OCtoolguy

Thanks Jim. I'm trying to imagine how working at chest height would be. In my mind's eye, I see you resting your chin on the table. I know that is not the case but it just came into my mind. I'll have to see what that would come out to. I think my table will be about the same. Thanks again, Ray p.s. Jim, do you have your saw tilted toward you? I have mine tilted right now by putting a 2 x 4 under the legs at what I call the rear of the saw. That tilts the table down just a bit and seems to make it easier to work/see what I'm doing. The stand I'm building calls for an adjustable platform that will allow as much or little tilt as might be desired.

Thanks Len. It sounds like your work table is about as high as mine is now. I'm trying to get it lower so I can sit lower. Right now I have a shop stool that is a swivel seat and it's too small to sit on comfortably. Like you, I know what I want. I also have a foot switch that must play into the equation. I can deal with that once I have the saw at the height I want. It's a shame you don't have the choices we have here in the States. I am hooked up to Verizon FIOS and it's very fast. Posting pics is quite easy. I just save the pic to my desktop and when it asks me where the pic is located I tell it and away it goes. Maybe we can have a bit of a class on how it's done one of these times. If you want to chat via email, let me know. Thanks again, Ray

I started this thread and then got away from it. Now, I'm getting ready to build a stand for my saw. It will put the table height at 34.5". I am 6'1" tall. I am going to buy a cheap office chair from Staples that will give me the adjustment I need. Can any of you folks out there give me any feedback on your size and working height of your saw table? I have it sitting on the factory stand now and I have a shop stool. Both are too high to sit at comfortably. Thanks for any input you all may have to offer. I know it's a matter of personal preference but I'm just trying to get some idea of whether I'm on the right track. Ray

I barely have room for the one saw I have. My shop is only 9 x 13 and I have a full sized bandsaw, an 8 foot work bench, a stack tool box, a portable Dewalt table saw, a drill press, belt sander, bench grinder so you see, no room for anymore toys.

Go here and read the DW788 tune up section. It will tell you how to fix that knocking sound. http://www.scrollsaws.com/ Ray

Nutrisystem and keep on scrolling.

I guess I won't mention where I live or how I'm dressed right now. Ray

I sent an email to Mike questioning him about whether or not he had sold his business. About 2 hours later, he called me to say yes, that the deal had just closed and he couldn't say anything to me about it last week because it was still up in the air. He says, nothing will change and his phone number will still be the same and so on. He told me to tell you all that we should all start buying from the new owners because they have a tremendous inventory of blades. So, that should clear everything up. Ray.

I got a phone call from Mike last week. He didn't mention anything about selling or retiring. He did tell me to call him anytime with any questions I might have. I can't imagine him saying that if he was going out of business. I got just the opposite impression. Ray

Thanks again to all of you for your input. I was reading in a prior thread about using Glad Cling Wrap on the wood prior to spraying on the adhesive. That sounds great too but I think that the more stuff you try the more confusing and time consuming it becomes. I learned a valuable lesson on my first project and that is NOT to spray the wood. From now on, I will spray the pattern. DUH!! It seems like the blue tape idea would be good except for that's another expense. I'm trying to find the best, cheapest way. I'm going to try the GWC because my wife has some in the drawer and I don't have to go buy it. I must say, this forum is a wealth of knowledge. Thanks again to everybody. Ray

You folks are the best. I thought maybe I was in trouble. I have mineral spirits on hand and will clean it up tomorrow. Thanks so much you guys. Ray

Will this hurt the wood as far as taking a stain? I don't want to paint it. Ray

I am VERY new to this so bear with me. I sprayed my wood with 3M77. After doing that, I found out that I was supposed to spray the pattern. Well, I used a heat gun to get the pattern off but that left me with a layer of stickem on the finished piece. I have tried sanding but that doesn't work so well. What can I use to clean off the glue? I have mineral spirits but I didn't want to chance it without checking here first. I'd hate to screw up my first major project. Thanks to all, Ray

I got a call from Mike yesterday and there was definitely an email screw up somewhere along the line. Anyway, he is a very nice guy and I look forward to doing business with him in the future. If the FD blades prove to be what you all are saying they are, I'm going to be very happy. Thanks to all, Ray

