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Sycamore67

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Everything posted by Sycamore67

  1. Sycamore67
    I also have problems with my hands/wrists. Basically, the wrist joint on both hands wore out with bone on bone. I was really scared about the future. Fortunately, I found a world class hand surgeon at Rush Hospital in Chicago. He had written many papers and one on my exact condition and surgery to correct it. Not only had he written the papers but was the best doctor I have met and explained everything to me. The surgery on a wrist took almost 4 hours. The recovery was really painful but the results are a miracle. I am careful with my hand and wrists now and look for any way to take pressure off them. I have made small push sticks or v-sticks and remind myself to not put so much pressure on the wood. The key to many of my physical problems is to take time to look at how I am doing things and find a way to do it with less pressure off my joints.
  2. Sycamore67
    I would prefer not to see it on this forum. There are so many great projects that I do not think it is needed. If certain people want to see it, they can send you a message
  3. Sycamore67
    I have had spinal fusion in the lumbar region . As is typical, I still have chronic back and leg pain. It does limit me at times but it is one reason I started scroll sawing a few years ago. I have a great chair with back support. A few months ago, my pain management doctor helped me to get surgery for implanting a spinal cord stimulator. It injects an electrical signal into my spinal cord and has greatly reduced the pain and allowed longer shop time. The stimulator is a high tech device with a lot of programming options. If someone is interested in it, please pm me.
  4. Sycamore67
    What companies do is put a saw out there and see if it sells. If you good people buy a cheap saw and have problems, then you got what you paid for. The way to get companies not to make junk, it for you people not to buy it. As long as you are willing to buy cheap machines that do not work real, somebody will sell it to you. Companies design machines that they can sell. Do not blame someone else for buying a cheap machine....look in the mirror. Me, I paid the price and have a Hegner...a fine quality piece of machinery. It may not suit some due to the way you feed blades. But there are other high quality machines you can buy.
  5. Sycamore67
    Buy some Loc Line parts and hook them up to some PVC pipe and then to a vac. I have done this with 3/4" Loc Line and have pickups above and below the table. It works great.....
  6. Sycamore67
    I am an engineer and never worked at being stupid. Bringing a product to market is a complicated matter and not the simple thing that some imply. People seem to want everything and want to pay little for it. People want a perfect scroll saw for $200. Good Luck. If some of the people think that they can do that, I want to buy one.
  7. Sycamore67
    No....IMHO I am concerned with pallets and crates as I do not know how they were treated or with what. When you plane and sand them, you put a lot of the dust in the air. Is it OK...probably but for me not worth the risk or worry. Many people do use them, just not me.
  8. Sycamore67
    I have used dyes on some projects and like dissolving them in alcohol rather than water as it raises the grain less. I prefer not using dyes or stains for Intarsia but....it is almost impossible to get good deep green or blue real wood. I do have some nice blue pine and green poplar but hard to find. In addition, many woods will gradually change color with exposure to light. With green poplar, it will eventually turn brownish. Another suggestion, the books by Kathy Wise are an excellent way to learn Intarsia. She has some step by step instructions.
  9. Sycamore67
    For a table, get or make two saw horses and put some plywood across it. You can make them high enough to make it easier to work. I have a couple with adjustable height that I use at times.
  10. Sycamore67
    It is not the entire pattern. The placement of the inner parts are critical so they do not interfere. You have the motor, axles, bulb holder and switches. As one who has built this, you are best off getting the parts and plans from the author....I think about $42 and well worth it. I bought the parts myself and really chased finding everything.
  11. Sycamore67

