kmmcrafts

Same experience when I bought mine.. in fact Hope talked my ear off for 3 hours just about the saws, business, weather, camping and a few custom saws they made for full time RV'ers that wanted Bushton to custom make a mount on the side of the RV to mount the saw on.. So they try to accommodate each customers needs within reason, LOL.. Do you suppose any other saw company would do something like that? When I ordered my saw one of their machines went down and they had a real hard time getting the part to fix their machine.. so I ended up waiting 4 months to get my saw.. lots of people were saying they'd cancel the order etc. etc. but you just don't get this type of business every day and running a small business myself.. I get it.. things happen out of your control and most people these days will just be impatient and badmouth them for years for something that was out of their control.. It's a small family run business and you just don't see that much anymore.. partly because everyone orders something and expect it to be delivered the next day.. if it isn't then they'll go to another place that will deliver the next day.... to me it's a sad day when people rather get some China made junk because it's quicker than support a small USA company..

Everyone has their own preference and style of cutting they do.. I prefer to be able to have multiple blade sizes and configurations all loaded up and ready to use.. many projects I made would require veining that I would cut with a flat blade first and then go back over with a spiral blade.. I could easily swap blades on a single project without having to remove a blade from the clamps etc.. Properly set up and tuned saw shouldn't be tossing out the blade holder anyway.. if it is then there is a issue with the set-up of the saw or a faulty worn part.. The old Hawks with the round clamps was terrible with this and one reason people hated them.. but these saws are also 40 years old and well worn.. Nothing like the newer saws with the squared blade holders.. This is also something Hawk changed on the newer saws.. the blade chuck can just be left on the saw but can also be easily removed.. Can also top or bottom feed the blade on the newer saws.. I just keep them in the saw on the BM series.. One downside on this saw is it only came with the one set of blade holders so I can't have some all preloaded and ready like I can with the Ultra.. I have 10 extra holders that came with that saw.. IF I want extras for the BM series it's $20 each so I just have the one set.

Yes, having several saws has advantages if you have the space for them.. IF I were to do a lot of angle cutting I would not use a Hawk or Hegner.. I'd look at Pegas as they have the best angle mechanism and the saw tilts instead of the saw table... My Excalibur is also great for angle cuts and is very similar to the Pegas.. I just think Pegas went above and beyond with their angle mechanism.. My complaint on the Hegner is not a huge deal but I just hate the very small table they have.. I've not used mine a lot but it is a well built and solid saw to use.. I do love the small stand as it's narrow enough to sit at and sort of straddle the stand.. the Hawk stand is okay too but a bit wider and tall too.. need a tall chair and a block of wood to mount the foot switch too in order to reach it. The Excalibur stand is the worst of all of them.. no place to put your legs really.. The DeWalt stand was always comfortable too.. just the saw was always pretty aggressive cutting and hard to do fine detail cutting.

If it has the more squared style lower blade chuck/clamp then it's a Ultra or newer saw.. which are good saws for the most part.. The G4 and BM series saws have square type clamps too but they're slightly different and quite difficult to tell.. The thumb screws are smaller on the ultra while the newer models I think are larger and are 1/4 20 thread? Not sure the size on the ultra style.. the body of the clamp is also very slightly different.. just enough to not work in each model.. The G4 and newer saws the lower arm goes through the angle adjustment mechanism where the ultra is behind the angle plate so on the Ultra saws you have to reach around behind the angle adjuster to access the blade holder.. the newer saws it's right there in your lap almost LOL.. so is all the sawdust.. another win for the Ultra is that the sawdust will pile up on top of the saw stand behind the angle mechanism while the new saw is in your lap or on the floor.

You also rarely see any of the "newer" Hawks for sale either.. The G4 and the new BM series are hardly ever up for sale.. These would be 2005 and newer saws.. "some" G4's come up now and then.. and I think I've seen maybe 2 BM series for sale.. But the G4 I think were made from 2005 - 2010 ish and that is when the BM series came out after those G4's. I see way more 2002+ Hegners than I do Hawks for sale.. but that's not a lot of Hegners either, but way more common than the Hawk. Edit To Add: You also have to consider the fact that most of the Hawk and Hegners out there for sale were made before Excalibur, DeWalt types were even a thing yet.. Many of the ones you see for sale are from the 1980's and 90's

The BM-20 is a great saw but they're pricey.. I bought a new BM-26 back in 2018 and it's been a great saw.. I also have a 226VS Ultra model and I think that saw is actually a tougher built saw.. both are great but the 226 Ultra feels like a better built more solid saw than the BM-26. The plus to getting the Ultra is price and not much to go wrong with them.. Biggest wear points are the tension cam at the front of the upper arm and the wedge shape at the back of the upper arm.. Both parts are only around $20 - $50.. for the most part not much else goes wrong with these.. Probably could pick up a good used saw for less than $400 - $500 range.. Usually a lot of them for sale in that price range and many times less money than that.

