Messages

76

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Need help on a scroll saw purchase.

« on: May 24, 2018, 11:17:06 am »

If I was to upgrade, the Seyco looks good as it can cut thicker stock which would be good for making boxes, but I am not sure it is sold in Canada.

Norm - I think the Seyco is from the factory in the far east that produced the Excalibur, and now produces the Excelsior line.

King Canada sells the Excelsior line, so you can get a Seyco with a different name place....

77

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Buying wood for projects

« on: May 20, 2018, 08:37:56 pm »

I do about 3 - 4 an hour.

Wow!  That is fast.

I don't want to pry into your personal techniques, but are you using a spiral blade on those?  Or a normal blade?

Thanks!

78

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Accent Lines on Pieces

« on: May 11, 2018, 06:12:32 pm »

Those lines are typically called VEINING and they ARE cut from the pattern.

Thanks for the information!

Have you looked at the patterns I listed?  I am pretty sure the lines I am referring to are not done in this manner.If they were, part of the pattern would just fall off.

For example, the pull tab at the top of the boot has an accent line all the way around it, so cutting it the way you describe would leave nothing attached to the body of the boot.

I can see it with the mini dragon pattern, but it would it not leave the final product very fragile?

79

General Scroll Saw Talk / Accent Lines on Pieces

« on: May 11, 2018, 11:30:19 am »

Two patterns I may be trying are the mini dragon clock (http://www.stevedgood.com/minidragonclock.pdf)and the boot clock (http://www.stevedgood.com/cowboyboot.pdf).

On both of these, there seem to be access lines that are not cut.

On the boot, line delineate the sole, and the pull tab.

On the dragon, lines show detail in the wings.

Am I correct in assuming these lines were hand drawn after cutting was complete?

What is best for this sort of line - pencil, magic market with fine tip, paint?  I am just not sure how these will react when a finish is applied.

I would also assume that if you are finishing the wood with a stain or dye, this should be done before the lines are drawn.  Is this correct?

Sorry - these may be very basic questions, but I can't find a reference to this information by searching here, and have not seen anything about adding accent lines in any of the videos on scrollsawing.

80

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Wood Selection for Scrollsaw Patterns

« on: May 10, 2018, 10:33:04 am »

Sorry, I may not have been as clear as possible in the first post.

I am asking about species of wood, not thickness.  Mostly as a starting point - knowing what wood was used, when you see a finished product, helps one learn how the different woods will look.

Knowing which wood to use is a puzzle when you don't have a lot of experience.  When I walk through the Exotic Woods store in Oakville, I see lots of of interesting stuff - but short of buying one of everything and experimenting, I have no idea what a finished product might look like in most of those woods.

As much as buying one of everything sounds like a great way to learn, that implies a MUCH higher income bracket than I inhabit....   

81

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Padauk - does this work well for scroll sawing?

« on: May 10, 2018, 10:26:37 am »

Thanks, Sheila and DW!

I did not know that the wood could be toxic.  It certainly leaves very fine sawdust!

82

General Scroll Saw Talk / Padauk - does this work well for scroll sawing?

« on: May 09, 2018, 12:58:17 pm »

Has anyone here used a wood called Padauk?

It has a really neat red colour.

I did a little bit with it, and I am not sure the back of the pattern didn't get some tear out - but then again, I was not using a blade with reverse teeth.

83

General Scroll Saw Talk / Wood Selection for Scrollsaw Patterns

« on: May 09, 2018, 12:54:25 pm »

I see a huge number of great patterns here.  Most have a photo of the finished product.

At least, I think they are photos.  They may be images from SketchUp, or some similar product, with surface textures added.

None of the patterns have suggestions for wood or finishes to achieve what was used in the photos.  The images look great, but it is hard to guess what wood was used or how it was finished.

For those of us getting started, knowing what wood exist and what is available in our area can be a challenge.  Ideas of what to look for can be very helpful.

84

Ask Steve a question. / Amazon Orders in Canada

« on: May 03, 2018, 05:43:17 pm »

Steve - I am in Canada.

I order from amazon.ca as much as possible.

Your links lead to amazon.com, of course.  Would you know if there is a way to get credit to you for orders from amazon.ca?

85

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Saw upgrade

« on: April 26, 2018, 04:49:00 pm »

Where are you in Canada.  I am in Brooklin Ontario (North Whitby).

