kmmcrafts

If that doesn't work you'll probably have to buy a new nut and shaft for it.. Ray at Seyco stocks them.. He said the threads get worn over time.. and eventually gets loose.. Loc-tite will help tighten things up but eventually it'll need it again and or just replace it..

King is a good saw.. it's made by the same company that makes the Pegas and the ( older ) excaliburs.. it's basically a re- bagged excalibur.. I believe the 16" Excalibur i also the same saw.. but the 21" saw they move production to China and they have been a lot of trouble going on with the china made saw.. I'm with RJ though.. if you can swing the extra cost of the 21" I'd go with a Pegas..

I use the port provided on my excalibur with my shop vac.. and it gets everything below the saw.. however I do get some dust from my dust blower that blows over to the hose of the shop vac and makes a slight mess there.. I'm thinking about trying to find a Y pipe where I could add some above table suction.. You system looks like it'd work well too.. but I wonder if you also get some of the above the table dust still.. Years ago on my DeWalt I just used a cardoard box and cut one en of it so it'd fit under the saw / blade.. that caught everything from landing on the floor and my lap.. LOL

Agree with the spray cans.. I often thought about using my spray equipment to try shellac as well as the water based poly.. in fact.. I bought a quart of both of them at one time and never did try it.. mostly didn't want to damage my expensive auto shop spray equipment.. while it is rebuildable but I just didn't want to have to fuss with it.. been meaning to get a cheaper gun just to mess with.. BUT... honestly I've been quite satisfied with the Danish oil so why bother.. It has a small amount of poly already in it.. Also JT is right about the gloss spray.. and I believe that is where I went wrong years ago.. I have since switch to satin for everything that I do coat with a top coat which is only portraits and I do very little of them since they are not a very big seller for me.. JT your work and finishes always are top notch.. wonderful job on that.. I have used BLO and top coated with satin lacquer a year or two back per a topic you had posted to with your suggestion so I tried it.. I do like the look of it.. But it's not very economical for me to do this.. I may be wrong as it does look nice.. I'm just not sure the addition of price to my pieces for the extra steps, materials, and time would be worth the effort.. also with selling online and taking orders as I do.. this would add to my turnaround times.. People now days are willing to sacrifice quality with time and money and the way I run things seems to be working.. When I slow back down to just hobby status in a couple years I may start doing the stuff in this way like you do....

I stay away from spray finishes on fretwork typically because I feel no matter how hard you try.. you can never get a good even coat of spray in / on all the fret cutouts.. I've used shellac when I first started scrolling and it does dry pretty quick.. but as I've said.. it's tough to get in all the cutouts without over spraying too much on the surface.. Another that dries quick is the water based poly.. ( stuff in the blue can ).. again though.. tough to get a good even coat throughout the whole piece.. This is why I prefer finishes that can be "Dipped" and air dried.. Maybe I'm just too picky about getting even coats.. being a auto paint guy for several years.. makes me see paint imperfections from a mile away.. I can look at a car that the color matches perfect.. but the texture of the paint laid out from one panel to the next I can spot out and say.. that panel has been repaired... Dealerships hate me when car shopping, LOL.. I won't buy something that has been repaired.. This day and age.. it's hard to find something in the used car line-up that hasn't had some sort of repair job done to it..

Larry makes a very good point... This is what started my whole deal of the mineral oil and beeswax mix.. and it does work very well.. I have pieces that I made 4 years ago sitting here in my house that look as good as they did when I first made them.. But.. I do use it less and less all the time as I "feel" Danish oil is a better choice... so I use it when at all possible.. and the mix I make is time consuming to apply.. The mineral oil and beeswax often needs re-applied on cooking utensils because they get handled, used, and washed all the time.. and with each wash you wash some of the oil / wax away..

Here in the colder climate.. If I put mineral oil and even Danish oil on in the cold.. even after a week out there in the cooler temps.. if I bring it in the house it will all of a sudden start oozzzing out the oils as the wood warms up.. so many things in the colder weather do not completely dry out good.. I started letting the stuff air out good out there and then bring it inside for about 3-5 days before putting it in the inventory..

