kmmcrafts

Since I don't know the condition of the saw etc.. or if you even like it.. but I personally think it's probably just the tension cam that has went bad.. I'd think the saw would be worth $50 for the updated tension update kit. It's quite simple to change. I don't think the stand is wide enough to mount the Pegas directly to it.. if you go that route.. just a FYI.. The Pegas has sort of a wide foot print for the mounting holes. I almost ordered a new Pegas a few days ago as woodcraft had the "old price" and I had a coupon code that would have made the total with shipping less than $900 and that's less than the new price.. as the new price is $940 + tax and shipping.. I could have got it for $880 shipped.. I pondered too long and went back 2-3 days later and they updated to the new price.. now well over $1100 shipped.. Oh well.. Their prices are flirting with with those prices of the new Hawk and Hegners.. I just don't see the longevity of these parallel link arm style saws being all that great.. I doubt you'll see many used 30 -40 year old Pegas saws still floating around the classified ads like you see Hawk and Hegners.. Not saying they are not a good saw.. as they are.. but that said.. priced close to those saws that are built and proven to last 30 - 40 years.. with only a couple hundred more you could buy a lifetime saw with little to no breakdowns.. or better yet.. buy a slightly used and save a ton of money.. a lot of Hawk and Hegners out there for half the price of the new Pegas and still out live the new Pegas.. Not sure what part of west MI you're from ( I'm also west MI ) but there is a decent newer style Hegner on Craiglist for $275.. no pictures this time he listed it but it was on a couple month back with pictures.. It's in Lansing.. might be worth looking at.. or get that nice new shiny Pegas that you want.. LOL just know there are lots of cheaper options..

I suppose that is up to you if you wanted to do that, I inquired about doing the same thing to my 1993 220VS.. I don't remember now what the cost was but it wasn't a cheap repair.. They may not even offer the service anymore now.. I know they are doing less and less of supporting these old old saws.. I want to say it was around $300 to machine the arm and the cost of the insert and new wedge etc.. and shipping it back etc.. I decided against doing it.. My thought was to part out the saw or something once it got to that point.. that saw was used hard and not real well taken care of when I bought it..had many hours of use.. I gave $100 for it and basically rebuilt it.. That arm isn't worn out now so I doubt I'll wear it out myself since it's more of a back-up saw.. Actually have it for sale on the FB marketplace as I never use it anymore since I bought the new Hawk a couple years ago. The biggest wear part on these saws in my opinion is the cam and the little set screw, so long as you keep them oiled up as suggested in the manual

Given the serial number you shown is a very low number and you have the one with the M.. at one time I knew what that M stood for but have forgotten now, LOL Anyway I'm guessing you have a mid - late 80's saw.. I could be wrong but it's certainly not from the late 90's. Guessing you have the round lower blade clamp / holder.. Also guessing you have the old style tension cam that doesn't have the adjustable set screw on the bottom of the lever area. The wedge at the back wouldn't have the insert ( which you already confirmed that ). I forgot I did a short video clip to help out another Hawk owner on how to adjust that set screw so here is a link to my video I put on youtube a year or so ago.. In the video notice how the lever gets resistance before it reaches the arm.. that helps "lock" the lever in place.. IF your saw was upgraded to the newer style it would have the set screw in it and just needs adjusted.. IF no set screw and your tension lever just flops freely all the way down to the arm then you need to replace the cam.. I'd recommend upgrading to the new style so you can adjust it. Anyway here is the video link. I'm going to edit this reply shortly with some pictures of the set screw and the updated kit pictures on my saw etc. This photo is of the set screw.. notice the screw is right in line of the tension lever.. this is the bottom of the upper arm.. This is a photo of the updated cam kit with the new style removable blade clamp / holder. This is installed on my 1993 220VS.. This is a photo of the lever on the 220VS with the updated kit and properly adjusted.. the lever stops right here and then you push it down to the arm to "lock" it. This is a photo of the back wedge on the 220VS.. Note the wedge rides right on the arm itself.. This is the wedge on my BM 226VS.. Note the wedge rides on the round insert that when worn can be easily replaced.. rather than having to send in the arm and have it machined. This is the 226VS Ultra front blade holder.. it is a 1998 saw and has the older style upper cam and clamp.. however they did add the replaceable cam and set screw to this but once this wears out I'll upgrade to the new one like I did on the 220VS. Just another angle of the 226VS clamp

