Sycamore67

My new Hegner was supposed to be here yesterday according to the UPS website but no show. Probably show up Monday when I cannot play with it. I get a spinal injection in the morning and not allowed to touch my tools for 24 hours. I have Reindeer to make!!

These are excellent. Great cutting but really great sanding. They really look good.

I use straight Danish Oil. I use Ziplock freezer bags and put the pieces in it and then pour the Danish Oil in. I let them sit for 5 minutes and move things around to get them totally coated. I pull them out, wipe and put on a drying rack. I usually let them dry 24 hours or more. If I am going to put another coat of finish on, I will wait a bit longer. I am not in a hurry and do not want to have a problem with pieces not drying completely.

I also dip puzzles in Danish Oil. I let them dry thoroughly and a light sanding. Sometimes, I spray too and bottom with lacquer. I also have used a finishing wax followed by a buffing wheel. Since I only make a few for Grandkids and friends, I can take extra time. If I was making them to sell, I would find a faster method.

My new saw is scheduled to be here tomorrow...can hardly wait.

The Guinevere motor is nice but the other options such as a flex shaft are not cheap. I think it would work fine for you. Foredom also makes a variable speed unit that is only 1/6 hp. I use my variable speed drill press for somethings and do not worry about the bearings on it. If I have a lot to do, I use my Shopsmith and can use both ends of the motor. It is also variable speed. The Guinevere is 3600 rpm and I do not run my sanding mops that fast. Typically, I run them about 1000 rpm which gives me better control. The variable speed is a great feature. There are variable speed bench grinders but seem to only go down to 2000 rpm but are

I am not very interested in people's age or location. But, I really like people to put more information about their saw, blade, wood variety and thickness. It is tough when people discuss a problem about cutting but fail to provide enough details to have others really understand.

I recently was cutting some compound cut reindeer that were 2 -1/2" tall from 3/4" by 1" pieces. After all the talk about the Pegas Modified Geometry, I tried a couple # 3. They cut very well and easily for awhile and then suddenly dulled. I was cutting Beech and Ash. I also cut the some with a FD Polar #3. While the blade did not cut as fast to start, it lasted a lot longer.

I think what happened is that the finger broke off at some time but the saw still ran. Since the wedge was only supported on one side, there was wear on one side of the wedge and the tension rod was wearing against the area where only one finger was left. The rod was also flexing back and forth because of the missing finger and eventually caused a fatigue fracture of the rod. I agree that there is little movement of the wedge in the v of the fingers resulting in very little wear.

I am not saying it is not a wear point but there is virtually no wear on the top arm wedge or fingers. I cleaned the parts and carefully examined the area looking for wear.

As I said earlier, I carefully examined the fracture surface and the area around it and did not see any defects. I really do not think it was caused by a defect but rather getting hit at some point. As Matt B mentioned, the upper arm finger area showed no wear at all.

I think she would have lasted longer but suffered from abuse. I do not see any indication of fatigue type cracking such as beach marks. Nevertheless, it was produced in 1988 and lasts lo get than some other brands. I no that others would have suggested a different brand. I have it some thought but have been happy and comfortable with a Hegner and will stay with it. I do not have the finger that broke off so welding it is not an option. Even if I did have it, I do not think I would try the welding the aluminum.

The arms are cast aluminum as is the table. The main frame of the saw is cast iron. I do not see any evidence of unusual wear at the fracture point and there were no visible defects in the fracture surface such as voids or bad casting. The upper arm has no visible wear at the point it came in contact with the wedge. I can only guess that the finger on the lower arm was damaged at some point perhaps when it was moved. At times I wish I was still working and had access to a scanning electron microscope as then you can really look at a fracture surface.

Here are some pictures of the broken parts. If it had been just the rod, I would have replaced it but it also included the bottom arm and a few other pieces. This is considerably more than just the cost of the tension rod. Also, I do not really know if there are other problems until I tear it apart. At 31 years old, it was not worthwhile for me to repair it. If someone is interested in the parts from this old saw, please let me know. The motor and speed control still work fine. I have aa new 18" Hegner on the way now and should be here early next week. At least I can re-use the old saw stand. Initially, I thought that the problem was just a broken tension rod. However, I looked at the fracture surface and the damage to the wedge and Had to look harder. The rod broke due to a fatigue type crack starting at the roots of the thread. However, the the rod should not be moving sideways very much. The lower wedge also showed damage primarily to one side. Looking at the lower arm, it was apparent that one of the fingers had broken off causing the wedge to be supported only on one side and bending the tension rod. It made a pretty loud noise when it went and gave me a start. The picture shows the bottom arm where the finger was broken off and also how it was supposed to look on the top arm. By the look of the fractured finger, I think that it had been broken for some time.

There are fingers on the back of the upper and lower arms which hold the wedges on the tension rod. One of the fingers in the lower arm broke likely some time ago. Yesterday, the tension rod broke caused by the broken finger. I will post pictures later. The parts would be over a couple hundred and it was 31 years old. I have decided to buy a new saw but will part out this Multimax 18. The motor and speed control are fine. I thought a bit about what saw to get as a replacement but not too long. My new Hegner arrives next week.

Here is a picture of her from a couple of years ago....

Today was a sad one for me. A 31 year old friend passed on. I have spent much time with her and will miss her greatly. Oddly, she passed due to complications of a broken finger and the passing was quite sudden. She was born in Europe and moved to Delaware at an early age. After that she spent 20 some years in central Indiana. About 8 years ago, I met her and she moved to NW Indiana and we have been great friends spending a lot of time together. Her name was Hegner and I will post pictures tomorrow.

I think it is an interesting topic. I absolutely do not post my real birthday on any forum as it is a key piece of identity information. I am in the 60-80 age range.

Superb job

Well done

I cut the tiny Reindeer with a FD #1 blade on my Hegner using a jig like shown below but smaller. It is similar to the one Steve Good shows but I use springs on the 10-24 bolts. I find that without the springs that the piece will come loose as you cut it. I also use sandpaper on the inside to hold the piece tight. I am using a 3X Ottlite which has a very good glass lens. Another change to the jig has been to add some small knobs on top of it to more easily hold the jig. I find that I tend to grip the jib too tightly and it causes me to have cutting problems and sore hands. I like to cut the very small ones from Maple or some other fine grain hardwood without strong growth rings like Oak, Ash and some others.

Here is a picture of the front and the side of the compound cut bird that was cut from Cherry. It is cut in two pieces...the wings and the body.

My wife and I were decorating the Christmas tree and I opened a box of ornaments that I had made. These are my favorites. The little reindeer in the ornament is just over 1/2" tall.

She does amazing design work.

The graphite aluminum corrosion is only a problem if you get something like sea water or something with chloride ions in it. In a dry situation, it should not be a problem. However, I just prefer other lubricants to graphite.