kmmcrafts

JT, I noticed in your picture the pen display, The wood one is awesome looking and I assume you made it. My question is how do they stand like that? or is there something at the top that they lean / rest on or just holes deep enough that they stand like that. I imagine pens are easy on the storage space when you have a lot of pens in inventory. I'm learning that now that I have around 600 different items inventoried.. Ornaments don't take up all that space that clocks and other larger items do.

Speaking of return hassles... A lot of companies including big box store chains are going to the "not purchased here locally no returns here" policy.. A story that happen to me back in June. I bought my wife a Apple watch for her birthday as she expressed that she'd like one because of her new job didn't allow her to have her phone on her and she wanted to know if I or one of the kids sent a message. It's not that she couldn't have it with her but that she had no pockets or anyway to have it with her. Anyway I bought a watch from BestBuy online as my car had a issue and road construction had the main / short way to get to the local BestBuy and I was also busy with a big order. When the package was shipped I was here out in the shop working and I also live in the boonies so typically don't have porch thieves. Regardless I was here and the package couldn't have sat on the porch more than 15 minutes. Box was rough looking but contents was in the box ( or so I thought ). Fast forward a few days I give the box to my wife for her birthday and she opens up the box to find the Apple watch box inside and opens that up.. nothing in it but a charge cable.. closer inspection you can see where the bottom of the box had been opened and taped back shut with clear tape over the brown paper type tape. We immediately take the whole thing into the local BestBuy and they refused to do anything about it because I bought it online and shipped to my house. They said if I had shipped to store and picked up they get a bounceback of profit for the sale.. They did set me up with a number to call and a case number or something but they refuse to get involved because it wasn't purchased through their store. SO just FYI if you buy from a box store.. have it shipped or do the pick-up at store rather than ship to home.. I've been hearing of many other stores doing this very same thing. Needless to say the online customer support was great, no questions asked they replaced the watch. They asked me if I wanted the watch shipped to me or the store. I chose the store but then the store didn't have any in stock and I got a run around with the store about that.. was supposed to be ready for pick-up on a given date and it wasn't they pushed it out another week, I got online and found the next town had one in stock so I go to online chat and give my case number asking if I could just go pick that one up and they switch it to that store so I could. Boy what a run around for trying to do it all online the easy way. Anyway, just wanted to bring this point up that I think many local stores are refusing any customer service if you didn't get it in store. We have heard about delivery workers stealing stuff out of boxes.. I suspect this is what happen, whether is was a dock worker loading a truck or the driver making the delivery.. somewhere down the line the watch was stolen.. BestBuy said it's happening a lot too. They've had boxes come in off the trucks for ship to store the same way.. opened up and just a empty box inside the package, LOL Crazy times..

Sorry to hear of such a bad situation, only time i've ever ordered wood online was during Covid lockdowns and I was very impressed with the plywood I recieved... so much so that I've considered not getting it locally.. Locally i get it in 5ft x 5ft sheets and it's kind of a pain to cut it down to sizes.. I do have the local supplier cut into half sheets but it's still pretty large to finish cutting to size. This is the place I ordered it https://www.cherokeewood.com/baltic-birch-plywood/ and I've seen many others reviews of this place.. seems like a good place to deal with. I've been to my local woodcraft store and wasn't ever much impressed with the quality of wood they had in the showroom. I wasn't sure if that was how it always was or if they was waiting on a shipment of fresh supply. What they had looked like slim pickings and had been picked through so I assumed they would be getting a delivery soon.. but maybe this is how they do?

Good to hear from you JT, You have a wealth of knowledge that many could benefit from here on the Village site since there is way more here than just scroll saw work such as a lot of just general woodworking talk happens here too. Not sure you're aware but Travis made some specific groups only available to a certain level of support / subscriptions. There is a turners group, laser and CNC etc.. and just general crafts groups. You can access the groups section from the top toolbar that says "groups" Not sure how much talk is going on in the turners or other groups but anyway just thought I'd mention it in case you might want to check it out. Love to see you visit more often.

Sad news for sure, Prayers for his family and friends. R.I.P.

