SCROLLSAW703

Sounds like you made a nice find, Rob. I don't know anything about DeWalts. Amazing Kevin seems to be the resident expert on them if ya got questions. My workhorse is a BM - 26 Hawk. My back up saw is a CW - 40 Hitachi. It was the first saw I bought new 20 years ago, & it has who knows how many hundreds of hours on it, & still runs like new. I also have a Craftsman on a stand in case of dire emergency. It never hurts to have a back up saw of some sort around. I learned that lesson the hard way. Good luck with your new find, & happy scrollin'!

Interesting topic. Out here in farm country(kansas) it would amaze you at the unusual projects I've been asked to create. Yes, all on the scroll saw. I don't have pictures of all of them anymore, but, I think the 3 most cherished projects I've done are a cowboy cross for my nephew when he was killed. A Truckers Cross for my Dad when he passed away, which is now hangin' on the wall in my shop because it was partially destroyed at the cemetary. And a toy box I made for my grandson. All three of these are on my fb page at Sawdust Haven. My Father was a Trucker for over 50 years. He taught me the business, & I drove until my health gave out. My Father & I didn't have the best relationship, & the only work of mine he seen was the sign I made for his office with his trucking business name on it, & the year he established it. As far as I know, it's still hangin' in that office. My brother is now the head ramrod. The toybox I made for my grandson, well, it was made from pine. A glue up of 1" x 6" lumber. Put together with dowels & pocket screws at every joint. The base too. I routed a groove in the base for the main box to set into for strength. I installed a piano hinge on the lid, & the shocks from Rockler so it wouldn't slam down on his fingers. stained it, & routed his name in the lid. pictures of it are on the fb page. I do a lot of Native American pieces on the scroll saw. Being part Cherokee, this is alot of my interest. I cut my own feathers for my dream catchers, do the bead work, etc. I think about Dad on every project, & wished he could see some of the work I've done. We never planned on anything but livin' & dyin' truck drivers. Goes to show you the Lord works in mysterious ways.

I do all my sanding after I get done with the planing. I use a Craftsman ros variable speed. And I use frued sanding discs. I'm happy with that. On the other end, I have 3 palm sanders with 150, 180, & 220 grits on them. I use a palm sander when I'm finished with the project, lightly touching the fretwork to just smooth out the rough spots. Fret work is thin very fragile, so finish sanding takes a light hand. You can destroy a finished project in a matter of seconds if you're not careful. Try & get all your sanding done before your project touches the wood. It'll save you a lot of headaches in the end. jmo.

thank you stoney. I appreciate it. I just take things one day at a time, & do what I can. My shop helps keep me focused. The friends I make here, & other places. For the most part, I'm a loner. That come from the trucking. But I enjoy it here, seeing what's goin' on, or if I can jump in & help somebody. You guys have all been great! thank you again, Stoney.

This has been an interesting thread for me gentlemen, & a boost of encouragement. After spending 35 years on the road, sittin' in a truck, it was a different world for me to be home all the time. I've been off the road 5 years this month. 3 years ago in January, I had my first major back surgery. In december, my second. Depression has been a big issue. I started truckin' when I was 14. My Dad had 10 trucks. All but two were cattle trucks. Dad taught me the business, & That was all I knew. When the sawbones gave me the long face, & told me I could no longer drive, It was like hittin' a brick wall. In 2009 I had viral menengitis. Come in off the road with flu like symptoms, & wound up with a hospital stay of 8 1/2 months, lost the use of my legs, & partial use of my left hand. After tons of therapy, & learning to walk again, my back, legs, & left hand have never been the same. I was able to go back to drivin' for about a year and a half. Then My Father & a nephew passed away two weeks apart. I was on the road at the time, & had a nervous breakdown, & wrecked my truck. My Sawbones put me back in the hospital, & told me my nerves were shot. I couldn't handle anymore stress. From that point on, she said I was considered disabled because of my back & nerves. She helped me get disability, & I haven't drove since. Depression set in, & I nearly went crazy. That's when my bride decided I needed a hobby. Why she decided on woodworking, I have no idea, but she did, & I began to get into it. A few tools at a time. A lot of reading & research. Learning to use the tools, learning different woods, finishing, etc. I know some of this probably sounds backwards, but, I didn't think details were to important until I started readin' some of your feedbacks. I appreciate the time & your feedback, gentlemen. Sometimes a feller just needs to know he ain't the only one out there with issues, & how to deal with it. Woodworking has been a blessing to me also, Kevin. I've met alot of great folks over the years, & it keeps my mind & hands busy. Thank you again. God bless & enjoy the day.

