Topics

1

General Scroll Saw Talk / Thick material

« on: August 06, 2019, 12:39:56 pm »

I was cutting some 1-1/2" thick material this past weekend and it seemed like I had to push too hard and it was very noisy to cut. Material was Basswood and Pine (construction lumber type) I'll have to see what speed the saw is set to. This is on my new Delta saw. Using a skip tooth blade, but I am not sure which size since the saw sat for a long time and I have since forgotten which blade I put in there. It cuts about the speed I suspect it should in thinner material, from 1/4" to 3/4" stock. It was a higher end blade too, not a cheapo.

Anyway, I suspect that I have something setup wrong. Maybe I should go through the setup again before cutting anything else. Make sure the blade is square to the table, etc. Has anyone else experienced the slowness of cutting with these materials at this thickness?

2

Brag Forum / Broken Heart

« on: August 05, 2019, 02:33:52 pm »

Made this on Sunday

3

Brag Forum / Cell phone holder

« on: August 02, 2019, 02:35:39 pm »

Hi, just cut this out today. Awaiting finish.

4

Introduce Yourself. / Back again from Wisconsin

« on: July 29, 2019, 01:55:29 pm »

 Hi All,

I am back in the shop again and on the forum. I took an extended absence last year and was dealing with some things, but things are back to normal now. Things in the shop too have been neglected for a long time, so I'll have to reacquaint myself with some things as my memory isn't what it used to be. Sorry in advance if I ask some dumb questions. But it's good to be back among the living and back in the shop again.

Btw, I got a Delta Scroll saw and am getting to know it again.

Cheers!

5

General Scroll Saw Talk / Looking for a new saw - (Excalibur 16" at Home Depot for $519?)

« on: January 10, 2019, 09:30:55 am »

I'm looking for a new saw and thinking about the Dewalt that everyone seems to love, vs the Jet line and the king / Excalibur / seyco style. Saw that there is a special buy on the 16" Excalibur for what looks like a great price of $519. Any thoughts on this?

Honestly, I am not sure what to buy. I hope to move into the craft fair / retail market and build a business to supplement retirement income, so I don't want to have to buy a new saw every five years. But my Sears 16" is not very good, and think an upgrade to an Excalibur would be a good choice.

Any thoughts / help is appreciated.

6

Brag Forum / Wisconsin - Brewer logo with a blue backer

« on: April 14, 2017, 10:46:19 am »

Made this for a friend at work who is my baseball mentor. It's 1/2" ash with a 1/2" ask backer, stained blue. Finished with spray poly and wax. Added a picture hanger to the back. He liked it. :-)

7

General Scroll Saw Talk / Blade Help Needed

« on: April 03, 2017, 09:18:22 am »

Hi All, This question is regarding an Olson PGT No. 5RG 12TPI 8Rev. Double Reverse Tooth blade.

I sat down to do a word art pattern in Aspen this past weekend, and the blade above grabbed the wood and lifted it every time I tried to start the cut. I switched to an FD #5 blade and everything worked fine after that. So I assume that the wood is too soft for that blade?

I have no guidance on what this blade is to be used for, so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
US

8

General Scroll Saw Talk / 10 things I learned on the scroll saw this past weekend

« on: March 27, 2017, 09:44:03 am »

Well, I got to spend several hours on the Craftsman 16" variable speed saw I have and learned a few things.

1. I had some issues with patterns lifting from the wood. I used the blue painters tape and 3M adhesive method, letting the adhesive soak on the pattern for about 1 minute before applying.

2. The blower is NOT strong enough on that saw. Need to go the aquarium pump route soon.

3. A wake of blueish saw dust piled up behind the blade, and sometimes in front of it. Made it difficult to see where I was going.

4. Need more work on sharp inside corners. Overran the corners on one side quite a few times.

5. Need a good method to remove the "schnibbles" on the back side of the project.

6. The best thing: once you remove pattern no one knows that you deviated from the line. :-)

7. Pins can come out of pin style blades.

8. Pixilated graphics are harder to follow than line drawings.

9. There is a bit of freedom to following the pattern (on the cross I did) and I got more comfortable with every section I did.

10: Gotta get a cushion for that tractor seat!

Comment / suggestions are welcomed.

P.S. 11. I now see the need for a foot switch! 

9

Brag Forum / Fourth official Scrollsaw project.

« on: March 26, 2017, 06:47:33 pm »

This one looked interesting, and it proved to be challenging. I think this would look good with a green backer board and framed. Thanks for looking.

10

Brag Forum / Third official Scrollsaw project

« on: March 26, 2017, 04:17:27 pm »

This was fun!

11

General Scroll Saw Talk / First Project

« on: March 25, 2017, 09:03:20 pm »

This was fun!

12

Computer questions / Avitar Question

« on: March 13, 2017, 09:43:58 am »

Hi All,

Does anyone know how to format an image for an avitar so it doesn't look so stretched out and fuzzy, as mine currently does?

Thanks in advance...

13

General Scroll Saw Talk / Advice/opinions needed

« on: March 13, 2017, 09:31:43 am »

So, I got to spend some quality time with the (Craftsman 16" variable speed) scroll saw yesterday, doing practice cuts on scrap and experimenting with blades. So far so good. I see improvement.

Vibration is a problem. I can't run the machine at full speed, but I am not sure that is necessary anyway. I was always taught, with any machine, never to run at full speed if the speed was adjustable. So I am debating whether or not to make a new stand, one that is more robust and allows for the placement of weight in the base. This is where I would like to hear opinion / advice. Not sure this will solve the vibration problem with this saw...

(It is bolted down, the stand has very little movement / twist. I tightened all of the screws, nuts, and bolts that I could find. I even modified they plastic guard over the arm to keep it from knocking against the arm. (dumb design - thanks Dremel...))

It may be (probably likely) that I have a crappy saw and the saw will always vibrate at the top end no matter what I do. More experimentation is needed. So far it is usable, just not that fast. I can get up to about 80-90 percent before the vibration becomes a problem. Maybe that is fast enough. Should I go through the trouble of making a new stand - heavier timber, place for sand bags, stool height - or just live with what I have until I upgrade (about 80% probability) to a better saw?

I am planning to practice one hour every night this week while I line up real projects to do.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

14

General Scroll Saw Talk / First Cuts

« on: March 12, 2017, 02:17:24 pm »

Here is a pic of my first cuts. Practice & patience.... Wandered quite a bit. Blade is unknown. Will try with Olson blades next. FD blades already ordered. Good news is that the puzzle cuts slip together from both directions.

15

General Scroll Saw Talk / New Scroll Saw Stand

« on: March 11, 2017, 10:23:50 pm »

I finished my stand today! Vibration is there, but not too bad. I'll try to attach a picture.