Only issue I see with that is in the cold winter or in the southern states hot summer you'd be blowing your heat or A/C air outside wouldn't you? There is a inline filtration system for laser machines to filter the smoke and vapors so you don't blow your heat outside.. though a bit pricey from what I understand for no longer than the charcoal filter last in them.

The Flying Dutchman "Ultra Reverse" has teeth in the up stroke position from one end of the blade all the way to the other end if you need a upstroke tooth for some odd reason.. The blade configuration if I remember correctly is 2 down facing teeth and then every third is a upstroke positioned tooth. This blade tooth configuration was designed to help clear out sawdust for a faster cleaner cut if I remember correctly.. I'm not aware of any other brand blade with this configuration.. They used to be my go to blade until Pegas came out with the "Modified Geometry" blade.. I still use the other blades from time to time but for the most part it's just the Pegas blades. I think Flying Dutchman also has some metal cutting blades.. not sure if the other brands have them or not? You might want to look at Mikesworkshop.com for Flying Dutchman brand blades.

The difference in the type 1 vrs type 2 is the blade clamping system.. the type 2 should have what is referred to as a " quickset II blade chuck on the upper arm of the saw.. however you still need the special tool to change the blade in the lower arm.. The type 1 would have the same clamping system on the upper arm as the lower arm and required the special allen wrench tool that holds the chuck at the right position when tightening it down.. If in the wrong angle then you might get much more vibration etc.. and be breaking blades.

First off, Welcome to the Scroll Saw Village! I have the same saw, it's a 16" saw not a 20". Good luck with parts if / when it arises because I restored mine 15 years ago and most parts back then was Obsolete. I found a online seller that bought out a bunch of old Delta parts and he was able to hook me up with the needed parts. Doubt he has much of anything left but you can check them out and see at Mikestools.com .. Is your saw a type 2? Mine is a type 2 and was bought new by my father back in 1985 when my father retired just to give you an idea of the age of the saw.. The tension lever I would not modify.. as for the hold down foot.. I'm quite surprised it's still with the saw.. most people take it off and pitch it to the trash can as it's more of a problem than a benefit. That said there are some that do like / use them so I'm not saying you need to remove it as I guess it is supposed to be a safety device but I can tell you most all experienced scroll saw users have removed it and put it aside somewhere to never be found again, LOL. Is the saw bolted down to a solid stand or bench? That it the best way to reduce vibration.. The saw comes standard with rubber grommets to soften any vibrations and they help a ton, however with the age of the saw the rubber likely dry-rotted and is missing, Mine is that way and I've never found any direct replacements. Also there is a rubber piece that goes up under the upper arm blade tension stuff up there that is to reduce vibration.. also no longer available. As for blades creating vibration, They'll grab the board and lift it up off the table with each blade stroke IF you have the blade in upside down, Blade teeth should point downward.. some blades have a small number of reverse teeth at the bottom to give a cleaner cut on the bottom of the material.. these would be called reverse tooth blades. While scroll saws can cut a wide range of materials, I would bet it'd be tough to cut plastics with this particular saw since it is a two speed saw. The problem is the saw speed creates heat and will melt the plastic back together behind your cut line.. Been there tried that with the two speed saw.. You'll likely need a variable speed saw where you can slow the balde way down. Another option is to sandwich the plastic between two pieces of thin 1/8" pieces of wood.. that may help enough to be successful but i'm not sure.. worth a try. Thin metal can be cut but again it probably works best if it's sandwiched between some wood. What blade to use is going to be very dependant on what material you're working with and also thickness of that particular material. Olson blades are decent blades if that is all you can get, I do believe there are Pegas and Flying Dutchman brand dealers in Canada though.. and also should note that buying small packs at a big box or hardware store gets quite pricey.. you may want to research some online dealers especially once you find a blade you like that works with the products you'll be making. If you buy them by a dozen at a time they might cost around $5-7 a dozen but a dealer will sell by what is called the "Gross" which is 12 dozen and some dealers will mix / match blade sizes. Dealers also sell sample packs where there is 3-6 blades of each size in certain teeth configurations to help newbies learn what blade works best for the projects they may make. I highly recommend those to a newbie.. A proper tensioned blade should give a high pitched ping sound when tensioned.. some folks say it should be a about a C note if you know a strings instrument, LOL I think this would really depend on how large of a blade you're using. Maybe reading the saws manual ( I haven't used my saw in a long time so I don't remember ) on how to properly adjust blade tension.. the manual will likely have some basic tensioning tips as a starting point. If you don't have a manual I believe the website I mentioned above for parts.. he used to have the manuals on the site for download.. If he doesn't I'm sure google searching for a manual with your model number would bring up a download. As for saw speed, this again depends on what material you're cutting and also blade configuration.. as well as the comfort level in which you can saw and keep control of what you're cutting. I started out as a newbie on this two speed saw and I used low at first but as I gained more experience I wanted to cut faster so I started using the high speed. Best of luck with your newfound hobby and just have fun..

