kmmcrafts

What exactly is the trouble you're having? slippage? breaking? Not getting it tight enough? Or being able to tighten the thumb screws because of the small T handles as doug is talking about.. Pegas makes a nicer blade chuck for the Ex.. I put them on mine and wouldn't ever go back to the cheap made stock blade chucks.. Have you changed the set screw and rotating pin in the end of the thumb screw? I seem to have a lot of issues with my EX-21 both the stock clamps and the Pegas clamps seems like I am always having to sand the tips down as they get worn.. Never had this issue with my DeWalt.. or the Hawks.. I at first played it off to the cheap original set.. but found that the Pegas chucks are also very fussy with wearing the tips down.. I know I saw a lot more than I did back in the DeWalt days.. but I mostly use the Hawk.. and you'd think if it was a normal wear and tare then I'd have the same thing going on with the Hawk..

Fretwork and portrait type works is probably my favorite thing to cut.. BUT.. I also want to make stuff that sells.. since I'm doing this as a job / income.. I find portraits are hard to sell as is many other types of scrolled work and make a profit.. I know there are folks making "some money" on portrait type and those other time consuming projects.. But some money isn't good enough for me to help feed my family either.. so I cut and make the things that seem to sell fairly well ( at least for me, your mileage may vary from mine ).

I cannot remember what mine is, LOL.. Been a while since I've used it.. They no longer make the brand but the parts and pens from either colwood or razortip fits my machine.. Nothing better than a quality burners set.. I used to use one of those cheap hobby lobby type big bulky burner sets.. but these higher end machines have much better heat control and the pen isn't a huge heavy thing to hold onto.. almost like using a regular ink pen.. well worth the money if you're getting into burning..

I agree, that said though.. I've had many people on etsy ask me if I would make them unfinished for them.. as they want to paint them for a different project or let the kids color them or paint them.. My kids used to love to use markers and color the ornaments.. They would have me make stars and various shapes so they could color on them.. and hang them on their wall.. So there is quite a market out there for unfinished ornaments..

I figure with ornaments you're not handling them much.. I mean.. you get them out and put them on the tree.. they hang there for a few weeks and then you put them away.. I don't see any need to top coat ornaments.. Just my opinion.. You know.. those puzzles are in some cases played with.. handled a lot.. and many folks just use mineral oil, LOL At least Danish oil does have a small amount of poly in it for a little more protection.. A cutting board just has mineral oil on it.. sometimes a beeswax mineral oil mix.. it gets use and cutting acidic fruits and veggies on it, gets handled, washed etc.. and you only replenish the oil or renew it every 3-6 weeks.. so my point is.. why would you need a top coat for a ornament that as I said.. handled a couple times a year.. I've never top coated over Danish oil other than on a rare occasion for my clocks.. Sometimes ( many times actually ) I dip my clocks two times.. about a week or so apart.. if I'm just putting it into my inventory.. If I gotta ship it out then just one coat and or my mineral oil and beeswax mix.. My own personal clock I made in 2008 has only had one treatment of my mineral oil and beeswax.. it's been dusted many times with just a damp cloth.. still looking great.. not handled a lot.. other than to dust it out set time, change battery etc.. You go to Hobby Lobby and look at the laser cut ornaments they sell for a couple bucks.. I don't think there is any finish on those..

I think it probably might work the same but the oil base takes a lot longer to dry.. a light coat of water base will dry in about 20 - 30 minutes.. where as the oil base is a few hours..

