SCROLLSAW703

good morning ssv! hope all is well! Well, here we go again! Physical therapy was here at the house yesterday to assess me, again. His assessment come up with my legs are excessively weak, especially the right leg. My balance is inconsistent, & severe muscle weakness/loss. He looked at me & said at least another 6 weeks. I'm not repeatin' my reply. So, next week, we are startin' more intense leg muscle training & balance. I can walk, take a shower, things like that, but by the time it's over, my legs are shot. I guess they think that after bein' in & out of the hospital, & stuck in this chair for 3 months, a feller is supposed to just jump up & dance a jig.:( So, as it is, we'll take it as comes. I don't know if this is the place to post all this. If it's not, my sincere apologies, but it's part of the update, I guess. He kinda asked some questions about my medical history, & I told him it wasn't good. He said "what do you mean, Brad?" I told him I had viral meningitis in 2009. Lost the use of both legs, & partial use of my left arm & hand. Other sickness, chronic pain, two major back surgeries. He asked me how long I was in the hospital with meningitis, I told him 8 1/2 months. I had to completely learn to walk again. I'm not going into the things it took, because it was more torture at the time than learning. The back surgeries are from the meningitis, & sittin' in the pilot seat of a truck all my life. When he asked if he could ask about the back surgeries, I agreed. He wanted to know why. I just told him the dr on call in the ER the night my wife took me in, when I came in off the road, was our resident OB. Instead of using a morphine IV or such, she chose epidurals in my back for pain. She hit me 4x up my spine, & missed every time. The first surgery was bcause of where she hit me at L1. There were bone spurs around the spine, & growing into the spine. Just about to cut the spinal cord in two. Since all that, every time something major happens, my legs gets it first. And I wind up in the hospital, & more leg therapy. Yes, it is very painful. Especially the less I'm able to be mobile. So, when he asked about my pain yesterday, I finally told him to let me worry about the pain, & him get on with gettin' me back in the shop. After he'd heard some of what I just told all of you, he told me we would be doing more aggressive leg work. My sincere apologies if I took advantage of this, or made it sound to you all like I was using you folks for a sounding board. That was not my intention. I'm not to good at puttin' things in short form, but I've tried to keep you all up to date on goings on, & the prayers & thoughts, kind words, phone calls, have been blessings to us! You folks have been like family to us thru all this. And we sincerely appreciate everyone of you! thank you for just bein' who you are, & carin':):) Brad & Mary Ann.

good job, my friend! you're learnin'! Start makin' sawdust with'er, & let's see what she's made of!;);)

well, one thing is fer certain, if ya buy a Hawk, the manual is needed, & has legible words & even nice pictures fer them that don't understand. And ya got excellent tech support & parts availability. And, a shiny price tag. It's like buyin' a good horse. Ya want one that'll jump a four rail fence & do his job in the pasture around cattle? Or do ya want one just to say ya own one? Like Kevin said, do not try to break open any factory seals until your warranty has run out. & if you do have it worked on by delta, you'll wind up with an extended warranty just on what was repaired. Leave it be for now & make sawdust. The air hose, if it's the clikconnect type, which is grey, or black, & flexes, that broke, like kevin said also, is an easy fix for now until you call can delta on monday. hot water & patience does the trick. The only real part of it you're really movin' is the tip & a few sections behind it. I'd recommend ya spend a little time readin' your manual. It will tell ya more than ya think. Even how to install the blades & tension them. For awhile, ya may want to follow that til the machine gets "broke in" & ya get used to it.;) Save ya lots headaches! The one other thing i reckon I'd do is, after ya peel that protective plastic off'n the sawdeck, take a lint free rag & some naptha or mineral spirits & wipe it down, then get ya a couple coats of wax on that cast iron. You'll be ahead of the game if ya do!

I think Randy & jt hit on the head! imo. for what that's worth. I'm serious about maintenance on all my tools. But my scroll saws probably get more attention than any of my tools, except the planer & jointer. I think, as jt put it, this has been discussed & beat to death. Ya ask a bunch of scroll sawyers their opinions about saws, & you're goin' to get 900 answers. Simply because everyone has an opinion about the saw they own. The saws you're lookin' at in the mid price range are still going to require maintenance & care. Every saw does. Including our high end Hawks. You'll find maintenance is key to making the saw do what it's designed to do. Treat it as your new best friend.

good to hear you received good news on your ultra sound! I've been thinkin' about ya since I first read your post. You're in our thoughts & prayers, my friend! heal quickly!!!

