kmmcrafts

I bought my magnifier lights from Menards years ago.. they started out as the circular fluorescents but when I got my first Hawk scroll saw with the spring loaded upper arm that just pops up when you break a blade and being new to the saw I broke many blades trying to learn the tension system on it. Anyway broke a blade and the arm popped up and busted my bulb, .. So I did some searching for bulbs and run across the circle LED replacements.. that was a game changer on the same cheap light by just replacing the broken bulb... go figure I liked that LED bulb so much I bought 3 more for the other lights even those they hadn't been broken yet. Oh and the LED bulb is made of some pretty good plastic.. but you can still break one unfortunately.. Darn Hegner has a spring loaded arm too and the up front tension lever that sticks up 3 inches above the upper arm.. I'm learning to place my light out farther from the arms should a blade break.. Edited: I should mention that the Menards light is basic same thing as HF light other than HF has a cover to flip up to protect the lens. Also when you're out of the shop place a rag or something over the magnifier so no light can pass through it.. last thing you need is to start a fire from sun shining through the magnifier

Good to see the progress you made along your scrollsaw journey and to share those projects and progression along that journey with us. Also good to see your new hobby and projects and to see and hear from your experiences there. Many folks get stuck on doing one thing and stay with it, many times their whole career or hobby because they learned that and got comfortable with that so then they don't want to step out of their comfort zone. While this site is for scroll saw stuff there are other sections that you could post your progress of the new hobby if you'd like to.. I'm sure many others would also love to see that progress as well. If you don't that's fine too but do check in now and then and say hi. This site is like a online family and it's sad to make friendships and then they bail out and never hear from them again. I myself haven't really done any scroll work this entire year.. I have been playing with the CNC and laser's but those are forbidden in the scrolling community, but I still hang out here as I've gained many friends here and enjoy the conversations to be had here still. Whatever you do, enjoy the journey

Been scrollsawing for 20+ years and still learning new stuff.. Had many various types and brands of saws etc.. each one has a different set-up for different types of cutting.

Yes, I also do that.. I forgot to mention that part too.. Here's the thing with these types of saws that do not have a "actual tension lever" like the DeWalt etc. is that there are a lot of bearings and linkages where slack can be.. and once you apply tension it takes that slack out sometimes and then releasing that tension will show that your blade was maybe in right but it took up all the slack in those arms.. These saws have about 20 ish bearings between all the linkages etc.. that can have a lot of slack by the time it gets to the front of the saw. Especially if you have a older saw that may have slightly more wear on all of those pivot points etc.

I stand corrected.. I looked at the manual and it does say to use the knob.. That all said, I've been told that once you set that knob to get the upper arm parallel don't touch it again or you'll get it all out of tune. I suppose that since I rarely have the need to change any tension anyway because I mostly only use one size blade in that particular saw anyway.

I've never changed the knob on mine even going down to the 2/0 blades I use sometimes.. however I do mount the blade slightly loose, as in on the larger blade I push down on the upper arm slightly as I lift up on the blade that is already clamped in the lower chuck to take out any of the "bearings slack".. but I don't do either on the smaller blades.

If you use that knob at the back of the saw you'll be getting the upper arm all out of adjustment.. that knob is to adjust the height of the upper arm so that it is parallel to the saw table. The upper arm should measure the same distance to the table at both the front of the saw and at the back of the saw.

I don't think he meant if the tension is too high.. I think he said if you tension the blade then release the tension and the blade has a bow in it then the blade chuck screws are likely slipping.. I didn't see anywhere he mentions tensioned too high.. I don't think you really can tension too high can you? well maybe because then you'll likely break a blade. EDIT: I don't think there is anyway to adjust the tension of the blade on a Pegas saw? There is no way to adjust it on the Excalibur unless you have one of the older models.

In my opinion if you're able to twist a blade like that then you have a tensioning issue.. maybe not enough at the start of the cut or slippage once you start cutting.. I don't know but I have had instances where a blade would twist some.. maybe not that much but anyway it was always because the tension on the balde wasn't enough.. You might try cleaning your clamp screws where they pinch the blade and also sand the ends of the blade to remove the oils from the blade.. they're coated to prevent rusting andover time they'll build up oil on the clamping screws. There may be a different issue here with your situation but that is what I've always had happen when a blade slipped in the clamp.

Castings are beautiful!! I think I might sell my saws now..

I can agree with that.. on the Hegner I suppose.. But the Hawk has had some flaws over the years.. with motors and controllers etc. Then they found found various flaws with the arms on some models and JT had the roll pins bend on his blade holders that caused him some issues until he finally figured out what was going on.. so Hawk has had their share of flaws.. but on a more positive note.. when they learn of the flaws they go to the drawing board and figure out a solution the the flaw and make upgrades / parts updates etc.. even going way back to some of the very early saws.. You don't find that with Delta and many other brands.. they are good at saying " well we moved on and no longer support those parts.. just go buy our new saw" LOL Hegner has done some upgrades but I think whoever the engineer was to design that saw got most all of it right the first time and they haven't "had" to do updates and upgrades.. I love my Hegner.. really only three downsides to the one I have in my opinion is the small table ( can make a larger over the top table if that really bothered me that much ) and the upper arm could go a little higher ( again easy solution ) and the dust blower on mine is integrated into the upper arm and at first I thought it was a neat idea as it keeps the hose out of the way.. however it blows the dust right onto your lap.. again making a homemade dust collection or even upgrading to the flex line loc stuff is easy enough to do.. I kinda feel like the guy that invented that dust blower to blow straight at the user was playing a joke on everyone because the rest of the saw is so well designed and engineered.. LOL

Congrats on the new saw! IF you have troubles with the blade chucks, I suggest upgrading to the Pegas chucks.. Most these tension levers are plastic... however I've never had any trouble with them with either the DeWalt, Excalibur, or Pegas chucks.. The issues I have seen is when people tighten the blade too tight they strip the threads in the cheap aluminum or pot metal chuck metal material.. Or they spread the clamp apart so they don't clamp properly. Pegas chucks I believe are made of a much better billet style aluminum rather than the cheap cast aluminum etc..

