SCROLLSAW703

glad to hear ya finally got your issues resolved, Iggy. Haven't heard from ya lately & been wonderin' aboutcha. I've been busy with mom the last week, haven't even been to the shop. I've been "designin" a project for a customer, & I finally got her approval on it last night, so now I can finally get back in the shop. mom is situated in swing bed here after her surgery, so now it's shop time. Finally. It has been a long time comin'! Your vibration could be several things. Mine vibrated a little bit when it was brand new, but after usin' it awhile, the vibration left me. I've got mine on casters, & on a wood floor. I didn't move anything, I just let it go thru a break in period, so to speak, & mine will pass the nickel test at every speed. I don't get mine much above 3 very often. I cut to much detail in half inch or better hardwood, but I use blades as small as #0/3, too. That's a perty small blade. I use up to a #7 at times as well, & I don't break blades, or bend the tops. I think I've got mine perty well tuned. It'll cut as aggressive as you want it to by adjusting the bottom arm adjustment w/the allen wrench with the saw. Enjoy your new investment, brother. Anything I can help ya with, just call. keep in touch.

looks good, Iggy! sounds like you're figgerin' things out! keep makin' sawdust, brother!

you hit the nail on the head, hotshot! The holders for the BM, if you look at it, has a machine mark dead center of the bottom of the clamp. The inside end of the set screw should be just over that mark, which in turn will make your set screw flush, or just under the outside edge of the blade holder.

I agree. Stick with your puzzle business, Iggy. You seem to be doing very well with it, & folks like your work. Stay away from the nonsense of dealin' with folks that aren't sure what they want, & 9x out of 10, you won't get paid in the end. Walk away from it, & keep makin' puzzles, brother. It ain't worth the headache!;(

first of all, I wouldn't have touched it for $30 - $35, Iggy. No offense intended. Second, like km & a couple others said, you're dealing with a "you design the sign by the ideas I've shown you" & that usually doesn't end well. You spend more time designing the sign, tryin' to suit her, & by that time, you won't have time to cut, finish, & put it all together in the time limit she's given ya. You'd be better off to walk away from this one, or at best, explain to her the time involved to make it, & give her an approximate date. If that's what you decide to do. just my .02 pennies worth.

I'm right handed, but cut both ways. Especially if I'm cuttin' fine or small detail. I have a tendency to cut on the right side more, I think. I start my cuts in a corner, or if there is enough room, I'll drill an entry hole in the center of the area I'm goin' to cut & cut around so the blade is cuttin' along the line & I end up cuttin' ccw. I'm a bottom feeder, so I guess ya figure out what works for you.

Jeremy, Hawkeye said pretty much what I hesitated to say in my last post. I'm a Hawk advocate myself. Yes, I started at the the bottom w/an entry level Craftsman single speed. I wore it completely out. Then I bought a used Craftsman VS that uses pin type or plain end blades. I still have it in service. Then the wife & I were in HD in Denver some 20+ years ago, & they had a Hitachi CW - 40 on sale. They said they weren't goin' to make the saw any longer.:( We kicked it around, & decided to bring it home. That saw has never failed me! After I read some of the reviews on it before I even put it all together, I looked at my wife & told her we just bought a pile of scrap iron! I've put over 3000 hours on that saw, & the only repairs I've made to it is new bellows & air lock line, VS switch, & power switch. That saw still cuts & runs like new! Then we bought a used VS220 Hawk on ebay. the feller said it was like new. Within two years, I'd wore it out enough it was time to trade it off. I'd made simple repairs to it, but things kept getting worse, so The folks at Hawk decided it was time for them to look at it. We loaded the saw in the pick up, & went to Bushton. When their crew went through it, it was going to take about $700 to fix it. I just traded it in on a BM - 26. That was in September of last year. I don't regret a minute of it! The things this saw will do, & the capabilities it has are just unbelievable! The saw is simple built, but has adjustments to make the saw cut any way you want it to. It's designed for top & bottom feeders, VS, tension release is at the nose of the top arm. I could go on, but you can check it out on their website. The price may make your face light up, & your hair stand up, but trust me, it's well worth the money. The tech service is top notch, & parts availability is not a problem, & fast shipping. Like Hawkeye said, & a few more too, invest in the best saw you can afford when you buy. Check out their customer service & parts availability & how willing they are tohonor their warranty & answer questions. Spend some time researching how well different breeds hold up under given conditions. Once you've decided on what you want, doresearch on that machine. Blade clamps, blade holders, speeds, lube points, etc. You'll figure things out as you go, but be cautious to not to just jump into something you're not going to enjoy. That's the important part.

i use hot glue. Have never had any problems with it.

