kmmcrafts

Merry Christmas Rolf

The G4 is when they changed the clamps.. 2004 - 5 so no.. not 20 years.. but still been a while.. The current BM series saw is nothing more than a G4 with different motor and controller.. All the parts from the G4 works on my saw short of the motor and the controller..So RBI is the one to change the clamps.. I don't disagree, with you about them poorly running the business.. I was just saying they aren't the only company to do this.. I almost bought a brand new Delta P-20 back in 2006-7.. about a year or so after that they discontinued the saw and the quickset clamps was obsolete as was the drive belt and many other parts.. That's not a cheap saw... who actually made it I don't know.. but it was still a $1200 saw.. and I also remember many pissed owners.. For those "other" companies they was just told to throw out and buy a new saw... Hawk still supports the parts.. you just going to wait for them.. They should be up front about this back order stuff though.. I do agree with that.. The bottom line is.. they do run the place poorly I won't argue that point with anyone.. The saws are awesome.. you may want to order any other parts as spares and run it till it stops.. If you're in desperate need of the clamps.. I can mail you some..

Not saying it's right.. but it is for real.. You show me another brand of scroll saw that still supports the parts for a 20+ year old saw... Hawk and Hegner do.. Hawk makes their parts as ordered for these older saws.. ( But I agree.. It shouldn't take 3 months.. maybe a couple weeks.. then again.. be thankful they still make the parts at all.. maybe they should just say.. we no longer make those instead of making one wait a few months.. much easier to not support these older saw parts like the others do.. ) Hegner never really changed much so parts for old saws are the same thing so still stocked.. I had a Delta SS350.. was only 5 years old and the blade clamps was obsolete.. as well as the power on / off switch.. A ryobi that was only 1 year old that the power switch was NLA.. A Dremel that the rear rod between the arms broke 1.5 years old NLA.. so as I said.. Hard to say how many saws they sell... Last year they told me my saw was #57th that was ordered at Christmas time.. which is why it took me 3 months to get it.. there was 57 people in front of my order.. since I ordered after Christmas but before the new year..

Something to remember with these saws.. is.. they rarely need parts.. how many blade holders you think they sell or would need to sell a year... it's a simple part.. but it's also a 20 year old saw... How many other scroll saw companies you suppose that still offer parts for a 20 year old saw? They've had at least 2 new models of these saws since the Ultra style saws was made.. The blade holders are different on these newer saws.. When I ordered blade holders for my 1993 saw they took forever and I was complaining about it on either here or another site and someone mentioned to me about how it was the old round clamps.. and they make them as ordered because they rarely sell those clamps anymore.. the cost of materials and machining time, not to mention shelf space for the day someone needs a clamp that maybe every 5 years someone will order one.. isn't cost effective to have sitting around.. Now this is still not right to have to wait it out so long I suppose.. but on the other hand.. I'm just thankful they still support parts these old saws.. Only other saw brand I've seen support parts for older saws is Hegner.. Excalibur no longer sells parts for the older style saws.. Heck delta doesn't support a 5 year old saws parts.. yet they somehow warranty them for 5 years LOL ...

Well at least you didn't get the automated machine to tell you to push 1 for English.. LOL Bushton MFG is a very small family owned business and they are also Farmers.. so sometimes getting through to them is difficult.. Christmas time is one busy time of the year for many folks... so take that into consideration.. I know the owners have small children.. which also make for a busy time this time of year.. I think the best time to call is mornings.. they are Central time zone I believe.. Best built scroll saw? Probably just another " matter of opinion " but I'll say you don't see very many old Excaliburs and DeWalts around that are 30+ years old and still working flawlessly... in fact.. the oldest of the excalibur saws parts aren't available anymore.. It seems if you want a machine that you'll never have to replace.. Hawk and Hegner are the ones to look at... Still lots of old ones running production cutting out there.. parts for the most part are still available and upgrade-able.. Now... just because it might be the best built saw doesn't mean you'll like it.. those saws aren't for everyone.. Not everyone likes the way a Caddy drives... some would rather drive a small Pinto instead.. partly because it's cheaper than a Caddy.. LOL... So.. if possible... try to test drive a few saws to see what might work well for you... Maybe you won't like the cutting style of the Hawk or Hegner and you might not like the Excalibur either.. maybe a DeWalt will fit the bill... American made saw? Hawk and I believe P.S. Wood Machines is the only scroll saw still made in the USA..

