Papatch

Hello Art, Click on this link, http://www.mikesworkshop.com/index.htm, (or copy/paste) then click on scroll saw blades. At Mikes the correct drill bit size is listed in the description of the scroll saw blades. Mike also sells the bits and a miniature bit chuck to fit them. I hope this helps. By the way, Mike's Flying Dutchman blades are the best, IMHO. Ed Sr.

I find the living room to be a great place for a scroll saw. Ed Sr.

Hi Mike, Welcome to Scroll Saw Village. If you want to learn how to make patterns the university classes here at the Village are the best, and they're free. Download Gimp and Inkscape and you'll be making patterns in no time at all. Study all the patterns here at the Village and refer to them when working on your own patterns. A few really talented artist have posted a lot of great patterns for us less so talented to learn from. Good luck and enjoy making sawdust. Ed Sr.

Thanks for the imput. The Delta 40-695 replaced the Dewalt clone. It is so similar that I think I'll have about the same experience as you. I cut bbplywood for now, maybe later I'll cut solid wood, maybe even hickory, who knows what the future holds. Ed Sr.

A little late on the post, but I use 8.5 x 11 and 12x15. I like the 8.5x11 because I buy them pre-cut that way. I like the 12 x 15 because I have a printer that prints 11x17. I make my own frames. It took a little set up but now I can make frames pretty quickly. I made 12 frames for 8.5x11 today in about an hour and a half. Twelve frames for about $5 in materials, plus about $5 in clear spray. I enjoy doing it. Ed Sr.

I don't think it would be useful to a serious scroll sawyer. For the same money I buy a good used saw, if fact that's what I did. You can get a pretty good saw on C/L for $50 to $75. I picked up a nice Craftsman with a stand for $50.

For downloaded patterns I rework them a little using GIMP (Thanks to Travis), export to the desktop and import into InkScape to scale and size the drawing to the size I prefer, 8.5 x 11 or 11 x 17. If I want larger I use the Poster utility in my HP tools. I use InkScape to change the color form black to light grey with a thin black outline, this is easy on my eyes and save a lot of ink. The poster utility will create a drawing that is either 4, 9, 16 or 25 times as large as the 8.5 x 11 original. You simply print it out and tape the pages together. If you want something a bit smaller you'll need to scale the size down using either InkScape or Gimp, you would still print it on 8.5x11 sheets of paper, you would have some trimming to do before you tape them together. If your printer has this utility it can save you a trip to the print shop. Ed Sr.

I listen to classical music, oldies (40s,50s,60s), The Peter Schiff radio show, Thomas Woods, Murry Rothbard and others at the Mises Institute. Ed Sr.

I tried glue and nails, then painters tape. I like the tape best when I stack cut. I also spay a coat of quick dry lacquer on top layer before gluing the pattern down. Works for me. Ed Sr.

I have a Craftsman ss that makes a clanking sound when I set the tension too loose. Maybe?

I've decided to purchase the Delta 40-695. I was in town today on other business and stopped by WoodCrafter. The saw is everything I need and they told me that there will be a 10% off of sale in October. I can wait, my Craftsman works really well. I've looked at a number of really nice used saws, the least expensive being a 20" Hawk for $300. The saw is in great shape, but its ten years old, hardly used, and no warranty. The Delta has a five year warranty and WoodCrafter has a good return policy. Plus WoodCrafter is sixty miles closer. I also like the lift arm on the Delta. If the fella with the Hawk would lower his price to $200-$250 I'd probably buy it. But considering the up-coming sale and the cost of gas to get the Hawk, it only cost another hundred to buy a new Delta. Well that's that. Ed Sr.

From what I've read, the 40-690 looks like a winner, especially at the prices there were selling them for a few months ago. If they were still available my searching days would be over. I may end up paying a bit more and getting a bit less. But if the 40-695 is as good as 690 it will all work out. Saturday I'll head over to WoodCrafters and look at one close up. Thanks for the help. Ed Sr.

Ralph, I like your lamp fixture. I have the same lame, the clamping fixture ain't worth a hoot. When I get to it I'll make something similar but maybe just a little different. I may saw the thing in two after drilling the holes then bolt the halves back together with wing-nutted bolts for a real snug fit so the dang lamp won't spin and flop like it does now. The fellow selling scroll saw blades sure has good prices. Good to hear from someone in Oregon. I'm in Veneta, just west of Eugene. Ed Sr.

