Messages

31

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Ex-21 clamping adjustments

« on: September 22, 2015, 03:21:07 am »

Use Loctite Blue on the set screws. It will hold them from moving but is soft enough to let you back the screw out when needed.
I bought a small LED clamp-on light with a gooseneck. The clamp came off, leaving a 1/2" male thread end. I removed the workpiece hold-down from the saw arm (never used it anyway) and put the light mount into that hole and it works great.

If you don't already have one, get a foot switch for the saw. It is much easier to control and start/stop with your foot.

32

Computer questions / Re: best computer lenovo thinkpad t420 and you can get yours at

« on: August 21, 2015, 10:02:23 am »

Lenovo is a top brand and this is a great price. And Win7 is a good opsys.

BUT - I just recently bought a refurbished Asus Chromebook from Amazon. When I opened it and tried to connect to my WiFi network it would not accept my passcode. It turned out the '5' and '6' buttons were both DOA. Amazon paid for the return and refunded my $$$ but it was a bit of a hassle. If you have the time and don't mind returning it once or twice, you can probably get a deal.

33

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Hot Blade and Hot Wood

« on: August 21, 2015, 09:54:53 am »

Tony - I recently was cutting some 10" red oak baskets (wobble bowls) from 3/4" lumber and thought I'd save some tape by just putting a square of 4 pieces of tape around the outer edges of the surface. It covered almost all of the cut lines except small parts of the inner rings. The wobble in the inner rings causes a lot of blade turning to stay on line. As I was cutting and got to the short parts that that were not covered by tape, I got some smoke. Then back into the tape and it stopped. When I was done I had burn marks where I had no tape, and none where the tape was. In my mind, this supports the lubrication idea with that packing tape.

Using a skip-tooth blade helps keep the dust out of the cut in thick wood. Moving the dust will help keep the cut cool, as does keeping your puffer pointed at the cut line so it blows over the blade while moving dust. And like all saws, the biggest bang probably comes from using a sharp blade. They only cost about 20 cents so changing blades does not hurt profitability much. It's easier if you buy blades by the 1/2 gross or gross so you don't run out for a while.

34

Brag Forum / Re: Holly and Sapelle Bowl

« on: August 20, 2015, 02:47:02 pm »

DW - that's a beauty.

35

Get togethers, shows and swap meets / Re: General Information

« on: August 20, 2015, 02:45:49 pm »

Try mike@mikesworkshop.com - Mike retired this year but sold Flying Dutchman. I bet he can send you to the replacement guy.

For Olson blades, try http://www.olsonsaw.net/

36

Introduce Yourself. / Re: New guy in Ohio

« on: August 17, 2015, 07:52:31 am »

Nice to see you Joseph. EIEIO in Lancaster, OH.

37

Pattern Requests. / Re: wheat head patterns

« on: August 15, 2015, 09:33:47 am »

You might also try googling "wheat head stencil" - usually stencils are already cuttable scroll patterns. Here's one:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e5/1d/2e/e51d2e4e1d4a7ebfcb272a8eb187c553.jpg

38

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Abandoning my beloved DeWalt 788's

« on: August 06, 2015, 09:40:42 am »

I think you'll really like the EX-21 when you get going on it. The tilting head is a big advantage, especially for steeper angles. It will take some time to get used to not setting blade tension, but it seems to work well. Be careful if you mess with the arm tilt detent screw - it is easy to turn it in too far and cause the screw (rather than the spring ball) to scrape the arm. 1/6 turn at a time until it holds w/o a rub.

39

Pattern Requests. / Re: turtle planted box

« on: August 06, 2015, 09:33:27 am »

If you attached a picture, it is gone now. Can you provide a link instead?

40

The Coffee Shop / Re: Hi everyone haven't been on here for sometime

« on: July 29, 2015, 03:13:01 pm »

Hey Newfie - I've also been AWOL but not for any troubles. The picture/pattern posting rules put a kink in my ink. But I've been working the saw when I can.

We had a family reunion this weekend and one of the nieces suggested we have a Paint the Birdhouse activity. She bought and brought 36 mini birdhouses and a bunch of paint. I hand-cut (no pattern) a half dozen compound cut micro-birdhouses (really more like Christmas ornaments with a 1/2" Fostner hole in the side). They were a big hit. Very easy to cut - just move wherever feels comfortable.  For the hook on top, bend a cut-off piece of 12 gauge copper wire and drill a clearance hole in the top. Glue or just shove it in.

41

Introduce Yourself. / Re: New scroller with a BIG question

« on: July 29, 2015, 02:51:34 pm »

You may be pushing your work piece to the side rather that just into the blade as you make a turn and stay on line. It's easy to do, especially if you started with thin material where the bend in the blade doesn't show up so much.

Try softer woods to get used to the compound cuts, and a new blade (they are cheap enough).

Look around here for a video on how to square your blade and table. That will certainly bugger up a cut in thick wood. And make sure the blade tension is high. Pluck it and it should sound like a high E guitar string - or C, D, E above middle C on the piano.   

42

The Coffee Shop / Re: LAWYERS DON'T LIE

« on: July 29, 2015, 02:35:03 pm »

Nice story but it seems to me it is a lawyer's sworn duty, and a politician's avocation, to lie. There are 3 basic forms:
1. He knows the truth, but he tells a completely different, untrue story.
2. She tells a story that states some fact as true, but she has no idea if they are true or not.
3. They tell a story that intentionally leads the listener to a false conclusion.

#3 seems a favorite since it leaves wiggle room, but is a lie none the less.

43

Pattern Requests. / Re: Harley Logo

« on: July 20, 2015, 01:20:59 pm »

If you google "harley logo stencil" you will find a bunch ready to cut. Here's one (note to Russ - this is a LINK, not a COPY)

44

Brag Forum / Re: House - Elves

« on: July 13, 2015, 02:49:32 pm »

Nice to see you're still into the dust. I've been out of the shop lately, but have a request for oak and walnut baskets for some high-end show this fall.

45

Computer questions / Re: I PAD HELP

« on: July 01, 2015, 12:15:01 pm »

Tony - you might consider putting your photos on an online site, if the shows will have Internet access or your iPad has cellular access. That will keep the iPad from filling up. But if you're not worried about that, have at it.

BTW - the Square I have is USB connected. Can you connect it to the iPad?

If you have not already bought the iPad, you might take a look at the Chromebook (from lots of different vendors like Asus, etc.). It is more like a laptop but meant for making best use of connectivity. A lot less expensive than the iPad. It takes some getting used to, but so does the iPad. It runs Google's ChromeOS  operating system (different than Windows and IOS).