That is one thing I really like about my Excalibur is that the base will hold my more favorite blades.. Was always going to make something to have blade storage on the other saws but never have done it yet. I also agree with JT if you're not able to find something you may need to modify or make a holder..

That is one of the major flaws with Hawk and Hegner type saws is trying to precisely set the angle and with the pinch style clamping system they have trying to make sure you don't push on the table top slightly to move that angle.. I don't feel the "holding power" of that pinching ( tightening the knob ) that down is adequate enough.. the rack and pinion is so easy to just turn the knob to the precise angle is really nice.. as is the flat table instead of a angled table. Not sure but Grizzly has a similar saw to this HF saw but it looks to me like it also has the slotted motor so you can adjust how aggressive it cuts.. These parallel link arm saws are a bit more aggressive cutting than the Hawk.. and if you can't fine tune that out at least some you're stuck with a aggressive saw. Having the slotted motor mount where you loosen the screws and rotate the motor you can adjust how it'll cut.

Very much agree.. The EX, Pegas, Jet, King, and many others ( not sure how the HF one tilts ) that have the rack and pinion type angle adjustment is a big plus for anyone that might do angle cuts.. It's a real pain in the behind to try to tap the table top to move the angle when just needing to change it 1 degree or something and the table moves too far or not far enough etc.. being able to just twist the knob to move it precisely where you want it is a major improvement over the Hawk and Hegner type saws.. Plus these saws run super smooth. One thing I don't like about the HF saw is it doesn't appear to be able to rotate the motor to dial in how aggressive your cut is.. motor doesn't appear to have a slotted mount.. great entree level saw though for the money.

He did do a fair amount of Intarsia.. I'm not sure about the high chair.. Did a lot of Keith and Sheila's scripture type stuff.

I also have the plastic test tubes that fit into the Excalibur slots. I bought them from eBay but that was some years ago so not sure I could find the seller now. I never measured them but I think they're approx. 1/2".. when I purchased them they was size in mm so I struggled to figure out if they'd fit. Could always buy some PVC pipe and some end caps to make some. Edit: Looking on eBay I think it was 16mm x 150mm but 16mm is more like 5/8 inch so you would need closer to a 12-13mm.. 12 being just under 1/2 and 13 just a fraction over 1/2.. 150mm is approx. 6 inch. I think

They come out with a quiet vac to compete with the DeWalt... Maybe this isn't new? I don't know for sure but it was in there new items email a few weeks back.. but sometimes I've noticed that their new items email is actually not a brand new item.. maybe new for the year? https://www.harborfreight.com/12-gallon-osha-compliant-dust-extractor-58966.html

I'll try one of these.. thanks

I rarely do angle cuts but when I do it's very nice on the Excalibur with the arm tilting rather than the table.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and tips I'm always willing to listen to tips and suggestions. My wife has been a nurse for over 30 years and works side by side with some great doctors.. we have tried many of the maneuvers to help with the vertigo.. have not seen a physical therapist yet but have watched some YouTube videos etc. I have found some of the things do give me some relief but nothing puts me back to normal yet.. I see the ENT next week for a follow up after some test but he is really thinking I'll need surgery and only one the wife trust to do it locally.. unfortunately he is retiring end of this year so I may have to shut down all my selling.. unfortunately during the 4th quarter when that's when I actually get to make some money, LOL Meanwhile, I guess I'm stuck with playing with the laser machine.. miss scrolling but I pay for it if I wear the mask for more than 20 minutes or so.. I do run box fans two of them, and the ceiling mount filtration.. seyco scroll saw dust collector at the saw so dust is minimal..

Looks like a really decent saw for the money... I couldn't deal with that pin to hold the arm up.. maybe a easy solution is a block of wood that holds it up just high enough to not put the arm in that lock position.. Look forward to hearing your thoughts after you put a few miles on it..

I don't know enough on these saws via serial number to know what it is or a rough ballpark. If you had some images to post so I could see it I might be able to help more, BUT as JT said give Bushton Manufacturing a call with the serial number and they can tell you a lot of things if it had been upgraded ( by them ) at all etc.. some of the old saws got updated with new motors and controllers etc.. or the arms had the replicable inserts installed etc.. I would just give them a call because that would get you the best info for that saw possible.

That is how I know to do it in inkscape but i couldn't get it to work and I think it was just this old computer I was using and inkscape don't get along well.. makes whole computer glitchy and slow etc.. so I wasn't sure if I was doing it wrong or if it was just my glitchy PC, LOL

Now that two of my kids moved out I have to say it's really nice having my son live just up the road about 1 mile.. My daughter ended up 2 hours away and going to visit seems to be a all day event and then if we want to stay and sit around a campfire etc it ends up being a very late night for us.. I'd stay the night but she has cats and I'm "very" allergic to cats... guess I could pitch a tent, .. she moved first and he moved about 6 month later... and it so nice to just have him only up the road. Her house is just a starter that they plan to update and then sell.. hopeful they move closer. I shouldn't complain because some people's kids are clear across the country so I am thankful I can at least see them when I feel like taking a day trip.