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Bill WIlson

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Everything posted by Bill WIlson

  1. This is a good point. I believe explosion proof fans and lights are required in any commercial paint booth in the USA. Don't know exactly how that translates to a home shop. You won't get a nasty visit from OSHA, but if there were ever a fire, your insurance co might have something to say about it. There are a lot of things we can get away with, but that doesn't always mean they are good ideas. I use a fan with a furnace filter in my shop window for much the same purpose. I also use a makeshift cardboard spray booth that also has a furnace filter in the back to catch as much of the solids as possible before they get to the fan. I also am very careful not to let overspray and fumes build up too much. Again, I'm not advising you go ahead and do this. Just be aware of the risks if you do.
  2. You let your wife clean up and re-arrange your shop! Oh horror of horrors!!! I'm afraid if my wife tried that, it would be the end of our 40+ year marriage. She hates clutter and my shop is the epitome of clutter. Look up clutter in the dictionary and it will have a picture of my shop. I don't want anyone "cleaning" it up for me. I like my clutter, thank you very much. Fortunately for me, my wife has zero interest in my shop. She sticks her head in the door to tell me I have a phone call or let me know supper is ready. Other than that, as long as I keep the door shut so she can't see in there and I don't track sawdust upstairs, she doesn't care what it looks like.
  3. I've cut several of those over the years. The pattern comes from a Patrick Spielman book, I picked up probably 20 years ago.
  4. Nice. Congrats. I went from a Craftsman to a DeWalt many years ago. That was a big step up in quality and really enhanced the enjoyment of the hobby. If you don't already have one, a footswitch is another great accessory. I would recommend one for any saw, but they almost were a necessity with the DeWalts a few years ago. DeWalts had a chronic problem with the on/off switch getting flaky because of dust getting inside and on the contacts. I don't hear much about that problem these days, so maybe they solved it, but the footswitch is still a great addition to any scroll saw.
  5. Proof is in the pudding Les, looks like you got pretty good results on your frame. Well done. Another little tip, You might want to take a little fine sandpaper and adhere it to the jig. You could put a strip on the fences or even on the base. This will help prevent the wood from creeping when you push it through the saw.
  6. I have tons of general purpose carpentry nails, finish nails and a few specialty nails that I've accumulated over the years. I don't use many these days, but they come in handy and I suppose my kids will be tossing them after I die. I'm left handed. When I was a teenager, my Dad (right handed) gave me my first real hammer. It was one he had that he never liked. Now Dad worked in the building trades most of his life, so he was very familiar with hammers. For some reason, he said he couldn't drive a nail straight with this one, so he gave it to me. I still have it, some 45 years later. I used it when I worked as a carpenter. I used it to build my own house and I still use it today, on the odd occasion when I actually need to drive a nail. I used to tell Dad that it didn't work for him, because it was a left handed hammer.
  7. Organized? That's good, Organized. Ahhh man, yer killin' me.
  8. Mark Spagnola, The Wood Whisperer, has a lot of excellent videos on woodworking. He's very knowledgeable and his videos are well done. We all learn differently and videos like this are just another tool in the tool box, just like books, internet forums, etc. Use them all to your advantage.
  9. That Dust Stopper looks like a pretty neat set-up. I have a Dust Deputy on my shop vac and that thing is the Bees Knees. Works great with my random orbit sanders. I do see a potential issue. I didn't watch the whole video, so maybe he addressed it. I wonder if that stacked configuration makes it more apt to tip over if you tug too hard on the vac hose? I have my Dust Deputy attached in a side-by-side set up. That one looks like it could get a little tippy.
  10. I know it's blasphemous to try and talk someone out of buying a new tool, but I think it's likely that you would not be satisfied with the brands you mentioned. One of the things about picture framing is that the miters have to be very accurate. I have my doubts that any of those saw brands will produce the consistent accuracy required for picture framing. My son-in-law had a Kobalt. It was OK for rough cutting 2x4's, but I wouldn't want to use it for any precision work. I have a 10" DeWalt CMS. It does pretty well, but that's not what you want. If you have a table saw, I would suggest building a miter sled for it, instead.