Well I'm glad to hear they're still in business too... Love my Hawk saws. If I heard they was going to close up, I'd buy me a couple more saws and a handful of other parts that are wear parts.. front cam lever and extra clamps, and wedges etc.... Call me weird if you want to but I have yet used a better built saw.. Have not had the opportunity to try a Hegner yet.. But I've had my share of different saws.. so far if i could only have one saw.. It'd be a Hawk.. Like my Excalibur but not so much so that it'd be my "only one saw" choice.. Close 2nd though.. I haven't had a chance to give them a call.. I need to pick up a few extra clamps for my BM-26 saw and some thumb screws for the older saw.. screws are good still but the plastic "wings" are cracked and brittle from age.. I know the hardware store should have some but since I'm placing an order I'll get them from Bushton..

Pretty sure it's a scammer.. They are getting really slick with their work... to bad they don't do "Legit" work legally, LOL.. I get these idiots quite often messaging me on my websites etc..

On my phone in safari browser I just tap the heart icon and a little pop-up shows up to select which icon you want to choose.. I have a older iPhone that's not a very large screen.. sometimes I tap the wrong icon.. in that case you can just re-tap the heart and try hitting the correct icon.. New phone under my Christmas tree.. hopefully I won't have that issue soon, LOL

I took my bearings to a bearing shop.. They are well known for getting oddball stuff.. Bearings was the easy part.. but the sleeves are oddball.. I took my old sleeves in to them.. They measured and are the ones that said they must custom make the sleeves themselves because there is no available source where they can get them for me.. I can get them made by my neighbor as he is a machinist.. if I have to.. I hate asking him to make things and rather research a source.. if possible..

Thanks Denny, Amazon holding my money isn't a huge deal to me as I eventually get it, LOL... Lot's of people do not sell there because of the payout taking so long.. that and the site is very old school as in HTML coding to make it look nice and clean.. You don't " need " it.. but if you don't everything is crammed together and hardly makes sense of the listing pages... LOL

$275 you can replace the whole assembly, basically replacing the whole inside including the front rockers with clamps and tension levers.. They do not sell just bearings / sleeves from my research.. DeWalt doesn't either.. but you can buy just the sleeves but for bearings through DeWalt you buy the whole arm assemblies or rocker assemblies.. which is pricey.. .. but then.. it's pricey for the EX too.. I know I can get the bearings.. but the sleeves are an oddball size.. and the bearing supply place has told me they must machine their own sleeves to prevent one from just buying the bearings and sleeves through someone else.. Edit to add: When the King first came out the question was asked about where to get parts.. Woodcraft claimed you could order parts through them.. Maybe check with them also..

I don't know what he paid.. but they have been running a sale on a couple models.. They're having a free shipping promo too.. ( I've been checking them out ) https://advanced-machinery.myshopify.com/collections/types?q=Scroll Saws

Well, it's slowing down now with the sales.. I'm enjoying my slow day today with only about 20 orders that I packed this morning.. I know it's not over for the year yet for me but close enough that I know that no way will Etsy sales and revenue catch up to what happened on Amazon.. LOL.. Etsy sales was down about 14% over last year but revenue was only around 8% lower.. Amazon kept me busy with about 40% more sales this year over last.. and revenue was way up too.. Kinda looking forward to a week or two of doing absolutely nothing, LOL.. I do have some custom / personalized orders that I pushed out until after the new year.. customers still wanted them soo I raised up the cost and pushed them out past the holidays.. they still order so I'll take it.. Taking a short break first though, LOL After the new year I suppose I need to build up my Amazon inventory.. Etsys too but I have hardly anything left on Amazon.. Did't sell a whole lot of clocks on Amazon.. Etsy out sold them for clocks.. but ornaments was a tough one to keep up with inventory and packing the orders.. No idea how many ornaments sold this year but it was an insane amount just on Amazon.. LOL Even though I did well on Amazon... most of the talk in the amazon forums is it was way slow.. many talking about shutting down their store.. Maybe they needed to change up inventory or something.. not sure... Even though I did well on Amazon.. doesn't mean I like that site any better.. The site for sellers is NOT user friendly at all and the way they pay out your money is stupid.. I'll be well into January maybe even Feb. before they get all my money to my bank.. LOL

