kmmcrafts

You guys bring up some good points.. I do like to do as much sanding etc as i can outside is what my thought was.. saves having to clean up the shop.. and I've been wanting to try intarsia and read a lot of sanding and shaping is involved.. I wouldn't need batteries and chargers as I already have them for my leaf blower.. I'll have to look it over good next time I get to their store..

Yes you are correct.. I started my business with a hand-me-down completely worn out Delta 40-560 type 2 from 1986.. my father bought it new and wore it out twice before giving it to me.. only reason is he wanted a variable speed plus parts was no longer available locally.. this was before internet and finding rare stuff on eBay and the likes.. I rebuilt it sourcing parts online.. While that saw was down I used a Ryobi scroll saw borrowed from my brother that he never used.. I've owned and used and rebuilt many entry level saws while also running the business too.. I worked my way up through many brands until I got up to a deWalt.. great saw for the money BTW as is the Excalibur and many of the others.. I've been down the road of entry level too mid range saws and now have both Hawks and Hegners.. Years ago to save money while trying to build business I would put blades in upside down when the right side up got dull since it only uses half the blade at a time.. and still made quality sellable stuff.. so put that in your pipe and smoke it, LOL That's no lie.. Blades weren't cheap at the hardware store.. before learning that I can get them cheaper and better blades online.. Those Vermont brand blades really sucked.. if you can scroll with those and make a decent project you'll do great once you get some good blades.. I spent the first two years scrolling with that two speed saw and those vermont brand blades.. dull on one end flip it over and use the other end, LOL The stuff that took me 5 hours to cut back then... I can do now in about 30 - 45 minutes.. so while you can use entry level saws and inferior blades and take your time being careful etc.. you can achieve a good piece out of a crappy saw.. maybe not so quickly.. Kinda the difference of pushing a Ford to town or driving a Jaguar.. both will get you there but one is going to be way faster and more comfortable. In my mind a talented scroller will be able to cut with either flat blades or spirals.. blade right side up or upside down.. who cares as long as it cuts.. I haven't been able to achieve cutting on the side with no teeth yet but I'm going to figure that one out someday, most I get is a bunch of smoke

I don't think so.. most go back to what they know.. not a ton of advertising going on with Hawk or Hegner and also many look at the warranty / service instead of quality.. price point also comes back into play. I love my Hawk, Hegner does run a little smoother but then the difference in size / weight of the arms from a 26" Hawk to a 18" Hegner.. I would expect the smaller saw to be a bit smoother. I don't like the smaller table of the Hegner..

I am signed up to get emails from HF and this was in today's email about new tools in the Bauer line-up, I have a few of the Bauer cordless tools ( leaf blower, 4" angle grinder and a random orbit sander.. my son has the pole saw ) and we've had good results so far.. I might give this thing a go as I sold my rigid belt / spindle sander and I've been thinking about trying some intarsia.. I have a gift card to spend some money there too, LOL Anyway I thought some of you all might be interested in this new item. https://www.harborfreight.com/20v-cordless-variable-speed-rotary-tool-with-flexible-shaft-tool-only-58672.html?utm_source=responsys&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2024_01_10_wk0224_Bauer_TARGETED&uid=927cd95d91488623d38497685b411479a3ced9fafa9783dfff6ee4193eceb7c1&infy=6636035305&bxid=6636035305&mi_u=6636035305&mi_ecmp=2024_01_10_wk0224_Bauer_TARGETED&plcc=

I'm not convinced that people look at the design of how the saw is made as much as they look at the comfort and user friendliness of the saw.. Price pays a huge factor too.. I see many saying they "wish" they could afford a Hegner or Hawk but they settled for a EX or Pegas.. So that being said.. I'm doubtful people are looking at the overall design.. Word of mouth of what others use and advertising plays a huge roll as well... You don't see Hawk and Hegner ads plastered all over our computer screens like you do the others.. You don't see them on Amazon etc either.. Most the parallel link arm saws do have a advantage over the long arm saws.. One being the saw body tilts rather than the table and the tilting mechanism is a better design too.. The other thing is the ability to adjust the aggression of the cut... They do not have a harmonic balance issue at certain speeds either. That said, long arm saws have spring loaded upper arms so when you break a blade or loosen the blade clamp the arm automatically goes up.. Blade chucks come out of the saw so you can preload blades in the extra chucks.. Both have good and not so great points in my opinion and there would be no way to make that one perfect saw.. I will always keep one of each style in my shop since I have that ability to do so.. IF I could only have one and knowing what I do about both I'd stay with a Hawk OR Hegner.. much more precision and just a more relaxing experience to use.. That is just an opinion of coarse.. for the style of cutting I do.. I might say the opposite if I was one to do a lot of angle cutting..

