Topics

1

General Scroll Saw Talk / Scroll Saw Bowls

« on: February 23, 2021, 03:14:48 pm »

Has anyone made a scroll saw bowl using only plywood?

Just wonder how it would look, and how durable it is.  I would be using baltic birch plywood.

2

General Scroll Saw Talk / Kinked Blades

« on: February 13, 2021, 11:06:21 am »

 have an older (2009) Excalibur EX-21, in green, purchased used and well used. The chucks were replaced with the Pegas chuck set. Great improvement! The original lower chuck was done, so the upgrade was required, not just purchased as an upgrade.

When using small blades such as Pegas Modified Geometry 2/0R, the end of the blade in the lower chuck is getting bent, or kinked. Does not effect the cutting, but makes it difficult to feed the blade through small holes. I tend to use a #71 bit for these blades, and most of my cutting lately have required the use of such a small blade.

Yes, I am a top feeder!

Attached is a closeup of the ends of the blades.  I hope iti is clear, the limit of 128kb per image seems very low.

I have not seen a similar kink when using heavier blades, such as #5.

Anyone else run into this? Any idea why the lower chuck is bending the blades like this?

3

General Scroll Saw Talk / Scroll Saw Dust Capture

« on: January 26, 2021, 10:19:11 am »

What is the general consensus on scroll saw dust capture?  Do they work well enough that you always use it?  Does it get in to the road of the blade chucks when doing top feeding?

I see that new scroll saws have something under the table to capture dust, and the ability to use a shop vac or dust collection system with adapter to suck away dust.

My  Excalibur EX21 was built before these existed.  There is a fair bit of dust falling down, which would be nice to pull away.

However, there is also dust put into the air above the table.  Does the modern dust capture systems change the above-table dust at all?  This would seem to be the dust we would end up breathing in, rather than the dust below the table.

4

The Coffee Shop / Happy New Year!

« on: January 01, 2021, 11:12:10 am »

Happy New Year to all!

Here is hoping that 2021 is a much better year.

5

General Scroll Saw Talk / Merry Christmas!

« on: December 25, 2020, 11:44:54 am »

Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays to all!

6

General Scroll Saw Talk / Inconsistent Blades

« on: October 30, 2020, 07:34:00 am »

Just worked through a 12 pack of Pegas 2/0R blades.

They sure break easy!  Had a couple of brand new blades break a second or two after applying tension, without even starting the saw.  Since no settings were changes for the new blades, I figure it has to be the blades.  I am using an Excalibur EX-21, and no changes were made to the arm height.

Some of the blades cut differently than others in the pack.  Needed a different angle to cut a straight line, which made following curves a challenge.

Has anyone else encountered inconsistent blades in a single 12 pack?

7

General Scroll Saw Talk / Font use on Happy Halloween pattern

« on: October 21, 2020, 07:05:33 am »

Does anyone know what font was used on the Happy Halloween pattern?

This pattern is at:
http://www.stevedgood.com/halloweenprop.pdf

Thanks!

8

General Scroll Saw Talk / Circle Cutters for the Scroll Saw

« on: October 17, 2020, 10:38:52 am »

Has anyone tried building a circle cutter for a scroll saw?

I built one for my bandsaw, and it works well.  Was just wondering if the same thing would work on a scroll saw.

It might depend on how the blades cut.  However, that could just be a matter of placing the center of the jig ahead of or behind the blade.

9

General Scroll Saw Talk / Cutting Angles

« on: October 06, 2020, 07:19:59 am »

I use two types of blades mostly - Flying Dutchman and Pegas.  Also have a few from Niqua.

One thing that is irritating is that each brand cuts at a different angle.  That is, to cut a straight line, you have to angle your wood differently with each brand, and sometimes with each type of blade.

With one brand, you have to angle to cut line towards 1 o'clock or 2 o'clock.  With a different brand, you have to angle the cut line towards 10 o'clock or 11 o'clock.

I guess if you use only one brand all the time, you will become so used to it that it won't be an issue.  However, I have too many blades of each brand to just throw them out.  Since the blades seem to last a long time, and do not break, it will take some time to use up.

No real point here, just venting.

10

General Scroll Saw Talk / Wood Choices

« on: September 17, 2020, 07:28:21 pm »

Trying to do some compound patterns that have moderately thin sections.  I am finding that poplar may not have the strength for these.  The latest example was the "G" compound ornament in the pattern released by Steve on Sep 7, 2020.

I know that red oak is very nice to work with, and has much more strength.

What other woods are good for scroll sawing?  Any personal favourites?

11

General Scroll Saw Talk / Finishing Compound Cut Items

« on: September 16, 2020, 06:23:22 pm »

How do you finish compound cut items?

I just cut the candelstick, and a couple of christmas ornaments.  Applying stain to the outside is easy enough, but what about the inside?  What do people here do - leave the inside as raw wood?  Dip the object into a bucket of stain?  Spray and hope the the spray coats the inside as well?

Thanks in advance!

12

General Scroll Saw Talk / Gluing to Painted Backer Boards

« on: January 27, 2019, 10:32:30 am »

A new pattern for Valentine's Day was recently posted by Steve.  I am referring to:
http://www.stevedgood.com/2019roses.pdf

This is similar to many others, where a pattern is attached to a painted backer board.

A question about this - how do you secure the pattern to the backer board?

For one thing, I understand that glue does not hold well on a painted surface.  I have not tried doing this, since everything I have read says that it is not a good idea.

For a second thing, if you are using glue on such narrow pieces, how do you avoid squeeze out?  Any squeeze out would have to be a nightmare to clean up, given the narrow spaces, and the painted background would make the glue that much more visible.

Thanks in advance!

13

General Scroll Saw Talk / Wood for Christmas Ornaments

« on: September 24, 2018, 09:36:54 am »

I am looking at making some flat ornaments for this Christmas, and have a question for those who have been cutting these in the past.

Most patterns say to use 1/4" thick wood.  That makes sense, the ornaments are not very big.

What is the preferred wood - 1/4" baltic birch plywood, or a hardwood that is 1/4" thick?

Thanks!

14

General Scroll Saw Talk / Excalibur Upper Arm Adjustment

« on: July 27, 2018, 12:50:24 pm »

I picked up a used Excalibur EX-21, which is working well so far.

However, the upper arm keeps dropping.  There is no tension in the adjustment knob to speak of, so having it vibrate and allowing the upper arm to lower over time seems likely.

Is this a common issue? 

Is there a way to old the upper arm in place, once you have it ajusted?

Thanks!

15

Ask Steve a question. / Another Stacked Scroll Saw Basket Pattern - July 10/18

« on: July 10, 2018, 09:51:47 am »

Steve - would it be possible to add one more ring to your latest pattern, "Another Stacked Scroll Saw Basket Pattern"?

This would be a circle, letting the top ring of the basket have a nice round outside edge.

I think I could do this, but I doubt I could do it as well as you, since you have the original pattern in whatever software you used.

Thanks!