Also keep in mind these would be the China made saws.. and the pricing is about what you can get them for on many websites now.. Though the whole skid of them would save some money.. I have a China made saw... probably about the first one to come to the USA.. since I got it before they actually started selling them here... Over all it's been a decent saw... after the Pegas clamp upgrade and after messing with it for a good amount of time.. I can't say I've had a "major " problem with it.. It's definitely made with what I would say.. "Cheaper parts" The nuts and bolts have sloppy threads and will loosen up by themselves. Loctite was my friend for that one.. Had bearing issues.. but the bearings are the typical thing they use in the DW machines soooo. and I had guessing around 200 + or - a few hours on it.. probably typical for when a DW starts having issues.. While the bearings might be cheap China made bearings... I think the real issue is lack of quality grease.. The grease in mine was dried right out.. I couldn't find a source for the sleeves so I cleaned everything up and added a good grease.. it runs quite well now.. I'd be curious what bearings are put into the Pegas and like saws... I read in another post where Bob Duncan said the Pegas has sealed bearings.. ( I highly doubt it) I don't think they'd redesign the whole saw to be able to use a sealed bearing in all those bearings.. It you tell half the truth.. all saws I've had apart had a couple sealed bearings so it's not a whole lie but only a half lie.. LOL.. Honestly don't think a un-sealed bearing is any worst or better design... adding a good grease to un-sealed bearings will make one think they are sealed bearings as it seems grease quality / quantity is where the bigger issue is.. My DW did the famous chattering after about 2 years use.. rebuild with good quality grease and I got about 6 years of pretty heavy use before the issues came back.. Had I did a take down and clean / re- grease before it got to that point... pretty certain I could have gone another 5-6 years on the same bearings.. With all that said.. Maybe Pegas and the others request a better rated bearing.. with a higher quality grease.. Time will tell for sure as the Pegas is still too new to have bearing issues.. Give it a few more years.. I've seen where the old EX's had the same bearing issues as the DW... ( all saws will over time ) I think it's more about how many hours you are running on a saw a year.. .. I put about 600 hours on a saw per year.. maybe more than that.. I put hour meters on all my saws back in March 2019.. so far I'm just over 300 hours total.. and I didn't saw quite as much this year..

That is how I feel about the Hawk vrs the Ex or DeWalt.. The Hawk seems to be easier to do fine detailed stuff.. but is much slower going that the Ex type saws.. even though I have the blade adjustment to be as close to straight up down as I can get with the Ex.. it's still not as easy to do those detailed projects.. Will always keep both style of saws around...

Maybe mine needed more spring tension... but when it was cold out it would do that.. once it run for 2-3 minutes.. it was fine until I come in for lunch or something and leave it for an hour.. then it'd do it all over again.. I checked my brushes but they was like new still.. Just didn't like the cold... of coarse neither did I but.. Orders are orders...

Probably selling the saw is your best bet since you're not happy with how high it is on the stand.. Maybe sell it and get another EX or Hegner.. I hated my Hawk for the first year I had it... then I told myself that I'm not ever going to get used to it if I always go do my cutting on the DW.. So that one winter after the holiday rush.. I told myself I'm using the saw for full year and not touching the DW.. Got me to actually love the saw.. I thought about buying another new 20" saw this year.. and sell off the old 20" saw.. Parts aren't a big deal with enough family and friends that are machinist.. and have machining tools in their hobby garages / shops.. always happy to make something.. Hawks are all solid machined parts. nothing cast on them.. newer ones that is.. some of the old ones had some castings... Edit to add: I wouldn't want the business... they've run it into the ground enough that'd it'd be quite hard to dig out of the hole and make it a profitable business..