Three things affect the tension and can cause the front cam lever to not hold in the tensioned position. The wedge shaped thing at the back of the saw on the upper arm.. If the edge of the wedge gets rounded over the tension usually will hold until you turn the saw on and it gets to speed sometimes it'll pop the lever at the front of the saw.. This is usually noticed before it gets to that point though as it'll usually start snapping blades as when that gets rounded over it'll make the blade tension fluctuate as the saw is running. IF the wedge isn't too worn.. you can try to sand it to a point again to get by for a while.. Just place a sandpaper maybe around 220 grit or finer on a flat surface and sand each side of the wedge to get the rounded off part of it back to a point.. It is a fine point too. almost to a sharp edge.. Another issue can be the upper arm where that wedge I previously discussed can also be worn.. depending on age of the saw.. some of them the wedge rides right onto the saws upper arm, while other saws have a round insert that is replaceable.. IF you have the older style you may need to take the arm off and send it to Bushton.. they'll drill it out IF it's not worn so bad and make it so you can put those replaceable inserts in it. NOW for the most likely problem.. There is a cam on the front of the upper arm on the tension lever and those wear out.. Really going to depend on what vintage saw you have.. as there are different styles. The newer styles will have a set screw to adjust the "locking position" on the lever for the cam. It's a very small set screw and hard to see.. but look on the bottom of the upper arm just below where the lever goes into the arm.. there will be a tiny hole there where you can adjust the locking position. This should have some tension on it and not fall freely to the top of the upper arm. Without a blade in the saw move the lever as if you was applying tension to a blade. You should get some resistance in the lever before it reaches all the way to the arm. Properly adjusted it should have some resistance about 1/8" - 1/4 before touching the upper arm. IF you have no adjustment allen screw you'll have to replace the cam assembly.. I suggest getting the upgraded one that has the set screw.. The upgraded kit comes with a whole new front assembly with new style blade clamp etc.. It cost $50 and very well worth it.. I'll see if I can post some pictures a little later today to show the locations of the set screw and the position of the tension lever when it's adjusted correctly. I do have a busy day ahead of me so we'll see if I actually get time to do this, LOL

I'd send an email with the link to the video if you haven't already..

Think your speed controller is gone bad.. Ray probably has one in stock and could probably send one in the mail right away.. Though the mail is being slow as ever lately.. If you have a air compressor you might try blowing some air to see if maybe it just got some dust in it.. Don't blow at high pressure though.. maybe 10 - 20 psi at most.

Looks like a job for the bandsaw to me, LOL.. Or as Jerry said.. cut slightly oversized and sand to the size you need..

It's MDF core and if I remember correctly it comes in oak, maple and hickory for matching the more common cabinets. I've used it in the past, didn't know lowes and the like carried it though.. I've always bought it at my local lumber yard.. Some of the less common materials is actually laminated with like wall paper type material rather than actual wood material so watch out for that.. maybe it's just a cheaper version? Not sure but some of the stuff I've seen is real wood ( plywood ) and others is ply but just cheap stuff with a wall paper type laminate to resemble the wood type.

Wow! That is very nicely done.. One of these type clocks has been on my bucket list for a while.. Where is the pattern from? I have a few patterns from the Cherry Tree patterns set I bought on a CD when they was going out of business.. There are like 1800 patterns on it.. I've done maybe 100 of them, LOL

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.. I may try it with just the 1/8 BB ply I have and see how it goes.. Honestly it doesn't need to be wood I suppose since I planned on painting it. I'm just not sure what's out there that's reasonably priced.. Edit to add: I made these ornaments on my laser... and would likely cut the backer on the laser too. The original design was for a large wall hanging but I resized these to be about 4- 3/4 tall.. The design also had a slightly larger backer.. I didn't intend to make the backers but the detail is so small that they're hard to see good without a contrasting color on the back.. So that is why I was wanting the thin ply to use as a backer and paint it.. I may scrap the whole idea and just make them the wall hangings that they was designed to be.. I just like to "try" to make things different than the original design.. I purchased a bundle pack of these themed crosses ( about 75 different designs ) that was designed for laser / cnc.. and just playing.. I think most of these could be scroll sawn as well.. I know they could with slight modifications.. Not sure they could be this small sized though..

I'm sure I've seen mention of real thin plywood... looking online at some of the wood suppliers etc.. the thinnest ply I've seen is 1/8" Anyone know a source for thin ply.. I had 1/16 or similar in mind.. but anything less than 1/8 could be considered. I have some ornament designs that I've thought about making backer for that could be painted.. While 1/8 would work I think it would also make the ornament kind of bulky and heavier.. while I have made ornaments from 1/4 and it worked well.. I just thought if there was a thin ply that could be used to cut the ornament and then use the 1/8" as a backer would make a nice slim ornament.

Walmart isn't messing around... this stuff is good.. If it wasn't in this box I wouldn't know it was there..

We have the suppliers list right here on the village.. It's under the resources tab. https://www.scrollsawvillage.com/suppliers/

May have been me that suggested it but I don't believe in masking the problem without trying to level the stand out to the floor and tuning the saw etc. first.. It really amazes me how out of level a good looking concrete floor can be even if it's a nice "looking level" floor you might think you have.. as I said.. If my Hawk gets bumped slightly it's throw everything out of wack and you might think it's a bad bearing or something but then kinda kick outward on the stand legs and it settles right back in.. runs smooth again. Rolf mentions this quite often too.. again.. the parallel link arm saws are not nearly as picky as these Hawks and I assume Hegners are about being on a level surface. But if you put a stand together in one shop and then move to another.. it may need to have the stand loosened up and have it settled into the new spot..

