Messages

16

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: stack cutting

« on: June 28, 2020, 11:23:25 am »

I do considerable amounts of stack cutting. I make wind chimes as a hobby.
   I use a paint brush to clean each piece, use painters tape or masking tape  half inch and nothing wider, roll it together with my finger and put a few pieces on each piece.
     I have a Black and Decker hobby vice that is plastic and rubber that will compress small pieces.
   and, I also have been known to compress it  by placing a piece of paper on it on the floor and stepping on the stack lightly.
     Just for fun I will tell you what I do for the pattern.  Seems nearly all glue is hard to remove from the top piece with the pattern so I use wide painters tape  on the top piece.  Then spray glue the pattern to the tape which I print out on my printer ....to the top board.
    The tape in between I pay attention to my pattern so very small cut outs do not come in contact with the actual tape as when you pull it apart baltic birch may pull off the top layer of wood with it.
All the suggestions in this thread are good ones, this is just my way

17

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Glueing small parts together

« on: June 28, 2020, 11:12:12 am »

Thanks to KarlB for the small block of wood Idea...I too have this problem...fairly often

18

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: wen 3922

« on: June 28, 2020, 11:11:01 am »

I bought a cheap Ryobi for using pinned blades for sanding. [neither of my good saws take pinned blades and neither will hold self made sanding strips that I make with cheap tape measure metal]
     So I needed a third saw for sanding.  Didn't work.  It was too cheap to sand with and ......
    it claimed it took non pinned blades, and it did but if I used non pinned blades I had to tighten the screws so hard on the blade I knew the screws would strip out very quickly.
     So is the Wen the same? I don't know so if I were you I would take a non pinned blade with you and try it out at the store.  Wouldn't buy oneline until I was sure or you may end up as I did....selling at a loss.

19

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: best scroll saw to do self repairs on.

« on: June 28, 2020, 11:02:35 am »

Excalibur seems to me to be the one that is most easily worked on. The Dewalt I am told has a lot more moving parts and is more involved.  Had both and still have my EX 16. Sold the Dewalt and replaced it with a Delta which did some nice work for me.
But sold that Delta [should have kept it..40-694]  too and got a new Jet.  Don't know about working on Jet.
   Keep in mind Excalibur is very difficult to find parts for. At lest that is my experience.  Never tried to
order parts on the Dewalt, but the word over the net is they are a little more involved for repairs.
So one is more involved with more parts and the other is hard to find parts for.
So I got a new Jet ..keeping the Excalibur for backup  hope this helps..If you can go a few bucks more, do a search online compare all machines of a higher end.

20

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Setting blade tension on a Jet scroll saw

« on: June 28, 2020, 10:42:48 am »

Yep..my new Jet was an experience. Found I had to read the manual since it was not like my Excalibur at all, nor my Delta.
      Hate reading manuals, but now after about six months, I found my Ex16 right next to to be the difficult machine.  I have increasing Arthritis in my hands and fingers from playing Guitar for years.  The new Jet solves that problem for me....So my new jet has turned out to be the most awesome machine I have ever owned.
      Not a spec of trouble and cuts the most serious works perfectly.  Of course the blades matter but I like so many others have my preferences.
   Same blades on my newer Excalibur and on my Jet,  well the Jet wins hands down,
but I do have to say that before the Jet the Ex16 did help me win first place at the IL state fair last year.
  Wanted to add that by adjusting the arm parallel with the back knob does indeed control blade rock back and forth on most  machines of similar design. Motor positioning and arm level to the deck are very important.  Place a piece of tape on the back knob and the arm to mark its position since that arm  does have a tendency to move. That will keep you in true if the arm drifts.

21

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: re considering the excalibur and comparing to jet with Blade Comparisons

« on: April 23, 2020, 05:00:06 pm »

RE:  Bowls and Excalibur
     I have never done a bowl but I can see the truth of it with a tilting table. Trouble is many machine companies are now going to tilting heads of which both my Jet and Ex16 have.  I no longer have a tilting table machine.  I have done angled cuts but not in bowls.  I suspect my jet and ex16 will both work for some Intarsia I have scheduled to do.   It may be that tilting tables may soon be a thing of the past. I certainly hope not as there are many out there that consider the table issue very important, but companies make things that they think people will like, and they change directions with products even though we don't want that change.
If it isn't broken....don't fix it.  So I have a suggestion for the next big machine idea...Are you listening Jet?   Excalibur?  Seyco?  etc?
Develop a machine that has both:  Remember you heard it here first:
Yep  make a tilting head machine that also has a tilting deck....Why haven't they done this?   Any manufactures here?  Make both the head and decks tilt! You Can't Loose!!  And since this is my idea, maybe you could give me a prototype? 