You can ask 100 scrollers that question, & based on their preference, experience, expectations of the saw, what they do w/it, the list goes on, you'll get 101 different answers. My advice is to figure out what type of projects you want/like to do, how big of a saw you want within your budget, then start researching saws from there. Get away from the pin type blades.

you won't find a company with better customer service, knowledge of their equipment, & how to fix it. Nicole is top notch with diagnosing issues & helping resolve them, & LOVES her scrolling. I wouldn't deal with anybody else for scroll saws.

hold that comment next time you're in the grocery store, kevin.

there's another factor that comes into play with blade speed. Accuracy. How do YOU want your project to look in the end? Do you want a project with raggy cuts & out of round curves, etc.? OR, do you want a project that's presentable? Evenly cut lines, nice rounded curves, etc.? I've been scrolling over 25 years, & have never had a reason to get above 5 on speed. Take into consideration the type & thickness of wood you're cutting. The softer & thinner the wood, the less aggressive blade you need. The thicker & harder the wood, the more aggressive the blade needs to be. Caution needs to taken w/wood like pine. The blade will have a tendency to follow the grain of the wood. My advice would be to get yourself a sample pack of blades from wooden teddy bear, try the different blades @different speeds in your poplar, see what works best for you. That's the only way to really find out what works & what doesn't. Remember, as has been mentioned, the speed of the saw is just the blade speed. The rest of the speed comes from you. You can only push so fast, & still be accurate.

you guys forget Hawk saws are built in Kansas. The heartland, gentlemen! Out here, yes, there is wheat grown, & From the middle of June to the middle of July, the combines come out of the woodwork! Farmers also have other businesses besides the farm. But, when it's time to do field work, plant & harvest, everything else comes to a stop because the crops keep the farm alive, and feed you. Iggy, your machine will arrive on schedule, no worries, brother.

well brett, bein' you're going to paint it, I would suggest poplar. It's easy work with on the saw, sands easy, medium density wood, & takes paint better than hardwood. And clear of knots, where pine isn't. And it's fairly cheap, unless ya live here in NW Kansas. Then its more costly than oak, cherry, maple, or walnut.

Mr. Jack, on the 1/8", I'd use a #1 skip tooth, or ultra reverse. And slow blade speed. And possibly a backer because of the fragility of your wood. The 3/4", I'd use a #7 or #9 skip tooth blade. Watch your blade speed here, too. Cuttin' a piece that thick will take patience, & don't force it. You'll bust the blade from heat build up. Use skip tooth blades with it. The skip tooth can get rid of the saw dust easier, & not hold it in the kerf of the cut & create more heat, & dulling your blade faster. Remember, more tension on bigger blades, & less tension on smaller blades. If i can help ya any further, just pm me. good luck, & make some saw dust! Also, be sure to wear a dust mask when you're cuttin' the purple heart. It has a bacteria in it that can cause lung reactions, or worse. I learned the hard way.

brett, I'd have to agree with Lucky on this one. I cut feathers for dream catchers I make, & I plane the stock down to 3/16". I don't use a backer, never have. I use a #1 skip tooth blade, & have broke a few feathers, but that's part of it. Were i you, I would rethink your construction plans & use 1/4". If you've got walnut pieces, locate a lumber store, or a friend with a planer & the charge will be minimum compared to wreckin' your complete project w/1/8" material. then you can easily use a #1 or #3 blade. And your project won't be near as fragile. 1/8" material is more for flat fretwork that's going to be glued to backer board permanently. Also, make sure your table top is good & waxed before you Start. Your blade speed is going to be slow. Maybe around 200 or 250 cpm. start with that & see how it goes. After you've cut awhile, have a look see at the back side of your work piece. If it's splintering, slow down just a little bit. If it isn't, try uppin' your speed just a touch. Take it a step at a time, a little common sense, you'll figure it out. Blade tension is critical. Over tight blades will pull out of the blade holders or break. To loose of a blade will wander & cut crooked. Your tension should be set so that you can push it lightly a 1/16" right & left. You'll figure it out! Start with scrap first!!!!! We are always here to help you when you need it. good luck!

i plugged mine into gfi sockets, & it had a dc motor. never had any problems. mine was a vs220 i bought used. i had it three years, & used it hard & put alot of hours on it. it never backed away from anything i put to it.