Thank you for the input. I drove truck OTR for 35 years, & my lower back finally gave out. I to have arthritus in the back from the truck. My hands give me problems, too. I appreciate the support from you gentlemen. Ya helped me get thru the day! I miss being able to sit down & cut out a project like I used to. Now it seems like it takes forever! Thanks again for your time. Enjoy your day!

I'm recuperating from my 2nd back surgery. Going thru physical & hydrotherapy. I finally convinced my surgeon to let me go back to my shop, or I was movin' in with him. But, he told me I couldn't spend more than two hours a day at the saw.😒 And I'm not able to lift much yet, so I have to find other things in the shop to do. l've got lathe work to do, but I have to do a little at a time. It's not like I don't have plenty to do, I'm doin' my best to follow dr's orders. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complainin', I'm fightin' frustration. Do you? And how do handle it?

the gears aren't to tough to cut. I cut 15 gears Of all sizes from mdf a few years ago when I built a toy box for my grandson. It was just a bunch of gears put together, & a crank handle to make them all turn together. As it turned out, his mother decided he didn't need that, so I still have the gears. someplace.

for what its worth, I wouldn't use strictly spirals on 1/2" material. Thinner material is ok. Personally, if possible, I would use a #3 or #4 polar blade, then go back & use the spiral blade where ya want to. Ya could use a #3, or thereabouts if ya wanted to. Some have pretty good luck with spiral blades, others don't because of the control factor. They are designed with teeth all around the blade so they will cut in every direction, allowing little movement of the project. Personally, I keep a few dozen of every size on hand because I use them for leaf veins, opening up tight spots, feathers, etc. I won't use them on a complete project because they leave a rough look to the project, imo, which leads to more sanding. In agreement with others, I would order a dozen of a couple sizes & get the feel of them before ya make your final decision. just my .02.

I agree, clockman. If your ability is being based on the number of posts you've got under your name, WOW! this forum is full of master scrollers! I never paid any attention to that either, until it was mentioned, then I decided to go thru & have a look see at some of the numbers. Then I looked at those fellas' profile. Some of them joined several years ago, so posts add up. But it's experience & what they have to say that I'm interested in. I'm not able to learn anything from their numbers.

you're right, rolf. lookin' at a project & bein' able to see the perfection & time the scroller took to do the best job possible takes an experienced eye. IMO, there are several things that should take place before the pattern gets to the saw. Spendin' time studyin' the pattern is first & foremost. Deciding the type of wood you're goin' to use, blade choices, etc. And a little prayer for help to keep focused, & guide your hands never hurts. The only way to get better at all types of scrolling is to try them. You can make a better decision on your likes & dislikes from there. Once you decide on what you like best, work on projects in that type of scrolling that interest ya, & perfect it! Then you'll understand how different blades work together in different projects. Then, if you have the desire to learn something else, ya got the general idea how things come together. Getting to know your machine is a priority! Learning the different types of wood, & their personalities is also an importance. It will help you to decide what wood to use for your project, & what it'll look like in the end. I also think, & again, this is just my opinion, a person kinda needs somewhat of a mechanical & artistic mind. The mechanical part come easy for me because I've been around equipment, & mechanics all my life. The artistic part, let's just say I work on that every project. These two abilities help me figure out dimensions & depth of a project, & help me to figure out what the project will look like in the end. I keep practicin' & readin' & learnin'. It's my addiction, if you will! God bless!

Mr. Hawkeye, I bet you're better than you give yourself credit for, my friend. I've been scrolling close to 25 years now. I've taught folks to scroll, I've learned to scroll with every size blade I need to, on & on. BUT, I'm still learning. There are a few things I'd like to learn to do yet. I'm a self taught scroller. I take pride in that, as well as my hobby. I can not begin to tell you how many times I've been asked "is that laser cut?" How do you cut all those fine cuts? Well, my first answer is no, it's not laser cut. It's cut with a scroll saw. My second answer is patience & damn small blades! I don't claim to be anybody special, I'm just a retired ol' truckdriver tryin' to keep himself out of the sanitarium! I keep practicin' on the projects that interest me, & appreciate the compliments when they're given.

my friend, you will not regret the time spent getting to know your 220. I bought one on ebay 3 years ago, & it came from tuscon. The proud former owner gave me basically the same story you got, only mine was a little better taken care of, from the sounds of it. I run that saw HARD! Replaced a few parts, until I finally wore it out far enough it was going to be cheaper to trade it off. I bought the BM- 26 Hawk. It's an awesome machine! I've been scrolling over 20 years now, I own 5 saws. All different breeds. The Hawk is my work horse. I use a couple of the others for other things. But, in the meantime, trust me when I tell you, you can't beat Hawks' tech & parts service, & their knowledge of the machines is the best in the business! Imo! enjoy your hawk!

thank you hawkeye. I try to keep things as simple as possible. I just had major back surgery for the second time. I've got my shop set up so I can sit down when I need to, & my tools are within reach of the sit down spot. And it's easier to keep clean.

easy way, kevin? what do you mean? Why complicate an easy situation? In your opinion, am I going about something wrong? I've found in the 20+ years I've been scrolling, there are many ways to approach sanding & finishing. I've found out what works for me, & stuck with it. My sincere apologies if I offended you, Sir. I didn't realize there was an "easy way."

