Rolf

I wonder if the Wen has bushings or ball bearings.

I really like the design. I would put the Nativity in the center layer. Schöne arbeite!

RJ I bought it on Amazon. I have had a Prime membership for a while and it has really paid off for me. We really don't have any local stores to buy tools like this. There is one tool store but I would not give him the time of day. Ray I have several Kreg products and am very pleased with all of them so far. The quality of the fence and easy install looks good so far. I will Post a new thread when I have spent more time with it. I don't want to hijack this one.

Steve Curtis, I just received the Gnome patterns from Bruce. I made the mistake of showing them to my wife. I know what my future project will be.

I agree on the communication part. I would rather be told that it will be three weeks and get it one than be told it will be three days and it ends up three weeks. I ordered a Kreg fence for my band saw, didn't like the old one. I placed the order on the 27th, I installed it yesterday. This instant gratification is dangerous.

Two day and next day deliveries have really spoiled our perceptions about delivery times. But having said that, the time in the delivery system is one thing , but getting my order in the mail is important. I also like D&D for Pegas and Sloan for my Olson blades. If a vendor is out of stock or if it is a small business and they are overwhelmed or on vacation, let me know up front that there will be a delay. A simple e-mail goes a long way. I provide a brass hardware kit for one of the clocks that were in an issue of SSWWC several years ago. I try to keep several kits in stock, but if I don't have any I am very clear with the customers about the status and when I will make more.

A 40 watt laser is not trivial, and focus is very important. I used to cut silicon wafers at my job. We flowed Nitrogen through the nozzle to keep the oxygen out while cutting. The oxygen and laser heat changed the material characteristics. I wonder if nitrogen would eliminate the burning on wood. Anyway you made some good choices on the CNC also, with the addition of the touch plate and water cooled spindle. Excellent videos especially the parts about the laser safety.

We are still in Christmas mode visiting and hosting family so my play time is limited. I saw a high speed tool demonstrated many years ago at a woodworking show in Saratoga NY, I watched this guy just plunging and cutting into wood just like the video of the egg carver shows. I looked at this tiny little burr he was using and thought it was more of a toy than a real tool until I tried it. I was amazed at how much wood it removed quickly. I have wanted one ever since. The best thing is that early this summer I was at a yard sale and saw a couple of small boxes with a bunch of the tiny carbide and diamond burrs I almost walked away but each box was $5. I picked them up offering $5 for all of them. The person selling them had no idea what they were. I had only used a Dremel up until then and I always had issues with the bit grabbing and getting away from me. Usually destroying a detail I was trying to carve. I bought a Ram power carver that runs at 45,000 rpm, nice small hand piece, it is better than the Dremel but it still grabbed. I was surprised at how quiet it is. I plan on doing piercings on turned bowls and adding detail to my Intarsia work in those places that are hard to shape. I will post more when I do some real projects.

Santa (Wife) brought me a really nice gift. Under the tree was a big box with a California Quiet flow air compressor to drive a Vortex F5 high speed carving tool.( 400,000 RPM) No it is not a typo. It is amazing how this little tool cuts and surprisingly quiet.

One of our club members has just bought a new King 16" saw. I have not seen it yet but he tells me that it vibrates a lot. He is new to scrolling and is going from a HF saw to the King. He has no real baseline on what he should expect from this saw. As soon as I have some time I will go check it out for him. Any one have this saw? If so what are your thoughts.?

CNC routing speed , like scrolling, is determined a lot by the cutter size (dia) material and thickness. You obviously cant just plunge into the wood with a 1/8 cutter and let it rip. It has to be done in stages. So it takes time. Also you can't do very sharp corners and the details like you can with a scroll saw. That said I would like one and I would make custom word signs, house numbers etc. I would also add a laser head to it for doing detailed engraving on certain projects. But mostly I love playing with new tools and technology.

Kevin I too am looking to hear how you make out with the new Hawk. You being a bit of a tool junkie. What CNC did you buy with, I am assuming, a laser head also.?

Thanks Melanie, I just ordered the patterns for the gnomes.

Barb, Those ornaments really pop with that bit of sparkly in the inside. Thank you Marg

I do a couple of shows each year so have made a lot of stuff. But this is what we do for family and close friends. We send special cards with a sentiment written by my wife. I print them on Photo frame cards. I cut 37 ornaments 1.5mm Finish plywood. Stack cut. Then mounted with removable sticky dots on the card. We have been doing this since 2005. It is one of those ideas that has gotten out of control but we love it. Unfortunately I have no pictures of the bigger items I made for sale such as a modified version of this Intarsia nativity the picture is last years.

