jerry1939

The picture on the right appears to have perfect lighting. Great job Buddy. Thanks for sharing.

Re: Un-tensioning the blade. Decades ago, someone decided that prolonged tension on a piece of steel is detrimental. That thought is being followed by many to this day, and also appears in many operators manuals. I personally do not subscribe to that theory. For example: 1. I have owned the same bandsaw for 16 years and have never released the tension. I have worn out many blades, but never broke one. 2. Concrete is high in compression strength and low in tensile strength. Concrete bridges and overpasses are held up by the steel that is tensioned in the bottom of the concrete bridges. That steel has been in constant tension since the day they were poured. Therefore it would be wise not to drive on a concrete bridge. 3. If you believe that tensioned steel is a bad thing, jack up your car every night and suspend set it on blocks, thereby lengthening the life of the suspension system. I don't see a need to release the blade tension on a scroll saw, but everyone is certainly free to do whatever they feel comfortable with. I'm off of my soapbox now. jerry

Unfortunately, you are correct. Same is true with a Delta and possibly others. I greased my Delta "out of the box' and again after 1 year. Well worth the time. jerry

I started out with a $69 Performax saw (They are not made anymore.) Went to Goodwill and bought a child size bicycle for (5 or $6 ??) and used the clamp that held the seat height. It was an improvement over using the T wrench to clamp the blade, but a little cumbersome. jerry

Here is something I was taught many years ago. If you cannot find what you are searching for, you might be entering too much information. Try eliminating some of the words for your search. It's possible that you might be eliminating yourself. On a different note: If you have a tracking number for something you ordered (i.e. FedEx, UPS, U.S. Postal service) just copy and paste that number on Google. It will recognize it and take you directly to the site. This sometimes works with a Repair Part Number, but not always. One time a son of ours entered a part number. The computer thought it was a math problem and spit out the answer. jerry

Hi Rocky, Recently I joined Facebook. Now I stay logged on, but originally I had a similar problem when trying to log in. Turned out that some low IQ person on the other end switched wording on the log in boxes. I entered my Username in the Password Box and my Password in the Username box and lived happily ever after. Hope this helps you Sir. jerry

Danny, I ALWAYS use a 1/4" backer and cut the front piece out of 1/8" (Usually with a sacrifice luan ply on top.) I drill and saw a 1/4" high oval in the backer, because a lot of designs will not hang straight. Will sometimes tweak the fret design to be able to hide the slot. The oval slot gives an infinite adjustment, as opposed to a sawtooth hanger. Some people put the sawtooth on with the smooth side down for the same effect. The method I use lets the piece hang flat against the wall, if that matters to you. Also, with the whole thing against the wall it is less likely to move "out of plumb" when someone closes a door in the house. jerry

Muy Bien Amigo jerry

Kevin, Ditto

Dave, Your Mother or mine ever said that life would be (fair)(easy)

Saw is back together and humming nicely. Put new lock nuts on bolts that are enclosed in the back case. Also, a year ago it sheared the bolt between the connecting rod and the back rocker arm. Replaced it with stainless steel which is harder. Will take the tires off and put it up on blocks for the winter. I have watched that video and a couple of others. They all seem to "forget" to show you what a struggle it is to take apart certain items and put them back together.

Nice setup! I also do woodcarving. Cut basswood with a bandsaw. That creates a fine, sticky sawdust that coats EVERYTHING. Screwed 2X4s to the ceiling and hung a blue tarp to form 2 sides in the corner of the garage. For the "door" side flap, I bolted a 1X4 on each side of the bottom for weight. The belt sander is also in there. Being Catholic, we refer to it as a Confessional. Normally I work with the garage door closed, as our condo unit has the detached garages in a row. One time I just went out there briefly to use the sander for just a second and didn't close the garage door. Just as I was coming out of the enclosure, a young Lady walked by, looked in and saw me coming out. She got the prettiest smile on her face. I'm pretty sure she thought she knew what I just finished doing in there. jerry

I have quit sawing for the season (read Iowa winter.) Started taking my Delta apart to grease it. There is a spacer on the end of each bushing. Need to take a screwdriver and pry like heck to get the blade clamps off of the rocker arms. Next to impossible to reassemble. Same with most of the other bearings. The videos I watch show them taking these off fairly easily, but on none of the videos do they want to show themselves putting these back together. My question: Do I really need the washers on the ends of the bushings? Thanks for your input. jerry

A little different suggestion; With FD UR blades (& maybe others, but that's mostly what I use), as you face the blade, the sharp side of the blade is on your right. Feed so that you use the sharp side to make your corner. You will notice a big difference if you try to get the "dull" side to chew it's way around the corner. jerry