This here is why I'll always have a Hawk 26" saw in my shop.. The saw table is the largest of any of the saws I have.. the worst table is on the Hegner and second worst is the Excalibur. The EX has a decent sized table however the distance from the front of the tabel to the blade is not very much.. like 4" or less.. I think the Hawk had around 7" from blade to front of table so there is pretty good support. I have a few good selling pieces I make that are about 20" long by nearly 10 wide.. and I usually stack cut them 1/4" at 3 pieces so 3/4" stacks.. I don't have any issues with holding down the wood really.. but these pieces are always the easiest to cut ( for me ) on my Hawk.. and cannot be done on the Hegner with a straight blade anyway since it only has a 18" throat. One of those projects where you have to stand to the side and sometimes have to move myself to the other side of the project to do a cut, LOL

I watched a demo of a lot of the Festool tools from the vacs to saws and sanders etc.. The vacs seem like they was real quiet. I really want to do as @Rolf had done and build a system from PVC, I've ordered some of the flex piping a couple months ago but gosh life happens sometimes, LOL. I believe @Sycamore67 has posted about having a Festool system set up on his Hegner. Rolf has his on a Hawk and I believe he made a system for his Excalibur as well. I have the Seyco system on my Excalibur and also did similar set up as Ray with the Metro vac, which by the way is basically what the Seyco system is. My experience with the metro vac is that it's quiet at first but gets louder and louder.. I get enough fine dust passing on through the dust deputy and making it to the vac.. and it's not a Hepa system and I find it actually blows "some" of the real fine stuff right out the exhaust port.. I have no experience with Festool or the Fein.. But I think the Festool is the way to go with it's Hepa filter. Fien are similar and cheaper however in my research I found that they do not come standard with Hepa.. that's a add on and then the price is very similar. Back to the Seyco system for a sec. also would point out that it doesn't have both top and bottom collection points.. I did buy a scrollando set up too.. I haven't used it enough to really give a good review of that.. I'll first say I think the kit is pretty cheaply made in my opinion.. and think one is way better off just building a system from PVC pipe and the line-loc flex tubing. Should also note that some time back someone posted about a new DeWalt Quiet vac that was supposed to be a good system.. Can't remember who is was.. I'm thinking at the price point of this though.. it's probably not a Hepa system... The only negative thing I believe I've seen about Festool is the price tag, LOL.. most cheap out and buy a cheap system and are either happy there is not sawdust in the lap or like me.. disappointed in all the fine dust blowing out the back of the vac. and the filter / bag getting lined with fine dust and making the Vac louder. The amount of money / time I've spent fussing with the cheaper set ups I wish I had just done what Rolf did.. I think for light weekend work the seyco type systems would be great for the money.. If I want the seyco system to stay quiet I have to change or blow out the dust from the bag / filter at least once a day sometimes twice.

I'm not sure about the 16" saw they have.. seems I recall them needing blade chuck adapters or something? so they would take pinless blades? or maybe it was for toolless blade changes? I may be wrong and thinking of something different. I have heard / read that the bigger saw that is more designed like the DeWalt is a decent saw..

Great work Kevin, Don't overdo yourself. Every little bit is progress. Glad you're able to make some use of the blades. Glad to see you checking in.. What happen to your AmazingKevin account?