They are not very good with emails.. It's best to keep trying to catch them on the phone.. I haven't talked with anyone from Bushton in maybe 9 months.. So I don't know.. I do have Nikki's email but not sure how much she checks out the emails.. It wouldn't surprise me if they are out of business.. because it's a hobby business for them so they just don't keep up with things as they would if they was relying on the business for bills and food, LOL... You'll love that kit if you ever get it.. I upgraded my old 220VS with the new kit.. saw sure ran much better.. My new BM-26 series has the new style ( same as the kit to repair the old ones..) If / when I need to replace the one on the 226 Ultra.. I'm going to go with the upgrade.. upper clamp etc.. I actually wanted to pick up an extra set of blade clamps.. maybe I'll see if I can get it touch with them..If I do I'll mention to check the email / messages etc.. LOL Edit to add: I see that you said you tried calling a few minutes ago.. I'm not sure what time it is in Kansas but.. I'm pretty sure they was closed a few minutes ago, I've never had any luck getting through any later than 4PM Eastern time..

I think this is something you need to do to see if it works for You.. I say this because I've seen many of these type topics over the years and it's more of a personal preference thing.. I see just about as many people like it tilted as there are that do not like it tilted... At this time.. all my saws are pretty much flat... mainly because I haven't taken the time to get a "Good" tilt system for my stands.. Hawk sells a tilt leg adapter or " leg extensions" but the price they ask for a pair.. multiplied by 3 because I have three of their saws.. I think I can mount to 2 x 4 that'll do the same thing.. My DeWalt is tilted as far as it'll tilt on the factory stand.. and I love it like that.. The excalibur I slid a 2 x 4 under the back legs but it vibrates off the edge of the board and then creates a problem.. So after the holidays.. That it one project I intend to do.. I do like the saws tilted..

I know how that is... My Hawk took 4 months.. LOL Best of luck with the injection.. My wife had steroid injections in her back for a period of time..

Les, my thoughts and prayers are with you and praying for the surgery crew as well..

I cannot remember if the thumb screws on the pegas clamp have the swivel tips or not.. when I got the upgraded chucks for my Excalibur I didn't like the style of the plastic wings of the thumb screws... so since they was the same threads as the DeWalt.. and I have 8 brand new sets.. I just put in a set of the DeWalt ones in it..

That's one dull looking blade.. Sorry.. I just couldn't help myself with that comment.. I had a blade issue where the blade looked like this and it was in fact the set screw had moved inwards like those pictures show though.. and I have no idea how you would get this because of that.. maybe it was a combo user error too I don't know.. but the [problem solved once I adjusted the set screw

Glad to hear you have a great sales year.. Seems like the economy is doing fairly well but I'm a little worried as we have had a decent economy for almost 10 years now.. that means a slow down is looming us in the near future if history repeats..

Sorry to hear that the sales were down over last years sales.. but glad to hear you made it through another season and gave it all you had.. take time off and then revamp for next year.. My sales are down 14% on etsy.. but where they're down on etsy is more than made up for on the other sites.. so far my totals are on track with last year.. but who knows.. my year doesn't end until the 31st LOL ..This year was a crazy year for me and i had too many distractions to keep me from actually working the interwebs to get a good sales year.. so I'm quite happy that so far I've not made less money even though I did a lot less work.. I might come back with an awesome year next year hopefully.. but who knows what life will throw at me and where it'll all end up.. Some year I need to tally up what number of ornaments and clocks etc I sell.. I can tell how many orders I have but not what those orders are... without counting it all out by hand... and I'm way too lazy to work for that number.. LOL Wishing you a better sales year for 2020.. I think your leash holders will help improve sales next year..