As some have said, study your project before ya start cuttin'. Cut around the fragile areas & leave them til towards the end of project. When you get to the fragile areas, use as small a blade as possible, & slow your blade speed down so there is not much vibration. As a rule, ya start in the middle of the project & work out. But there are exceptions to the rule. I've done tractors, combines, trucks, etc., & around the tires & fenders, the header on the combine were very fragile. I cut into some of the pieces just to get cuts started, but left it til i finished the rest of the project. my .02.

john hit it in the nail! I use rough cut lumber for all my projects. I plane the wood to whatever thickness I want. Usually 1/2" - or less. By the time it goes thru the planer, I hit it with 150, 180, & 220. Depending on the project, once in awhile, I'll use 400. Rarely do I stain my projects. I use shellac & lacquer simply because most folks around here like to see the wood grain, & the true color of the wood. If I use pine, I'll use a sealer & then stain it. But as far as your sanding question, as several have mentioned, the more you sand, the more pores in the wood you close up, & the less finish your project will take on. In essence, all you're doing is polishing the wood. Before I start cuttin' on a project, I do ALL the sanding, right down to the finish sanding. That way when I'm finished, I can make a quick pass over it with a palm sander & 220, & it's ready for finish.

great job, dick. folks like that need all the encouragement they can get. And the power of prayer does work. I've seen it. I bet that little fella had a grin from ear to ear when he seen your project for him! Awesome job!

my first thought is what are you cuttin'? That's where you need to start. Every blade has it's own purpose. Skip tooth blades, reverse tooth blades, ultra blades, etc., come in all sizes for every purpose. As you've found out, spiral blades take some practice & have their place as well. My advice would be to go to wooden teddy bear site & get one of the variety packs they offer. It has different sizes of blades in it, & you can try them all on your project. Then you can decide what blades you like the best, & go from there. Remember, fretwork uses smaller blades than thicker material. And the smaller the blade, the less tension, the bigger the blade, the more tension. Keep practicin', & enjoy it! God bless!

personally, I just use shellac & Watco spray gloss. It brings out the true color of the wood, & is plenty to seal & protect it. If I don't want near the shine, I use the semi gloss. Deft is ok too, but try it on some scrap first. It has a tendancy to change the look of the project. I sure wouldn't stain it if it's cherry. Let the true color shine through! You won't be disappointed!

Well newbie, it could be a number of things. Are you runnin' with an extension cord? If so, try pluggin' the saw directly into a differnt electric socket. Next, if you can get to the bushings on the motor, make sure they're tight. Next thing, check your bellows. Make sure the bellows aren't leakin', or the line isn't leakin'. Make sure your blade is installed correctly. Teeth pointed toward the floor, & enough tension ya get a "ping" sound when you test it. From there, test run the saw w/no cuttin'. Let it set & run idle for a few minutes, adjusting your variable speed fast to slow, & see if you can hear the noise at a certain speed. If you do, my advice would be to call Ryobi FIRST before going back to home depot. They may be able to send you parts to repair it, or tell you what you need to do. One more thing I'd say, If they tell you to take it back to home depot for replacement, have the manager take the replacement out of the box & run it with a blade installed. If it does the same thing, get your money back & walk away. There are better investments out there. jmo.

just checked it out. I may have to give it a try. Thanks for the info!

thanks for the input fellas. I've been scrollin' 20+ years, & have always done my sanding, right up to finish sanding after I get done with planin'. Lately I've been readin' about sanding mops & just wondered about them, & what they were used for. I sincerely appreciate your voices. I gave up tryin' to post pictures on here, but if you're interested in havin' a look see at some of my work, you can go to my fb page Sawdust Haven. Thanks again guys!

Mr. Rolf, to be honest, I wished I'd of bought it sooner! I bought a VS - 20 2 years ago, & it was a used machine with very little use. I wore it out. We took it Bushton, KS to Hawks' plant for them to repair, & we decided it would be cheaper to invest in a new saw. So we bought the 26. I love the saw! I have no complaints about it! It has a blade adjustment to tilt the blade to make it cut more aggressive, or less aggressive. Its so quiet, you can hear the blade cutting. No issues with vibrations. Hope this helps, Rolf.

I appreciate the answers, gentlemen! I don't guess I need a sandin' mop. That's good! more money fer blades!