Topics

61

The Coffee Shop / Now this is a clamp

« on: April 01, 2013, 12:09:05 pm »

Just in time for April, Lee Valley has the mother of all clamps.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=70655&c=

A little expensive but definitely unique.

Jim

62

The Coffee Shop / Which dog is guilty?

« on: February 01, 2013, 08:42:52 pm »

A great 34 second clip; Anyone who thinks a dog does not remember or does not feel guilt has not lived with a dog.

Just look at the expressions on the faces of these three dogs when they are asked the same question at the same time..... (NOTE the immediate reaction of the two darker dogs on the right side of the screen - talk about a total throw under the bus!)

No matter how many times I watch this, I laugh just as much as the first time I saw it.

http://www.maniacworld.com/which-is-the-guilty-dog.html

63

General Scroll Saw Talk / 40-690 blade movement - for and aft

« on: January 21, 2013, 04:23:44 pm »

When my Delta 40-690, the DW788 clone, is cutting, the blade move back and forth about 3/32" as measured at the top of the table.  I find this causes the wood to move forwards and backwards, especially when I am sort of holding the wood back so it cuts more slowly.  The saw also seems to cut quite aggressively and gets away from me, especially in tight turns.

I've been playing with moving the lower rocker assembly forward, as mentioned in Rick's Dewalt tune-up section, and have moved it forward about 3/32 or perhaps 1/8".  The blade movement is down to about 1/64".  This has been done by removing the 4 screws that hold the lower rocker and sliding the rocker forward.  It's held now with a clamp - for testing.

Before I start slotting the mounting holes I was wondering how little blade movement is acceptable?  If the blade moves perfectly up and down, how does the sawdust get cleared out of the blade, especially for thicker wood. Is some back and forth movement necessary?  Am I wrong in thinking the back and forth movement make the saw cut more aggressively?

I will be very interested in your comments and suggestions.

Thanks,
Jim

64

Computer questions / Look our for your Java

« on: January 12, 2013, 05:50:33 pm »

Not the drinking kind!  Ran across this http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/us-warns-java-software-security-concerns-escalate-1B7938755  Further searching confused me even more so I decided to disable Java in the browser and to remove it from my PC, although there seems to be some indication that the latest version is OK.  The latest version is supposed to have a control panel that lets you disable Java more easily.

This http://java.com/en/download/testjava.jsp tests whether Java is installed on your computer.

As Phil Esterhaus used to say on Hill Street Blues, "Let's be careful out there."
Jim

65

General Scroll Saw Talk / Flattening wood

« on: December 16, 2012, 11:00:46 am »

I have a 1/4" thick piece of bamboo about 10 by 12" that was glued up from strips about 1 to 1.5" inches wide.  It has developed a bow (about 1/8") parallel to the glue lines that I would like to remove.

Any suggestions on how to flatten it, or to at least minimize the bowing?

Thanks,
Jim

66

Tutorials, Techniques and Tips / Patterns from inkscape

« on: December 02, 2012, 06:38:13 pm »

In the Pattern Request section I mentioned something I had learned about Inkscape.  Probably most of you know it but I didn't so there might a few others who don't.

When I tried to make a pattern from text, I could never get nice sharp lines to follow.  I would change the colour of the text to a light grey, then try to trace the bitmap - it never gave a sharp line to follow.  Very frustrating.

Finally I tried tracing the bitmap first, then changing the inside colour to a light grey.  It worked like a charm.

Hope this is useful.
Jim

67

Pattern Requests. / Text to pattern

« on: November 29, 2012, 10:20:31 pm »

I've been trying to make a good cutting pattern from this image.  The final cutting is to be about 5" from the left of the "Q" to the right side of the "S".  I've tried every way I can think of to get nice sharp lines to follow - Gimp and Inkscape - but the lines are always fuzzy and grey, especially for the word "university".

I'd really appreciate it is someone could make a pattern for me.  Thanks.

Then I'd like some pointers on how to turn something like this image into a good pattern for cutting, so I can do the next one myself.

Thanks,
Jim

68

Tutorials, Techniques and Tips / DC mod idea - does it make sense?

« on: November 25, 2012, 08:48:51 pm »

My dust collector http://www.busybeetools.com/products/DUST-COLLECTOR-1HP-570CFM-1-MIC-BAG-CSA.html has a 4" inlet. I'd like to put a Thein pre-separator in front of it.  Ideally I'd rotate the impeller so the inlet is down. This will let me directly connect the separator outlet to the DC inlet.

How big would I need to make the separator container to work with the 4" inlets and outlets? I guess I could scale up the top plate but I don't want to lift the impeller section any higher than necessary. What would the minimum height for the can, or the minimum height below the baffle?

I'd appreciate any thoughts you have on this?