Yeah, I'm no engineer either but most all the saws with the motor in the rear that I know of also have a very complex contraption consisting of flimsy metal arms / rods with several pivot points.. Do they run smoother throughout the whole range on the speed dial.. Yes.. they have little short arms at the front of the saw that all that complex linkage connects too. Most these type saws have anywhere from 14 - 20 small bearings.. A lot of pivot points.. Saws like the Hawk and Hegner have anywhere from 4 - 6 bearings.. but they also have a lot of mass moving, especially with those large 26" saws.. that moving mass is going to have some harmonic spots where vibration is inevitable at certain speeds.. But very little to go wrong.. no flimsy rods and way less pivot points.

Page 24 part diagram number 42.. in the part list it just says set screw.. I looked it up last night when I replied as that is how I knew what it was.. JT explained it better than I did but that is what I was trying to say. https://generaltoolsusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/EX-16_21_30_ENG_R2.pdf

It's a set screw to adjust the upper chuck position.. IF you look at it from the side and watch while moving your tension lever back and forth you'll see that the lever comes down and stops against that set screw.. Turning that set screw in will lower the blade chuck so that the thumb screw clamps the blade at a lower position.. I've never really used those type of clamps on my EX as I bought the pegas chucks.. but I believe you can adjust it as a blade stop so the blade goes into the saw at the same position every time by adjusting that screw and then inserting the blade all the way up against the top.. then do that every time and you blade is in the same position every time all the time.. unless of course that screw gets out of adjustment.. Edit to add Actually I think I said that backwards.. If tuning that screw inwards actually might raise the position where the blade clamps onto the blade.. I'm just going off the picture you provided so I could be somewhat wrong on this but I'm quite certain that is what it's for..

150% Yes.. I was just thinking about writing a topic in the business forum about social media promoting and getting engagement from your followers and how that boost your placement on the social platforms as well as if someone clicks a link to your selling site from that social post then that boost placement in for your selling site.. so yes 150% Etsy even has a program to praise or punish sellers if they respond within 24 hours of a message from a customer.. just for this reason.. as that boost their placement as a whole with google.

I'm going to start a topic in the business section since I didn't intend to hijack this thread.

This is very "puzzling" Your title here sure is true to a T... I currently have a customer that bought a clock insert of my etsy store.. They bought the 50mm one and then left me a 1 star review because it's the wrong size.. They never once tried to contact me to ask any questions.. never inquired about a return.. nothing.. just left me the stupid 1 star review.. I reached out to them to see if I could help in some way and maybe they'd edit the review but it's all my fault because I should be advertising this clock by the size of hole that goes into rather than the overall size.. (which is the same way all other clock insert sellers sell is exactly how I sell them so not to confuse people ).. They mention the hole they have for the clock is 53mm and thought they would be able to stretch the clock out that extra 3 mm.. but turns out I gave them the wrong measurement by listing the face size.. That said.. my description shows the "mounting size" as well as I have one of the photos with a digital dial caliper showing exact size.. then they said there was no instructions on how to set or make the clock run.. I sent a instruction sheet which is also posted as one of the photos.. No matter what.. It's still my fault.. I refunded them their money and told them to keep the clock or throw it out.. blocked them from being able to purchase from me again, LOL I get about 5 emails a week asking what size hole these clocks fit into.. IF folks would look over the pictures.. they all have the digital dial calipers showing that.. as well as written in the description.. You just can't make this stuff up... Getting ready to just take them off the site.. I don't have to sell them.. and markup barely pays for the packaging and ink etc for the label etc.. I only sell them to move my inventory so I don't have the batteries going bad just sitting in inventory.. but the hassle of the stupidity of questions I get asked and all the folks that buy one and then return it because it was the wrong size is not worth it. That or I'm going to price them as high as all the other folks do.. and accept no returns like they do to.. only exchanges..