what bill said. Two hours really isnt long enough between coats for the poly to dry hard enough to sand, you'll have a gummy mess, scrappie. You'll leave deep scratches in it, & your next coat will make those scratches show. Poly has to harden before you sand it in order for the next coat to adhere to it. When you sand poly, you should get a white dust from it when its dry & cured. And do not sand with any thing less than 220. most of the time, I'll go over it lightly w/220, then smooth it out with 400 or even 600, depends on the project. But I wouldn't go over 3 coats of poly. You'll have a built up look you may not want, & poly is self leveling. So spray lightly, & evenly. I don't use poly out of the rattle can. I use my hvlp sprayer to spray it. I've never had any issues.

i've used elmers spray glue in the past & never had any issues. But i couldnt get it here when i needed it, so I bought a can of "weldwood" spray glue. It even has a lemon scent It works better than the 3M, & stays put. a little mineral spirits on a rag cleans it off your hands.

personally, I'd stick with your thoughts on the Hawk. You won't be disappointed. VERY user friendly.

Awesome scroll work! Were it me, I would use Watco dark walnut stain, then shellac & Watco gloss lacquor. The watco stain will really make your design pop, & show your work.

i disagree with ya on that on, km. I've got my Hawk adjusted to be fairly aggressive, & I use #0 & #1 blades regularly with no issues. I even use #0/2 blades from time to time, & haven't changed the setting since I adjusted it where I wanted it when I set it new. It's all in the touch, & how fine tuned your saw is. I use 1/2" or better hardwoods in all my projects. Every blade has a different kerf & a different number of teeth at different angle set on each type of blade. Knowing the difference between aggressiveness & blade purpose is huge. Yes, a bigger blade will be more aggressive, & cut a wider kerf, in turn chewing more wood. Where as having the ability to adjust aggressiveness & use a smaller blade not only handles less wood, but cuts down on wear & heat on the blade, & cuts a smaller kerf. Therefore getting longer blade life. That's why I'm a Hawk advocate. Because, like Mr. Rolf stated, there is no machine on the market any simpler made, easier to work on, all the bearings are sealed, & takes little maintenance. The blade holders hold all sizes of blades, can be used for top or bottom feeders, easy to set up & use.

Well Mr. Bill, not havin' much knowledge of hegners, but years of scroll saw experience, & mechanicin' on my own & others saws, I'm not goin' to say I agree/disagree w/Mr. Tony on the spring, but, it's a possibility. But, before you loctite anything, pull up the parts diagram of your saw. You'll notice on the tension rod there are two "wedges". They are an important part of keepin' & holdin' tension. Those wedges may have worn to a sharp enough angle, they may need replaced if you aren't able to file them to a rounder edge. Another thing that may be problematic is the threads at the end of the tension rod. They may have worn enough they aren't holding. You could try & run a thread die down them. I had this same issue w/my 220VS Hawk. The wedge wore out first, & replaced it, then the threads on the tension rod wore enough, I finally had to replace it. That solved that problem until I finally wore out enough of the rest of the saw, it was cheaper to trade than to fix it. Be worth lookin' into. just my .02.

I use Olson & FD both. For small detail, & a good sharp bade, my go to blade is the Olson #1 or #3 polar blade. For bigger detail, my go to is FD #2 or #4. I tried ps blades & didn't much care for them. All my cuttin' is cherry, oak, maple, walnut, barn wood, & some soft woods on occasion. Order the variety packs, as mentioned. Then you'll know for certain what works for ya.

jmo, I've had five different saws. Craftsman, Hitachi, Dremel, Hawk, & Master Mechanic. The Hawk & Hitachi saws are the best there is, imo. No tools are needed to change blades. Both are Variable speed. I've wore out a Craftsman & a Hawk I bought used. Then I traded it for the bm - 26 Hawk i have now. It can be used as a top or bottom feed saw, has the ability to hold 6 racked blades, tension release at the front, keeps & holds tension. More than plenty of power. The aggressiveness of the blade is easily adjusted. Variable speed up to 1750. SUPER QUIET MACHINE! Very stable on its feet. plenty of work table room, & best of all, it's built here in Kansas, & there is no problem with it the Hawk tech folks can't solve with it. Parts availability is dead on! The hawk cuts a perfect line, & great for fretwork, heavy, thick work, & will make a perfect 90. I use rough sawn hardwood in all my projects. The Hawk makes easy work of it! My Hitachi will, too. As many hours as I've put on it, & its 23 years old, the only two things i've ever done to it is replace the power & vs switch. As many bad marks as that saw has agin' it in the reviews, it's one of the best saws I ever bought, & still use. Were I you, I would do some serious research on saw capabilities & try to drive one of each you're interested in before you dump your cash into something you won't enjoy using.