  11. I wonder if one could attach a larger, supplemental base plate to that to help prevent tipping? It may not be very practical for routing, but may work for plunge drilling.
  12. That was a big benefit. When originally formed, our club was the same. We were an affiliate and several of our original members were SAW members as well. I considered joining, but never got around to it. SAW also provided a way for scrollers across the country to have some contact with one another. Remember that it's heyday was before social media and to some extent, even before scrolling had much of an internet presence.
  13. Small world. I too was born in Brookville....59 years ago. Lived in a Baxter, which is even smaller than Knox. I moved away in 1978.
  14. Knox, huh? I grew up near Brookville, just a few exits east on I-80. I live in Butler now, but the wife has family in that area. Let's Go Pens!
  15. Is that a Steeler logo in your profile photo?
  16. Congrats and enjoy! I had a Dewalt for several years. Never had any real problems with it, just normal wear and maintenance stuff. I never even had to grease/replace the bearings & bushings like so many here have done. But then, I didn't use mine as much as some others do. I sold it a couple years ago, when I got my EX-21. I was tempted to keep it as a back-up saw, but just didn't have the shop space for it. I like my EX, but still sorta wish I had been able to hang on to the Dewalt. If you don't already have one, get a foot switch for it. You will be glad you did.
  17. All I've ever used was furniture paste wax. Simple, easy, cheap and readily available at a Big Box near you.
  18. Interesting topic, but it just serves to remind me why I don't make stuff to sell. I frankly couldn't care less how long something takes me to cut. When I show people stuff I've made, they always ask; "How long did that take?". I just shrug my shoulders and say, "No idea".
  19. 1/8" sounds like a lot, but some saws cut in a rocking motion, so at any point in the blade's travel, up & down, it may not be perfectly 90 degrees, front to back. You may be able to turn the motor of your saw, with a screwdriver (look for a slot in the end of the motor). If so, you can check for vertical cutting motion by taking a 2" machinist's square, place it against the blade and turn the motor manually. Watch carefully as the blade moves up & down to see if it exhibits a rocking motion during the up & down travel. You can also check this with a thick piece of wood, 1 1/2" to 2" thick, depending on your saw's capacity. Make sure it has a square edge. Turn the saw on and gently push the edge of the wood into the blade. Don't push hard, just enough to make a slight kerf on the edge. You should be able to tell if the blade is cutting to the same depth, top & bottom, by examining the kerf.
  20. 15-20 years or so ago, SAW was an integral part of the scrolling community. Leadership of the group was well respected and they provided a valuable service to members. However over the years, the problems described in this thread have led to the organization becoming a shell of its former self. It's unfortunate, but with social media, there is less and less need for an organization like SAW. I wish them well. Maybe 3rd time is a charm and they will right the ship and become viable again, but frankly, I can't see it happening.
  21. Cut & Paste from Wikipedia; "For 20 years,[5] he decorated it internally with Moorish-influenced fretwork[1] which he cut by hand from discarded pine doors and wooden boxes." I vaguely recall reading about this several years ago. Somebody may have posted about it on one of the forums, but I can't remember.
  22. I recall a member of our scroll saw club did something very similar a few years ago. He said it worked pretty well.
  23. Which is why I didn't throw it away. I might not ever use it. I might not even know where it is. But, I know I still have it.
  24. When I first started scrolling, I used the hold down on my Craftsman saw. That thing vibrated enough to make the hold down almost a necessity. Besides, I really didn't know any better. As I got better at cutting, I realized it was more hindrance than help, so I took it off. Never used the one on my 2nd saw, DeWalt or my current saw, EX-21.
  25. Something like that might be useful for beginners, but I suspect that with a little experience, they would very quickly learn to do without it.
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