Don - I think I have seen you on Canadian Woodworking forum.

Thanks for the offer.  I am in Brampton.  A fair distance....maybe, some day.

Not sure if I am OK with a DeWalt or not.  The more we learn, the we understand what works, and why.  Wish I had waited before buying the CTC saw!

86

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Saw upgrade

« on: April 26, 2018, 01:10:53 pm »

i am in the same position as others here - working with a less than ideal saw, wondering what to move up to.

Since I am in Canada, options are somewhat more limited.  At this time, I have a Mastercraft Maximum scroll saw, which is a machine that is not on friendly terms with pinless blades.  They can be made to work, but they have a very short life since the screws that hold the blades in also bend the ends of the blades.

Nothing like trying to fit a bent #5 blade through a 1/16" hole to make you realize that there MUST BE A BETTER WAY!   

My choices are between the DeWalt DW788, or Excelsior XL-21.  The smaller Excelsior is only $50 more than the DeWalt, but I like the extra space.  The Excelsior 30" would be overkill for me.

I like the idea of a tilting head instead of tilting table.  I have used the DeWalt in classes at Lee Valley, but have never had a chance to use an Excelsior or Excaliber.

Given the scarcity of used saws, buying new may be the only way to go.  I have never seen a used DeWalt in my area, and the Excalibers are always very old.  Not that I have anything against old - that would be the pot calling the kettle black - but I tend to avoid abused and well worn.

My question - is the Excelsior XL-21 worth $350 more than the DeWalt?  That is the price difference here in the Great White North.  Finding the extra $$$ may be possible, but I need to feel that they are buying value.

87

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Maximum Scroll Saw

« on: April 19, 2018, 01:51:38 pm »

If the blade clamp already has tapped threads for allen bolts, that sounds like a simple fix.
The problem with breaking blades that rfielder brought up may just be because he did not
make sure the bolts were centered in the blade clamp.

That is a good suggestion!

However, there is a tapped hole on one side only.  You don't have a screw coming in from the other side.

I think that the inside of the blade holder is not flat.  That is why the blade crimps and breaks.

I am also trying to find out if the DeWalt blade holder screws are the same size and thread.  Maybe, with their rotating tips. those would work better.

To those that say the Maxium is the low end of tools - you need to know that the Maximum line is the high end of Canadian Tire products.  They have non-Maximum tools that are even less expensive.   CTC no longer seems to have a non-Maximum scroll saw, but they have lots and lots of non-Maximum power and hand tools.

You could say that you get what you pay for, but I suspect that a lot of other scroll saws that cost the same as the Maximum scroll saw are better.....   

88

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Maximum Scroll Saw

« on: April 11, 2018, 02:29:00 pm »

Any luck with the kit?

I also have a Maximum scroll saw.  Not a good purchase, since it will not accept pinless blades.  It was on sale, and this was a couple of years ago, so at the price I paid, it was a good deal.  At that time.

If you use the saw within it's limitations, it is OK.  Vibrates a LOT if you slow it down, but not bad at full speed.  The blower works, but only is effective when the saw is running at full speed.  The light is good, but the vibration of the saw makes it less than ideal.  Not horrible at full speed.  Are you seeing a pattern? 

As long as your patterns can stand 3/16" holes for the pinned blades, you can do OK work with it.

It does have a slow start, which can be nice, although not everyone likes this feature.  Makes a foot switch a bit less effective, easier to just leave it running.

The manual says nothing about pinless.  If you check the CTC website, the questions section speaks about getting the correct screws to hold pinless - the saw does come with tapped holes for the screws.

I called CTC support, and they sent me two screws.  Tried them, and found that if you tighten them enough to hold the blade, they crimp the blade and it breaks right away.  It breaks as soon as you power up,

I picked up two other screws - they are a standard size - and ground the ends of them flat.  That did not help.

The screws sent by CTC are very, very short, and you need an allan key to turn them.  The bottom one is buried inside the frame, so getting a screw with a knob likely would not work, you could not reach the knob.  The top one might work with a knob, but I am not going to spend the time figuring that out if it is just going to break blades.

If there is a way to hold pinless blades, that would be a real upgrade.  Otherwise, I am going to drop a lot of $$$ onto a deWalt or a Excelsior.  Just trying to figure out if the EX-21 is really worth $500 more than the same-sized deWalt.