Just curious... BUT what advantage does using mineral oil have over Danish oil for puzzles?? I tried mineral oil once... I can't stand the stuff used alone on the puzzles.. I don't mind it mixed with the beeswax as I make.. but just plain mineral oil is a very poor idea in my opinion as it never really gets dried out.. Do you all thin the mineral oil in some way? it seemed to take forever to get dried out enough where I felt it could be shrink wrapped and inventoried.. Danish oil is usually dried out enough after a day to handle the puzzle.. but I do wait until there is no strong smell to it before shrink wrapping them.. and the time varies dependent on the humidity and temps.. but normally a couple days.. but has been as long as a week too.. I've had the plain mineral oil sort of bleed out of the wood even two weeks after applying.. I don't sell those puzzles as toys and even put in the shrink wrap bag a warning that it's not for small children... so I see no real reason to use the mineral oil and last I knew.. all finishes in the USA was child safe once fully cured.. I'm guessing after setting a week or so ( until the smell is gone ) then packaging it.. sitting in inventory for even a week.. mine usually set for a few months before I actually get to sell them anyway. I'm talking about the animal puzzles like Iggy does.. I know there are other puzzles more designed for kids.. Those maybe the mineral oil would be best..

I bet you probably don't remember what you paid for that first Hawk (new?).. My take on their saws is that they are cheap priced for what you get.. Back in 1998 that Hawk Ultra receipt says $1500... same price my new BM-26 cost last year.. Many things improved on the new saw.. A20 inch Hawk is only $1200 so size comparison to a EX etc .. and much better quality.. My first DW788 with stand and light was $349 back in 2008.. That set up now runs nearly $600 and they cheapened it up.. You buy a new Pegas or EX type saw in the 20" version and pay nearly $800 - 900 ish? and it last for a production guy like me.. Maybe 4-6 years and then it's ready for a set of bearings etc for a $200 ish repair bill.. while the Hawk still needs nothing but a few drops of oil.. IF I do need a bearing.. it's only 4 bearings in the whole saw.. and maybe $25 in parts that I can run the the local hardware to pick up.. 30 minutes to change them out.. not one hour to take it apart and then chase down bearings and sleeves online and then pressing out / in the 20 bearings etc.. I'm not saying the EX types are not a good saw... I'm just saying they aren't built to do production type stuff like a Hawk and Hegner is..

I don't think I'd buy another new saw from them.. But since I already have them.. LOL I'll run my saws until I need a part that I can't get then either decide if it's worth the effort to have the part made or just scrap it.. I should be able to get a minimum of 5 years out of each of my 3 Hawks doing production cutting... and probably a lot more than that... since most everything one needs for these is available at a hardware store.. and some of the parts could be made without a machine shop.. The parts that one would "have to" get from Hawk are not very high wear parts.. so one will last a long long time.. I have two saws that was new.. and one very well used which I have pretty much rebuilt.. I most likely won't ever need another saw.. but I like to "play" with other tools so I'll be buying more saws just because of that.. IF the parts sources for the EX was to go extinct .. not too many pieces one could just go get at a hardware store etc... so I think this is why us Hawk owners aren't all flipped out about getting rid of our saws because of parts sources etc.. It'd be a shame if Hawk closed up.. etc.. but for me.. I've got a lot of years of life left in my saws.. I'm not worried about it.. they've already paid for themselves.. There is many other bands out there to buy and use.. I also have 5 saws total.. so if I have to wait on parts.. not a big deal... Not the case for everyone.. and if Hawk runs themselves out of business so be it.. I'll move onto other saws.. Not the end of the world, LOL There is 30 and 40 year old Hawks out there running yet today... and parts are " somewhat " still available... When someone sees one of the very early EX saws.. first thing I read is.. stay away as parts aren't available.. you don't see many of them for sale so used parts sources are pretty dried up..

Yes I know that McMaster-carr has those.. I was just going to replace them from Hawk since I'm placing an order for other parts.. I have bought some local at a hardware store already.. as well as the whole piece.

My blade holders don't have a roll pin.. they are solid.. ( I think.. I'll look closer at them but pretty sure they're solid ) so maybe they changed that way back when because of issues.. and my saw was still sealed in the original box so it's not like someone changed it out before I bought the saw.. I've been meaning to look at the receipt that was in the box and see if they ordered extra clamps or if Hawk actually gave you several with the purchase of the saw.. The back wedge on mine "looked" good from the sides.. but the sides actually hang over ( wider than the arm ) the arm and the wear was actually seen once I took the mechanism apart then seen the outer portion of the wedge was the original shape.. the inner part was worn a good 1/32+ inch and rounded over off to one side.. I had problems with blades breaking with that old saw... If that gets worn enough it wont hold proper tension.. For what it's worth.. I took a number punch set and punched 3 and 5 on the bottom of some of my clamps.. Since I typically use number 3 and 5 the most.. If I pre-load a bunch of them and then walk out of the shop for a few days.. I can just look on the clamp to see what blade is in the clamp. I can tell the difference from FD - Pegas and I only use the FD spiral in a 2/0 size so that's easy for me to know what the blade is.. LOL Edit: Well I just looked and my Ultra saw does have the roll pins but the new saw has solid pins..

