NC Scroller

I have cut about 300 bird houses and compound angels. I used a #5 Polar blades for 90% of them. Tried other sizes, types and brands and always end up back at the #5 Polar.

Jerry throw out the old fashioned axle grease and get a tube of synthetic grease. Available at most hardware and auto parts stores. Will hold up much better.

Get a blade made strictly for a miter saw. NOT a combination or general purpose blade. Miter blades are generally thin kerf and have a negative hook (angle) on the teeth.

I use my dust collector with a 1 micron filter which is hooked to my sanding station. If doing a lot of sanding I also have a dust mask.

I use no lube on my blades. Plywood is actually tougher on blades than many hardwood. This is due to the glues used. Burning is caused by dull blades. Most of us use blades to long before replacing. 15 - 20 minutes of actual cutting is all a blade is designed for. You might reduce your burning some by slowing your blade speed.

Most (especially the low end miter saws) are not exact and sliding miter saw are even worse at getting true 45's and 90's. They may only be off a degree of so which is fine for most work except mitering for frames. You can fix your cuts but it requires a shooting board. http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=shooting+board&view=detail&mid=35D1569AE85F200848CA35D1569AE85F200848CA&FORM=VIRE

The two tones look great. You did wonderful. I think any finish you applied would have similar results.

Yes you can store in an airtight container. If it is not airtight the MS will evaporate. Do not use plastic for long term storage as some plastics will break down.

Dave as many have stated CA glue (aka Super Glue) is the only good option at this point. You have loose pieces because some of the plaque did not get glue applied to it when you did the glue up. Now let me suggest a better way to glue to prevent that from happening again. This is a trick I learn from Dirk Boelman many years ago. Get yourself one of those 1" painting trim rollers. The cheapie kind. They can be had at Lowes, Home Depot, your local hardware, and even Walmart. Also get a length of black foam pipe insulation. The diameter of which will fit over the wheel the paint roller sleeve is on. Replace the paint roller sleeve with a like length of the pipe insulation. Then when you need to do a glue up squirt some glue (any brand wood glue) on a piece of wax paper. Roll the foam applicator in the glue and then roll the glue onto the back of the piece. You want a nice even coat. Be generous but don't glob it on. Just like paining a wall with paint. After coating the back wait 2-3 minutes for it to start to tack up and them clamp your pieces together. After the glue sets nothing will come apart or be loose. The foam roller can be used 100's of times before replacing. You can clean it with a wet paper towel immediately after use or after a couple uses peel the dried glue from the roller. I prefer the latter method of cleaning. Let me know if you want some pictures.

I live in GOD'S country. The closest copy place is a 40 minute drive. When I need larger copies I copy different sections of the original and tape them together.

Hawkeye, I have never had any luck with tape on plywood. Even the easy to remove blue/purple type tape pulls off wood fibers when you remove it and will often take delicate fret parts with it. Beside if doing a detailed fret piece it can some times take almost as long to remove the little pieces of tape as it did to cut the pattern. Been there done that.

Are the police looking for you after you stole that?

Sorry but I can't be of much help here. I rarely paint what I scroll with the exception of my backers if a project requires. My backers are typically made of plywood and I use a flat black latex (99% of the time) on them. I do not use a primer.

Much to often we, myself include, tend to punch the drill bit through the wood and not let it drill through. To drill wood properly you should use a drill speed in the mid range unless your are using a fortsner bit. The you want the slowest speed. High speeds are for drilling metal. We should be using bits made for wood like brad point bits. Bits dull like saw blades and chisels. They need to be sharpened or replace periodically. Finally you should use a piece of scrap wood under the pieces you are drilling. That will work wonders for stopping bottom chip out.

IMHO it has nothing to do with the number of pieces in the stack. I stack cut all the time. My stacks are 3/4" to 1" high. There are a couple things you can do to help. Go to a smaller reverse tooth blade. The other is it install a zero clearance insert to reduce the size of the table hole.

Sorry but we all have one of these. You never know event to event or year to year.

Watco Oil does contain BLO and other ingredients like MMS, Poly and drying agents. It is a blended finish. It does provide a harder more protective finish than BLO. Yes you can wipe, brush or dip it. You just have to make sure you wipe off the excess. I often use Watco Danish Oil as a top coat.

I go not feel sorry for the folks at General. I feel sorry for people like those are Seyco who sell and repair them. I feel even more sorry for us scrollers. Who are looking for a good mid range machine. Face it Dewalt went to check quality wise so once one graduates from an entry-level saw the have to go to a high end Hawk or Hegner.

I love to dip as Denny mentioned. I pieces with back I dip first. Then I wait 2-3 days and lightly sand the back of the piece with 120-150 grit and then glue. I have made 100's and had one backed fail but that was because the pieced wrapped.

Steve I have found three good sources of 5' x 5' sheets of real BB plywood here is NC. They are: - The Hardwood Store in Gibsonville, NC - Capital City Lumber in Raleigh - The Wurth Wood Group in Raleigh Since they are all 1 1/2hr plus for me I normally get 3 or more sheets at a time.

They appear to be similar but the Jet is a bottom feed only. That is BIG in my book.

Denny as an owner of an EX-21 I would be very interested in knowing what part failed.

I once had a bad experience with an Ebay purchase or should I say the USPS. Seller claims to have shipped but it never arrived. Anyway the seller made it right. I know another person who had an issue with a seller, filed a complaint and Ebay made it right. I would not hesitate to use Ebay. I think overall they try to protect the buyer. Don thanks for the update.

All I use is Titebond. Mostly Titebond II. A GOOGLE search shows that you can get Wldebond at Ace Hardware, Amazon, Home Depot, Michaels and a host of other locations. I could not find any differences in the white vs blue bottle.

When I cut freestanding puzzles for kids I use 3/4" stock and a #5 FD UR or a #5 Olson PGT blade. You want a little extra kerf to ease the assembly. If making a free standing puzzle for an adult I use a #3 or #1 FD UR. If I am doing a flat puzzle like a jigsaw picture puzzle I use FD puzzle blades. I thin they are roughly a size #1.