Are you trying to restore it to be 100% original or just make it usable? I don't know enough about these older versions to give any sound advice, but it seems like the newer Excalibur or even the Pegas blade chucks would fit this to make it usable. As for the belt guard.. if you know someone with a 3D printer you could just have one made, or better yet make one from wood using the saw. I don't know how the saw angles on these old saws but many saws you have to adjust it when it's new to get it square to the table and then zero out the pointer gauge.. Did you get a manual with the saw? Probably a download for it out there in the web somewhere but it should tell you how to square up the blade and adjust the zero needle or pin.

Honestly, I could be wrong but I think most the parts would interchange to the Pegas saw.. I'm not a huge fan or promoter of Bearwood.com but I believe they're out of Canada.. Would also think that any dealer that handles King or Excelsior scroll saws would be able to help you out. Don't really see much of the Excelsior brand mentioned but I believe it to be the same as a King but was intended for other countries.. so not sure if that was Canada or where.. Just a few of my thoughts.. Hope you find the local source your looking for.

Couple more thoughts.. The saw can be converted to the newer style arms for the up front tension release.. though I think a bit pricey. Might not hurt to look over the parts list on their site so you have an idea of parts prices.. Larry's post made me think about that as I think most everything is available but some parts are not all that cheap for these.

I might have to leave it up to the Hegner pro's on here since I don't know a lot about them.. What I do spot is no up front tension release.. This I believe would mean it's a older saw.. I can't tell if it's a 18 or 22 inch saw by just looking at it but I feel kinda like it's the larger one. If more photos was available Hegner puts the year stamped on the I.D. tag.. zooming into the photo I can see the tag still on the saw right in front or to the side of the Bellows area is the tag. My 18 In. saw is from 2002 and has the up front tension so I guess it's probably older than that.

Honestly agree with both Ray and Bill, Here's the thing for me since I own one of the first few China made EX-21's out there.. I got mine before there was even any word of them coming back with the EX-21 so it's pretty close to the first batch of them out there.. My saw actually wasn't horrible and the biggest thing with it was actually the blade chuck was defective so I struggled to get blades installed and also stay tight. Once I put Pegas heads on it the saw was actually pretty awesome.. Of course I ran the crap out of it and in short order it needed new bearings.. replaced the whole assembly from Seyco and it's been a really good saw.. There were differences in some of the parts so it's kinda a chance to get parts to fit.. I can confirm on the EX-21 that the whole inside the saw assembly will work but the front caps are different and won't work.. can't vouch for anything on the 16" saw though.. Being mechanical I wouldn't be afraid to buy another one, however if I wasn't mechanical I wouldn't recommend one so I usually say stay away from one if you're not comfortable taking one apart and doing some repairs. There are still lots of folks badmouth talking about the type 2 Dewalts.. that happened way back around 2004-5 ish.. My 2008 saw was a awesome one.. Ray is correct, CPO is decent to deal with.. I bought quite a lot from them over the years.. A Dremmel scroll saw back in the day 2006 and when I got it the speed controller didn't work stuck on the slowest speed, LOL.. They emailed a return label and sent out a new one right away. I did have to take the old one to the nearest UPS though.

I have cut the 2 that arpop has and they've done okay with sales.. The one with the horseshoes at the bottom seems to be more popular seller for me..

Problem for me with power washers is the gas goes bad so you either have to keep it empty and just put enough gas in it to do your washing or drain it when done.. Sometimes electric is the way to go on this stuff unless you're using it daily or at least running a tank of gas every month so it's not setting for months with gas that spoils very fast these days. Most gas in our area has ethanol mixed in it which will eat the rubber lines that is used in small engines.. so leaving gas in something for any length of time isn't good on the hoses and it also corrodes aluminum terrible which most small engines carbs are made of. LOL I have a electric washer and it's always ready.. no cleaning carbs out no oil changes etc.. About to buy a cordless string trimmer.. I only run 1 tank of gas through my string trimmer every season and run it until it runs out before putting it away for winter. But having to make a special mixed gas and just general maintenance is more hassle than it's worth. I did finally buy a cordless blower to blow the grass clippings off the walkways etc and for fall leaf cleanup. IF I didn't have such a big yard I'd get a cordless mower too.. but they say they only get about 20 - 40 minutes.. takes me about 2.5 - 3 hours to mow with the walk behind.. I do sometimes use the rider mower with 60" deck but I like the walk behind just so I don't need to have a gym membership to go walk on a treadmill, LOL.. Tractor is used more for the rototiller attachment and snow plow or blower..