I think they may have shut down.. I don't know for sure but I noticed the site has been down for quite some time now.. You can get your blades from @Denny Knappen he has great customer service and quick on getting orders out in the mail etc. He is a member here on the Village too. Last couple times I needed blades I ordered from Hawk as I was getting parts anyway but I normally go through Denny.. Switched from DnD to Denny a couple years ago.. because he was here in the forums regularly and I like to support the small business's Edit to add link: https://www.artcraftersonline.com/

Is it not good smooth level concrete? I don't have the issues on concrete but I will say.. when I went to look at the first hawk I bought the guy had a wood floor and had bolted a sheet on 3/4 - 1" plywood on the bottom of the saw.. that thing was horrible with vibration.. Unbolting the plywood and loosen up the stand in my shop where i planned to park it.. let everything kind of level itself out and then retightening the stand made the saw as smooth as a sewing machine.. IF for some reason the saw gets bumped and knocked out of that spot.. It'll pick up some minimal vibration.. and I have a brand new concrete slab in my new shop that is pretty level.. doesn't take much of a change to make a saw pick up some vibration / noise.. Those parallel link arm saws run really smooth but will make noises like this when they get moved out of their spot.. You mentioned the saw had been in storage, I don't know if you moved the saw or not.. I think loosening up the stand bolts and wiggle the saw around a bit so it'll settle into the parked spot and then tighten up the bolts might do the needed trick.. On my Hawks.. I bought the little rubber feet that can bolt to the legs and can be adjusted by the two nuts on the stud and can basically level my saw to its spot where ever in the shop I want it to be.. My new shop isn't nearly as picky about it as my old shop is.. as the new shop had the concrete work done by the pro's and the old shop I did it myself..

When I was using the sprays all the time I tried a can of this and it was actually one of my favorite ones.. I just always had a harder time finding this in my area..

Yeah, I don't need one either, just thought I'd share if anyone was thinking of buying a new one soon.. This is the cheapest you'll get until they get the price changed anyway.. IF I buy a new saw it'll be another Hawk..

Welcome to the village!! Look forward to seeing some of your projects.

Don't buy from this site, You'll spend your money and get no pattern. The owner of this site was a older gentleman that I used to deal with a lot.. his wife and him went to a assisted living home and the website sets here in limbo with nobody running it.. So it'll take your payment but not ever get your pattern.. as nobody on the working end of this website to mail out your pattern to you.

Pegas recently raised the prices and most of the places that offer them is now $940 ish .. I was just looking at some CNC stuff on woodcraft website and thought I'd look at the scroll saws they offer.. Didn't know they sold Pegas saws.. They have not raised the price yet.. $820.. It says they are out of stock but should ship in mid Oct. I put it in my shopping cart to see if they'd change the price or even let me buy since they're back ordered.. I was surprised to see that for me.. shipping is only like $38 + a $10 freight charge Edit to add the link. https://www.woodcraft.com/products/pegas-21-scroll-saw-machine-pegas

You're in a great area to be able to do that.. Most my woodworking stuff was used OR refurbished.. I wanted a BM series Hawk for a long time.. waited 3 years for a used one to show up.. didn't happen and I was in a position to need to make some money disappear or pay higher taxes so I bought new.. The CNC, BM series Hawk, and Grizzly Bandsaw are the only new things I've bought.. Rest was used and refurb. Looking on craigslist and FB for your area though.. I could have bought more than the entire shop + if I lived in your area.. But I'll keep my cost of living in my area and the country any day over a city type living. You can have all the good deals, I'll suffer having to buy what I want new if needed, LOL Come think of it.. the two other Hawks, EX-21, drill press, chop saw, jointer, and planer all add up to about the same price I paid for the one Hawk, LOL

Okay, after watching this a few more times and realizing that adding weight to the table makes me have to ask.. Is the stands legs planted firmly on the floor? Also is it backed up against a wall or touching any other tools or bench etc. ? That play is a little on the excessive side but they all have "some" play in those link ends as there are around 20 pivot points and bearings.. to more you have the more just a smidgen of wear on each one will translate to a fair amount way out at the end of the arms where the blade is.. I just rebuilt my saw and it has not quite as much slop as yours has but still a fair amount.. You don't get that kind of slop with a saw that only has two pivot points for wear to set in until they are really worn.. Since it stops when adding some pressure / weight to the table tells me your stand isn't planted to the floor real good. You may try to run it and sort of hit / kick / bump whatever you want to call it at the stands legs hard enough to slightly move the saw.. It may find a resting spot and stop doing this. IF this is new sound since adding the Pegas chucks you may have bumped the stand while working on it just enough to slightly move it out of level.. I almost always do that when trying to work on my saw.. If it were a bad bearing it probably wouldn't matter if you put weight on it or not.. the sound would still be there.. might change tone but would still be there..

Sorry to hear you've had to change it up.. Maybe God showing you it's time for new products. I can't wait to see what it is you've come up with to make now..

Yeah, that's what my saw was doing.. and it was the bearings in the back of the saw by the motor.. By the looks of the table it has had a lot of use.. If it's never been apart and had grease added or new bearings installed then I'd almost bet that is the issue.. If it's not the issue right now, I'm thinking it's coming sooner than later. Ray sells the whole assembly with bearings already pressed in and it's not too hard of a job to do really. I did it a year ago and posted a lot of photos.. Parts was like $120 that made my saw brand new again..