stoney

I have used the non-slip shelf liner on top of my downdraft table for quite some time. I also use a piece to lay project wood on to prevent movement when applying patterns.

Great news indeed. Showing youngsters how to use their own hands to create a wooden project is to be congratulated and admired. Thank you for your involvement in possibly helping create some of tomorrows craftsmen. Also thank you for sharing a heart warming story.

I think I know where you are coming from William. I am not that far behind you in age so I can understand what your saying. I still make personal ornaments for some of my little friends. I also dabble in making toys for charitable organizations. I have been making some very small semi trucks lately and find them to be quite time consuming and a bit of a challenge for my shaky hands. I also make a piece of furniture once in awhile. In other words I make whatever I want whenever I feel like making it. LOL Good luck

One thing you might like to know about your clamps. If the closing handles are not bent the best way to keep them from bending is to not apply a lot of pressure closing them. Depending on blade size you first adjust the pressure with the knurled nut and then operate the handle. If you have a blade slippage issue clean the inside surfaces with alcohol and also clean oil from ends of blades. If you treat them right your clamps will work great for a long time. I had a Delta P20 with the same clamps and loved them. Good Luck

That's thinking outside the box!! LOL Sorry I couldn't resist. Great idea will look good. Thanks for showing us.

Good information has been provided in this thread for Roberta. I like Paul can't speak about Hawk as I have never owned or operated one, but I think I can speak about my long term 13+ years experience with my Hegner Multi Max 22v. I agree parts are very expensive if you have the misfortune of having anything break or wear out. So far (knock on wood) I have not had to replace anything and it has many many hours of use. As many here know I have addressed and modified my saw to make it more user friendly. I believe with proper use and maintenance it would last a life time. From what I have read on this forum both Hawk and Hegner are great saws and Roberta would be able to enjoy one of them for many years.

First I would try a little more tension. Second try a different brand blade. Third I would try adjusting saw speed and feed rate. One thing I have found in 13 years of using my Hegner is once you find the tension sweet spot you stop most of the blade breakage

Back when I first started cutting fragile fretwork patterns I would cut the most fragile or challenging areas first. My theory was If I was going to screw up I wanted it to happen before I had allot of time invested. I am one of those nut cases that if I messed up where it would be noticeable to me the piece became designer firewood. LOL

They have all kinds of LED light panels or light boards on Amazon you might find something you can use there.

I am also saddened to hear of Les passing. He will be missed by many. My sincere condolences to his loved ones.

The prices of framing materials in West Michigan has dropped dramatically in the last couple months. I guess I had better clarify. What I meant was home or structure framing materials.

Thank you everyone for your birthday wishes.

Hi Brent, so sorry to hear about your issues with your hands and feet. Hope you can beat the odds and get back the use of them real soon. God speed.

The only way you could top feed a Hegner effectively would be with an anvil or some other device to hold the upper arm down.

It looks like it has front tension release. Make a set of adapters to use 5" pin less blades and some good tool less clamps and you are all set.

As many of you know I have a Hegner 22V Multimax that I have made some modifications on to make it more user friendly. My dream saw would be the same saw with factory improvements that include; larger table, rack and pinion table tilt, more upper arm clearance, cam arm style blade clamps, and onboard efficient dust collection. The thing is as long as we are dreaming might as well dream big right? Oh I also think the original color is fine they should just use power coat paint. LOL

I read I believe on this forum that it is the substance on the outer surface of the tape that prevents the layers from sticking together on the roll that lubricates the blade.

The pattern you show in the first picture could be cut perfectly fine with most any size blade. I have found that tension needs to be high enough to prevent bowing and wandering of the blade but not so high it results in excessive breakage. Like others have said try a larger blade. I personally only use the very small blades on projects that have very fine detail that require them. The advantages of larger blades is there is more material to dissipate heat and prevent stretch which are both the biggest enemies. JMHO '

I agree Ben sounds like you have some good equipment you just have to get it more accessible. I would get some help with moving it. I'm not that far behind you in age an understand completely about physical limitations. Glad to hear you are willing to keep on keeping on. Good Luck.

I generally use green painters tape and 3M 77 and then firmly press pattern with a 1" X 4" wide rubber roller. It seems like using the roller insures better adhesion. Works for me.

Frank it appears you are putting a Pegas and a Hegner in the same bag. As I'm sure you Know they are not of the same design. I am not the only one that tunes the blade tension higher on Hegner saws, maybe some others will chime in. I will agree that higher speed combined with a fast feed rate will create more friction and heat which will be detrimental to real small blades.

I have had my Hegner for 13 years and like Paul was breaking to many blades at the beginning. Tension seems to be critical with these saws. You don't say how long you have been using your saw but for me there was a learning curve. I would suggest experiment with your blade tension first and see if that helps. I set my tension quite high on my saw. Also if you are breaking the same brand or size blades maybe switch to another size or brand. On the most part I like Pegas Modified Geometry blades as they work well in my saw. It could be as simple as a bad batch of blades. Good luck!

Beautiful wood Les. How rough is the surface? Was it milled with a circular saw or a bandsaw?

My dad set up a Belsaw mill on our property in 1952 and it was powered by a Buick straight eight engine. I was only 8 years old at the time. My two older brothers and I worked in the logging operation. At first I was an official brush dragger,not to technical a job. We had a Doodle Bug made from a 1937 Chevy 2 ton truck that was used to skid the logs out of the woods to a landing where they were loaded on the 1949 Studebaker log truck by a set of skid poles and a hand operated wench. Almost all the work was hard manual labor. In 1956 my dad paid to have 480 volt 3 phase power run in to the Mill. The sawmill was converted to run with a 40hp electric motor. Man was that an improvement. We were all happy we didn't have to listen to that Buick motor anymore. Several machines were added too because of the electric power, a gang saw, cutoff saw, an edger, a planer etc. It was also the year I was promoted to a sawmill hand. My pay was 25 cents an hour. By my senior year of high school I had worked all the way up to $1.50 an hour. I had to work afternoons when I got home from school, most Saturdays, and of course summers. I never did forgive my dad for my life growing up mainly because I believe my brothers and I missed allot that most kids of our generation got to enjoy.

I have only owned 3 scroll saws an old craftsman, Delta P20, and the Hegner 22v that I use now. The Hegner by and large requires more tension than the other saws I've owned. Once you find the sweet spot, high C, I believe you will quit breaking blades.