If you have a very small shop then you might not want a Hawk scroll saw.. they're big and take up a large floor space with their 4 legged stand.. A Hegner looks like a toy with the small footprint their 3 legged stands take up.. Either are wonderful saws if you get the right optioned one as some of the older ones didn't have all the bells and whistles that the newer ones come with.. even though they look all the same until you really look closely and know what to look for... that is why we suggest showing us what saw you might be looking at.. The Hawks all look almost the same from the very first ones made to the ones they make today.. same goes for the Hegners.. there are only minor changes in appearance but knowing what to look for and getting the bells and whistles of the new ones will make the sawing experience much better..

You also have to consider the production numbers of the saws out there and also price points as to why so many are for sale.. Like there are probably more DeWalts out there than any other saw.. some enjoy them while others may have had one of those real aggressive cutting dewalts and realized the hobby wasn't for them.. if they had bought a better one they might not have left the hobby.. I believe there is probably 2-3 times more Hawks out there than Hegners.. Pricing plays a roll in that as well as dealers.. I'm not sure there are any dealers other than just 1 for Hegners.. but I believe Hawk had some tool dealers that sold the saws for them..

Happen to me when cutting some sort of exotic wood but I don't remember what it was now as that was years ago. I also had this with I think it was Cherry or Spalted Maple.. It was like the wood was very wet.. in fact so wet that there was moisture bubbling up right ahead of the blade.. it's like the sawdust was too heavy to blow around in the air and the blower only moves it a short distance..

I think Denny has the best solution for this issue.. That said I stopped getting the magazine years ago because I didn't like the way the patterns are on that huge sheet and like has already been mentioned you wrinkle it all up and then when you want to copy one from the other side it's all messed up with the winkles and doesn't copy well.. not to mention, I can never find the patterns I'm looking for and many times it's just much easier to buy the design online somewhere and have a digital file for it that's easy to categorize and find later.

BTW, IF harbor Frieght did carry the blades they'd probably be the crappy blades that all the hardware stores etc. have on their display racks.. Most blades you can buy at your local box stores are junk.. You need to buy one of three of these brands, Flying Dutchman, Olsen, or Pegas.. each brand has good blades but slightly different blade configurations and you have folks that are diehard brand loyal that will swear about the blades their brand offers.. I personally use all three brands for certain projects and I don't feel there is any certain brand that is "Best" just depends on the type of project and material and also your style of comfort level of cutting etc.. Best thing is to buy many samples from each brand and find what you like.. what you like today might change as you advance in your scrolling ability

Berry Basket! that's what I was trying to remember the name of, LOL.. I have several of them as I bought the whole set of their patterns when they retired and was giving a huge deal on the complete set of their patterns.. That said I think Cherry Tree has the rights to some of their designs? I don't remember now but someone is still selling some of those patterns.

Which saw do you have? There are different saws they made over the years and the upgraded blade holders are specific to the model saw you have.. Pegas blade holders for their 22" saw if you have the older saws then there is another place to get adapters for the blades.. so it makes a difference on what saw you have.

I'm not sure if Cherry Tree is still in business or not but I'm quite certain they had several patterns for music boxes..

Well, finally today the tracking shows it is moving out of the warehouse and expected to be delivered tomorrow... today marks the one month from the day I placed my order..

What sizes are you getting at Lowes? and is it in stock or do you have to order it? I mostly use 1/8 and it's seems much harder to find 1/8" good on two sides.. I can get 1/4" in stock at a lot of local places and cheaper than both Lowes or Menards.. I don't have a Home Depot real close and they don't even stock the stuff I do get from them, however it is free shipping so it works out to be fairly priced.. Last time I looked which has been a while.. both Lowes and Menards charge delivery and I don't think they offer to ship to home.. They just have a bunch of independent truckers that deliver but it's freight charge. Or pick up in store is a option.

Yeah it's customs for sure. They sent me a UPS tracking number within the next day and later the same day UPS said they had the package in their possession.. about 3 days and it was scanned into the sorting warehouse in New York.. it gets scanned twice a day ever since.. once in the morning and once at night saying still in warehouse.. They've had the package in NY since the 8th of September. They don't seem to scan anything over the weekends so maybe this week it'll move out of the warehouse. NY being not too far from MI I usually get my orders within 2 days.. or if I'm sending something they get it in 2 days over in NY area. So once it moves it should go pretty quickly..