69

General Scroll Saw Talk / Christmas sales

« on: October 16, 2012, 11:53:24 am »

Just noticed that Busy Bee is selling a few well rated tools at reduced prices.

DW788 scroll saw http://www.busybeetools.com/products/SCROLL-SAW-20IN.-CW-STAND-AND-LIGHT-DEWALT.html with stand and light for $499

DW734 planer http://www.busybeetools.com/products/PLANER-12-1%7B47%7D2IN.-DEWALT.html for $439

DW735 planer http://www.busybeetools.com/products/PLANER-13IN.-DUAL-SPEED-DEWALT.html with table and spare blades for $585

Disclaimer: I don't work for Busy Bee and I don't work for Dewalt.   

Jim

70

Computer questions / Keychain maker - trojan???

« on: October 05, 2012, 10:20:26 pm »

Emisisoft anti-malware has identified Steve's scroll saw keychain maker (keychain.exe) as containing a trojan downloader.  I don't believe Steve's download contained a virus.  If the file is infected, it's more likely it became contaminated after I installed it on my PC  (Win XP, SP3).

Has anyone else had this program identified as containing malware?

Thanks for any thoughts you might have on this.
Jim
The scan is continuing and the program reports that setup.exe for the scroll saw pattern printer also contains a trojan.  Again, I don't believe it was in Steve's download but I quarantined the files.
J

71

Tutorials, Techniques and Tips / Dust collector problem

« on: August 04, 2012, 03:28:35 pm »

My 1 hp DC has the cloth bag on top and a plastic bag on the bottom.  It was working well as I was mostly cutting on the table saw and doing some routing but lately it has been blowing dust out of the top of the bottom bag.  I'm doing mostly sanding and scrolling so there is much finer dust being generated and some of it leaks between the bag and the metal ring of the DC.

It really blows out when I shake the upper bag to dislodge the dust that has collected on the inside of the bag.  

The lower bag is slightly larger than the metal ring so there are a few wrinkles where it is clamped to the ring.  The dust seems to come mostly at the wrinkles.  I've tried to pull out all the wrinkles but even where I neatly fold over the plastic to take up the slack, the dust blows out.

I've thought about duct taping the bag to the metal ring but the residue left by the tape would be messy.

Has anyone run into this problem and how did you solve it? Or, do you have any suggestions?

Thanks,
Jim

72

Ask Steve a question. / Copyright question

« on: July 18, 2012, 12:21:28 pm »

Not sure if this is the best place to post this.  It follows from Steve's concern about infringing on copyright.

I downloaded a jpg of a farm tractor from the Internet.  It was not stated to be royalty-free so I presume it is copyrighted.  I took the image and made a line drawing for a scroll saw pattern.  In my pattern, there are no identifiers such as a name or model number and I doubt that even the manufacturer could could state that the tractor was "his".

I know (or at least am pretty sure) that I can make a cutting from the pattern for my own use but would it be OK to post this pattern to the web site, without identifying the tractor make or model?  

Thanks,
Jim

73

Pattern Requests. / Drum set pattern

« on: July 11, 2012, 10:32:16 pm »

I want to do a drum set project for a friend and found the the attached on a royalty-free site.  I could either make it a free-standing project or one that is glued to a background, which ever is easier.

I hope this is understandable, it's my first pattern request.

Thanks in advance.
Jim

74

Tutorials, Techniques and Tips / How would you cut out the letters?

« on: July 07, 2012, 10:06:55 am »

I cut out some words from a piece as shown in the pictures below.  Getting in the interior portions of the capital "A" back in place was easy, but the lower case "b", "o", and "a" were a real problem.  In the case of the "A", I cut the outer perimeter of the letter, then filed away the front 1/2 of the bottom of the pyramid.  It was easy for the "A" but the smaller lower case letters were a real problem.  I ended up cutting slightly over-sized lower case letters and filing the interior piece to fit.

It was very fussy and not very pretty.  One option would be to put a backer on but I wanted to be able to see through where the letters were cut out.

Does anyone have a better idea on how to do this? 

Thanks,
Jim
PS
This was for the flooring company that gave me a bunch of sample.  I wanted to use two of their samples to make this.  When I gave them the piece, they gave me another box of samples - cumaru, jabota, walnut, and tauari.  The best part is that most are unfinished so I don't have to get out the belt sander.
J

75

Tutorials, Techniques and Tips / Picture frame making video

« on: July 02, 2012, 06:21:23 pm »

A while ago I read a post, perhaps on this forum but perhaps not, with a link to a video of a guy making picture frames.  Instead of making 45 degree mitres, he overlapped the corners and cut a sort of squiggly line through both pieces.  The two pieces would then fit together and hold without glue.  But, glue was probably used in the final assembly.

Can anyone point me to this video?

Thanks,
Jim