What JT said! It couldn't have been said any better!!!!

I agree. I've been scrolling 26 years, but there was A LOT of learning in that time. I don't claim to know it all. If I did, what would be the point of being here, learning from all of you while I'm still stuck in this chair? I think scrolling is a teacher in itself. And like you, Kevin, I may get somebody's dander up with an answer to a post, or a post in general. Scrolling has been therapeutic for me, taught me patience I never had before, creativity, the use of other ww machinery, the list goes on. And yes, us "old timers" do learn from the newbies that come on board. I try to be a little sensitive when I respond to a post, but other times, the more ya read that one given post, sometimes the first thing that comes to mind is what happened to his common sense? You'd be surprised at how many posts on here are started with "a scroll saw followed me home today, now what?" Ok genius, open the box & start with the manual is what you'd like to say, but in the back of your mind, there's a voice that says "don't say it" because you'll be doomed if ya do. So, as politely as possible, ya try to answer. I'm a perty tough ol' bird, not much offends me. Trust me, not only bein' a retired OTR truckdriver, & doin' I lost count after first hundred craft shows, there ain't much I ain't heard or said. I'm by no means a production cutter, but I'm no pro, either. I take alot of pride in my work, & it shows. I've sold pieces all over the country. I guess the moral of the story is there are the good, the bad, & the ugly. Take from it what you can, & let the rest of it roll of your back. jmo.

I do the same thing you do, paul. Especially with smaller blades. Grinding a short point does help feed from the bottom. Sometimes I drill a little bit bigger hole over the smaller hole if I've got one in the drill press.

I've been a been a bottom feeder from the start. I'd like to think I'm a good person, too. I've had a number of different saws, 2 of them being Hawks. My CW - 40 can be used as a top or bottom feeder. It was the first 16" saw I bought new that had that capability. Some will disagree will that, but it can be done. I've had other saws that were just bottom feeders. My present BM -26 Hawk is a top or bottom feeder. It's a matter of changin' blade clamps. I never succeeded at top feeding, so am a bottom feeder for life. I guess. Choosing a new saw can be confusing. Look at all the angles, & what suits you. Otherwise it'll just be a boat anchor. jmo.

I can't say as I've ever experienced swirl marks from a palm sander. Nor have I used a mouse sander. I have read some about them.

Ray, I use both the ros & a palm sander. And I also have a drum sander. Most everything goes thru the drum sander with 110 grit on it after the planer. IF I need to clean up some planer marks or somethin' on the lumber, I run my ros over it about mid speed. I've got my ros hooked to a 2 gallon shop vac. I think it's a 2 gallon. Anyway it has paper bag dust collection. Then I start in with the palm sander. I get all my finish sandin' done before I start a project. To be honest with ya, your sanders are like any other brand of preference, Ray. Depending on the conditions they're used in & how they're taken care of, one will last just as long as the other. IMO. TOMSTEVE give ya some good advice about throws. A palm sander, Unless you're goin' to use it alot, a harbor freight one & their replacement plan will do ya well, unless they're like Mrs. N said & it takes til 6 minutes after Sunday to change out the paper. Ya just have to find the ones like. good luck, Sir.

I started puttin' my blades in pvc with capped ends from the start 26 yrs ago. And I took the blade size label off the little bag they come in & taped it to each tube. What the pia for me is, I've got so many different blade sizes in inventory, it takes about as long to find blades as it does to cut a project! I like your idea, scrappile, with the way you've got them set up. I've thought about gettin' me some of those tubes & makin' a wood box for them that you could close up when ya ain't usin' them. But time never lets me rest long enough to do that.

It's all perty much been dumped in your lap. I think I would add a couple things to it, though. Dan & Cowpoke said it best! You have to figure out what works for you. Depending on the thickness of the material you're cuttin', the blade you choose to use, blade speed, & how well you're lookin' after your saw deck, all play into pressure. Learn to listen to your blade. Every blade has it's own voice. If you try to put to much down pressure on the project, relax a little bit, let the blade do the work. And Speed creates heat. Learn to cut at a speed you're comfortable at, & progress. Sanding? I do all my sandin' before I even consider puttin' a pattern on. Depending on the size of the project, I run it thru the drum sander, both sides, a couple times, then use a palm sander & sand it down to 220. The reason I use a palm sander is bcause there won't be any circle marks from a ros sander. Pressure on the sander is just enough to control it. There ain't any need to work yourself to death sandin'. Let it do the work for ya. Same if ya start with a belt sander, or use a ros. The more pressure ya put on it, the more wood the sander is goin' to eat, in turn, more marks to deal with. Common sense kinda kicks in for most folks. I use a craft knife to clean the entire pattern off the the finished product. Then lightly go over it with a palm sander & 220 grit paper. Then do the back side, too. Hopefully I didn't over step my bounds. This is most of what I do. jm .02 pennies worth.

