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1

General Scroll Saw Talk / Usable Sanding hack for Fretwork and extreemly fine or delicate cuts

« on: February 05, 2021, 03:44:22 pm »

Not sure if this is going to help anyone or not, but for a long time I have looked for any resource to file and sand inside cuts on very small cutouts. 
    I have tried mini files, dental files, hand held scroll saw blades, and even cutting down fingernail files. 
    I am working on a very intense piece with hundreds of very small cut outs. The smallest needle file at any store will not come close to getting in the areas I need to reach.   I do realize that a perfect cut the first time is ideal, but few of us make perfect  cuts every time.
    Now for a long time I have used the opposite side of the scroll blade to "shave" down a slight bow or irregular area. It does work well but when you have say many hundreds of cuts on a single piece, you know you will have irregularities.  I just don't like them, so I have looked for a long time for a solution.   
    Sandpaper on a scroll saw blade on the saw?  Yes I do that too. Self adhesive works well and is smaller than commercial solutions.
But I needed very very delicate control over the sanding blade.
    Perhaps ten years ago I bought a very used exacto knife set. The blades are now rusted and dull. But in the case there were Three mountable exacto knives in the set in good condition.
     The kind that you screw open and slide the blade into the top of the knife and tighten it down.  So who says an exacto knife blade has to go in there? See the pics
    I took two sizes of blades from 1/0 to 3/0.  400 grit
     The blades fit perfectly into the knife ends and tighten down nicely.   I use used blades:   Clean them and mount the sand paper.
The blades are cut in half with a fine cable cutter so as to add stability.  They are sturdy enough to do extreme fine sanding with. 
    And you can even use the knives to put a scroll blade into and "feather" a vein. Now I can sand the wider areas on my scroll saw, and the most delicate of parts by hand. Sandpaper on only one side of the blade makes it even thinner....
      Not sure if I explained this very well but if you experiment with an exacto you will no longer need to hold onto that tiny blade. Now you will have a handle and more control over your work. Try cutting the blades in half
  Two knives in pics with 400 grit. One with the Exactoblade in it.
 
   NOTE:  Scroll Saw blade edges are stamped left or right, and.... This can break through the paper and damage the work piece. 
     Solution; Simply quick file the full edge of the blade to smooth using a grinder or file. 

Exacto knives can be found on the cheap at Walmart.  Say three bucks?

2

General Scroll Saw Talk / Knobs to replace the cheap plastic ones

« on: November 07, 2020, 12:09:27 pm »

A while back I saw Steve has a video of larger knobs for the blade chucks.
They were knurled metal knobs.  I did find a video and pattern he made for
the wood ones.  I made them and they do work well for my Jet and Excalibur,
but I was wondering where he got the metal ones from some time ago?
Did he pull that video?  I know he made a post about possibility of weight changes damaging the arms on the Saw.   If the knobs were Aluminum seems to me the weight wouldn't be too much .   Just wondering.

3

General Scroll Saw Talk / Releasing Tension on Saw when not in use

« on: July 23, 2020, 12:06:04 pm »

In Steve's scroll saw workshop he mentions releasing tension on the saw will help
to protect bearings and other parts of the saw.  Of course that is totally true.
   Also though is the damage to the blade.   Yea I know they cost very little each,
but over time this can result in increase cost.  First the blade is tightened top and bottom
to hold it under tension.  That pressure over time is not good on the blade. And..
metal does fatigue.  Even hardened blades. So first you will get damage to parts, especially
bearings of the saw, but also you will fatigue the blade.  Save your blades and your saw!
O yea I almost forgot....do you forget too?   to release the tension?  Just put a small reminder above or below the light switch to your workshop or somewhere you will see it.  Stop and release:

4

General Scroll Saw Talk / re considering the excalibur and comparing to jet with Blade Comparisons

« on: April 01, 2020, 12:15:46 pm »

As some of you are aware I had some serious problems with my new Excalibur a year ago.  After finally obtaining the correct part and setting up the machine my assessment has changed. 
    My new Jet 22" is of course an awesome machine.  I first compared it to my Excalibur and was biased against the former due to difficulty obtaining parts.  Since then I have re considered the Excalibur.  I write this for those looking to buy a new machine.   
   My Ex-16 is of course only a 16 inch cut.  But I have found it is about as smooth, as well as versatile as the jet
   I began a new intricate state fair project on my Jet 22 as the Ex16 would not accommodate  the size of the project.
The new Jet is awesome for my now arthritic hands making blade changes much easier and less painful due to their new blade head attachments.   It is my go to machine for larger projects.
     But the Ex 16 is nearly as good as the jet in terms of intricate cuts, control, linear cuts and is a pleasure to work with.
I give my new jet a biased rate of 9.9 out of ten only due to my arthritic hands.   so that is the bias.
But the Excalibur is every bit as capable of those intricate, linear cuts better known as veining.  And is also a pleasure to work with. so getting away from bias I give it a 9.5 out of 10.  Only because of parts unavailability, but that may not be a problem.  it appears both machines will last at least my lifetime and more. 
So for those looking to buy a new machine.  Where they are made matters not as long as they are made well.
If you have arthritis consider the new Jet. If not then Excalibur is indeed worth it and a nice choice.  Not to say some of the other better machines out there are not good.  They indeed are.  I just chose what I did.
   My original machine years ago was Craftsman, then Delta,and even a Dewalt. 
   Blades:
     State fair projects are tricky. You must keep the size down.  do as much intricate cuts as possible.  Judges like veining for sure.  All this said I ended up with two types of blades for very intricate work.
Flying dutchman: 2/0
Sharktooth: which I believe are made by Olson whom I dearly hated at first but also  changed my  mind.   There are other good blades out there, I just found Flying dutchman and Sharktooth work best for me.  Especially the Sharktooth regular 3/0 blades.
     I only write this to help people be more decisive in their choices.  These machines and blades are all personal choices.  And since I am stuck here at home I am cutting more than I ever did and have time to get back here and give a final thumbs up to both of these machines.  If you do veining much try those sharktooth blades
All be safe and have a nice day.   ds

