hotshot

When I bought my Rikon Bandsaw at Woodcraft, there was the usual group of guys shooting the bull at the counter, but one guy went out of his way to help me out and get the saw loaded. I think people are people no-matter where they work, so some will be better than others. That not to say that they will be competent, that is an entirely different issue. I don't expect the people that work there to have anything but basic "feature" knowledge. The scroll saw "enthusiast" will always have much more knowledge than an salesman (even if they have a scroll saw and use it occasionally). I don't trust anyone for scroll saw insight/advise that hasn't drank the "Kool Aid". That is where Seyco shines, they became part of the cult years ago.

Yep, my thoughts were a bit disjointed, sorry about that. Amazing Kevin from Fl has a collection of used up saws. The Scrollsaw Dr is in Atlanta, which is considerably closer, but not really close enough, but could probably bring all Kevins saws back to life. Here is the four part series. I believe he details all the parts he uses in these refurbs. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Very true, but Kevin has a whole graveyard full of these. Have you seen his videos on youtube? I suspect you could probably reach out to him for advise via email. If anyone is in the Atlanta users group, you might give us some insight.

The problem with he Hegner business model is that they almost never wear out. So as new Hegners enter the market, the old Hegner, which are almost identical, are also still in the market, albeit at a much lower price. Since they don't make significant upgrades to their designs, there isn't a whole lot of advantage of buying a new Hegner to replace the almost identical old one, so Hegner owners just hang on to the one they already own. Each of our Hegners may very well have a useful life that goes deep into the next generation. It's kind of neat in a way to thing that investment will outlast us. I assume eventually the motors will fail, so when that happens, there will be owners not willing to fork out the money for a new motor, then those saws will die for good, but motor failures are so rare, who knows how long that will be. It is possible that the Hegner company will fail at some point, but who knows, they might introduce their first top feeding model 200 years from now. -----Randy

The "Dewalt Doctor" in Atlanta has become very good at this. It would be interesting to take of few of these loose saws to him to see how he handles the various things that go wrong. -----Randy

Found Stoneys' modification explanation on our sister site: https://forum.scrollsawer.com/forum/scroll-saw/tools-and-blades/50062-a-few-modifications-to-a-hegner I also heard of someone getting a standard thumbscrew to work on the bottom, If the QuickClamp would work down there, seems like top feeding would be practical with this mod.

Threads in this forum slip into oblivion after a short run, so this might not be the best place to document your process/modifications, but it would be good if you did a walkthrough where it could easily be found going forward. Hegner review don't seem like quite the right place, but maybe it as as close as we get here. I remember you posting, on sswc I think, back when you originally did the mod.

Yep, this change to their design would be so very easy for Hegner to make, and it would not affect their backwards parts compatibility. Since they almost never change their design, I'm surprised they added the insert and changed the dust collection mechanisms. Even though those changes seem to indicate that are willing to make small tweaks, I wouldn't hold my breath. Since the vendor is German, it's not obvious how to get that feedback to the right person in that company. My saw has been out of warranty for longer than my adult children have been alive . . . so I could make the change I suppose, but I'm not doing fretwork on that saw, so I really don't have the need right now. -----Randy

Just a note about Hegner saw modification, if your saw is still under warranty, I would not modify it as any unauthorized modification voids the warranty. However, there is a chance Advanced would allow it, but I would ask first. I suspect they would not consent to the kind of modification allowed to raise the arm higher, but I could be wrong. -------Randy

You definitely did your due diligence in looking. It will be interesting to get your perspective after a few months of use. At 6hrs/day, you will be able to do the common tasks with your eyes closed by then. ----------Randy

The show was huge. Buy huge, I mean most of the town. There was a line of cars waiting to get into town and the last few miles probably took 40 or more minutes as traffic was backed up. I understand there was over 1000 vendors, and it was tight, down almost every street, alley, nic and cranny. The number of people there was astounding. There were more concession vendors than at the state fair. Most of the vendors were selling clothing and such, obviously not created by the vendor. A lot of cheap jewelry, fidget spinners, soap, candles, plasma cut metal signs, knives. Some of the vendors you could tell just traveled show to show, to show like carnies, selling novelties. On the handcraft front, there was a section in the middle of town dedicated to handcrafted products. There was a woodworking there that did a lot of carvings, very very intricate stuff. He also had some scroll saw stuff, and I ask him which scroll saw he used. He said he built it himself. Pretty neat. That was an craftsman of a different level. Saw some original glass artists, and a guy that made knives from ground up, including the sheaths. I found some other scroll saw stuff spread around, but more laser cut than anything. Saw something else I thought was interesting, there were pieces that were obviously not scroll saw, but also not laser (no burning around edges). I think these pieces were "punched", though could have been some sort of water jet or something, I'm not sure. This trend to me is more concerning than the laser cut stuff because besides the low price, there were not a lot to indicates how it was made. Maybe a few of us try to pull enough work together next year to go split a booth :-)

My coins don't take up very much space, so my booth would have to be really really small, or else I would have to build up an incredible inventory. I think a better choice for me might be to piggy back off of another exhibitor that does more traditional wood projects, at least until I see if the coils will sell in that setting.