David said it best.. My lousy experience with dust collecting has been a trade off.. I've never been 100% satisfied with the dust collected.. Yes my big collection for the planer is a great tool to have since I hate shoveling sawdust off the floor.. and the planer makes a lot of that.. so I'm satisfied with it.. noise well as I said before.. I don't even hear the dust collector when the planer is running. For the fine sawdust from our scroll saws.. after experimenting with many different variations of collecting that fine dust and the tradeoff of quiet and noisy.. I'm beginning to think my original system was more effective and quiet.. I spend many long hours behind a scroll saw in my shop.. the sound of vacuums and dust collectors running all day long 5-7 days a week is a lot.. My old method of a box fan and a furnace filter on the side of the saw that the dust blower blows toward at saw table level that seems pretty effective.. quiet and cheaper than any other system.. a broom or better yet.. shop vac to run for 5 minutes to clean the floor around the saw each day seems more effective to me.. If I'm not going to get 90% + of the dust with a saw activated dust collector and have to listen to the noise all day long.. The good old box fan and furnace filter seem to look better and better all the time.. I've really been considering setting up a old squirrel cage blower ( furnace blower fan ) and running it with different inlet locations with filters to filter the whole shop better and more efficient.. and much cheaper than these expensive noisy vacuums.. As Ray said.. that WEN ceiling hanging air filtration system is a nice quiet fine dust collection machine.. the combo of that and a box fan by the saw seems to work nice and on the cheap which is a bonus. I think my seyco system only getting about 70% of the dust and I have to put up with the noise.. That dust at the bottom of the saw really mostly just floats to the floor.. the dust I hate is what gets stirred into the air.. what the scrollsaws dust blower is doing.. and what the box fan takes care of 95% of.. IF you position it correctly.. seems to be the most effective fine dust collection I've used yet.. and just the soft sound of a fan running is nice.. I can still hear my radio..

Yeah I've seen where a lot of folks do that with no issues.. The amount of poly in Danish oil must not effect it enough for most to notice.. But anyway it's not an adhesion problem when doing this.. its a curing problem.. the chemicals in lacquer soften the poly and creates a sticky goo.. which as the lacquer dries and cures will sometimes harden up as normal in the case with the small amount in Danish oil.. But don't ever top coat anything with a good heavy coat of poly or you'll have a lot of problems.. If it's thick enough coats of poly and then lacquer over it.. it can curdle up and wrinkle lift and over time the poly looses its adhesion gets real brittle chips and falls off.. I'm surprised you can even buy it in CA.. back in my autobody days I always heard other workers talk about how you couldn't buy Lacquer based paints in CA.. you was all stuck with enamel paints.. Shade tree body guys trying to do their own body work without all the knowledge always had issues with primer softening the old paint on cars because the old paint was enamel and most primers was lacquer based.. that always caused a huge mess and they would end up having to strip the whole car down to bare metal and start over, LOL a small job instantly turns into a really big job.. I learned from the autobody paints to not mix paints or brands while working on cars.. it has spilled over into my woodwork..

I like campfires.. didn't camp this year .. I've seen negative reviews on etsy from laser shops complaining about the campfire smell.. It doesn't bother me.. but I try to be conscious about my products to my customers.. I've maintained 5 star ratings on all the sites I sell on for a total of around 4500 reviews.. I try my best to keep it that way, LOL

Danish oil had poly in it.. Poly and lacquer don't mix well with one another... BUT.. There is so little in the Danish oil that people use it without issues.. that they know of anyway.. That is why if I topcoat.. over Danish oil I use the water base poly.. Less smell than Lacquer and still dries fast

Lacquer does work well also.. I just can't stand the smell it leaves in my shop.. I use it quite a lot outside in the warmer weather.. for my CNC projects.. But I can spray the stuff in the loft of my shop with all the windows open and fans in the windows but I can't even go work downstairs in the shop until that stuff has dried and aired out.. that one is a no go for me for spraying inside..

My laser engraver make the ornaments smell like a campfire.. LOL Lasering is new to me this year and I've played around with different finishes to figure out what works to help get rid if the campfire smell.. So far I like the water base polyurethane spray.. stuff dries fast and the smell isn't too bad within just a few hours.. Another thing I've wanted to try since seeing Denny post a puzzle last fall and mentioning that he used shellac and diluted it 50% alcohol.. he just dipped it I believe.. The spay cans of Shellac dry pretty fast so the diluted mix should dry real fast.. Not sure how the smell would be.. but anyway so far the water based poly is what I'm using for the laser stuff to seal the smell in or cover it up, LOL