thank you Gentlemen! We do appreciate all your prayers. Ya know, sometimes a feller gets to thinkin' about all the bad things that's goin' on his life & then, the voice of God tells ya "I gotcha covered, think positive, & about the friends that are supporting you". Then you kinda forget about the other things & wonder what you guys are up to, & just appreciate the fact that he has all the friends he does. Dick, you won't be botherin' me at all if you pm me. News & a note from a friend would be awesome! You're welcome to call any time, too, if ya care too, or anybody else. My phone number is (785)772-7321. Today, Mary Ann lengthened my leash & took me outta the house for the first time, for any length of time, since the heart attacks. She took me out to the cemetary to spend a little time with Dad, and to the grocery store to get some walkin' in. It was great to get out & see the country side. I needed to visit Dad. And the stroll thru store was ok, but I'm payin' for it. It's ok! I gotta use these ol' legs to get back in my shop! Guys, I mean it from the heart, I can't tell ya what all the prayers & support means to us! Mary Ann says to tell ya you guys are keepin' me from drivin' her to drinkin'!;);) Until next time, you folks are all in our thoughts & prayers. Brad & Mary Ann.

Wow! Thank you again for all the kind words & prayers! I'm sure you're all gettin' kinda bored with the "thank you's", but we truly appreciate them all! I've got a spot in the carpet pawed from diggin' at it to get out of this chair & out to the shop, trust me! Mary Ann keeps tellin' me to keep my shorts on, I'll get to make sawdust soon!;) Then she threatens to take me to the dr for anxiety meds! Ain''t that true love? Sincerely, you all have been my family thru this, & have made life alot easier! I appreciate that! And bein' inactive at the saw, I appreciate you allowin' me to "fit" in, & post when I can. To jump in & be able to help someone is what we're about here. Sometimes my posts don't sound the friendliest, I reckon, but that's just me. This site has been home to me since I've been away from the shop. And my second home when I'm in the shop. You're all an awesome bunch of people, with big hearts & powerful prayers! We sincerely appreciate them all! thank you again! Brad & Mary Ann.

Hello friends! I have another update on our "out of service" compliance. My Bride says to let you all know your thoughts & prayers are sincerely appreciated. She is doin' well! Happy to be back to work & able see all her friends that come & go at the grocery store. The joy of livin' in a small town. Last friday, we spoke with my Cardiologist on the phone, finally. He told us the clot in my leg is all but gone. He is no longer worried about it. That was good news! And he also told me I could go back to the shop a few days a week! That was even better news, until my nurses that come in got wind of it. Between the three of them, & my Bride, they didn't think my legs were strong enough to stand going to the shop yet. So, I'm still stuck in my chair, doin' their exercises for now. That's probably best, as long as I've been down, & as much pain as I'm experiencing in my legs. My family dr is still adjusting my blood thinners. They tell me it takes awhile to get the numbers where they are supposed to be. As much blood thinner as I've had thru me, you'd think my blood would be nearly water, but it ain't. So, we'll keep messin' with that, I guess Again, thank you for keeping us in your prayers. They are doing their job! We sincerely appreciate them all! Enjoy the day, & God Bless. Brad & Mary Ann.

Thank you Rocky & Woodmaster! I sincerely appreciate your kind words! You're right, woodmaster! After goin' on nine weeks couped up in hospitals & here in my chair, I'm past ready to get back in the shop! I get on here 2 or 3 times a day to see what everybody is up to, & post where I can help. I sincerely appreciate your thoughts & prayers! Brad & Mary Ann.

hello friends. I have some news to pass on to you. Mary Ann recently had some tests done on her kidneys. Those come back ok. Last tuesday, she had a nuclear test & CT scan done on her gallbladder. She seen the specialist shortly there after, and he told her he couldn't see any problems. He thought her issues were caused from nerves. So, our family dr has released her from his care for her to go back to work a couple days a week at the grocery store!:) She's happy about that! She hasn't left my side since I had my heart attacks. As far as Me, all we know is there is a clot in my right leg, below the knee. How big, or where its at is still a mystery. I've still got home health nurses comin' in, as I'm still stuck in my chair. They are allowin' me to get up & walk some, go to the bathroom by myself, to the table, things like that, but for the most part, I'm still readin' what all of you are up to, followin' drs orders, & prayin' for better health. Thank you again for all your prayers & thoughts. We sincerely appreciate everyone of you! keep them comin'! better days are gettin' closer, I hope. God Bless!