Exactly why I also don't make toys for kids.. we all know the first thing kids do it put stuff in their mouth.. I see some sellers selling "unfinished" because of this.. however then all the saliva soaks into the wood and becomes a bacteria magnet, LOL As for cutting boards.. I have made and sold a few of them.. For them.. I also purchase commercial finishes so there is a data sheet.https://www.amazon.com/Watco-241758-Butcher-Block-Finish/dp/B000VITOT4/ref=asc_df_B000VITOT4/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198071503086&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5180649152188685668&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9017308&hvtargid=pla-353531777652&psc=1&mcid=b6033a1f799136aa8257d308cebf7ebf&gclid=CjwKCAiA7t6sBhAiEiwAsaieYhSDYQW5qKTEL-VjkPr1P6D71Ewc3QeI6eqzreZzm-7OwXYJVGlSmRoCAM8QAvD_BwE Most sellers use mineral oil.. some use mineral oil and bees wax.. I've seen some brave folks using walnut oil, LOL that doesn't sound too smart in my opinion because of many nut allergies out there. Regardless, all sellers should be aware of what is used to make the things they sell and have data sheets available if the need arises. Yet you go to these dollar stores and other store and can buy wood cutting boards no listing of what was used as a finish and made in China stickers on the package... Lots of the laser folks buy these and engrave messages on them.. not only is this a recipe for a disaster for the you and the customer as you have no idea what finish is on it.. the fumes from the laser could be very toxic because you don't know what finish you're burning, LOL

Yeah, I don't mix my own.. I did it once some years ago and the hassle of finding a safe container to mix all the products up was enough hassle.. also not really knowing what is in the product isn't super smart as a business.. Now finishes are likely a very low probability of someone having some sort of health or safety issue, especially when they are fully cured... but as a business you should be able to provide a data sheet for your products used to make the crafts you sell.. Yeah I suppose one could provide a data sheet for each product they used to make their own mix.. There is currently a big uproar on a etsy sellers forum page about a customer ( whom is also a seller ) had purchased a dream catcher and the listing title showed for a child's room wall hanging.. however the string broke that had beads on it.. The child is 10 years old and decided to make a necklace out of it but while making the necklace he had a long bead in his mouth or lips to hold it while threading another bead.. unfortunately it went in his mouth and he choked.. the good part is he broke it free from choking him but in the process swallowed it. He has some rare blood clotting disease that was just diagnosed as well as some other stuff.. so they don't want to do surgery if they don't need to however they need to know what material the bead is.. Long story short... the customer asked the seller what the beads are and she claimed the seller where she bought it from advertised it as authentic turquoise which is toxic.. but nobody knows for sure.. so it's a big mess.. IF you are a seller you should know what is in the product your selling period.. Yes the kid is old enough to know not to put things in their mouth but you also have to remember we now have to put warning stickers on adult products like car batteries to warn you not to drink the acid.. or have a muffler guard on a lawn mower that says Hot.. You cannot be too careful about knowing what's in the products we use to make our crafts when you have to put warning labels on adult products in my opinion, LOL And YES, I do know that having an issue over a finish type is a long shot but in this day and age you almost have to be more careful of knowing what is in the products you make and sell.. Point is.. I'm way more comfortable just buying my commercial made finishes for my crafts where there is a data sheet for all the info one might ever need.. BTW: The customer isn't trying to sue.. it's not about that.. it's trying to know if the bead is going to be harmful to the child.. The hospital / doctors want to know so they know whether to remove it or not.. surgery is dangerous to him with his blood clotting disease he has.. Unfortunately going through several sellers to find out what the bead actually is takes a lot of time for responses etc.. He'll probably pass it through before they find out anything unfortunate situation for sure.

I don't think mixing up your own is all that crucial to be exact.. especially when your mixing up a gallon.. certainly not as important as mixing paint in the autobody industry when you're mixing just 4oz to paint a fender.. one drop off makes a huge difference in the color match on mixing 4oz compared to mixing a gallon to paint the whole car.. For the most part I use Natural color Danish oil so color isn't a huge issue.. Just that mixing more oil than thinners makes the gain maybe pop a little different.. But wood is various colors anyway and many times you can't get too boards with the exact same grain colors.. LOL.. I'm not sure what they would add in for driers for these finishes.. I can say they do usually dry faster than the stuff I've made myself.. however I may have mixed with more or less thinners.. Typically thinners is what evaporates faster.. But there may be other drier's in the mix too.. looking at the data sheet from the links I posted from HD above they have quite a lot more than just 1 oil and thinners in the mix..

