GregBennett

For years I used an awl given to me by my daughter. I used it to widen the drill holes on the back of the piece to allow me to get the blade through the hole. It was part of a mini tool kit that her school sold to the kids for gifts to their parents. A few months ago, it disappeared into the void of my shop never to return. I have a couple of awls that were my fathers, but the best of them is a bit too long and not quite as thin as I'd like. I went on Amazon and bought a pair of scratch awls, but it didn't take long for the tips to break off inside the hole. I tried another brand with the same result. From there I bought a Narex Awl reamer. It has a sharp pointed tip which if pushed against a drill hole will widen to top of the hole enough to allow the blade to go through, but it didn't penetrate inside the hole due to its thickness.It was a bit too long as well. From there, I bought a Craftsman awl, which was the right length, but again, too thick to go into the hole. I tried using a drill bit attached to a micro drill bit holder, but it didn't work as well as I wanted it too. From there, I cut off the top of a wire brad and tightened it into a micro drill bit holder, and voila. It's thin enough to go into the drill hole and strong enough not to break off. The best solution was one that didn't cost me anything since I had every thing I needed.

Great idea. I ditched the end tubes that came with the scrollnado and I'm using 1/4" poly tubing which took some time to tame. I get very little dust on the floor, but I've had to make many modifications along the way to hold the vacuum tubes in place. Occasionally I get small pieces of wood small enough to clog the tubes. I looks like you're using a Loc-line. What size did the trick?

Thanks for the quick response!

In the past, I've used several of Alex Fox patterns that I bought on his Etsy page, which now displays a message that the site is closed. Many of his patterns fall between advanced patterns and the fretwork patterns that are held together with a wing and a prayer. Recently I was scrounging the internet for something to cut, and I found a site, alexscrollsaw.com that has pretty much all of his patterns. Does anyone know if it's a legitimate site? I read something a while back that he was having some difficulties in life. I've attached photos of a couple of completed projects that I cut from his patterns.

What a great answer and the type of information I was looking for. I make and sell trivets made from 3/4 clear yellow pine which can be finicky when it comes to cutting. I recently went through a number of different blades including the Pegas MGs 3,5, and 7. Sometimes it just depends on the particular section of the board I'm cutting. I hate it when I put a blade in and after 4-5 cuts, I have to push the blade much harder than I should. For the most part, I like to let the blade do most of the work. My assumption was that the higher the number on the blade, the more easily it would cut though thicker wood, but I've found that's not always the case. I like the feature on the Hegner that provides a longer stroke using more of the blade. On the Bauer and DeWalt, most of the blade is never used. The fact that I would have to reach to the back of a 24" table to tighten the blade convinced me that the older saw wasn't for me. In addition to cutting 3/4 pine, I do most of my work cutting 1/4" Baltic birch and the more complicated the pattern the better, so quick tightening is best for me. I'm a bottom feeder, so a saw that's a top feeder only would be a big adjustment. I have no problem top feeding through the drill hole but when I do that the piece blocks my view of the table and the location of the hole for the blade, if that makes any sense. I cut every day for several hours at a clip, so if down the line I'm looking to enhance my experience, I'll take the plunger for a pricier saw. I care more for the experience of cutting then having the final product. Deciding which one to chose will be a difficult one without having used them.

I wondered about the arm lift. That could be an issue with larger pieces. I no longer use my blower. Instead I've attached a vacuum system, the Scrollnado. There are some very poor design features, so I'm constantly making upgrades, but for me, it's been well worth it. I suppose that if I didn't have something to fiddle with, I'd feel like I'd be missing something. I think you're right about the tube being part of the blower. I'm still not sure what the metal dowel and tightening knob do, so I wrote to the seller. I feel like I might be wasting his time since I'm pretty happy with my Bauer saw.

The seller sent me some photos of the saw that's for sale. It looks like it's got the quick release attachment. In two of the photos, it shows a metal dowel connected on the front arm with a cable connected. Does anyone know what this is?

I just watched a number of videos on the Hegner and you're points are well taken. I think that the tension knob in the back would be a very long reach for me and might require that I stand up every time I need to use it. I watched a video of how you insert the blade as well as something on the quick clamps. Everything I do on my saw involves pieces with a large number of inside cuts. This may not be the saw for me.