Steve Curtis I really like those ornaments! Whose pattern are the little gnomes or Wizards?

Thanks Randy, yes I did mean adjustable front back blade motion. I will edit my post. I was not aware of that capability on the Hegner. Kevin I just looked up what I paid for my G4 April 2005 $1214.00 that was with shipping. It has paid for almost all of the tools in my shop since then. Certainly one of the best tool investments I have ever made, definitely the most fun.

Just one final note, from me anyway, regarding buying a used Hawk I would not go older than around 2005. The older Hawks do not have the newer features introduced around that time. I may be wrong but I believe the G4 brought in the adjustable stroke , and top feed capability. Edit: I meant adjustable front back blade motion, the length of the stroke does not change.

I don't think there will ever be a perfect saw that suit each one of us. Just reading the forums tells me that. I think the Hawk G4 came about as close as you can get. Me adding the Delta clamps got it even closer. Top and bottom feed, adjustable stroke etc. Hotshot The King 16" is 55 lbs the 21" 65. I assume that is without the stand. My Hawk is around 110 lbs with the legs and removing and re-attaching them takes too long so not an option. If the king has a separate stand then it would be easy to make that a quick removal option.

Like JT I love my Hawk G4 (2005 vintage). But I am also in the market for a new saw, not as a replacement for my Hawk but a lighter more portable saw to take to presentations and other events. I also want a saw that has some different features than my Hawk. The only big difference out there is the blade and motor assembly tilting vs the typical table tilt. So that means the EX style saws. I never liked the blade clamp assembly on these types of saws. If you are even slightly heavy handed you will spread the clamps and have to replace the arms. Pegas has resolved that issue with their replacement clamps. I was going to go for the King 16" and then upgrade the clamps to the Pegas. For the same money Introductory price the new Pegas combo is looking real good. JT regarding saw designs, not to many ways you can move the blade. The only really innovative saw with a true vertical stroke was the Eclipse. It was a complex saw. the rest are saws like the Hegner and Hawk. The Hawk won out because of the top feed capability. and then the EX style saws which are pretty much the same saw just rebranded and painted. Although the Pegas comes with significantly better clamps. The Seyco saw has supper support but his design made some strange changes like removing the the table adjustment gear and I am not a fan of the strange top. (just my opinion)

5/64 brad point, I have never seen one that small. My normal drill bit is a #69 or 70 for my ornaments. .028 dia just enough for the blade.

What you like to cut and the level of detail certainly impacts what saw you should have. Right from the beginning I was cutting very fine detailed ornaments. my old Delta SS350 was a great saw but sneaking up on a tiny part with a blade that moved over 1/16 to almost 1/8 front to back made that rather challenging. So when they released the Hawk G4 with a adjustable stroke it was a no brainer for me.

The smaller the bit the faster the speed. Most big Drill presses do not spin fast enough. I Have a dedicated drill for the tiny holes from Micro Mark. and as the others have said you need a backer. Also nibble at it as you drill. Wow has the price gone up since I bought mine. https://www.micromark.com/MicroLux-3-Speed-Mini-Drill-Press The Dremel tool with drill press attachment and drill chuck would probably be a better choice. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dremel-Rotary-Tool-WorkStation-for-Woodworking-and-Jewelry-Making-220-01/202263196?cm_mmc=Shopping|G|VF|D25T|25-9_PORTABLE+POWER|DREMEL|NA|Versa|LIA|71700000044136618|58700004605584227|92700039522038325&gclid=Cj0KCQiA6dLgBRDoARIsAJgoM4u38ZxQ7mLDdGrw5x3qFt8GE_-bkS7k9onoDLi8PsPoQbaqumX4TnsaAn3hEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I have tried the PS wood machines at several shows. They are simple solid machines. The belt drive did not deter me. But I felt that the saw blades front back motion was too aggressive for my liking. I am in the market for a travel saw, My Hawk has gotten too heavy to drag out of the basement I think for $800 there are better options, for me anyway, in saw capability, i.e. top feed etc. JMO No one in our club has a PS wood saw. I also look forward to hearing your experiences and opinions. It is always good to have other options. and choices.

I have two pair of muffs one is just ordinary the other is Blue tooth and I listen to Pandora music. I use them with any power equipment, indoor and outdoor.