I have gotten complaints from customers in the past for the strong finish smell that Danish oil leaves when opening up their mail.. I now wait 3 days before mailing them out.. IF I need something to go out in the mail fast.. I use my homemade mix of mineral oil and beeswax.. Repeat customers have specifically asked for my mix as it smells good like.. well.. beeswax, LOL Applying the mix is a pain in the rear.. so I don't use it unless I have to anymore.. but used to be the only finish I used.. Just too time consuming for as busy as I am these days.. As to dipping in Danish oil... I leave them in the oil for 5-10 minutes.. take them out and lay them on several layers of paper towels.. let them sit for about another 10 minutes.. then I wipe the excess oil off of them and hang them to dry for 3 days before shipping them out.. I try to smell them close to my nose as I have a pretty good idea of when they are okay to ship.. I pretty much stock up on ornaments so most times they are drying for several months before the holidays.. and most anything I make that I know I'll be mailing out real soon.. I just use my homemade mixture.. Somewhere in my feed back on etsy a couple years ago I had a few comments about they smell good, LOL Anyway.. don't ship them if they are smelling pretty strong of Danish oil.. The mail carrier might even complain or refuse to ship them.. from my experience.. My mail lady and I are pretty tight and she mentioned to me a few years ago about the smell when I switched from the beeswax to the Danish oil.. Thankfully she was kind enough to just mention it rather than complain.. Some people are real sensitive to smell ( I'm one of those myself ). They don't smell strong in the wide open space.. but seal them up in a box for a few days and then open the box.. you'll get a good enough whiff to get high for a few seconds

I bought this system late last summer.. https://www.seyco.com/dv-10a-cyclonic-action-scroll-saw-dust-collector/ It is much quieter than my shop vac but not as quiet as I'd like.. also not as effective as I'd like.. Good suction for beneath the saw but I don't know that it would be anough to put a T hose and run a top and bottom collection hose... In all honesty I think the best option for a " new system is going to be a Festool or Fein vacuum and some PVC piping to the saw.. as well as a dust separator... I have a big 2HP dust collector from Harbor Freight.. Works great for big equipment ( ie planer, big resaw bandsaw, and CNC router.. This thing isn't something I would recommend to use for fine scroll saw dust..

When I worked in the body shop years ago we used 3M-77 spray adhesive to put our sanding disc on.. I would think this would work well.. But they are tough to get back off.. since they don't need changed often you should be good for a long time.. Heat gun works pretty good to pull them back off..

Flying Dutchman Ultra Reverse and or their Two Way Cut blades would solve the issue..

It's in the SSWC holiday issue from 2010

I'd use a spiral blade number 2/0 BUT, since you hate the spirals a #1 or #3 Ultra reverse might work too, Just take it easy on the fragile areas.. Not a huge fan of a reverse tooth ( especially UR ) with fine detail fretwork.. Those reverse teeth can get grabby and bust a portion out.. I've used them on work more fragile than this.. and running the EX is smooth so you should be fine with them..

Value.... It's different from one person to the next.. formulas work in your head or on paper but reality smacks you in the face... and sometimes you have to go with your gut feeling that something it valued too high or too low.. I have ( and I think most people feel this way ) a hard time putting a price on things that are for family and friends... Many times I will just give them the piece.. other times I charge.. Are you trying to make money at it or are you just trying to have some fun and shop time while making a couple $$ for your materials and time.. For my family and friends on things they ask me if I can make I will ask them "how soon you need it"? because right now I've got lots of orders and business is busy so I have to charge you the full going price of $****.**.. If you can wait to my slow period ( spring / summer ) I'll do it for free or 50% or whatever I feel is a decent price for said work / item.. There is a fine line between offending family and friends and taking advantage of yourself.. Most times I will somehow word it so they know what the going "normal" price would be if they wasn't my friend or family.. It's good to value your customers too.. I have a few customers that have bought many many gifts from me.. a lot of times I will refund them some money and say thanks for being a loyal customer.. etc etc.. I don't make a flat wage off of everything I make... supply and demand come into play for pricing sometimes.. For instance Ornaments can be stack cut.. and the majority of them can be cut in 20 minutes for a stack of 5.. I sell them for $16 ( always markup as a "retail price" so you can afford to do sales and if anyone wants a wholesale price you don't have to take less than your bottom $$ ) but on the other hand I make those jigsaw puzzles and they take ( depending on the detail ) 30 - 60 minutes to make ( 1 pcs ).. yet I sell them for $25 - 30.. but they also bring in a customer and many of them shop and buy something else.. because I run a sales trick of $35 or more gets free shipping.. I guess what I am saying is the formulas don't always work for every product.. You have to find a pricing strategy that works for the market of the product that ends with money in your pocket.. There is a reason I sell ornaments at $16 while most others are $5-12.. a happy mix of items in my store makes me a decent " over all " profit.. A candy store might send out a flier with a coupon or sale price on a specific candy that might be less than they buy it for.. but the sale gets the customer in the store and looking at all that other candy.. before you know it.. you've bought 7 different flavors of candy and the store made a decent profit off of the "other " candy you purchased.. LOL Hard to use a formula on custom work, and arts & crafts.. Might work well with manufacturing / production, and other things.. profit isn't always made on every product.. a mix of well thought out items at various prices in a store makes the store a profit.. Custom art is high priced and most times out of reach for most minds and wallets.. and many times that artist still doesn't put much money in his / her pocket.. This is why I like production cutting rather than one offs of art.. hard to sell art for it's true value of time spent..