I have thought about the charities because then it could be written off the taxes at a more reasonable value.. My old saw was a 1993 and had that problematic motor on it.. I didn't mind selling it at a low price because who knows when / if the motor might have a problem the very next day the person buys it, LOL.. The other saw ( Ultra ) is basically still a new saw where as the old one I got needed lots of work when I got it, I used it quite a bit so it was basically paid for itself anyway..

Unfortunately used Hawks (actually Hegners too) just don't bring as much money as they should.. yet a old DeWalt that was originally only about $350 back in the day will still bring $200 - 300, LOL. The higher end saws take that person that knows what it is to know what a deal it is even though it's priced more than the new DW.. I had my old Hawk listed for a couple months at $300 and was a really clean nice working saw.. I let it go for $200.. I have been thinking about selling my old Ultra 226VS.. It is like brand new even though it's a 1998 saw it was still new in a seal box when I got it in 2016. I put a hour meter on my stuff and it just turned 100 hours on it.. I'm doubtful I can even get the $400 I paid for it.. at least very quickly.. Being the condition it is in and I don't "need" to sell it I'll likely not let it go for less than that $400 price.. so likely to not sell it, LOL.. I should be able to break even on the Hegner when / if I decide to sell it since it was given to me. I don't think most people can tell a difference in cut between those saws for the majority of cutting.. I notice it most on if I was cutting some very thin stock and also a little noticeable on thick stock. Thin stock more so because I can certainly feel the EX type saws being more aggressive even tuned to it's best less aggressive point possible it isn't as nice to use on that thin stock as the higher end saws.. BUT, in my case.. I'm almost always stack cutting and cutting at least 1/2" most all the time and for that, the EX saw seems slightly faster cutting and more efficient. So did you get a Pegas bandsaw then? I think if you did you'd love that for a lot of the work you do it seems like it'd be more efficient.

Yeah don't spray the table with it, LOL.. I lay out paper towels etc. on the table just in case it splatters when trying to spray the little areas that I do.. and when doing the Pegas tension lever parts I remove the thumb / set screws so I do not get it on the ends of those.. I'm sure as slick as this stuff is you'd for sure lose your blade gripping power. I do spray the thumb screw side to lube the threads to keep them working nice and smooth..

It's in liquid form but dries fairly quick to create a dry lubricating very thin coating. I think it has Teflon in it as well.. not sure but so far it's the best I've seen. Yeah I bought some graphite dry lube as that was what Bushton recommended to use on the wedge on the new saw... It's messy and honestly didn't work all that well in my opinion so I started using this stuff and love it.

I believe the Excalibur stock tensioner is supposed to be lubed with a non petroleum grease.. Pretty sure I read that somewhere and I'm also pretty sure most folks don't do it.. I have swapped out my stock system to the Pegas.. I'm not certain that the Pegas is to be greased or not, however I had a slight squeak when moving my lever after having it for a month or so.. I sprayed this stuff on the moving parts of the lever and it worked sooo much easier and smoother.. I have always just sprayed it about every month ever since and with 500 hours or so on the saw and have never had to replace those common worn / broke parts.. I use this dry lube on a whole lot of things like even my lawn mower wheels.. the mower pushes so easy it's not believable LOL.. so I use it on the cables and most anything with moving parts.. Car door hinges and latches etc.. stuff is amazing. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Blaster-9-3-oz-Premium-Silicone-Garage-Door-Lubricant-Spray-16-GDL/202532761?g_store=&source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&pla&mtc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D25T-025_031_GARAGE_AUTO-NA-Multi-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-Automotive&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D25T-025_031_GARAGE_AUTO-NA-Multi-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-Automotive-71700000113075003--&gclid=Cj0KCQjwrMKmBhCJARIsAHuEAPRgAF_NUkr6VkX4CUL-nTFZSiWthCJxpLDtxpK83if6IJd81wtTXlQaAoLHEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds