and make sure the wheel has disengaged from the body before trying to adjust height. P1ss poor design.

A well rounded argument with NMA ("you want us to redesign the wheel?") lead to the discovery that they have in fact redesigned the wheel and it now has a brass toothed wheel which might be longer lasting than plastic.

Seem to remember it's about £65 which is a bit steep (and no I didn't buy one but getting close to it now).

Give them another ring and don't be put off by some A-hole. If you can get your hands on a parts listing you'd be able to quote part numbers as well.

 

[knappers]

You are certainly not the first person to experience this problem - my toothed wheel is still okay thank god. Which design is your knob, is it the knob with indents for fingers in the side, or the later style with a handle sticking out the front of the knob?

TS200 no good, I'm afraid - uses an entirely different tilt mechanism.

If NMA don't come though, you could try Machine Mart - they still sell the Kity.

Si.

 

[big soft moose]

I am not familiar with the Kity 149, could that be the 419 table saw?

If so it is still in production and D&M in Twickenham sell them but the Axminster TS200 is the same, so if that is the saw then maybe Axminster will have a solution for you.

Mick

the axminster ts200 is certainly based on the kity design, but unfortunately they have done away with the multifunction handle and have one handle for rise and fall and a second one for angle.

that said however If i understand matters correctly you are juyst wanting a new handle on the push me pull me shaft , so in that case it is possible that the axminster rise and fall handle might fit , or that they might have another part that would engage.

you could contact richard beer via pm (user name richard at axminster) and if you gave shaft diameter and number of teeth they might be able to help. At the end of the day you dont lose anything if they cant

 

[mbartlett99]

If all else fails and they really won't help you out it might be an idea to remove the affected parts and take it down to your local engineering supplies house - a lot of that stuff is fairly standard. Try having a look in the phone book for a place that does belts/bearings - that what I try when I've got old equipment to be fixed up.

 

[knappers]

It's not a standard part that an engineering supplies place would stock, believe me.

If none can be found from existing Kity resellers, the best / closest solution would be to have a toothed ring laser cut from 3mm stainless that can be fitted on to the back of an off the shelf knob. I'm sure a batch of 10 would sell on, as there are a lot of Kity 419 owners out there that may experience this problem at some point.

Frankly though, I can't believe NMA can't supply them - it's a current product for gods sakes... it's not like its been out of production for 10 years (though our company still supplies parts more machines much older than that).

Si.

 

[knappers]

Just realised there's a guy from NMA on here - menatnma is his username. He's helped people out with part numbers and prices before. May be worth a PM?

Si.

 

[MickCheese]

I do have a 419 and didn't realise the TS200 had a different design. I hate this part of my saw even though the saw itself is wonderful.

Does anyone know if the TS200 mechanism is a straight swap for the Kity part?

Mick

 

[goldeneyedmonkey]

Regarding NMA: I've just had my Scheppach Bench-Top bandsaw develop a fault, although my situation is different to yours, as mine is still well under warranty, the bloke at the other end of the phone was very helpful (although when they put me through to the technical department, the guy from Vladivostck or the next town over, was ridiculously hard to understand) but without any quibble they said they'd send someone to pick it up asap, and fix it or send a new one. They also gave me an apology, which I didn't expect.

Like another poster's said, don't give up with them yet, as I'm sure there's SOMEONE there that will help you out. Maybe even go the extra mile and get you a discount :wink: or where you can get a cheaper part from.

N.M.A's number is: 01484400488, Good luck _Dan

 

[knappers]

Here's a post from "menatnma" on another thread about the 419 handwheels..

"Hi there, if you contacted Kity UK, that could be the trading name of Toolmart, who are a retailer who used to deal with Kity before they went bust and have still kept the Kity name for their website.
I have the part available direct from us at NMA Agencies Ltd as the direct importers and the part number is K504585.01 and is priced at £26.40 plus the vat and carriage. This takes the cost to about £35. including the vat.
Please ring me on 01484 400488 if you wish to order.
Richard
NMA Agencies Ltd."

Job done!! Give Richard a shout.

Si.

 

[big soft moose]

I do have a 419 and didn't realise the TS200 had a different design. I hate this part of my saw even though the saw itself is wonderful.

Does anyone know if the TS200 mechanism is a straight swap for the Kity part?

Mick

no its fundamentally different - you would have to modify the casing and all sorts.

 

[jasonB]

Of course if the OP was asking for parts for a 149 saw as in his post you can understand NMA saying that they cannot help though someone who knew the range would have twigged its a 419 but if it was just a computer operator who could not see the saw listed then there is little hope.

Until he comes back with the saw model its not worth suggesting anything else.

Jason

 

[TheKnottyOne]

Many thanks to everyone for their replies. I apologise for the numerical dyslexia displayed in my original post, no wonder I am always cutting things too short. I did of course mean 419 and my error was confined to this post and not my previous telephone and email enquiries.

So what have I gleaned so far.. well the 419 is still being manufactured (I am led to believe) in the Shebang factory, but will continue to be marketed under the name of Kitty.
Finding the part numbers is for some reason extremely difficult unless you happen to have a manual (which I don't).
The handle is available (HURRAY!) and although I didn't track it down myself, I heard back from J Carr & Son Ltd that they could get one direct from Scheppach (please note these still have plastic teeth not brass) for the princely sum of £38 ish inc p+p.
This would be a bit of a shock to the old wallet, however, the original owner agreed to refund the costs of replacement, so all is well that ends well. (Assuming that is, that it arrives).

 

[TheKnottyOne]

Just to answer one or two things personally..

Blister, yes I had contacted the seller who seemed genuinely mortified and had obviously not used the saw much himself, let alone changed the angle of the blade. He was kind enough to offer to refund whatever a new handle cost

Mick, I have tried D&M and I am waiting for them to get back to me. If they can get hold of it I will post it here to let other owners know its availability and price.

Jason, yes I have been down this route, which in a round about route instigated my original post.

Stuartpaul, Yes it struck me as a classic piece of under engineering, and yes a brass or steel cog would be much more satisfactory. However, I am informed that currently available handles are of the plastic tooth variety.

Si, for the record, mine is the later one with the sticky out handle. I didnt think I had approached Toolmart yet, but I on reading menatnma's post, it seems that I have (hence original post).

Thanks again everyone for their replies.

 

[stuartpaul]

Knotty,

I'd try and get one of the brass tooth ones if you can. If you replace with plastic you're bound to have the same problem again at some point.

 

[jimi43]

The dual-purpose wheel mechanism is one of the most ridiculous I have ever seen...even the supplier said this to me (after I had bought it mind!)

I am really gentle with mine and careful to clear out the dust from the whole mechanism regularly to prevent cog clogging and thus breakage.

Since you have no handbook...perhaps this may help you...NMA's excellent but basically drawn notes which I compiled from what they sent me in the post:

Click here for PDF (warning will take a while to download as over 1MB

There are some really helpful setup bits and bobs in there...but the best thing you can do is to remove the thin steel base cover and let all the dust fall down (careful...it has razor sharp edges).

Hope this helps

Jim

 

[TheKnottyOne]

Stuartpaul, I would if I could find one! However, a plastic one will have to do for the time being, and I will be a tad more careful than one of the previous owners.

Jim, thats really helpful, thank you very much for posting. As I'm due to strip the Kity down next week to check and clean everything, those bits of paper are going to come in handy!