Hi Don, Did you purchased one of those discontinued Delta 40-690s. I got the bug too late or I would have bought one. They were on sale at WoodCrafters for $350. Or did you get the newer 40-695? I'm looking at the 40-695 and have a question for anyone that uses one. Thanks for the advice. Ed Sr.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am rather new to scroll sawing, about a month. I've been using a 16" Craftsman 2161 to cut portraits, its a good saw, I only paid $50 for the saw with a stand, the saw is like new and works flawlessly. But, changing blades is more difficult that it should be, resetting the tension for each pierce cut is tedious and I am limited to the size of portrait I can cut with ease. I am going to up-grade to a 20" saw. I have my eye on a used RBI Hawk 220VS for $300 and the new Delta 40-695 for about $500. The RBI would be an as/is purchase where-as the Delta would have a five year warranty. I have to travel 100 miles round trip for the RBI and the Delta is available at the local WoodCrafter store. Assuming both saws are top quality what is most important to me is to be able to change blades quickly and to feed the blade easily for pierce cuts. I have never used any other saw but my Craftsman. Any opinions or advice would be appreciated. Ed Sr.

I appreciate the encouragement and the advice. I fixed my air pump today, that should help some. I the bladder had a split in it. Well, I repair flat tires on bicycle quite often, I just ruffed it up and glued on a tire patch, works great. Let's see if I understand the blade rule of thumb, four teeth per 1/4" would translate to sixteen teeth per inch, for 1/8" would you double the number of teeth per inch? I watched CL for a long time waiting for a better saw, folks around here don't sell good saws for cheap, John paid less than half of what DeWalt saw sell for here in Oregon. Now that I have a saw I feel like I can wait for a good deal on a higher quality saw. I did post some photos, you fellas are welcome to critique them, I'd appreciate any advice I can get. I found that if I lighten my touch I don't force the wood into the side of the blade so much, just enough pressure to keep the wood under control, maybe even a little less. I also started using the biggest bit I can for pierce cuts, what a difference that makes, an 1/8" hole is a lot easier to thread than a 1/32" hole. I did a portrait yesterday that took only three pierce cuts, less is better. I'll post it in a minute or so. Kind regards, Ed Sr.

Thanks for the warm welcome. What a great site, I didn't know how to upload photos, no problem, there is a video that explains everything. This is quite a challenging experience for me. I have never used a scroll saw, I have never drawn a picture of anything, and I haven't a clue about art. Fortunately I have this web-site to reference, and two very good friends that have natural artistic talent, they have been a big help. Time permitting I try to draw a new pattern and cut it out every day. I'm slow, two hours or so to draw the pattern and about two hours or so to cut it out and mount it. This is probably cheating but I had island that fell out on my last effort, I just glued it to the backer board. You guys will probably spot it. I have corrected the pattern and made a number of other refinements that should make it easier to cut out. My artist friends tell me that less is better than more, which is good because pierce cuts really slow a fella down. Yesterday I stopped in at WoodCrafters, after using my Craftsman for two weeks I can now see the advantages of the more expensive saws, I would kill for an Excalibur. I am using Flying Dutchman Superior Puzzle blades from Mike's Workshop. They cut slow, but so do I. Two things I have figured out, if I keep wandering off the line, I tighten the tension and or put in a sharp blade. My projects take five or six blades to complete, is that normal? I don't have a problem with criticism. If any of you see a way I can improve my patterns please feel free, I'm a student at heart.

Hello ladies and gentlemen I'm Ed. In 1968 I was a spanking new apprentice carpenter, so I've been working with my hands all of my adult life. I framed houses for few years then went into the residential remodel business, later my son and I switched over to home building. All this time I did the drafting and design for our projects. Eight years ago my son took over and I decided to do drafting and design full time. In order to compete I had to give up the drafting table and learn Computer Aided Design, tough work, but in time I became quite proficient. With the bursting of the housing bubble work became almost non-existent, design jobs fell from two or three a month to three or four a year. I took up bicycle repair to supplement my meager income, that took a little bit of learning too, but it is very enjoyable work. I still need more income, so now I'll give the scroll saw a try. I took up the scroll saw four weeks ago, I've watched a couple of hundred hours of video and became fascinated with the beautiful portraits some of you guys do, amazing! So that is the direction I'm headed, I plan on learning how to do scroll saw portraits. That's how I fell into this web site. I didn't get a saw until two weeks ago, finances being what they are I bought a nice hardly used Craftsman .21610, only $50 with a sturdy stand and a light. Ignorance is bliss, I can find no fault with this saw. So far I've drawn the patterns for eleven portraits, cut them out, backed them with black board and oiled them. I'm slow as all get out and have a hard time staying on the line, but as with everything, practice makes perfect. This web site is a treasure trove of good information which I hope to exploit to the fullest. In time maybe I can contribute something useful for the other members. Thanks for having me, Ed Sr.