Bill WIlson

There are a number of ways, but the one I've settled on is to use hot glue. Works best if all the blanks are the same size. I clamp them with several spring clamps, making sure all the edges are even, then run beads of hot glue across the edges. This works best with smaller blanks. Once they get too large, then you may need to attach them in the middle someplace.

Welcome back. Acrylic paint, applied directly on BB ply will raise the grain and leave a pretty rough surface, so prepping with a sanding sealer or even a coat of shellac will help achieve a smoother finish. It might take an extra coat or two of the paint to get good coverage, but it will be worth it.

If you are looking for a specific blade for this task, consider what attributes are required and which blade brings the most to the party. Fast cutting of thick material, with little concern for backside tearout or even how well the blade tracks. The above criteria would imply a large, aggressive blade. Looking at blade charts, you could probably start at a #7 and go up from there. As for tooth configuration, try to pick the one with the lowest TPI count. A skip tooth blade will have fewer teeth per inch than a crown tooth or reverse tooth blade. Bottom line, roughing out blanks is a pretty simple task. You aren't spending hours performing this task. Precision & appearance of the cut aren't big concerns. You literally could use anything that cuts wood. Don't over think it.

For me, it's when I see smoke rising from the cut. Seriously, as the others have mentioned, it's more of a feel thing than any sort of measurable condition. I suppose, under controlled testing circumstances, one could arrive at some sort of objective standard as to when a blade arrives at a particular state of dull, but there are so many variables at play, that this would prove difficult to measure, in practical terms. Most scrollers learn to gauge it by how the blade is performing, in the moment. Blades aren't always consistent. Sometimes a brand new blade will seem to last indefinitely and sometimes a different blade, from the same pack will under-perform almost right away.

I've never tried one of these (deburring tool) on wood, but they perform a similar function on metal. I wonder if this would work?

Several factors come into play with compound cut patterns. You mentioned 3 of them; blade square to the table, proper blade and not pushing sideways. Those are very important. Another is to make sure the blank is absolutely square. If you buy your wood already to thickness or mill your own, it is critical that the sides be square to one another, especially the corner that the pattern is mounted to. Also, take great care in how you mount the pattern. Make absolutely sure that you fold the pattern exactly along the line indicated and when you attach it to the blank, make sure the fold is placed precisely on the corner of the blank. Any mis-alignment will result in an out of square cut, no matter how well everything else is set up. As for the blade, a skip tooth blade is preferable for compound cutting. Reverse teeth are not necessary for compound cuts and do not clear dust from the kerf nearly as well as skip tooth. The size will depend partially on the material and thickness being cut, but a #5 should be adequate for most applications.

You probably won't bring anyone to blows with this topic, but you may get a lot of varied opinions. I usually buy my blades from Wooden Teddy Bear (Olson and Flying Dutchman). They will let you mix & match sizes within the same brand, if you buy a gross, to get a better price, (maybe mix brands as well, not sure). I've watched the trends of blade preferences over many years. When I started scrolling some 25+ years ago, I used Olson. Guys in my scroll saw club started migrating to Flying Dutchman about 15-20 years ago. The past few years have seen a similar move to Pegas. I did notice a fair difference between Olson and FD, at least in some of the sizes/types. I've tried a few Pegas and frankly haven't noticed a big improvement in speed, durability or cut quality over FD, but that is only my general impression with a very limited sample size. Many others swear by them. It is very much a matter of personal preference, as I am not aware of any sort of controlled testing that has been done that would objectively prove one was better than another.

I also use newspaper. For those under the age of 40, newspapers are what your ancestors used to line bird cages with.

For the most part, the scroll sawing on basic bowl shapes is fairly straight forward. To make these bowls, one must have a pretty high tolerance for sanding though.

Thanks Dick, that's the kind of info I was looking for.

That's been well established, at least if forum posts over the past couple years are any indication. I'm just looking for the "why".

What was the biggest difference? I'm not having any problems, per se. Of course I get the occasional blade slip and then I dress the screw tip and go on, until it begins again. I get a little vibration, with some blade speeds, but that is typical of most variable speed saws. At the moment, I don't intend to replace my clamps, but I'm leaving the option open, if I'm convinced that upgrading to the Pegas would be demonstrably better.