Not ALL Watco Danish oils are the same.. I think most folks don't know this but there are two different viscosity mixes of the stuff.. Both cans look identical and unless you read the back label many wouldn't know this.. One has a VOC of 350 and the other is ( I think 275 ).. can't remember now but one is thicker meaning less solvent... which also gives the wood a bit more deeper rich sheen to it.. May have more poly or oil? I don't know the mix and doubtful anyone does.. I just know I've used both and one is thicker.. one dries much faster than the other too.. JT brings up a good point about the added driers.. I mixed the good ol 50/50 BLO that many talk so much about years ago.. But it stinks to high heaven for quite some time.. as opposed to the commercial stuff. Two different prices and two different data sheets.. for the Watco Danish oil.. More expensive one... https://www.homedepot.com/p/Watco-1-Gallon-Danish-Oil-in-Natural-2-Pack-65731/202067183 Less Expensive one... https://www.homedepot.com/p/Watco-1-Gallon-Danish-Oil-in-Natural-2-Pack-65732/202067184 Read the Data sheets.. One actaully shows VOC 350 in the title.. the other just says Danish oil, LOL

Interesting video, Thanks for sharing it. This info has been around way before I first got into woodworking back in 2004-5 and my father used to make his own stuff including stains back in the 1980's and probably prior to that ( I just remember seeing him doing it then )... and I remember reading about when they stop making Danish oil for a short time how folks were talking about how to make your own.. I've made a lot of my own finishes and wax's too.. One has to decide what works best for them and their needs. I made my own Danish oil and yes it's definitely cheaper to make yourself.. However convenience also plays a big roll in why I still buy these expensive finishes too.. I suppose if I was a big furniture maker and going through gallons of finish a year then yes making it makes more sense. Just finishing hundreds of ornaments a year and a few puzzles and clocks I go through about 2 gallon of Danish oil.. Same for spray finishing topcoats.. One can buy the pint, quart, gallon, or 5 gallon containers and spray equipment and save a ton of money if you use enough of it. My laser ornaments I make I use top coat rather than Danish oil.. Also anything I paint gets top coat rather than dipped in Danish oil. I mostly only do small batches at a time... so gathering up the spray gun and setting things up to spray 10 - 20 ornaments using around 1 - 2 oz of spray isn't worth the effort not to mention cleanup for the savings of just grabbing that spray can and being done with it in a short time.. I can see where spraying a large piece of furniture or a huge production line where savings could be very worth it. At the end of the day everyone has to do what works best for them.. I just see making your own finish in the scroll sawing world a bit overkill for no more product most of us make.. Yes there are some certain situations where it works well for some. Anyway good info for some and thanks for sharing it.

Congrats on some store success, I too have tried the in store markets and had hit or miss results. That said, Two houses down from me is a dog kennel.. yeah maybe I'm lucky or not for having a neighbor in the dog boarding business.. Anytime I take some down to them and put in their office ( drop off / pick up area for the pet owners ) I sell out immediately.. You might try reaching out to some kennels in your local area and see if you can place some sample puzzles / leash holders there. The downside is the kennel operator should be mindful of where to put the samples so some wild puppies don't knock them down or? as some dogs get pretty wild as you may know, LOL..

Just wondering if anyone had tried scrolling that magnet sheet stuff that many use on the saw tables like the seyco has? If you have cut it.. how does it do? Suggestions / Tips? Probably tough to use on a metal table unless you use wood backer. Magnet material sticking to the sawblade.. dust cleanup would be easy just swipe some metal around and it'll stick to it, LOL..

Yeah those "I wants" vrs. "I need" gets all of us at times.. I really didn't need the Excalibur when I got it.. was just a good buy and I guess I had money burning a hole in my pocket.. same goes for the other couple of Hawks I have.. But I did end up loving to use the Hawks.. Before all these fancy saws I was running a DeWalt and a couple older Delta saws.. but I kept reading how nice the Hawk and Hegner saws as well as the EX saws were so " I had to scope them out and find the right deal" which I did.. and glad I did so too.. without the burning desire to try all the different saws I would still be wondering what is so special about these saws.. I think back to all the saws I've bought and tried.. aside from the harbor freight, WEN, Eclipse, scrollmate / pswoods, and I'm sure I'm missing some saws I've used or owned. Most all the more modern types and brands I've owned or used.. Yeah I've never used a Pegas or King but they still fall in that same category as my EX and really not much if any difference in sawing experience. I would like to sell off my EX21 and buy a new Pegas or the 18" Jet.. The Jet has a clamping system that I would like to try.. and the saw is cheaper than any of the other styles of these saws.. If I don't like the clamping system I can always buy the Pegas chucks for it and have a new EX type saw.. The other thing I like about the Jet.. You can buy just the bearings or sleeves separately through ereplacementparts.. all the others want to sell you the whole link arm assemblies.. when there is only one or two bad bearings or sleeves. They are likely probably the same parts as the Pegas or other like saws.. but I don't know that.. YET.. LOL Anyway after all this long winded post, I always go back to my new BM series Hawk.. I also seem to like the Hegner but I still need to make up a dust collection system or at a minimum get the flexible line so the bellows blower doesn't blow the dust at me and into my shirt and lap. LOL