Any one exhibiting in BellBuckle, TN tomorrow? It supposed to be a very large show, and since it is close to where I live, going to take a trip over to check it out.

That turned out very good

Powerful, but incredibly sad!

For the cost, Hegner should give the motor that same 7 yr warrantee. But, the motor, switch, speed control, wiring are only one year. These are the components most likely to fail in the short term. These motors are pretty good in general, so one year on those componets sends the wrong message. If you keep it oiled, there is not much else to go wrong on a Hegner. I think all Hegner’s besides the Polymax use the same motor, so if my motor goes at some point, I would steal the motor from the 14”, and junk that saw. I’m curious about one of the features labeled “dual dynamic tensioning”. It says tension can be adjusted while the saw is running full speed. Are they talking about trying to grab that back knob and turn it? If that is what they are talking about, at 1700 spn, that sounds possible perhaps, but unpleasant.

I found out about Polyethylene watching someone finish a pen with CA. I experimented trying to use CA as a finish on regular wood, with less than ideal results. I'll probably try again at some point

I get your point, and you are right. That is one of the reasons I moved one of my saws in the house, right in the open living room/kitchen, the hub of family activity with the TV/Games, Kitchen, Studying, and etc. (remember, dust isn't a problem with coin cutting) I do think spending a reasonable amount of time in the shop maybe helpful in some circumstances. There are more than a few marriages that end when the husband retires and comes home, suffocating the wife by always been "there". Different wives have different needs. Like most stuff in life, I think there is a balance, and that balance might not be at the same pivot point for everyone. In that same line of thinking, how many wives would love to have their husbands in the shop, instead of glued to football, or glued to TV? One more thought, in many households, "crafts" are the domain of the wives. Seems like there would be a greater percentage of scrolling couples!

Hey Tony. Like many scrollers, I was used to using 3M77 to apply my patterns, but for coin cutting, this is a disaster on multiple accounts. When you scroll small metal, the metal heats up. With very little heat, 3M77 abandons it's post and sets my patterns free. Also, oil dissolves 3M77 as easy as mineral spirits, and without oils, it is very difficult to drill holes without messing up my bits. So CA does a couple of really neat things for me. With a good amount of CA, it holds the pattern down very well. My recent discovery, use more CA than you think you should. Then the second trick, after the CA dries, I apply another coat to the top of the pattern to protect it from getting messed up. Oil on paper makes it nasty, but CA protects it pretty good. Here is one last secret that almost no one knows: CA doesn't really stick to Polyethylene, and Polyethylene disposable gloves are really cheap. You won't find them in Harbor freight, but is easily found on Amazon. Then when I'm done, I just toss the coins into a bottle of Acetone, and 20 minutes later, the CA is gone.

Started with the easiest stuff to warm up. 4 Down, 17 to go.

No worries, you can't hurt a Hegner! :-)

I find it extremely easy and exciting to sit down at a project that has already been prepped drilled and ready to cut, even if I only have a few minutes here and there. But if things aren't ready to go, I put it off because I have to go find a pattern, print, cut out, find a coin and clean it, then ca glue it, then mark the holes with a punch, oil, then drill . . . . The process is messy, time consuming, and I have to be in "work clothes that I can't ruin" So, knowing that I have a lot that I need to cut, and having some spare time this weekend, I hunkered down and prepped 21 coins with various patterns, and they are ready to cut. Now, in theory, I can set down at the saw and cut away, 30 minutes here, 10 minutes there, whenever I can. Time will tell how effective that approach is. At my normal prices, this stack, once cut, is worth over $500 (If I don't give too many away).

Your problem is that you got spoiled by the 788/EX style saws :-) Your are right, those swinging clamps are very awkward, and it really really really bothered me, at least at first. Given a choice, I would prefer stationary clamps, but it becomes less an issue the more time I have on the saw. The part of the blade changes that I thought was most awkward, was getting that blade down into the little hole on the top of the bottom clamp. I found out that if you lean that bottom clamp over, you can rotate the clamp up, slipping that blade into the hole every time, as easy as cake, so my biggest complaint became a non-issue once I figured that out. How was the vibration in the 7 to 7.5 range? My Hawk does pretty decently outside the 7 to 7.5 range. Not as smooth as the Ex, but pretty darn good considering the amount of mass that saw is throwing around. The saw is not useable inside the harmonic range. Unfortunately, that harmonic range seem to be right where my comfort zone is for speed, so avoiding that range keeps me a little off balance. I'm still getting used to that. ----Randy

Very cool, it's great when folks customize their saw to their own needs. In my own case, I don't think I could replace my table. The missing paint is a badge of honor :-)

What does the top clamp look like on your model of Hawk? Does it match your bottom clamp by chance? If so, your saw might be able to use these cheaper blades without any modifications (other than shortening them)