Is there any evidence that this is actually a benefit and if so, how much? I know it sounds logical that it would reduce wear and vibration, but is there anything other than anecdotal evidence to that effect? Even Steve Good, in his review, while conceding that less weight was probably better, seemed less than convinced that there was real, measurable benefit from the lighter clamps. Again, I'm not trying to run down the Pegas clamps. Lots of folks like them and there must be good reason. I'm just trying to understand if there is a practical benefit to replacing the clamps on my EX-21.

Rolf, I gotta hand it to you You have officially taken glue application to a whole new level.

Yes, I get it that the clamp bodies are better, but if the problem addressed in the OP is with the clamp screw and the set screw , then I submit that the Pegas clamps will eventually exhibit the same blade slipping problem. Thus, based on that narrow criteria alone, are no better than stock clamps on the Dewalt and/or Excalibur. I know this is splitting hairs. I'm not trying to demean Pegas clamps at all. I get that they are machined from solid aluminum (which I believe the EX clamp bodies are as well) and will hold up much better over time. They are also lighter, which may provide a slight improvement in balance and overall wear on the saw, but this benefit is anecdotal, at best. Bottom line is, I'm trying to determine of upgrading my EX to Pegas clamps really provides value for me. If I still had my Dewalt, it would be an easy choice, but I'm not convinced that they are all that much better than the stock EX blade clamps.

I'm still curious as to just why the Pegas clamps are such an improvement over the OE Dewalt. They both employ the same thumbscrew/set screw design. I understand that the clamp bodies of the Pegas are much better than the pot metal ones on the Dewalt. The Pegas won't be as prone to spreading as the Dewalt clamps. But otherwise, isn't the actual clamping done by virtually the same hardware?

That's awesome. My grandson will be turning 14 next month. I might just make that for him. I keep asking him where that cute little guy, in the picture on our fridge, went.

I don't know anything about the Wen, so I'm of no help there. I don't know of too many saws in that price range. It seems that scroll saws exist in the budget price range, then jump up to the $500-$600 range for something like a bare bones Dewalt. Grizzly used to put Dewalts on sale for a pretty decent price, but I haven't seen that for some time. Delta still has the 40-694 that is somewhat cheaper than a Dewalt, but I'm not sure what kind of product support you will get from Delta these days. Speaking of Grizzly, I just noticed that they offer an 18" model that is different than anything I've seen with their name on it before. I know nothing about it, but it is closer to your price point and it at least looks intriguing.

Very nicely done! I made a couple of that same pattern a few years ago and can attest to the difficulty, even without blurry vision and arthritic hands. It's hard for me to imagine how hard it must have been with the physical limitations you have.

I've belonged to several different woodworking forums over the years. The scrolling forums have always been much more supportive, friendly and non-argumentative than most of the general woodworking forums. I think SSWW&C was the first scrolling forum I joined. It used to be a very active place, but as others have said, participation has declined a lot in recent years. I joined here in 2011, on the advice of Dan is SoCal (dgman) and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience here. I don't do Facebook, Instagram or any of the other social media platforms, just a few scrolling/ww'ing forums. That's plenty for me. Great site and thanks to you Travis for all of your hard work in creating & managing this place.

Nice work! And just in case you need a reminder; Be sure to do the therapy. Also, be aware of the risk of blood clots.

Beautiful!

I think Minwax is still readily available. Really any furniture paste wax will do the trick. Just avoid car waxes that contain silicone.

Yes, most of what I use is the Zinsser Bulls Eye in both the liquid form and the spray can. I also have mixed my own with flakes dissolved in de-natured alcohol. I rarely brush it. It dries so fast that brushing can be a challenge. Typically I'll spray it using a cheap, gravity fed spray gun, connected to my Kobalt 26 gallon compressor. It's a lot easier than you might think.

Blinking? I never thought much about it. Although, now that you have brought it to my attention, I'm sure it will find a place in my consciousness. So thanks for that. As for dropping tiny bits on the floor, that happens all too often. The only difference is that I rarely find what I dropped. There must be some metaphysical connection with the clothes dryer and all of these lost bits & pieces have joined with the missing socks, in some Bermuda triangle like alternate existence.