LOL, Yeah I know it's still almost brand new.. I put 100 hours on it.. then stopped using it.. I haven't ran that saw since August. 2019.. because they was real generous with the blade clamps when they sent the new saw.. It came a blade installed and no extra clamps.. I don't know if that is how the old RBI company worked too or not.. But I like to pre-load 5 or more blades.. So I want to order a few of those for the new saw.. Then I plan to order some thumb screws for the ultra.. I know I can source those from somewhere else.. in fact I did but the "wing" portion was too big... Not a huge deal either but thought since I want to order the extra holders for the BM-26 I might as well order some of those.. I have about 12 lower blade holders for the Ultra.. but only half have thumb screws.. and of the half the plastic "wing" is cracked.. they was that way when I un-boxed that saw.. apparently just cracked like that from being old plastic from 1998 On the old 220VS I want to try a new wedge as the one that was on the saw was quite worn when I got it... I just sanded it down to a point and it's worked fine for a while.. I might send the arms in to have them machine them for the upgraded inserts for the wedge..

Well?? did they charge your card again? Just curious.. I'm going to be placing an order soon with them... that is... if I can get through on the phone, LOL

I may be wrong but I don't think they require any grease.. the original wore out quicker without some lube as the design created friction between two nylon or plastic parts.. but the Pegas has a metal cam action incorporated into the design and I think the cam and parts are available separately.. and also made with self lubricating metals.. I'm pretty sure I was told by Bob Duncan or someone that no lubrication was required and in fact if lubed. could actually weaken the plastic lever etc..

I don't know how foam density varies compared to plastic.. but I used to work at a plastic injection molding factory ( made plastic shopping cart baskets and handheld baskets for stores ) and the density of the plastic would vary quite a lot.. only based on the color resin we used.. That was 25 years ago and I can't remember what colors was more dense over other colors.. I do know that the plastic with age would crack and break sooner than the softer plastic would... So anyway.. maybe you need to look for the same colors as the flex drum offers, LOL

Usually Zebra wood darkens up quite a lot once it has been in some Danish oil... This looks good.. but I also agree with JT and others.. I do a lot of different wood types with Walnut backers... in fast most are birch ply with walnut... but I've also done a fair amount with Maple, Red Oak, and Cherry... cherry doesn't look as good though... not enough contrast.. Here is a clock made from 1/8 BBply wiith walnut backer... as I said.. I don't like painting wood.. so I use natural wood colors to accent..

I like them all, LOL But can you do a fire sky sunset purple, Over the years of doing different color backers on portraits.. I found that Black almost always wins.. I also had many customers asking for colors I didn't have.. I'm not a big fanatic of keeping hundreds of colors of paint on hand to offer and add to the confusion.. I told my wife a while back that I'm about done with the colors and will offer only Black.. Keeps it simple.. There are a couple of signs etc that I may offer pink or blue for boy or girls room etc.. things like that.. but the rest will most likely be black... I was doing the car portraits different colors.. I got people saying... well... my car is hugger orange or plumb crazy purple can you do the actual car colors.. LOL... That would get kinda annoying to me.. and to get those colors most times would mean buying actual car paints.. ( not cheap )... that's the biggest reason I'm going back to black. This may not matter to you if you're not a seller.. and or just making unique art... but it's so much easier to keep things simple... especially with online selling.. as then you gotta take photos of each color etc etc.. Just not very productive to offer all sorts of options... most times it confuses the customer

Well, I wondered if this clock would ever sell... Turns out.. today it did.. traveling a long way too.. Headed to Meerbeke Belgium.. Don't believe I've ever sold to Belgium in the past.. Hope my little Beagle enjoys the ride

Here is some interesting read of the history of Hawk.. I didn't realize this started back in 1929 https://scrollsawhero.com/hawk-scroll-saw-review/

I'm not sure about that.. There was a bunch of "Very Old" single speed and three speed saws that had the round barrel clamp that had cast iron sides at the back of the saw... Those are pretty early saws ( I believe ) because not a one of them is variable speed that I've seen... I've seen a lot of then.. hundreds of them on craigslist and FB marketplace.. You know right away when you see them as the back part of the saw is painted red instead of being machined aluminum. You couldn't give me one of those very old saws.. sure is a lot of them for sale too.. Well you got me on this one.. The first picture is a old saw I was talking about.. The secont picture is a G4 like you mentioned and looks to have casted sides as you said.. I never seen one like that..

