Topics

31

Ask Steve a question. / Hey StreeterKid

« on: August 16, 2012, 03:55:17 pm »

It looks like you have inadvertently locked you post. As for your questions, As a scroll saw instructor, I start my beginner students of using 3/4" pine. It is cheap and easy to cut. As far as blades, a #5 skip tooth blade is the best blade to start off with. Either an Olson #5 skip tooth or a Flying Dutchman Polar #5. After you get the hang of the saw you can start trying different hardwoods and plywoods in different thicknesses, and different blade sizes and types.
You can find Flying Dutchman Blades at www.mikesworkshop.com. You can find Olson blades at any woodworking store or at www.sloanswoodshop.com
BTW. welcome to the forum! Please go to the introduction page and introduce yourself so we can better welcome you!

32

General Scroll Saw Talk / Review of the Delta 40-695

« on: June 10, 2012, 08:37:32 pm »

Delta 40-695 Scroll Saw
I had a chance to try the new Delta 40-695 Scroll saw at the local Woodcraft store in Ventura California. I was teaching a scroll saw class and had the Delta to use.
The Delta is very similar to the DeWalt DW788. In fact the linkage arms, Blade clamps and thumb screws look identical to the 788, as does the front base and hold down foot. The back base is shaped differently to accommodate the mechanism that holds the upper arm lift lock. There is a button directly behind where the upper arm mounts. You lift up the arm; push the button and the arm locks in the up position. Lift up on the upper arm and the lock disengages and the upper arm lowers on its own. This is a nice feature except the arm does not lock fully in the up position, Rather it locks one to one and a half inches below the full up position. If you feed from the bottom, this will work nicely for you. If you are a top feeder, you will not use it often, but it is there when you need it.
There is a small plastic box on top of the back base to store blades. This is useless!
The controls are up front like the DW 788. The tension lever is identical. The switch is much larger. The air blower is in the same place and works just fine. The hold down foot is identical and just as worthless.
 I was unable to measure the front to back blade movement, but the saw ran flawlessly.
The saw runs very smoothly with no vibration even at full speed. In fact is seems to run slower because of the lack of vibration. I ran it at full speed without any vibration and it is very quiet.
I can?t speak for the reliability of the saw or if it will develop the same problems that the DW788 develops, but I like this saw and would recommend it!
It sells for $499 and comes with the stand and light.

33

Brag Forum / Scott's Eagle in an Eagle

« on: May 29, 2012, 10:41:24 pm »

This is my version of Scott's ( AKA daliclimbs) Eagle in an Eagle. The Eagle is cut from Sycamore and the backing is Aromatic Red Cedar closet lining. Finished with BLO/MS mixture, and a topcoat of Deft semi gloss spray lacquer.

34

The Coffee Shop / Happy Birthday GrayBeard

« on: May 29, 2012, 12:39:09 pm »

Happy Birthday Ed! 75 and still going strong! May the Birthday fairy bring you many more years of scrolling. I hope you have a grand time with your family and your S.O.!

35

The Coffee Shop / Wedding Bells

« on: May 26, 2012, 12:49:27 am »

My good buddy Scott, AKA Daliclimbs is getting married today! I just wanted to wish you and your bride my best wishes, and may you two grow and thrive together for many, many years to come, Huzzah!!!

36

The Coffee Shop / Yeah Kings!!!

« on: May 23, 2012, 12:49:59 am »

Well the Los Angeles Kings beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4 -3 in overtime!!! They go to the Stanley cup finals against either the Devils or the Rangers. They have a week to rest up before the finals start.
Go Kings!!!

37

The Coffee Shop / Any NHL fans out there?

« on: May 20, 2012, 03:21:21 pm »

The Los Angles Kings are getting ready to play the fourth game in the divisional finals today. If they win today, the go to the Stanley Cup Play offs!
Here we go!

38

Computer questions / Low Battery

« on: May 05, 2012, 10:27:23 pm »

I have a HP laptop running Vista. It used to give me a pop up warning when the battery had about 15% left. It doesn't do it anymore. Any suggestions? Yes there is a battery life indicator in bottom task bar, but I don't look at it enough. I sure hate when the computer shuts off while I'm in the middle of something!

