Bill WIlson

Thanks for the update. It's good to hear from someone with a considerable amount of time on this saw. I too have historically given the side eye to Harbor Freight power tools, but have to admit, they seem to have significantly upped their game and kept prices reasonable. I have a 3 yr old Dewalt and a 2016 Excalibur, so I don't anticipate ever needing to buy another scroll saw, but if I did, I'd have to think long & hard as to why I shouldn't get the Bauer.

Nice work. Personally I think it could look great in a frame.

Where I worked, we used lots of them, but we did a lot of electronic assembly with very small fasteners. I don't remember where we got them, but I'm pretty sure McMaster-Carr would have some.

If you are using pan head screws, you could add a washer or 2, either underneath the screw head or under the hanger.

Truly a sad day in the world of scrollsawing. RIP Steve Good and prayers of comfort to his family.

I've made stand up puzzles to donate to Toys for Tots for several years. I've never sold any. I used to dip them in BLO, but it took so long for the smell to go away. I put the assembled puzzles in a ziplock bag, on a still piece of cardstock, with a copy of the pattern, in case they had trouble figuring out how they went together. I'd have to make them in the Summer to have them ready by December. LOL I also discovered (via my grand kids) that children like to color these themselves, using paints or markers, whatever is appropriate and permitted. So I started leaving them natural so that if the kids wanted to color them, they could.

I'm going to have to look into that. I had a couple different lifters when I had my first Dewalt. The Jim Dandy was the original and on the saw when I sold it several years ago. I also had a DIY kit that one of our scroll saw club members had put together. I never put it on the saw, but as JT said, they're fairly simple and made from readily available hardware. It went along with that first Dewalt. Now that I have another Dewalt, as my back-up saw, I miss the lift. I haven't used it much, so I haven't made replacing the lifter a priority, but it's taking up space in the back of my mind.

I agree with the others, no need to get into a rebuild unless you are having vibration and knocking issues. Sending it to Seyco for a rebuild is probably cost prohibitive. I replaced the linkage in mine a few years ago and had a couple conversations with Ray Seymour. He told me that shipping it to him would be a last resort only, because it would be really expensive. If necessary, you can always call Ray and he will walk you through the steps so you can make repairs yourself. The instructions that came with the parts I replaced were pretty good. Blow the dust out of the switch, but keep it connected to the foot switch. I did that years ago with my old Dewalt and put one on my EX-21. I would never go back, even if there was never a problem with the switch. As for the blade slipping, there are a few steps you can take to remedy that problem. First and easiest is to dress the ends of the thumbscrew with some sandpaper. Just scuff the surface, no need to grind them down. Next would be to get tip replacements for the thumbscrews. Still relatively cheap and simple. You could upgrade to the Pegas blade clamps, if all else fails. Might cost you about $100 or so, but a lot of users seem to like them better than OEM blade clamps.

Steve is one of the best resources for scrollers that the Internet has to offer. Here are my best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery.

I can't tell you what blade to use. All I can do is tell you what blade I would use and why. I have an EX-21 and have the blade travel dialed in to the least amount of forward & backward motion possible. I would use an FD #1 Ultra reverse. I find them to be very controllable, but also cut well and stay sharp longer than some other blades I've used. For text like that, control is more important than speed & aggressiveness, IMHO. They require precision or it shows up very quickly in the lettering. The FD #1 will easily cut the 1/4" poplar.

The finish product you are using determines what to use to thin it. Each product should state what is appropriate in the instructions, on the can. As a general rule of thumb, mineral spirits are commonly used to thin oil based finishes, such as poly. Denatured alcohol is the common thinner/solvent for shellac and Lacquer thinner is the thinner/solvent for lacquer. According to Jeff Jewitt, in his book The Complete Guide to Finishing, you should not thin waterborne finishes more than 5 to 10%. Bob Flexner, in his book Understanding Wood Finishing, says you can thin using up to 20% distilled water. Finishes, such as oil based polyurethane (varnish) & shellac can be thinned to most any level desired. I am less familiar with lacquer, so I won't comment other than to say that the brushing lacquer I've used in the past tended to be pretty thin right out of the can. A retarder is often used to slow the drying of lacquer, but this is not the same as a thinner. I probably wouldn't go more than 50/50 proportion on shellac or any oil based finish. Less solvent if I'm brushing than if I am wiping the finish on. It isn't an exact science. Of course, the higher the proportion of solvent, the more coats you will need to apply to get the same level of protection/sheen as un-thinned finish. Again, the instructions on the can should say what to use to thin the finish.

I was thinking more along the lines of lumber grading. Sapwood is considered a defect when grading hardwood for purposes such as cabinet and furniture making. For the hobbiest, making craft type projects, sapwood can certainly be used.

Generally speaking, sapwood isn't the most desirable. That isn't to say that it can't be used. I've made a couple frames out of cherry and used sapwood. Not exclusively, but allowing the narrow stripes of white sapwood to contrast against the dark reddish/brown of the cherry. I thought it gave the wood character and liked the look. It worked...for that particular project. I wouldn't necessarily use it that way all the time. Is the sapwood cheaper at Ocooch? I presume it would be. if so, it may be a way to save a little $$ when buying wood. Sapwood is usually narrow strips of lighter colored wood, on the edges of the board and if not desired, you could easily cut it out of the board, using only the heartwood portion and still end up being cheaper than buying #1 select grade, with no sapwood. Something to consider.

I've never used Tru-Oil, but from what I can tell, it is simply an oil/varnish mix, much like a Danish Oil. The composition may be designed to maximize certain qualities that are preferred for gun stocks, but it appears to be some mixture of an oil like linseed or tung, mixed with a little varnish and thinner. This is the classic recipe for Danish Oil, so there is nothing wrong with using it on any type of wood project where an oil/varnish blend is appropriate. Be aware that manufacturers like to make woodworkers think their products are some sort of exclusive blend of ingredients with near magical properties. The truth is that usually it's a lot of marketing hype. You don't have to use "gun stock oils" on gun stocks and "gun stock oils" aren't exclusively for use on just gun stocks. Gun stock oils are made with much the same ingredients as many other common woodworking finishes and gun stocks are wood. Understand the qualities of the finish and choose the appropriate one based on those properties, as well as factors such as cost, ease of application and availability rather than marketing hype.

Re the bolded sentence above, "necessary" to accomplish what? If it is to keep dust off, then I would guess that your framing technique should be adequate. I don't think coating with varnish will add anything. If it's for appearance, then "necessary" is totally subjective.