22

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: History of the scroll saw, plus other information

« on: April 01, 2020, 12:47:17 pm »

Awesome:  Now I gotta do more history research. Seems the scroll saw search never ends.  Do you think my wife will let me put one of those antiques from ebay in the living room?   this is very well written and much appreciated.
TY for the good info

23

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Pegas #2R blades

« on: April 01, 2020, 12:30:12 pm »

Pegus makes a beautiful machine.  Designs of most major machines are similar but not blades. I learned early on that blades are in the eyes of the beholder.  At first I began with Olson.  Hated them. So many of them seemed to simply snap at first sign of wear.  I still don't like the Olson blades, even PGT  but for their sharktooth line. 
   Pegas makes blades and machines.  You can have anything fail, and it sounds like they had a bad run on their 2/0  I would contact them with the problem.  but I would also keep in mind, just because you own a Pegas machine doesn't mean you are stuck with using Pegas blades.  I had to get past my bias and  have a large supply of various types of
and makes of blades from Olson and Sharktooth, to flying dutchman, to Pegas,  and more.  Each has their use.  Until you solve your problem try the Flying dutchman 2/0. at least until you resolve your issues what works best for, and find an alternate for all of them should you run into problems.  It is always desirable to have a fall back when you are at work and concentrating on your cuts.   Don't know if this helps but just thought I would provide my imput.

24

General Scroll Saw Talk / re considering the excalibur and comparing to jet with Blade Comparisons

« on: April 01, 2020, 12:15:46 pm »

As some of you are aware I had some serious problems with my new Excalibur a year ago.  After finally obtaining the correct part and setting up the machine my assessment has changed. 
    My new Jet 22" is of course an awesome machine.  I first compared it to my Excalibur and was biased against the former due to difficulty obtaining parts.  Since then I have re considered the Excalibur.  I write this for those looking to buy a new machine.   
   My Ex-16 is of course only a 16 inch cut.  But I have found it is about as smooth, as well as versatile as the jet
   I began a new intricate state fair project on my Jet 22 as the Ex16 would not accommodate  the size of the project.
The new Jet is awesome for my now arthritic hands making blade changes much easier and less painful due to their new blade head attachments.   It is my go to machine for larger projects.
     But the Ex 16 is nearly as good as the jet in terms of intricate cuts, control, linear cuts and is a pleasure to work with.
I give my new jet a biased rate of 9.9 out of ten only due to my arthritic hands.   so that is the bias.
But the Excalibur is every bit as capable of those intricate, linear cuts better known as veining.  And is also a pleasure to work with. so getting away from bias I give it a 9.5 out of 10.  Only because of parts unavailability, but that may not be a problem.  it appears both machines will last at least my lifetime and more. 
So for those looking to buy a new machine.  Where they are made matters not as long as they are made well.
If you have arthritis consider the new Jet. If not then Excalibur is indeed worth it and a nice choice.  Not to say some of the other better machines out there are not good.  They indeed are.  I just chose what I did.
   My original machine years ago was Craftsman, then Delta,and even a Dewalt. 
   Blades:
     State fair projects are tricky. You must keep the size down.  do as much intricate cuts as possible.  Judges like veining for sure.  All this said I ended up with two types of blades for very intricate work.
Flying dutchman: 2/0
Sharktooth: which I believe are made by Olson whom I dearly hated at first but also  changed my  mind.   There are other good blades out there, I just found Flying dutchman and Sharktooth work best for me.  Especially the Sharktooth regular 3/0 blades.
     I only write this to help people be more decisive in their choices.  These machines and blades are all personal choices.  And since I am stuck here at home I am cutting more than I ever did and have time to get back here and give a final thumbs up to both of these machines.  If you do veining much try those sharktooth blades
All be safe and have a nice day.   ds

25

Introduce Yourself. / Arm Lift over all for higher end machines

« on: February 19, 2020, 01:16:51 pm »

Anyone else having trouble with Arm lift hold/adjust on the newer machines?  I am aware that Excalibur, as well as other higher end saws have that screw in the back with locking bolt to adjust arm tension to hold it up.  I have an Excalibur and a new Jet. That bolt is there on both, and also on most other higher end saws.  That bolt when loosened to ease arm lift provides little relief with tension or lift.  Not on either saw.  Yep my new Jet also is still hard to lift up even when that rear screw is relieved.  In fact it can be completely removed on the Excalibur and there is no change in tension. Even after a year of use.  Does anyone have an Idea? 

26

Introduce Yourself. / Re: Hi, New Member, Franklin, IN

« on: February 19, 2020, 01:11:14 pm »

Welcome to  the forum.  Not sure where Franklin is [will look it up as I grew up on the IN IL border} I heard there was a nice place to get wood for scrolling near Brazil Indiana.  Have you been there?  Thinking about making a drive over to take a look. 