Hmm, Still sitting in the warehouse in NY... I don't understand it but any time I order from any Canadian place it takes me 4 - 6 weeks to get it.. I won't be ordering more of this from these guys.. Shame too because there are several places I would order supplies from that are in Canada

Good to see you're back at it again. I too have been away from the scroll saw for dang near 2 years because of some health reasons but now I'm able to get back into it however, because I was down for a long time my shop has been the catch all for anything the kids and wife don't want.. I can barely move in there and so I'm about to get me a dumpster or something.. So bad I don't even know where to start, LOL While my scroll saw work area and laser work area isn't too bad if I had boards already sized but if I need to use the planer, chop saw or basically anything other than the scroll saw it'd be a half days work just to size a board.. My CNC router has so much junk on the table I can barely see the machine, LOL.. Sorry I guess I turned that into a rant.. I just came in from the shop and was going to do some scrolling.. open the door and looked around shook my head and said to myself.. NOPE.. not today.. came back inside and checked in on here and seen this topic,

I can see where this can be useful and have done it many times on the bandsaw... and I guess it's way safer than not taping it to a board and using the table saw with your hands or push stick on that tiny piece.. I'm just saying there are many safer ways to achieve the same end result.. no bandsaw? cool try a jigsaw or Sawzall.. heck, tape it to the board and use a hand plane, sander or grinder, lol.. lots of ways to achieve the same thing. There were times I needed to bring the thickness of a very small piece from 3/8 down to 1/4 and I just used my belt sander.. goes pretty quick with a 36 grit belt on it.. While I understand you're a experienced woodworker and I see you mentioned you weren't stupid to stand in the line of fire should that tape fail and shoot the piece back at you.. You knew what you were doing.. some people do not have any common sense and lack any fear of running machines.. they may see this post and give this a try because it seemed like a great idea and end up in the ER. I'm not a experience woodworker as far as running table saws.. and that is probably a good thing that I'm a little scared to use it for certain things.. maybe scared is the wrong word.. maybe I should say I'm scared enough to be extra cautious of what I'm doing when I do run it.. because I'm not really scared to use it.. I'm just not too comfortable running it when there are other ways to get a job done in a safe way. Wood is cheap compared to a ER visit.. I do the best I can to use up all the small bits I save and have laying around but there comes a time where that just isn't worth the price.. Plus saving some of those bits and pieces makes for a nice campfire and a tasty roasted marshmallow or smore.. and that is way more fun that the ER waiting room in my opinion..

Much braver than I, LOL.. Of coarse I don't even like to use my table saw if I don't have to.. If I can do the job on my bandsaw or other tool even if it takes longer I do it.. Guess I'm a little scared of the table saw and probably for good reason as a school mate had a kickback in shop class in high school that scared the crap out of me because the board just missed me and almost made me get hurt while I had my back to him using a router.. never got over that I guess.. luckily nobody was hurt or anything other than just scared.

Hmm, I guess I don't have any other suggestions.. I suppose it could be a bad bearing or something.. Did you loosen the motor and try adjusting it after making the arm level to the tabletop like I mentioned in my last comment? You could try holding both arms, well hold one and wiggle the other to try to see how much slack is in the bearings but I don't know how to describe how much is too much etc. as they all, even brand new have a slight amount. Only other thing I can suggest is maybe you'll have to call Ray or I think Mike is the name of his son at Seyco as they know these saws inside and out. I think they have the phone number on their website. Seyco.com Good luck and let us know if you figure something out.

I'm not sure if this is the problem but I would start off by measuring the distance from the bottom of the upper arm to the saws table top, it should be the same distance from both back to the front... if it's not then adjust the knob on the top at the back of the saw until you get it parallel to the table.. Then I would loosen the bolts on the motor just enough to be able to turn it in the slots.. turn the saw speed all the way down and run it while turning the motor ( with blade installed and tensioned ) and see if it quiets down.. You can place a small machinist square or something with a straight edge on the back side of your blade while doing this and you'll visibly see changes in the forward / rearward movement of the saw blade while turning the motor in the slots. Try adjusting the motor so you have minimal movement in the blade. You may need to remove the motor bolts and move them to different slots to get more adjustment. I suspect the motor alignment is off but you need to also have the table parallel to the upper arm first. I also suspect you're going to need to remove the motor bolts to other slots to get enough rotation to get it adjusted if this is the issue, in fact. you may need to do that a couple times if it's that far out of whack to be hitting the bottom of the table.. I been there once that's how I know this. LOL Let us know if this makes it better.

I wondered about that color as well as the older Chevy engine paint might be close. Was going to try that but thought maybe someone knew of a color so I don't have to guess at it, LOL.. If it's not a very close match I might just paint the saw too since there isn't much too the saw. That stand might take a couple cans as there are so many angles to get a good coverage on. Anyway, thanks for the suggestion..

Yeah that had crossed my mind too but I wasn't really wanting to spend $40 for a high end single stage paint when a $10 spray can would hold up fine on a scroll saw stand being inside and out of the sun etc..