kmmcrafts

From someone that has a laser and uses it a lot.. I agree it was done on a laser.. I don't hate lasers nor the people that use them as hate is a pretty strong word.. I like lasers as they have a place in the woodwork and many other mediums and crafts. I do dislike the folks that use them and paun the products off as handmade.. Lasers can and do enhance scrolled work as well as many other types of work.. pretty hard to engrave with a scroll saw, LOL.. It's nice to take an existing scrolled product that is already made and be able to personalize it for an "upcharge" for those in the crafts selling scene. Many lasered products do look cheap, but that is just opinion and many people out there like the product at the price point they are offered at so people continue to make cheap looking items and try to compete with the cheap imported products you see at the box stores.. Just because it's a laser product doesn't mean it has to be cheap product.. there are people doing high end stuff with lasers, however the majority seem to make cheap crap with them. At the end of the day they are just another tool to add to and enhance my scrolled products much like any other tool such as routers and lathes.. Most the people that hate or dislike lasers only hate or dislike them because the people that started out using them years ago did paun off the stuff as handmade and they used the patterns and designs that was originally designed for handmade scrolled products.. Most nowadays don't know a darn thing about them and it's really easy to hand down that hate / dislike and give lasers a bad name and review when you've never set your hands on one and used it.. Like word of mouth goes on for years from oldtimers because of something that happened 40 years ago..

Only time I ever had issues with condensation was the spring thaw.. Not much issues during the winter but when the warmer temps started melting in the spring the shop floor would be damp.. keep a good coat of paste wax on all my equipment did wonders from keeping the table tops from rust. No issues these days since I put in the heater and keep shop warm through the winter..

Before I was making enough money to heat the shop I just used a small space radiant type heater only when I was scrolling. Then I got a wood pellet stove and basically keep it running and the shop stays around 50.. I just run it on low but when working I'll crank it up during the day to around 60 - 65.. My shop is a little more than a small shed though as it's 24 x 32 downstairs and the gable type roof upstairs is all open and only insulation currently is in the roof upstairs part I have 4" R-32 foam sheet stuff that I got a great deal on.. LOL As for glues.. I do keep those inside and always have for the most part.. paints etc are fine out there but I ruined a new bottle of glue years ago and just habit to keep in the house. Photos of the shop when it was being built. Have 4 windows upstairs and 3 downstairs. Upstairs is mostly my storage of lumber, inventory, and the laser machines are up there.. downstairs I mostly try to keep one bay empty in case I need to pull a car inside to work on it etc.. Old 24 x 24 shop is used just for storage now with several hundred live edge slabs.. more lumber and the mowers and tractors etc.

Kind of resembles Beech I think.. but I could be wrong.

Had the old problem motor and round barrel clamps anyway.. while not a bad deal by any means for the right person but it is one of those old finikey saws that many times push people away from Hawks because of the issues they have.

The G4 is the saw to have but like I said earlier, they don’t pop up very often. There is one local to me for around $400 which is probably a good price for one of those.

There is a Facebook Hawk Scroll saw group that you might find / learn more from.. I'm not on FB much and rarely follow any of the groups very closely but I have seen that Bushton seems like are on the group somewhat regularly answering questions etc.. so maybe helpful to some of you folks. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1270226317017076

That saw is not worth $500 in my area anyway.. Keep looking for an Ultra, G4 or BM series.. This has the problem motor on it too.. One way to tell if a saw is a round clamp or Ultra type is looking at the motor.. That motor looks huge and you can see it.. On the ones with the better motor I believe the motor is smaller and unseen unless you peek under the saw. I used to believe that the holes in the accessory arm indicated that it was a Ultra but some of the later model round clamp saws had those holes too for some reason. The surefire way is getting a picture of the lower clamps. Coming from someone that has both Hawk and Hegner.. my opinion is they both cut very much like each other and the most noticeable difference for me is the larger table of the Hawk and in my case my saws are 26" and they are huge.. The stand is better on the Hegner. I just have the MultiMax 18.. I feel like the Hegner runs a bit smoother than the Hawk.. All of the G4 and BM series saws I've seen have a black plastic material angle mechanism and its right up even with the edge of the front part of the stand.. Ultra and earlier saws have a machined aluminum angle mechanism and it sets back from the edge of the stand about maybe a inch. Hard to find a G4 or BM series for sale and especially for a good deal.. Most you'll likely see is probably the round clamp saws with a few Ultras mixed in.. The G4 and BM series is probably the best bet to get as they are a bit more user friendly than the older Ultra and round clamp saws.. and the G4 and BM series has a few more features to mess with, LOL

That's quite odd, typically when a saw gets worn it has to have more tension or slide the lever over more than usual.. I'm wondering if it's possible that your blades are shorter? For anyone not knowing what this saw is.. It's the Delta that is very similar to the DeWalt and has the same style slide lever to apply tension. Maybe someone had this issue with a Dewalt? I've heard the opposite but like I mentioned above but not heard of it this way. LOL

They didn't make the front to back blade adjustment in the "Ultra" version other than the two positions for the blade chuck to fit in on the lower arm. The ones with the allen screw in the end of the lower arm for adjusting front to back blade movement is the G4 or newer saws.. My BM26 is that way.. also those have the lower arm protrude through the angle mechanism and the blade sits out in front of the angle mechanism so you get the pleasure of wearing the sawdust you make on your lap instead of on top of the saws stand or in your case in the funnel.. BTW, those two positions for the blade chuck to set in on the lower arm.. one closest to the front of the saw is for less aggressive of a cut typically for cutting thin stock and the next position back is for a more aggressive cut for thicker stock.. I mostly only use the front most position because this is a more straighter up / down blade angle for a more square cut.. For me the slot for the thicker wood or the rearmost position if you're cutting thicker stock sometimes the corners don't cut square.. If you make those 3/4" thick dog puzzles the pieces won't slide together correctly if you use that rearmost position. At least that is what I've experienced

Congrats on the new saw.. Unfortunately and sadly almost every story on these saws getting sold is because the person that bought it new had passed or health issues come up and no longer can use.. That's how I got my 226VS Ultra still in sealed in the box. Old guy that ordered it had a stroke and thankfully was still alive but he couldn't use the new saw he had bought. Best $400 I spent, LOL There is a small hole on top of the upper arm at the front.. right above where the tension lever goes through the arm.. put a drop or two of oil in that hole ( preferably at the end of the day so it has time to run down into the cam and not sling all over when you turn on the saw LOL Don't ask about that one, ) You should oil the wedge and that cam I believe the manual says every 10 hours or so of use. Other than that the rest is all sealed bearings. Also on the bottom side of the upper arm just about directly below where that hole is on the top side there will be a very small allen set screw.. that is to adjust the tension cam to "lock" down. Proper adjustment is it should have some resistance when no blade in in the saw move the lever with light pressure like you're tensioning a blade.. you should feel some resistance when that lever is about 1/8 - 1/4 inch above the top of the arm If not then you need to turn the set screw in until it has a slight resistance. There isn't much info out there on adjusting these Hawks.. even Hawk's manuals don't really go in depth about these adjustments. One of these day I would like to make a video of how to tune these for the best experience.. There is also adjustments at the back of the saw so that the upper arm will bottom out at the correct height to clamp the blade.. I see so many people fiddling with getting that upper arm in the right position to clamp the blade all the time.. though for some reason Pegas blades are not consistent in length so you still have to adjust for a new blade but once it's in right your good until you change to a different blade.

Tension lever is at the front circled in the picture. The part at the back is to adjust how much tension is applied.. The back part of the saw under that tension adjuster back there will be a wedge shape piece..That wedge is supposed to be very pointed and almost sharp.. That would be one of the telltale signs of how much use it's had. The wedge over time will sort of get a more rounded edge on it and be a indication if it's rounded over it may have been used more than you might think. But new wedge is are available for like $15 I think.. and you can even just put it on a flat surface and sand each side until it is pointed again. The front tension lever is another wear point. It has a tension cam underneath the arm or inside the arm that can wear out but again.. those two parts are still used today on the newest saw made and readily available and not too pricey. Anything else that wears on these saws is pretty much available at any hardware store.. That's why I love these saws. I've rebuilt my Excalibur when it had around 250 hours on it.. at just over 500 hours on it now it is getting loose again.. My Hawk has around 500 hours on it and nothing has been done.. even the wedge is still pointed.. this is how well built they are.. LOL Some people have issues with the clamping systems on some of these saws as they are more picky with clamping and tension etc.. so keep that in mind.. Some pick right up on it while others struggle and give up.. If you can get the hang of that without much trouble this saw would out last you and any grandchildren too, LOL They run really quite smooth however you should be aware that they do have a couple harmonic balance spots on the speed dial that they get a little shaky but turn the dial up or down a smig and they're smooth.. You can call Bushton Manufacturing with the serial number and they can give you a lot of info on it such as what year etc.. any records of it being in for a rebuild or service.. From what I can see of the saw it's not been used much I don't think.. I seen the thing pop up on Marketplace.. if it were closer to southern MI I might have checked it out.. I have two 26 inch saws but wouldn't mind selling off one of them and getting the smaller 20" like this one.. They take up a large area as the stand is part of the saw so they're big and heavy.

Looks like a very nice saw for the money. I'd say it's probably a 2000 - 2006 model by the looks of the tag.. That would be a 20 inch Hawk Ultra.. really good saws.

Friend sent this to me and I thought it was very interesting so I'm sharing it with you. Talk about handmade.. this is hand and foot made. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1078714080133567

Totally agree but I'm not wanting the be the guinea pig to try it either, LOL... IF I was going to make them for veggies I'd probably have just spent the extra $35 for the Cedar post.. next year they'll probably come out saying Cedar is toxic and you need to spend $100 per board for some new engineered something that isn't toxic, and probably just something new that they can invest in without any science behind it..

I've tried several times too.. anything my wife plants does great but anytime I try planing a $20 bill tree it just rots and then I'm out $20... too cheap to try $50's or 100's.. maybe coins grow better. Heck, even if I could get some car parts to grow.. Now I'm getting so broke I'm thinking I need to try growing hamburgers.. getting kinda hungry.. These here that I made will be for flowers since i used treated lumber for the post and the post mounting 2x4's. They say the chemicals in treated wood will leach into the soil and make you grow poison veggies.. so just putting flowers in these.

I should have mentioned that I knew it'd turn grey.. was just worried more about the longevity of the structure, especially inside where the moist dirt will be. Then come to think of it..this is what many raised bed gardens are made from... and bird houses etc.

So, for those that seen my last topic about my bucket garden stand. I made a planter box now out of Cedar picket fence board. Many say that Cedar doesn't need a finish.. I'm not sure if that is true or not so I thought I'd get some opinions from some of you all. The reason I'm not too sure about that is because Menards and like stores sell the picket fence board with or without sealer.. I got just the plain old Cedar. I mounted a post in the middle to install some hangers on for either some hanging plants or solar lights. I think mine will have solar lights but I'm making one for my son and another for a friend and not sure what they will hang on the post just yet. I wanted to use a Cedar post so it'd match but and $35 increase in price I opted for treated post and treated 2x4 to mount the post in the box. I'm thinking I might paint the post but I'm not sure about painting treated lumber.. so maybe it'll just be what it is. If you all think that the wood should have a sealer on it I think I might just spray a couple coats of Spar since I have a couple extra cans left from a CNC sign project I did a year ago that was going to be out in the weather. Probably the deck sealer stuff would be better but I'm not looking to spend much money on this stuff and rather just use up stuff I have around here.

Congrats on the new saw!! You should get many years of joy out of if..

Thanks for the tips JT much appreciated The buckets ( according to the internet ) if they have the H2 code in the triangle shaped info code on the buckets is supposed to be food grade buckets. I thought the same thing but again.. according to the internet, LOL.. I would of rather had white buckets but only thing locally in stock was these ugly Menards green ones. Now if I hit the stores today they probably have hundreds of white ones, LOL I did look online yesterday and those PCV boards are not cheap around here, and I didn't see 2x4 size but probably the 1 x's would be strong enough I don't know.. be a lot of weight once ten buckets get filled with soil and water etc.. These 2x4's were only just over $2 each.. I have less than $100 into the buckets,paint, deck screws, and I have enough supplies not counting the buckets to build another for myself which I think I might do. Will need another box of screws and buckets but should have enough paint etc for another one. Cheapest PVC board I could find that might come close to working was nearly $25 each. The sun also makes the PVC more brittle over time so I'm not quite convinced it would be a "lot" better for the amount of money. Yeah I did spend around an hour painting them and I still have the ends and another coat so you could be right on that point I suppose.. at least for using a treated 2x4 since they aren't a whole lot more than these regular construction ones. At the end of the day the learning experience is sometimes worth more money than I saved anyway.. you always find things you'd do different when doing something for the first or even the second or third time in some cases.

I was thinking the same thing actually.. If I make any more that's probably what I'll use. This was my first bigger project build and the reason I went with cheap lumber.. plus I thought I had left over paint but it turned out to be no good. I'm also unsure how I'll like this style of gardening. I've done some raised bed gardening but I still put in about a 30 x 30 in ground garden every year so just experimenting and not really wanting to use high priced lumber etc until I know I'm going to like these.

Went to my local hardware that I'm always going to often so they know who I am, LOL.. The owner of the place was there and I was looking at the paints etc. asked if I needed some help. Cheapest exterior paint they had was $24 a quart. Not knowing if a quart would do it for both of my gardens I really didn't want a oddball mixed color but I asked anyway if he had anything that was mixed wrong color. He said no not really but I do have some old oil based exterior paint that I'm not supposed to sell anymore.. then took me in the back and open the cans to show me the colors he had. Only had gallon cans and I didn't think I'd need a whole gallon but when he told me he'd take $20 each for them I ended up bringing home slate grey.. I'm so glad I got the gallon as that wood is really soaking up the paint.. I've used over a quart already but only painted maybe 80% of both of them. I stood them up on end so really just have both ends to paint since I couldn't reach the top too well and the bottom of coarse was sitting on the ground. I'll need to paint at least one more coat so I'm pretty sure I'll use at least 3/4 of that gallon on these. He put the paint on the shaker for me and stood there talking for a minute. He said they outlawed all the oil base paints and he had to get all new equipment as the old equipment wouldn't measure the new stuff correctly. Said he had to scrap all his color pigments and he had a lot that was scraped. Had to package all the stuff up and send it FedEx to a hazmat place where they supposedly dispose of it all properly. He was saying it's getting crazy with all the regulations. Mention even some LED lights he can no longer sell. They have to put out a certain amount of Lumens per watt now.. and some of the older bulbs he had to take off his shelves.. Getting to the point where I feel like I'm living in California near Ray @OCtoolguy LOL. I'm going through the same stuff with my clocks on Amazon.. I may have to start selling them without the battery, LOL.. Amazon has been taking down my clock listings due to not being in compliance with their new rules for selling things with batteries.. They have a hole list of stupid stuff to fill out to be in compliance. I have over 600 clocks in inventory and I think once I sell them out on Etsy and other sites I'm going to be don't with that bit too. It's getting pretty ridiculous with all this environmental crap.. One day I'm probably going to be required to measure how much sawdust I'm polluting the air with and pay a hazard tax if I want to keep selling, LOL Hopefully this doesn't go into a political thing here, I'm just having a rant because of Amazons Battery issue and then the guy talking at the Hardware today about things..

Well, this is really about the first thing I've made besides scroll work.. I'm not anywhere near a pro at construction or building things from wood. Give me a hunk of iron and I can weld / make about anything but never had any experience with building with wood. I might get brave and try a planter box and a bird house next.. this project gave me some inspiration.. Good thing I named the business KevsKrafts and not say anything about scroll saw work in the name.. pretty generic and could become metal art or anything so there is that going for the lousy name I chose for a business name.. Now if building big block V8's consider crafts? Who said it had to be wood blocks..

I felt this would get seen more here rather than the other forum topics so hopefully I’ll get some good input on this. I built two of these bucket gardens, one for a friend and one for myself. To do over I’d have just used treated lumber or cedar. But now that they are built I’m wondering what would be a decent finish to help preserve the standard construction 2x4’s. Originally I thought I had some leftover exterior paint but when I open the cans they are mostly dried up so I originally thought I could buy cheap lumber and use up my old paints I had laying around. Now that I’ve got to buy something is why I say to do over I’d just use treated lumber. Since this is a garden thing it’s obviously going to be outside and getting watered etc. Not looking to make it last forever but I don’t really want to just leave it raw either. Thinking about cheap options is someone else’s leftover paint from the restore places or some paint that was mixed incorrectly so long as it’s exterior and not interior but thought maybe I ask here as maybe someone has a better idea. Don’t really care too much about looks or colors really within reason, I mean I don’t really want fluorescent bright pink or totally ugly colors . Anyway thoughts on something to use or am I on the right track with just using an exterior paint and call it good. Nothing in this type of setting is going to last forever other than metal so I know it’s going to rot at some point.

There is a type 1 and type 2.. for the 2 speed model. I don't know for 100% sure but all the type 1's I've seen didn't have the nice Quickset II blade chucks.. I think that is the only difference but as I said not 100% sure of that. So the type one you had to use a special wrench for the upper clamp. Just putting that out there if anyone was to seek out one of these old gems, LOL