Well I cut one offs now and then with just one piece.. Never had much issues with it.. I do like stack cutting because most times I'm selling the piece and maybe more buyers at a later time.. If it's a personalized item that only needs one piece.. I just cut the one piece.. I originally cut this one as a single piece... then everyone wanted one and I ended up having to cut 4 more... that's why i just stack cut everything now.. That's a lot of holes to cut for just one time... then need to make 2 more a week later.. LOL.. Not doing that again unless it's personalized..

If you're lucky, LOL I learned to "Call" and ask questions before I order... The one girl ( Nicole ) is in the know and knows whats going on most times.. Get the other girl and she might ask for your serial number and then ask where the blade holder goes on the saw and basically has know idea hat you really want.. ( I'm exaggerating a little but you get the idea )... Most times Nicole would give a estimate of when they might have the part if they don't have it in stock...BUT... she quit.. to stay at home with the kids.. She maybe there part time? i don't know... The other girl has forgotten that you even placed an order... I sometimes wonder if that is the bigger problem... Communication between the office and the person in the shop making the parts.. I don't know.. I just know that since Nicole stepped aside... it's a mess.. not that it wasn't before.. but it's really bad now.. Getting someone to actually answer the phone now is a miracle... I've been trying to get through for 3-4 weeks.. I've only called 4 times.. as I keep forgetting.. But no answer and the voicemail has been full since before Christmas so you can't even leave a message..

I agree with JT, They are awesome saws.. Every dealing I've ever done with them has been less than stellar service though.. even way back before I bought my new saw a year ago from last December.. I never gave them any grief about it because I posted on here or somewhere 4-5 years ago about their service ( probably here ) and someone mentioned to me that I was ordering parts for a 35 year old saw.. and gave me the talk about how you can't even get parts for most saws that old... So I chalked it up to that.. Then I read all the stuff about small business and the Farming etc etc.. The saws ( I personally feel ) are so good that waiting 6-8 weeks for a part was worth it to me.. I have multipal saws.. so not a huge deal. When I ordered my new Hawk December 2018 and didn't take delivery until almost April 2019.. I jokingly said something about a discounted price for the frustration.. I wasn't expecting anything but the words from the one girl was like yeah we have to pay our employees and blah blah.. That showed me they care less about the customer.. or at least that lady did.. I thought having the other girl on the phone I would have gotten somewhere with that... Now I'm not so sure.. I also hate to see anything happen to the company and that was one reason I waited so patiently in the past for my saw parts and my new saw.. The issue is... not many people will be as understanding as I was... They really need some business 101 schooling and customer service schooling... I'm sad to say but... I'm doubtful they will change things around unless they hire out someone else to run the place.. Good machinist and engineers... not good business operators.. RBI had a real good business going and made a BIG name for their quality machinery ( not just scroll saws ) but I feel Bushton has only been running on that name.. and solely that name.. Many people including myself had been and still does respect and defend the Hawk saws.. but ... how long will they be able to hold onto a name like that while running the place as they do.. word gets around quite fast this day and age..

They did go to a metal instead of the plastic on the new saws... Not sure when they did this but my new saw is metal... It'll be that way with your new "Upgraded" upper blade holder you get with that kit you ordered JT.. Both upper and lower blade holders have that metal tab on them as both holders are removable.. You will see once you get your order..Hopefully very soon.. As for anything else being plastic.. The front angle mount is plastic... BUT not anything Bushton did... it's the design that RBI did when they went to the G4 saw.. as I've said.. the new saw is basically a G4 with a upgraded bearing plate and motor.. as there was some motor / bearing issues with the G4.. I do not know of any other plastic.. As for China made... Everything with the saw mechanism is made right in Bushton KS... Some of the parts are China made.. which are bearings.. maybe other "outsourced" parts I don't know... This is also not something Bushton did... My old ultra saw had bearings in it that said made in China... as well as my old 1993 220vs.. BUT.. these days it's getting hard to find anything that is 100% USA made.... JT best of luck with getting the parts.. Hoping the new guy will get things turned around.. I won't go into detail but the one girl that was answering the phone before shouldn't have been working there... One other time when I got the girl that does know whats going on.. I couldn't hear a word she said and she couldn't here me because a kid was screaming in the background and throwing a fit about something.. Probably why she posted she was taking a break from the business to raise the kids..I won't go into any more than that.. They have a "dealer" named Mike from Florida.. I lost his contact info but he could get you parts and saws at a better deal... and you could avoid the phone lines in Bushton.. Mike knew his parts etc too..