Bottom feed only on this one Paul.. The lower arm ends behind the angle adjustment block so to access the lower blade holder you have to reach around behind that angle adjustment mechanism.. some folks don't like that.. I've never had any issue with it once you learn it it's fine.. The nice thing is all the sawdust rest on top of the saws base instead of in your lap like the newer saws like Marie got, LOL. There is two positions for the blade holder to fit into on the lower arm. Front positions is for a less aggressive cut or for thin material and the back position is for a more aggressive cut or thicker material.. I've always used mine in the front position on my Hawk ultra which is what this saw is..

I had one that I bought from Harbor Freight that was a switch on/off rather than the one you have to constantly keep your foot on back when I had my deWalt.. I sold it with the saw as all the other saws I've had came with a switch, but they are all the type that you have to keep your foot on. The ones that come with the hawks and the hegner are a very low profile one and i like them a lot better than the taller one that came with my EX so I swapped the EX one with one from the Hawk i sold a few years back.. Harbor Freight had both the on/off or the one you have to keep your foot on back when i got mine but that was many years ago so i don't know what they have now.. both was the same price I think but just depending on what one you want. The one the Hawk and hegners come with have a plug on them that is easy to plug in a T plug for my Seyco Vac, Saw, and my hour meter so they all run off the foot switch.. Not sure how much Hawk / Bushton or Hegner gets for their switches.. those are the ones I personally like.. because of the low profile.. I think if I had to get a taller one I'd rather have the on/off style..

Glad you was able to get this.. Now I hope you love it as much as I love my Hawk saws.. You got a heck of a deal on it..

Steve Good just recently made a pattern of one.. I don't know now if it was today's blog post or yesterdays.. I assume you're signed up to get his daily email and may have seen it but thought I'd post about it just in case you don't.

That is one thing my wife loves about my hobby / business.. While I like that very much too, it'd be nice when she does this to let me know exactly what and in some cases how many of whatever she takes from my inventory.. She's much better about telling me now when one time I sold a clock that she took several months earlier and never told me.. this was before I had heat in the shop.. and also happen to be the coldest night of the winter at -18 outside I went out to re-make a sold item that had to ship out in two days.. starting a project at 1am in the cold and having to work 2-3 hours to get this order done was not what I call a easy gift to get.. While I wasn't happy about it I never scolded her or anything, though I kinda wanted to, LOL.. She learned just buy knowing I had to go out in the cold temps in the middle of the night to make another one to fill my order.. She's pretty good about informing me.. typically just ask me if I have something in particular and has me go out to get it.. That why I know what was taken. I met a couple at my wife's work Christmas party a few years ago and this family had some younger kids maybe the youngest was 6.. anyway instead of giving the kids money to buy the parents / grandparents etc. gifts.. they make the kids take something they have and make something out of it.. it was pretty interesting to see some of the creativity these kids had to make that special gift for someone out of old toys etc.. I thought it was pretty cool.. Being an adult that buys whatever I need / want I like gifts that don't really cost someone money and hours of searching the stores through the sometimes angry mob as I call it.. people rushing around to get the perfect gift.. I much rather have something made where the giver put their creativity to work and actually made something.. I'm not so passionate about it being handmade.. It could be a purchased item that was done on a CNC or whatever but if it's personalized it's still very cool.. this is why I'm so into making ornaments and doing personalized work.. Sometimes the customers creative idea come to be one of my best sellers.. Their idea that I make come to fruition..

If you have a library close by I've heard you can request the books there and check them out.. I happen to live in the middle of nowhere and no free library around.. My local lumber / tool supplier keeps about every woodworking book in a library of their own so most times if I know what book to look in I can check for the design before buying it.. I won't be going until after the new year though so someone here will probably confirm it before I can but if not.. I'll look.