There is a countless number of tremendously talented scrollers on this site. I still struggle to make it up to the mediocre level. However, I firmly believe that people that always set their tension to the same number each time, are doing themselves a disservice. To teach your self how (especially the newcomers), clamp in your blade without any wood. "FEEL" how much tension you put on the lever to get the ping sound from the blade. If you don't get the sound you want, release the tension & re-tension until you feel the resistance needed on the knob. Each time you move the blade to a new hole, ONLY tension to the feel that you learned. If you tension to the same number each time, here is what happens; When you clamp the blade, the hole in the wood will never be in perfect alignment with the clamps. As a result, as you start tensioning to your "favorite number" the first part of the lever movement aligns the wood. It is only after that you are actually applying tension. You can bet the grocery money that you are not getting the tension you got when you first tensioned without any wood. Each time you move to the next hole, tension by the feel of the lever. IT WILL BECOME AUTOMATICLLY TO YOU! Depending on how far out of alignment you were, you will almost always end up on a different number. Don't get hung up on a certain number. jerry

The "tension numbers" are just a silly thing the manufacturer puts on the machine, and are best ignored. IF you install a blade and set the tension to a number you like, THE NEXT TIME YOU MOVE THE BLADE TO A DIFFERENT HOLE, YOU WILL CLAMP IT A TINY BIT HIGHER OR LOWER THAN "YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER." Instead, clamp the blade and move the knob to where you feel a good tension. Some of you folks are stressing about something that has very little significance. I am done ranting now. jerry

I'm too lazy to go out to the workshop and take a picture, but it was posted years ago. I made "a spice rack," and use empty water bottles. Printed blade style & size and taped it on the bottles. The bottles have indented rings. I put a rubber band around the top & bottom. Store "slightly used" blades under the rubber bands. Also, when changing blade style, I put that bottle in the rack upside down, and can see at a glance where to find a match, when that blade wears out. jerry

Most people guessed carpet. You stated that you use it when you go INTO your shop. Are you keeping your shop cleaner than your house is? jerry

I am well pleased with mine. I think with most brands, unpack it and start it to make sure it runs OK. Next, disassemble it and apply synthetic grease to all the bearings. That is one area where the manufacturers gyp you. In doing so, you will need to remove the nut from the motor shaft. THAT IS A LEFT HANDED THREAD !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Schematics for the Dewalt 788 and the Delta appear that they are identical. Price and color are different. jerry

Outstanding. Give yourself a high five. For the amount of time that some of you put into small details like this, I cannot fathom why you don't put 1 or 2 sacrifice boards with the stack. Run the grain of the sacrifice board opposite that of the piece(s) you want. Darn cheap insurance that you keep the fragile pieces sandwiched in place. Now I will try to get off of my soapbox without falling down. jerry

I just found out that I posted the wrong catalog that I bought this plan from. It should have been listed as: http://www.scrolleronline.com/ Type in "Forest Wren Bowl" Only an idiot would make that mistake. jerry

Outstanding Sir. It's always refreshing to run across a person like you that can THINK, DO A GREAT JOB OF SAWING & CHEW GUM, all at the same time. jerry

Some time ago I made a basket from a Wooden Teddy Bear plan. We like it, but it was a real pain to glue the sides together and in alignment. Am making 2 more to give to siblings, but wanted to stack cut. On the patterns. I took a pencil & ruler and extended the lines that were to be beveled. For the layer(s) below, I put on plain paper and assembled the stack. Did the interior cuts and also sawed straight in on the extended lines, but stopped 3/8" from the pattern. Look at the photo of the white paper. I removed the pattern from the top piece so that it would photograph. For the photo, I used a black marker to show where I made the alignment cuts. Took apart the stack and drew lines between the alignment cuts. Now I could bevel every layer. Another photo shows a gluing jig I made. For the original basket, it was very frustrating for the wife & I to glue & tape the joints. We ended up using canned goods to "help." At the end of the day today, I glued the first joint. Took an hour to get the smile off of my face. Hope there is something here of value to someone else. jerry

No help to you on this one. What works for me is to make the interior cuts. Glue the fret piece to the backer, put a bigger, thicker board on top with a LOT of weight on it. It will glue together flat. Next day, cut the perimeter. Hope this helps next time Friend. jerry

This brings up a thought. (I rarely have this happen.) Perhaps all of us with that type of fuse & cap should tape the cap on. Could save the hassle that Dan had. jerry