New Scroll Saw and Suggestions for next project

[harpolemond]

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.   

[spirithorse]

Greetings,
Most of these are Jeff Zaffino patterns http://www.scrolleronline.com/category/s?keyword=jz  and you may be lucky enough to find some old
scroll saw magazines with some of his patterns.

Mike Williams is also a great designer with patterns still available here http://www.scrolleronline.com/category/s?keyword=MW
I do not think Mr. Williams has an active web-site any longer but, you may search his name and find some links. Oh, I did find a link for
an ETSY site here https://www.etsy.com/shop/MikeWilliamsDesigns

Charles Dearing is also a great designer for advanced scroll saw patterns. This page has just a couple of his better patterns http://www.scrolleronline.com/category/s/3
I am unsure if Charles still has an active FaceBook account for his patterns.

Nice work on your box or casket. This site http://www.finescrollsaw.com/ has lots of patterns in that type of design if you don't like fretwork.

God Bless! Spirithorse

[harpolemond]

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

[don in brooklin on]

If I need to resize a pattern I usually load into Inkscape.  If a PDF just open the page the pattern is on.

If a jpg or such use import.

You can then select the whole item and the size of area is at the top. Change to inches.  (make sure you lock the width and height) and enter new size.

Depending on the pattern some times I will go the - path, trace bitmap and then see if it all traces.  If it does that it is more accurate to resize an item that is an svg as it does not distort.

If you have a particular pattern you can always post and see if some one can resize.

[KCSteve]

I recently got the 18" Jet - love it! 

The blade mounting system is great, IMHO.  You take the little lower blade holder (you get three with the saw and can get more on Amazon for about $20 / 3).  I hold it with the knob to the right, slide in my blade with teeth up and knowing it's the bottom holder.  I have my thumb against the bottom of the holder so I just slide the blade in until it hits my thumb.  Snug the knob, then put the flats of the holder into the hole on the side of the saw and tighten it.  If you're having grip problems you can make a little wrench by cutting a small slot into a bit of wood to give you something larger to hold on to.

Pop the blade holder into the lower holder and bring the saw arm down.  Center the top of the blade in the clamps and flip the big lever up.  Your blade is now at exactly the same tension you set earlier.

I have occasionally had the arm (apparently) move a bit when the saw is not in use - you bring it down and the blade seems to be about 1/4" too short.  Just adjust the tension knob to bring the arm down, clamp it, then set your tension and you'll be good for a long time.  This only seems to happen when I haven't used my saw for a few days.

You can easily adjust how aggressively the Jet saws cut - the manual shows you how to do it and it looks pretty easy.

I had one very minor problem - the lower blade guard clattered and fell off.  I called up Jet and they sent me a new one which I easily installed.  It did the same thing so now I know that if I want it there I can do it.  First I have to have one of the broken ones re-welded.  The key appears to be that you don't want it down by the arm (which mine were) but up by the bottom of the table.  As far as I can tell (and the person at Jet agreed) it's just an extra safety bit so if the blade holder manages to come out while you're sawing it will keep it near where it should be.  I use a deadman switch foot pedal so I'm not worried about it.  I have had a blade or two break with no catastrophe.

While the Jet is a bottom feed the arm (on mine) raises up 10" and stays up no problem (if it droops there's a simple adjustment).  If you're having trouble hitting the hole you can pop out the lower holder and feed it up near the front edge of the table and then easily get the lower holder back in place.

One small thing that will probably affect your finely detailed work: I have found that the clamp (at least the way my saw it set) actually clamps so hard that it eventually mashes the end of the blade to a slightly wider shape.  My saw may be set too tight one the clamp.  You can either use a small file to clean up the end or just go to a fresh, unsquished blade when it starts to get too wide.

Looking forward to seeing some the great things you'll do with your new saw!

[harpolemond]

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

[KCSteve]

I knew you'd love it.  When I was biting the bullet and buying a good saw I looked at the four they had at the local Woodcraft and the Jet just felt like it was the best fit for me. I blew my 'indulgence' budget for the year but this is exactly why I have an indulgence budget.

Because my hearing damage was caused by dot matrix printers back in the 1980's I have to wear earmuffs when using my Jet because the little bit of noise it makes is right in the same frequencies I already have problems with, but my wife can stand right next to me watching me work with no problems.

Oh - and a tip I picked up somewhere online that I'm really liking - use a pair of cutters and clip the top front corner of the blade off - keeps it from being squished out and makes it easier to get it through a hole.

[Berta]

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

You can convert mm to inches. There are charts for that. You can also measure the paper pattern.