It would work.. Though my laser only does approx. a 8 x 10? area so I wouldn't be able to do a vary large project.. and the hassle of set up time for the laser etc. would take more time than printing a paper on a full sheet shipping label that you can just peel and stick to your project.. If I go to the trouble to set up the laser... it's going to make the whole project for me, LOL

Just as an example last summer playing around with a sue mey pattern to see how hard it would be to change a pattern into a laser file and also to compare times of cutting I cut this ornament on the laser. And to be honest I can cut on the scroll saw a stack of 5 in 20 min. Now I am still new to the laser and it’s settings etc. but I cut 4 of these that took 20 minutes. So time is not really much different. Though I do think with someone experience could probably cut the 4 on the laser in maybe 15 minutes with a better tuned cutter. This was straight out of the box and I was new at it, still am. Maybe with a better set up 10 minutes. I’m just running a cheap K40 40 watt co2 laser. About $350 on eBay. Anyway the spot below the helicopter landing the laser cut was two passes and a small sliver in between came out. So I think it’s probably a finer point of cut than a saw blade unless maybe you use a 0/3 or smaller Last photo is of a scroll sawn one

This depends on the type of laser and the focal point of the beam.. if you laser on a thick board and you do not have a adjustable bed the focal point changes.. Not sure you ever played with a magnifying glass outside in the sun as a kid.. but getting the sun to shine through the magnifying glass and changing the distance could make a fine point of heat which you could set things on fire, LOL Anyway to answer the question.. my laser will a 2mm path of cut or engrave.. Think the smallest mechanical pensile lead refills are 5mm? I know they have a 5mm and a 7mm.. so yes this will do some real fine detail work.. A CNC router will not do the fine detail link a scroll saw will.. Yes the edges of the plywood are a dark caramel colored on laser cut stuff sometimes even kind of black color depending on the wood type and how hot you have the laser set at or how fast / slow running speed is.. so it can vary depending on the set-up.. I've seen folks get just the right setting and it's a light caramel color.. I haven't got mine narrowed down that good yet.. LOL

I honestly will probably just leave it as is.. If people that really care about "handmade" they know the difference or would ask.. If they don't know the difference and want to baulk at me about it then I don't need them as a customer anyway.. I have plenty of customers I don't think one review that is a mistake on the customers end is going to hurt my sales, It's not a big deal really to me as i do have a laser and do sell some laser ornaments on the site.. They are just listed in the laser ornament section.. I'm not going to get all bent out of shape and make the customer feel bad over something they had no idea of.. Just not worth it to me.. Now if they was giving a poor rating and saying it was laser cut instead of hand cut.. then we'd have some issues..

My guess is you're pushing to hard on the blade which is making it not cut straight up / down.. If the saw was not square you should be able to push the center out on one of the sides ( ie if it doesn't push out the bottom try flipping it over and push it out the top it should push or even fall out but if you are bowing the blade by pushing too hard then it possibly just not going to come out either side).

I think it might be aliens inside the saw.. when you took it apart they seen you and got scared so they ran deeper into the saw to hide.. You should just take it apart and leave it for a month so they have time to escape.