    Cat Box

    Sycamore67 replied to helmut's topic in Bragging Rights

    Very sorry to hear this. His work has always been wonderful. Our prayers are with you.
  12. Sycamore67
    The pattern is in the Dec/Jan 2017 Woodcraft Magazine. There is also quite a list of parts including the motor. I am certain the pattern is copyrighted so can not send you a pattern. You can just buy the magazine or order the part and plans from the author. I used the magazine plans and spent quite some time gathering the parts. The tricky part is mounting the motor and connecting it to the gears. In addition there is mounting the light bulb along with the wiring.
  13. Sycamore67
    I recently completed this Dynamo Men Lamp based on the plans in a recent Woodcraft Magazine. Most of the parts are made from 3/8" ash. The men and the gears were all cut on the scroll saw. Most difficult part of this project for me was making certain all the holes were exactly in the proper place so all the pieces would turn properly. The finish is Danish Oil and spray can lacquer. Animation is provided by a 12 rpm motor and the bulb is an LED with a mirror top. The last picture is an animation of the two men working.
  14. Sycamore67
    I have 3 Sanders..green and yellow brands...but only use them for sanding stock boards and not final projects. Most of the parts are just too small. I use mop or Mac Sanders for my puzzles. For Intarsia I use a pneumatic drum sander. For a lot of things I just use hand sanding. One of the most important things is not the sanding machine but the sand paper used. I use a lot of the Klingspor cloth backed and go progressively thru the grits. I also like the Norton 3X paper sheets. In addition, sand paper wears out and some try to use it too long.
  15. Sycamore67
    Some wood will just warp more than others. Quarter sawn wood will warp the least and has the growth rings perpendicular to the surface. With plain sawn wood it is just difficult to control the warping.
  16. Sycamore67
    I do staining and finishing with a zip lock freezer bag. It makes it easy to shake it up for coverage and then put excess back in container. To put it back, I make a small cut on a corner off and then squeeze it back.
  17. Sycamore67
    I have the Ridgid sander and great for some things but not so much for small pieces. I also have a pneumatic drum sander which I run on an old Shopsmith. I have Flap Sanders, Mac Mops and a Dremel with small sanding drums and carbide cutters. I probably due a lot of hand sanding for Intarsia using cloth backed strips. How people approach sanding will have to do with their focus. If you are making things to sell, you want relatively quick sanding and likely economical. I am making things not to sell and not in any hurry.
  18. Sycamore67
    That is extremely well done...thanks for sharing.
  19. Sycamore67
    The elephant puzzle went to my Grandson yesterday. While I appreciate all of your compliments, his smile when playing with it was the best.
  20. Sycamore67
    I have done quite a bit of Intarsia and briefly and quickly dismissed it due to safety concerns. The pieces are much to small. I use a downdraft sanding box to control dust when shaping pieces. Using a vacuum or dust collector with it, gets most of the dust.
  21. Sycamore67
    The Elephant Puzzle was made from 7/8" thick poplar and was from a Judy Peterson book. I made it a bit thicker than normal as I wanted to try shaping the elephant a little like with Intarsia. This gives it a bit of a more natural look and depth. Normally, I just make a wooden tray with a cut out of the puzzle to hold the puzzle. This time, I decided to do a little bit to create a background for the elephant. The tray is made from 1/2" plywood on the front and a 1/4" backing piece. The finish was Watco Danish oil. The elephant had the natural, the lower tray piece was medium Watco, the middle piece medium Watco and the blue was from acrylic paint thinned to make a stain. A coat of poly was used over everything and then a finishing wax.
  22. Sycamore67
    I have an older scroll saw that I am not using and want to give to someone. It is the saw that I started out on and might be good for a beginner. It was made by Penn State in 1990 and is a 15" variable speed one. The bellows does not work but it has an aquarium pump to blow dust away. It uses both pin end and plain end blades. I ran it today and it rooms pretty smooth. The price is that I want someone who wants it uses it and does not just resell it. It would be good for a beginner to start with and find out if they want to pursue this hobby. If you decide that you do not want it, then give it to someone else. I am located in northwest Indiana and it is pickup only...no shipping. If you are interested, please send me a message.
  23. Sycamore67
    I think an important point is what filters each has in it. I have the Jet AFS-1000B. It has two filters and the outer one is easily replaceable. It is very similar to the Powertec. The Jet works very well.
  24. Sycamore67
    Love Judy's books and she is a great person. I have attended a couple of her classes. You can not go wrong with her books.
  25. Sycamore67
    I have a Hegner 18VS which I have adapted for dust collection both above and below the table. I used 3/4" PVC pipe and fittings and also some larger to attach to my HEPA Vac. Above the table I used 3/4" Loc Line for a vacuum pick up and also Loc Line for the blower part. Both are easy to move and position to pick up the fine dust. Below the table is a 3/4" PVC pipe to suck up the dust below the blade. The system is very effective and there is very little dust which escapes. With this setup, I do not need to wear a dust mask.
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