27

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: New Scroll Saw and Suggestions for next project

« on: February 12, 2020, 12:35:39 pm »

I have now acquired my jet 22 inch.  I have used it as a test for a couple of small projects which turned out immaculate.  I have found it somewhat testy to realize the new blade system, but after a little practice I have learned to use it easily. Further I bought this saw for several reasons, and foremost was that blade system.
      I have some pretty severe arthritis in my hands, and that blade system has preformed as ordered. I can easily attach blades bottom and top with ease and speed, and a lot less pain. Today a storm system is moving through, and I can always tell by my arthritis. Didn't believe in that when I practiced my RN skills. Older folks would tell me they knew when a storm was coming by the amount of pain they felt.  Now I am a believer.  And still I have intentions of doing some scroll work today since I can now attach the blades so easily.
   This new Jet makes almost no noise at all.  But save for the wood cutting on  the blade. Smooth as you could want.
Over all I give this saw a 100 percent rating.  Not a single thing I don't like.  Except the cost. But if you look at the cost of the new Seyco, and or some others, It is comparable.  Now for my critique:
    Compared to:
My Delta?   Well the delta was its high end model..but Jet beats it by a large margin.  Delta allows no back to back movement control of the blade [No adjustments].   A must for very detailed cuts. It was also Very aggressive in cuts.
   My Dewalt?  Same as the Delta. And even more agressive than the Delta and no forward to rear blade adjust
My Craftsman?  Well it was more of a toy
And my Excalibur?  A new model which had issues when received and required a lengthy time to get parts for repair, but now is on par  with Other high end models.But....... It does not beat my new Jet.
       So my Excalibur is now my back up for the new Jet. I am truly blessed to be able to own such a machine..and oh yea...my wife said yes when I told her I would like to get this machine. 
And I even like the color

28

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: New Scroll Saw and Suggestions for next project

« on: January 21, 2020, 02:50:07 pm »

Thank you for your ideas. I am looking now. Some appear usable for my project. Many do not mention size
which is one of my major problems.  I am trying to work out how to resize a project from a pattern done in mm
to one resized up in size to inches.  Thank you and all else for the replies.  HL

29

General Scroll Saw Talk / New Scroll Saw and Suggestions for next project

« on: January 21, 2020, 12:13:23 pm »

This will be a major step up for me. Just ordered the new Jet 727200K. I looked at a number of reviews of different saws, and I did view SGoods reviews.
      I do very fine fretwork and last year ordered a new Excalibur EX16. That saw had some serious flaws that I discovered needed replacement parts. Very hard to obtain.
Since this was a 16 inch saw and was not operable, I ended up completing a project with my Delta. The Delta proved  very aggressive and did not work well for me. Still the project did work out superior to my expectations.
   As a result of problems with the Excalibur [now fixed] I took the plunge and ordered the new Jet 22 inch this week.  They say about 10 days to ship. I am very hopeful that my next project will be a little less complicated. Some projects I do I enter into State competition at the fair.  Others I build for family and friends. 
    Was wondering if anyone out there has used the new Jet, and what they think of the blade mount system. I bought it for that reason as the arthritis in my hands are getting a little worse.  Also, does anyone have any ideas of project that would be very detailed?   Project size must be under 18x20 inches.  I will insert a pic of the project from last year so you will have an idea of technique and difficulty.  Looking for something very detailed.   

30

Ask Steve a question. / Re: Looking at buying a saw and need some help

« on: November 14, 2019, 11:35:24 am »

Hi Dwayne
     I started with a craftsman which required steel pilings embedded forty feet in the ground to control vibration. Never used anything else so I thought it was great?
     Then I went to a combination:  Two saws: The Dewalt 788 and the Delta 40-694
      They were near identical but I ended up selling the Dewalt because it seemed more like a tank. It cut well: Little vibration about the same as the Delta. I just liked the Delta more.  Neither had dust collection ability and neither had tilting arms.  Only decks [something which is only subject to the users liking]  But a tilting arm model sometimes allows less angle cut on one side?  The decks do not have that problem on many saws.  Still, I like the arm tilt best so I went to an Excalibur:   
     Initially  the Excalibur was a problem.  Very smooth. refined.   controlled with little vibration. Then I had parts problems after a few months.  Took several months to get parts but now it is back online and it is nice. [My part troubles are listed in my posts in the newbee section]
    Truly between the Dewalt and the Delta I would go to Delta every time if it is the one I mentioned above.  And it is a little lower priced.   If you have the funds though and I will soon, I would go to the Seyco, or Pegas.  And if you really want to get serious go to the Jet 22.
     Funds for me are important. I love that Jet blade change, but the Pegas also looks very nice along with the seyco.  So I have the dilemma of choosing between those three.  currently I am using both my Excalibur and my Delta.  I do intend to sell the Excalibur soon.  It is an ex-16 and I need a larger table, not because of the quality.
      So to choose:  If money is no object the Jet.  If it is downward it is the Seyco/orPegas.  Then the Delta and then the Dewalt [only because Dewalt tends to have more mechanical problems in the future I have heard]   
      Either dewalt or Delta would be a good choice for a beginner.  in fact, either would do you vert well.   I can only speak from my experience over time.   My Excalibur helped me win 1st place at the Illinois state fair this year and my Delta backed me up on that win.  Very intricate fret work and lines.   Both saws preformed well. I just like the tilting head on the Excalibur.  But I would not recommend Excalibur at all due to the difficulty of obtaining parts.  This is all experience not conjecture.  Others may have had troubles with Delta I have not had. And may have never had trouble with Excalibur at all. We all have our preferences.  Happy Scrolling