5

Introduce Yourself. / Arm Lift over all for higher end machines

« on: February 19, 2020, 01:16:51 pm »

Anyone else having trouble with Arm lift hold/adjust on the newer machines?  I am aware that Excalibur, as well as other higher end saws have that screw in the back with locking bolt to adjust arm tension to hold it up.  I have an Excalibur and a new Jet. That bolt is there on both, and also on most other higher end saws.  That bolt when loosened to ease arm lift provides little relief with tension or lift.  Not on either saw.  Yep my new Jet also is still hard to lift up even when that rear screw is relieved.  In fact it can be completely removed on the Excalibur and there is no change in tension. Even after a year of use.  Does anyone have an Idea? 

6

General Scroll Saw Talk / New Scroll Saw and Suggestions for next project

« on: January 21, 2020, 12:13:23 pm »

This will be a major step up for me. Just ordered the new Jet 727200K. I looked at a number of reviews of different saws, and I did view SGoods reviews.
      I do very fine fretwork and last year ordered a new Excalibur EX16. That saw had some serious flaws that I discovered needed replacement parts. Very hard to obtain.
Since this was a 16 inch saw and was not operable, I ended up completing a project with my Delta. The Delta proved  very aggressive and did not work well for me. Still the project did work out superior to my expectations.
   As a result of problems with the Excalibur [now fixed] I took the plunge and ordered the new Jet 22 inch this week.  They say about 10 days to ship. I am very hopeful that my next project will be a little less complicated. Some projects I do I enter into State competition at the fair.  Others I build for family and friends. 
    Was wondering if anyone out there has used the new Jet, and what they think of the blade mount system. I bought it for that reason as the arthritis in my hands are getting a little worse.  Also, does anyone have any ideas of project that would be very detailed?   Project size must be under 18x20 inches.  I will insert a pic of the project from last year so you will have an idea of technique and difficulty.  Looking for something very detailed.   

7

Introduce Yourself. / Serious Scrolling my passion, but I don't talk online much. Like to read

« on: November 03, 2019, 11:30:16 am »

Although I read a lot more than I talk, I have been scrolling for a long time. Also I don't really like to brag much because I consider it a not so good thing. But when it comes to scrolling, we all need a little "that a  boy" sometimes. 
All that said I bought a brand new Excalibur EX-16. about 8 months ago.  It replaced my dewalt 788 which had some problems. 
    All that said, I used the Excalibur to scroll the "dutch box' , the pattern of which can be found on several sites online.
That box was a definitely a difficult piece. More time consuming than anything.
    I got about two thirds the way done with it and the unthinkable happened.
    The Excalibur developed a crack in the Lower arm support.  Now the saw has a definite thump or bang in it regardless of speed.  Nothing helps it. Not the motor adjustments, nor alignments.  I use quality blades as well.
I bought it new, online from what I thought was a reputable dealer who now will not help me.
    All that said I now have an expensive saw in storage.  I tried every site online. Even Ray.  Not a single email I sent was answered but Ray who did not respond to my problem, but only suggested other saws. (Don't blame him at all for that)  So all that said, before I joined here I watched for quite a while what people said.  Unfortunately nothing I found anywhere would help me get the part I needed.   
    I finished that box on my Delta.  Nice saw similar to the dewalt 788 I had.  But it is not in the ballpark with the high end ones. 
   I will be buying a new replacement for the Excalibur, and baring no way to repair it will have to part it out,
 and this time I will be considering the companies support as a buying factor.
All this said, As a new member I do have some questions and look forward to replies.
Is there any way to get parts for my Excalibur?  So far I have had no luck.
What recommendations do other users have?
I am considering the Jet 22 inch.  Has anyone had one and any problems with their new blade attachments?
and finally here to show that I am indeed a somewhat advanced user. A pic or two of my dutch box as a first place winner at the Illinois state fair  this year
     I have never joined any forum like this before, and look forward to anyone who may be able to help me with my questions.