I've now used some Pegas super skip I got from a local shop and they worked fairly well on the 3/4" pine, but I had to guard for the blade going left. I have some Pegas MG 5's and 7's on the way, but it's taking quite a long time to get them. I think if I like them I'll go to the local supplier. For 1/4" Baltic Birch I use anywhere from a FD 3-5 and they bow to my every move. My DeWalt just doesn't work right. I had it overhauled by the DeWalt Charlotte service center. They shipped it back in a huge box with the table connected.The table crashed into the saw and the upper bracket broke off in the slot that pivots the back end of the table. The bolt that holds the bottom of the table to where you set the angle dis attached and I can't keep the table square with the upper arm no matter how hard I tighten it. I went through three replacements with Amazon and all were defective and returned, so I went with the Bauer. Today I experimented using a very long bicycle brake cable looped though the arm release in the back and found that if I held my arm out I could release the arm while seated. I've been using a block of wood mostly, but have a dowel that I've used to pull the arm release. Does anyone think I should take the plunge for the 24" Hegner for $300?

Out of curiosity I checked Craigslist and found two different Hegners one in North Carolina and one in South Carolina with prices $200-$300. Both were about an hours away. The closest Hawk was in West Virginia, about 3 hours away with no price listed. So there are used saws out there in my area. At this time, I'm content with my Bauer and from what I've gathered from the responses I've gotten, it cuts at about the same rate as others. I'm looking forward to trying some of the Pegas blades on thicker wood.

I don't need a thumb screw at present but I found the best deal is with Walmart-DeWalt Knob Asy Clamp OEM 286303-00 for $15.95 (plus shipping) I hear you about the arm lock. I use a block of wood for the most part and otherwise use a wooden dowel if I lock it in place. It would be nice to lift the arm and have it stay where I raised it and be able to release it automatically. How does it work? I see that Hawk saws are made in Kansas so I suspect shipping to the east coast is costly.

I use Word for all my sizing needs. I'm running Windows 11 and if I want to copy of a pattern from a PDF, I use the Snipping tool. I'll save PNG files as JPG. I'll further crop it in Photos to eliminate anything outside of the pattern. I set my margins in Word at .17" and enable the ruler. I can resize the photo in Word to line up with the ruler markings. For patterns that I want to make wider than 8.5" I'll crop them into a right and left half and join them in the center with scotch tape.

I've had my saws in an unheated shop for years. Occasionally I've gotten condensation on the table. I'll dry it and apply car wax and it's good as new.

I ordered #3 and #5 Super skip Pegas blades yesterday. When I read Denny's reply, I ordered Pegas Modified Geometry #5 and #7 from his company. I found his prices to be lower than others and shipping costs to be reasonable. I don't have any issues with the Bauer in respect to vibration. I have it on a Rube Goldberg stand that was originally a saw horse with a 2x12 top. I put some shelves into it and raised it using lumber I had on hand so that It would be closer to eye level. It's not solid as a rock, but works. At some point in time I'd like to modify it, but it's too heavy for me to lift. I never thought an 80 lb. weight would be an issue for me, but time has taken it's toll. I found some #3 Pegas Modified Geometry blades I've had for a while, and they did a decent job but due to their thin kerf it took a while for me to adjust to making turns. I have the Pegas chucks on it. I've had some difficulty along the way with getting them tight enough and periodically I use the tightening tool designed by Steve Good. However, I took a thumbscrew off my old DeWalt and substituted it. It has ridges on the turning part and I found I don't need the tool with the old DeWalt. Thanks to everyone who responded. I cut every day and keep learning things through trial and error and the folks on this site. Greg Bennett

I have had the Bauer for over a year now. I cut Baltic Birch and clear pine for the most part. I've been using Flying Dutchman Polar 7s for the most part with the pine. I find them to work better than the 5s or the 8s. I've tried a number of different blade types, but find the Polar gives me the most control. My issue is that it cuts rather slowly in comparison to Baltic Birch and the blades wear down sooner than I'd like. I just ordered some Pegas blades and I'll see if they cut better. I'm curious as to whether the higher end saws cut more easily. Their blade speed and watts are similar. Has anyone used different grade saws for comparison?