Thanks LarryEA but I'm not the phone type of guy. That's why I use email. I suppose I could have called Mike's but everybody was saying how great his service was and how quickly he responded to email so I was sort of disappointed to not get a timely reply. But, I will say, I put in my order for a variety pack of blades and within a few minutes, I got an email thanking me for my order and telling me it would go out in today' mail. So, I'm wondering now if my original email somehow got lost. I used his email link and it opened up in Thunderbird. That's where I composed my email. That's not always the best thing. I never use Thunderbird so it may have gotten screwed up somehow. Oh well.............................. all is ok now. But thanks for the suggestion. I'll check them out. Ray

I must have missed the correct address for Mike's Workshop. I just went there and found the link for his variety pack. I have ordered it and now I will sit and wait patiently for it to arrive. Thanks to everybody for your help. Ray

Well, here I sit on the second day and still waiting to hear back from Mike's. Are they usually this slow in returning an email inquiry? I hope their service is quicker if I decide to buy from them. I know you all have said that they are fast but so far, I'm not too impressed. Hope it's just that they are very busy. Ray

I haven't tried spirals yet. I'm waiting right now for a reply from Mike. I questioned him as I did here. I hope I get something soon. Ray

Someone above mentioned something about blades that are worn out. Other than breakage, how do you know when it's time to change a blade out? I used one #5 reverse tooth blade on my butterfly project and it seems to still be going strong but I don't now what to look for. I didn't see any burn marks if that is an indication but what else? Ray

Wow, thanks everybody. I will check out all the places mentioned. I hadn't even given any thought to the spiral blades. I am primarily interested in marquetry using very thing veneer. That's why I bought the 2/0 blades. I took a class to learn the basics but before I get too far into that I thought it would be good to learn the basics of the scroll saw. So, I downloaded a few patterns and I had some 5/16 " baltic birch plywood that I had purchased cheap because it had water stains on it. I cut up one piece into 8.5 x 11" pieces to practice with. As I mentioned, the 2/0 blade didn't do well on wood that thick. After changing to one of the other blades I had, it went much better. I will finish up the butterfly tomorrow. I'm going to take the advice of buying the starter pack of blades and see what works best. I went to Mike's site and the blade charts just intimidated the heck out of me. So, that's why I came back here and posed my question. As usual, you folks have outdone yourselves with all the advice. Thanks so much. Ray

I know I keep asking crazy questions but I need to know a few things regarding blades. I have a DW 788 and it uses pinless blades. I bought a gross of 2/0 blades from Otto Frei but I was wondering what blades a person should have around for all the different types of wood and cuts that he/she might be making. I bought a couple of pkgs of Olson blades at Woodcraft in skip/reverse blades from Woodcraft. But, my question is, if I was to order blades from a Flying Dutchman source and I wanted a good selection of blades on hand, what blades do you suggest? If I wanted to buy a gross or two would the supplier be willing to mix in order to get the gross figures? I was trying to cut some 5/16 BB plywood yesterday with a 2/0 blade and it was very slow going so I changed to one of the reverse/skip tooth blades in a courser configuration. I am very new to this and I was trying to cut out a large butterfly with a lot of inside cuts. Once I changed the blade it went quite well so I decided that I need to have a good selection of blades. So, can you all give me a good basic list of what I should try to have onhand? Thanks so much for your patience and help. Here is a pic of what I did yesterday. It's 8.5 x 11 and I thought it would make a good first attempt. Ray

I never thought about using my Dremel. Thanks. Ray

Thanks to all. I will take the advice of using a hacksaw. I was just being lazy. I might buy a metal cutting blade for my bandsaw though. Here is a pic of what I'm trying to do. Ray

Thanks, so far, all I've done is try to search online but I wasn't having any luck. Ray

This may sound like a silly question but I have to cut a galvanized electrical cover plate in order to fix our flag pole. The plastic part broke and it can't be purchased so I'm going to make on. My search so far has not been successful in finding a metal cutting blade that will cut something harder than brass or aluminum. Can anybody give me some idea if I'm searching in vain? Thanks, Ray