patrol681

I spotted this in today's email bunch from Lee Valley, and thought that I would pass it on, for those who might find them useful. I have not tried them, but from the description, and the reasonable price (IMHO) I thought they could be of value, especially since they are re-usable. http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?cat=1,42207,42216&p=52602 Cheers, Ed

Hi, Go to Rick's page here: http://www.scrollsaws.com/ and you will find every possible option I'm sure. Good Luck! Ed

Where did my reply go to??? I answered Ike, (so I thought,) then I appear to have lost it, ;o( to say that yep, I did shell out $30. bucks for a lifter that didn't work out for me, - before coming up with a $2.95 outlay and a bit of thinking, to make something that works for me.

I bought an 'easy lift' mechanism to hold the saw up when changing blades. You will have seen them around, - the one with the spring, for use with the DeWalt 788 I could not get the thing to stay balanced, in part, because I have the, (heavy) lamp that came with the saw, deal. Being frustrated with that, I decided to make my own, and since I do not like to permanently attach things to my equipment, (in case of voiding repair warranties etc.) I came up with this idea from just a piece of walnut scrap, and an unused hasp from a shed door padlock. The pics should be pretty well self explanatory, but for clarity; I attached my "Saw Lift" with two electrical ties, and in the pictures, you will see that I have set in a small rare earth magnet, which has enough magnetic attraction to hold the 'lift' to the upper arm when not in use. I also glued on a small piece to prevent the 'lift' from going past vertical and letting the arm drop down.

What a commendable idea! They are really cute, and parents with small kids should snap them up. Wish you much success with your sales.

We all like to commiserate, when one of our friends suffers an accident like this, and it's quite understandable, - but If I can offer one piece of sound advice, it's this: When you have an accident, (of any kind,) make sure you get the appropriate medical attention, - then sit down, and think: "What did I do wrong for this to happen" then carefully try to reason out: "What COULD I have done to prevent this from happening?" It's much better to analyze the accident, rather than just thinking "WOW! That hurt!" You will find yourself much less accident prone in the future. Trust me. Ed

Hi Dan, I ran into the same problem/s that you did. First I had the blade tracking problem as you do, then I was told to go to Ricks scrollsaw ;post. That had me puzzled for a while because I was looking on the SSV site here. - However thanks to Doug, - he put me on to the site which is here; http://www.scrollsaws.com/ Go there, and you will find such a wealth of information that you will have to scroll down quite a bit to find the blade tracking article. You will enjoy all the information there, I think. Cheers, Ed

Thanks Spirithorse for that very helpful answer. I never thought it would be done that way, because I didn't visualize a slot in the end of the shaft. It is quite a logical way of doing it, when you think about it, and the pictures you sent explain it very well. Just goes to show, you are never too old to learn. Ed

The arrow heads are a really neat item, you did a great job Dan. Now I know this has gotta sound like a dumb question, and I have seen real arrow heads like these in museums, but I always wondered, with the notches being in the position that they are, how did they attach them to the shafts? Ed

Hi Rob, Maybe you didn't see my last post answering you about Warfarin, (in another thread,) regarding the warfarin treatment. (otherwise known as Cumadin,) I have been through all that hassle in the past, until I did some research on alternative treatment. There is a drug known as "Pradaxa" - it was developed in the U.K. 3 or 4 years ago, and was universally approved. With Pradaxa, you no longer need the frequent blood testing that you need with Warfarin. The reason that the blood needs to be tested so frequently is because when you eat salads, green vegetables etc. you alter your vitamin "K" levels and that throws off the Warfarin dosage. With Pradaxa, it is not affected that way, I checked all this out with my Doctor of course, before he put me on it. With Pradaxa you can eat all the salads you want etc. and not only that Pradaxa is 75% more effective in preventing strokes. I of course am not aware of the reasons you are taking Warfarin, (I take it because I have Atrial Fibrillation, which I am extremely happy to say is now well under control.) Talk it over with your Doctor, you would be doing yourself a great favour. All the very best to you Rob. Ed

Thank you very much, Doug! You hit it right on the mark with directing me to Rick's page. ( I had thought it was a post on the S.S.V. site here, - no wonder I couldn't find it.) Anyway, it addressed my concern exactly so the short answer is; yes, I guess I was being a bit 'picky' on looking back, it would seem that a little back to front blade movement is acceptable. Thank you for helping me get that cleared up. Ed

Hearing you folks talk about falling asleep while driving etc. Reminds my of the old adage; "Regular naps prevent old age, - especially when taken while driving"

Well, friends, I have just got my new DeWalt 788 and while I am generally very pleased with it, however, I seem to have a problem. Maybe it's minor, but it doesn't seem to be quite right. When I set up the blade, and tension it, then check it for true travel etc. I see that it is dead on track vertically, when viewed from the front, but when I look closely from the side, I see that it travels backwards a little, (kind of like the movement you would see in a "C" frame scroll saw) and not straight up and down. Is this normal to some extent? if i set a piece of wood on the table behind the blade, it will just kick it over. Am I asking too much, or 'nit-picking' do you think? I have looked on You Tube, and see that the Excalibur 21 can be adjusted for this 'back travel' by adjusting the three screws on the motor mount. Having considered myself darn lucky to afford a DeWalt to start with, (never mind an Excalibur,) I am at a loss as to a fix for this unit of mine. I tried to find the post that about "Ricks scroll saw" (that might address this problem,) that the post by 'multifasited' directs me to, - but as of the moment, have not found it. (I will try again after posting this,) in the meantime any suggestions, (of the helpful kind ;o) will be appreciated.

Well....., Right off the mark It is pretty easy to see that I am going to enjoy this site! I thank you all for your warm and encouraging responses to my initial message. Having read what you are saying, I think the DeWalt is probably going to be my choice as soon as I can afford one. Marg from Australia kind of tipped the vote in the direction of the DeWalt when she said she has both that, and the Excalibur, but she kind of prefers the DeWalt. Lets see, if she can use one "down under" then they must be really good, ((cos' it has to be a trick, using it upside down eh?) Kidding apart, they do appear to be pretty similar in design and operation from all that I have read, but the DeWalt is about $200.00 or so cheaper in Ontario, so I think that is the one I am going to go for. Again, thank you all for your warm acceptance and I will keep you posted on my progress. Ed

Hi everyone, I Just wanted to introduce myself, as a new member. I have been a wood working hobbyist for a little while, but am an old guy (83) with arthritic problems which don't help my standing around. I figured that if I could continue my woodworking hobby in any way, it would likely be in scroll sawing, since I feel I could do that while seated. I have been researching scroll saws online, and think that the DeWalt 788 seems like the best choice for me. I don't want to go on too long about this, because I am probably in the wrong section of the forum to discuss this. However, I am wondering now, since I have read that the Excalibur, and the DeWalt were both originally made by the Sommerville company, but have now been lately manufactured in an Asian country, and that quality control has deteriorated. I will search further in the forum and see what I can learn, and will then update my intro. when I decide on which saw, and then make my purchase