39

Tutorials, Techniques and Tips / Steve's wheel truing jig

« on: April 28, 2012, 10:57:49 pm »

If you make a lot of toy cars and trucks and like to make your own wheels, Steve's wheel truing jig is a great idea to make consistently sized wheels. Steve uses the front face of the jig to keep the wheels consistent, however by doing this, the front face will wear very fast and you will have to replace the jig often. To make it a more permanent jig, make the base wide enough to add a miter slide on the bottom of the jig so it rides in the miter slot of the disk sander table. This way the the face of the jig will always stay the same. Make the base just slightly wider so when first installed in the miter slot you will sand the front face flat up against the sanding disk. Then drill the holes and add the dowels as indicated.

40

General Scroll Saw Talk / Delta 40-695

« on: April 22, 2012, 12:24:14 pm »

The new Delta 40-695 will be out soon: http://www.deltamachinery.com/products/scroll-saws/item/40-695. Looking at the picture, it looks very similar to the 40-690 which is a clone of the DeWalt 788 but different color and emblems. The 40-690 has been discontinued because Delta is no longer part of Black and Decker which owns DeWalt. Woodcraft bought out the remaining stock. They still have lots of them available. Don't worry about parts in the future as You will be able to interchange parts from the DeWalt 788.
The new 40-695 looks allot like the 40-690. It looks like the same table, upper arm, controls and blade clamps, but is supposed to be able to lock the upper arm in the up position.
I plan on contacting the Woodcraft store that I teach at to let me be the first to try the new saw when it comes in. I will let you all know what I think!

41

The Coffee Shop / Happy Anniversary!

« on: April 19, 2012, 01:12:33 am »

This is the second anniversary of this great forum! I have met wonderful folks from around the world and consider many of you personal friends.
I visit several other forums, but consider this forum Home! Thanks to Steve Good for starting this great forum and to Russ for keeping this place sane.
So I would like to propose a toast... Here's to old friends, and to new friends and to Steve and Russ, May we stay a family for many years to come! At 5:00 pm pacific, 8:00 pm east coast time, lets hoist a cold one! for those of you around the world, you do the math.
Happy anniversary everyone!

42

The Coffee Shop / Happy Easter

« on: April 08, 2012, 12:11:31 am »

May the Easter bunny find you, And bring you lots of treats!

43

The Coffee Shop / Skype For woodworkers

« on: April 02, 2012, 12:44:46 am »

There is a new version of Skype that should be beneficial to us woodworkers. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=z8DS6VEoNls#

44

The Coffee Shop / Bad news for NASCAR fans

« on: March 25, 2012, 11:18:47 am »

Sunny Southern California is NOT! It is supposed to rain all day today! The race is in Fontana CA., about 95 miles east from here. There is a big storm coming in and should last all day. Although it hasn't started yet, the forecast is for rain the whole day. I doubt they will even get the race started.

45

General Scroll Saw Talk / Boiled Linseed oil mix

« on: March 14, 2012, 03:44:52 pm »

Using oil on a wooden project brings out the natural color and grain of the wood. It is a good finish for woods that have good color and grain patterns but may not do much for woods that don't such as pine or Baltic birch plywood. although I do apply it to Baltic birch. Most oils will require a top coat.
Boiled Linseed oil does a good job, but is a little to thick and takes days to dry, so I thin it with Mineral spirits. The mix flows easily through the fret holes and dries in about about 24 hours depending on humidity.
The ratio is about 50/50. This works good for me but you may want to change it either way to suit your needs.
I use old metal baking pans to soak the project in the oil mix. I usually let it soak for about five minutes, keeping it wet with a cheap chip brush. Remove the project from the pan and let the oil drip into the pan for a few seconds. Then wipe off the excess oil with a clean lint free rag. I use old tee shirts for this. Set the project on an old baking rack or cardboard or newspaper. Go back several times and make sure you clean up any "Bleed Out". Let dry for about 24 hours, then you can apply a topcoat. I use Deft semi gloss lacquer in a spray can.
Make sure you use nitrile gloves when working with the oil, and most importantly, do not lay oily rags in a pile as the heat produced may cause a fire. Lay them across  the lip of a trash can and let them dry for a day then you can toss them the trash.
I store the oil in an old glass mason jar.