Well Rocky, if ya want the truth, I like the looks of your pvc holder. If you were worried about knockin' it over or such, as a suggestion, you could put small cleats on each side of your pvc holder for stability. No offense, but the tubes ya ordered look like a cluster at the present time. Use what works best for you. You already have the experience to know.;-)

In reality, the scroll saw weren't designed to cut straight lines. It's a saw designed to cut figures, designs, fancy cutting of all kinds in a pristine sort of way. There are variables involved to get the saw adjusted, as has been mentioned, to follow the lines in your project. Yes, there are some projects with straight cuts, some don't have enough to mention them. What I do with new sawyers is draw lines on scrap wood & ask them them to follow them to the best of their ability. I use a carpenters square & draw lines for them to follow. You could try that. Make sure you're blade tension is right. And attempt to follow the line. I'm sure you've been told different types of blades cut half way straight. Some will cut close. But the perfection is in the mind of the operator. Trust me. practice, practice, practice, practice, practice with a blade you feel comfortable with. You'll start to figure things out the longer you practice & the better you get to know your machine. good luck & God Bless.

What Mr. Fred & JT said. first things first. As mentioned, you are attemptin' to cut a 1" stack of ply with wood in different directions all thru it. And with a #3 blade. After you break, bend, dull, & burn up your 25th blade, so to speak, you'll see what's bein' said. Cut it it half, & be done with it. You're askin' about down pressure, in front of & behind the blade. Unlike some, I NEVER touch a movin' blade for any reason to prove anything when I'm teachin' newbies. It can be proven that the scroll saw is a safe tool w/out gettin' your fingers on the blade. Like JT said, learn to relax at the saw before you even flip the power switch. This is a hobby. The next thing I tell people is it's like drivin' a car. Put your hands on your project with your thumbs about a 1/2" on each side of the blade. You've got the rest of both hands to guide your project, & down pressure. When you begin to cut, use your thumbs for slight down pressure at the blade to keep your project from jumpin'. Now that you've begin to move, pay attention to your blade & look AHEAD of ya. If your blade is startin to look like its bendin', back off your pressure, just a touch side to side, or slightly turn your project to straighten the blade or project. Remember, every ounce of down pressure with every move you make is goin' to show up at the blade. It's just part of the deal. So, remember, just enough down pressure to keep your project on the sawdeck, & movin', & of course, to keep the blade runnin' straight. Just like your car. A little bit of correction brings it back to a straight line, right? Same with your project. Just a little bit here, a little bit there, if your arms get tired, you're puttin' to much down pressure. Ease up til you feel comfortable. Your blade size & material will have alot of bearing on your rate of feed & speed. The thinner the material, the smaller the blade. The thicker the material, the bigger the blade. My advice to you would be to find a type of blade that works for you best, & stick with it. Whether it be skip tooth, penguin, polar blade, etc. Try the polar blades. They are a good newbie blade, & last longer than some. I use Olson as a personal preference. Hope some of my .02 pennies worth helps. God Bless.

Have you looked at wooden teddy bear, Kevin? They had some flat end spiral blades on one of their blade pages, but I don't remember if it was Olson or FD. I don't use spirals enough to look at them that close. I keep 2 or 3 sizes in inventory, but they aren't flat ends. What I do is use a ball peen hammer & flatten the ends of a dozen or so. I don't have any issues doin' it that way

You're right, scrapple. The G4's are the best of the older saws. And I'm a gun enthusiast myself, but I'd of either not liked the rifle, or wanted to get rid of the saw at any cost to make that trade. Just sayin. $950? Geez? Was he behind on house payments? That is, in my personal opinion, grossly over priced for a G4. $500 tops & it would need to be in top shape before I gave that.

Your question brings up a few thoughts. Takin' into consideration your beginners' knowledge, installin' a blade can be done with the "burrs" to the front or back, dependin' on the need in your project. You can install the blade w/the teeth away from you if get into a project that has inside directional cuts, & sometimes, fretwork. You can feed your project into the blade just as if it were turned around. It takes practice, & time to learn to work backwards, so to speak. And, yes, as trackman said, the teeth normally fit facin' you, pointin' down. jm .02.

Track man perty much said it.