Sycamore67

I have a Ottlite which came with two lens. I bought it at JoAnns Fabrics and they always have coupons for up to 40% off. For my eyes, it works very well with a wide field of view.

I tried a HF magnifier light but my eyes did not like it. I found that it had more distortion and smaller area in focus than my Ottlite.

Everyone's eyes are different and the important thing is to find a lens that is comfortable to use with both eyes. I tried a couple of the same power but were totally different on how my eyes felt. A magnifier that works for me may not work for others. I tried a HF one and it was terrible for me.

There is a very large range in the quality of magnifier lights. I looked at a bunch until I bought my Ottlite with a 3x and 5x lens. The optical quality is very good. I use the 3 diopter lens and it works well for me.

It will be interesting to follow your learning curve and what you do with it. It looks like it is about $4000 plus some other things. I have thought about one but need more information and will watch and learn.

I agree that cutting anything much over 1-1/2" gets really difficult. With a 3/4" stroke and 1-1/2' thick piece getting sawdust out of the kerf gets very difficult.

On a bandsaw, they make devices to measure the tension. You can also attach a digital caliper to the blade and calculate tension using the modulus of elasticity. I did this on my bandsaw once out of curiosity. Otherwise, just pushing sideways on the blade is good enough for me. One of the problems with a scroll saw would be the small size of the blade and limited access to attaching something to the blade. It might be interesting to know the tension but not necessary. I think the window for adequate tension is pretty wide and getting a ping is good enough

How about posting the thickness and type of wood and what blade you are using. Nice cutting but a few more details would be helpful.

No Pictures......

Looks very nice and similar to what several of us have done with our Hegner Saw.

Those are very nice. Could you share how you build these and what you use for the back light. I would like to try making one.

Everyone treats dust differently and I believe in collecting it at the source and not letting it go everywhere and try to clean up later. Some of the exotics I have cut are not good to breath. Also, collecting it at the source keeps it off my clothes.

I do not use a dust collector on my scroll saw. I use a vacuum because it has more powerful suction which is important when using smaller diameter hoses or pipe.

It is so unfortunate that dust collection pipes, gates, hoses,etc are not standard sizes. Also, the quality is not good in many cases. With people so interested in dust collection, you would think someone would make parts that actually fit. Even the same company does not have parts that fit well together.

There is a current topic on blast gates and the problems with them accumulating dust in them and jamming. I initially had this same problem and also the gates never sealed well. I tried clipping the corners of the gates to get them to clear the dust and that worked a little. However, the gates were just not strong enough and some of them whistled because they leaked. Eventually, I made my own gates. I have a large dust collection system and needed both 6" and 4" gates and several of each. My cust collection is plumbed with 4" and 6" PVC and DWV plastic pipe. The gates are made of baltic birch with a slide thru part that is 1/4" baltic birch. All of the parts are finished with orange shellac and then waxed to provide smooth action and no leakage. I made a couple of varieties as I have different size flexible hose coming off the main dust collection branch. Because I was making a number of them, I set up a jig with my router to be able to make the various parts easily. I have the jigs to make the 4" and 6" gates and want to make some for 2-1/2" gates. This is a look at the ceiling in my shop with one of the gates and you can see the ceiling hangers that I made of the pipe.

I did not like the plastic gates or metal gates that you can buy. I built my own gates both 4" and 6" ones. I will see if I can find pictures.

There are several just like mine for $84 on eBay right now.

This is the Laser I bought on eBay.

I recently purchased one of the cheap Lasers on Ebay and paid about $80 for it. It will Laser a JPG image about 2" x 2". I wanted to try it out on a project so made a box to hold the puzzles of the Dragon called Hie designed by Judy Peterson. The box is made of 5/16" oak with the corners mitered using a hand plane and shooting board. The top and bottom are 1/8' BB and I lasered a copy of the puzzle on the top and a small Handcrafted by on the bottom. I made two puzzles with one being quarter sawn Sycamore and the other Aspen dyed red. The puzzle pieces are fully interchangeable.

I use a N100 particulate mask. These are disposable masks, very light but are very good. We used them at work where we had toxic dust. We went thru standard fitting and testing to make certain they worked properly.

I have never used the hold down foot.

I do not think I would buy such a device. I ping the blade and that works and my hands are large. I have measured the tension on my band saw blades just a few times using a digital caliper. I was very close to recommendations. No I just see how far the blade deflects.

Do you mean me? I find your comment insulting. There are people in all groups that can not tie their own shoes including whatever group you are in. I worked hard for my engineering degrees. I have numerous patents, written papers for journals, testified as an expert witness, given papers in several countries, traveled the world extensively for my profession and can tie my own shoes.

There are too many people going to college that have no idea about jobs. One needs to look at a college education in terms of return on investment. Parents need to help kids look at future job openings and pay. Then is it worth the investment in time and dollars for your future job? There are too many college degrees where the pay will be low and very few opportunities. A degree does not guarantee you anything....you have to earn it. I got an engineering degree or two. It was difficult course work and not cheap but long term there were jobs and reasonable pay. If you work hard and get good grades you can improve your opportunities. But college is not the right path for everyone and there are m any high paying jobs that do not need a college education.

There are 38 replies and no pictures...would be nice to see the saw.