Rolf

Ok Kevin, you have me curious what parts are you replacing? Regarding designing the perfect saw. I would probably end up with something very much like my Hawk G4 with the Detlta Quick clamps modification. I tried putting the Delta clamps on the bottom also but could not get comfortable with that. Iggy we have drifted way off your original topic so I will start a new one on the subject of what we would look for in a "perfect" saw.

I am a technical guy and I really enjoy these types of evaluations and comparisons, are they useful, probably not. But they are interesting at least to me. Very early on I started timing my cutting with a timer that ran when the saw did (tied into my foot switch) I got lots of harassment(fun). I did it for two reasons I wanted to see if project times improved as I got more relaxed and comfortable with my saw. There are several Volker Arnold design ornaments that are part of my regular stock. When I started it took me 1.5 hours and several broken blades and very cramped hands, that same ornament now takes me ~40min (stack of six) and no cramps. It also gave me an idea of how long my Olson 2/0 lasted before they would break. With experience I now feel when they are going to break. I also need to keep track of my time when doing work for the magazine.

I am going to wade in here. To make that totally fair you would need to rig something to push the wood in with the same force other than you. My other question was going to be if you had the Hawk in its aggressive cut setting. I remember the Dewalt having a fair amount of front back motion.. Regarding blade life that is an interesting question. I have my Hawk blade setting as vertical a possible, that is one of the reasons I bought it. In thicker wood that will not clear out the sawdust as well as it would in the aggressive setting. Generating more heat which we all know the blades don't like. An interesting discussion keep it going. I went from a very aggressive saw the Delta SS350 to my Hawk G4 in 2005. I bought it for very specific reasons, mainly the vertical cut. I do go into production mode a couple of times a year and a faster more aggressive saw would not work for me. Iggy when you compare the saws side by side using the same blade in each would be a fairer comparison. Also time the actual cut time not the overall time also. As was said you are used to going from hole to hole after a zillion hours on the Dewalt you may not have the same comfort level on the Hawk yet. Just a thought. Randy what brand are the super sharps.?

I hope your shop vac is in a different room or you wear ear muffs. They are way too loud for my taste. I know the Festool and Feins are expensive but oh so quiet. I did the same as Sycamore67 on my Hawk except I used mag switches to hold the setup to my table. I also added a trap for the small pieces that get sucked up that I didn't want to lose. I don't use my blower at all.

That is what my wife paid for my old Delta SS350 with stand back in 2004, still the best entry level saw ever made in my opinion. On many saws like the Micromark the bottom clamps are very difficult to get at, so buyer be aware of their limitations.

The wolf is the only piece I have sold directly, I have done many other pieces but they have been mostly donations for local organization fund raisers, and a few gifts. Out of all the things I do with my scroll saw Intarsia is the most satisfying as it really gives me the opportunity to add my personal touch. The wolf was a Bruce Worthington with a bit of Janette's touch and I played with the eyes and a couple of other areas until it looked right to me. I don't thing the average craft fair is the right venue for intarsia sales unless they are smaller fun things. My plan is to build an inventory of pieces some of my own designs that reflect my community, nautical and and Ice scooters that are unique to Bellport, and then have a booth at an annual art fair called Artists on the lane, that happens here every fourth of July. I will seriously have to consider setting up a Square account so that I can take credit cards. The Lane is the main street that goes from our village down to the dock. Scott, that is beautiful! I really like the backer and love the Wolf design. You need to do it again in 3D just for fun.

I normally don't do commission work but did this Wolf for a friend. Wolves are very popular.

Very rarely do I pay attention to the recommended blade size. After scrolling for 12 years I have found my comfort blades and the tend to be smaller than what most folks use. I will use what ever blade I need to cut the details. The 2/0 R Olson is my primary detail blade, (28 TPI) Regarding blade usage, this is for new scrollers just learning, you can't just depend on a suggested blade number you really need to have the TPI (teeth per inch ) information. For instance the Flying Dutchman 2/0 has 15 TPI and the Olson 2/0 has 28 TPI. The FD blade will cut faster and more aggressively. Scott's #1, if it is a FD has 13 TPI Bottom line is practice with different blades and MFG's until you find your own comfort blades.

Boy did this thread go off topic! Now getting back to my favorite part of this topic. Anymore discoveries regarding the Hawk.?

As most have said go with an air pump. Even when new the blowers on the Delta saws were pretty lame. Although the squeaky toy idea is very clever.

I will be interested in that discussion. I have the Britetech 5 diopter led magnifier. I love it. If I were to buy another it will be a 3 diopter the 5 is a bit too strong. It replaced a fluorescent ring lamp and is much brighter.

Iggy, once again you have made my day! I am so happy that you did not give up on the Hawk. I am assuming that you have adjusted the front back blade motion to near vertical. If so that makes it a lot less aggressive than the Dewalt, but you get the benefit of tighter cleaner turns. I like the knobs that came with my original Hawk G4 clamps they had a tri shape with a soft rubber coating. The problem was I had such a good grip I tended to over tighten them all of the time. The one on the right is the current one except on my saw I installed the Pozgai (no longer available) Delta quick clamp mod on the top. Regarding goals, I look at them as challenging myself. When I started scrolling this Christmas ornament on my old Delta SS350 it took me over an hour to cut a stack of six. It now takes me a comfortable 40 minutes. It is 4" tall. Iggy that is some goal you have set for yourself. As long as it is fun, fun being the key word. What is your favorite puzzle?

The roller is great for large surfaces, you may also like the Glu bot for smaller stuff https://www.fastcap.com/estore/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=57367 This has also proven very useful http://www.rockler.com/rockler-3-piece-silicone-glue-application-kit?sid=V9146?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_content=pla&utm_campaign=PL&gclid=CjwKCAiAmvjRBRBlEiwAWFc1mJMlDa9hbe6eInQdDfmtybCsbSdFje0weulGdA_0ZIbJaaZmJX2JLRoCGosQAvD_BwE

Great project and gift.

Ray (Octoolguy) Who said anything about space. I will be doing a major purge after the holidays, NO not tools, also re arrange the shop if possible. Wheels help a great deal but things like wood lathes and table saws are fixed in place. The woodmaster looks like a nice system.

I did the test cutting on the puzzle boxes that are on the cover of issue 47. Talk about a lesson on making sure the blade is absolutely square to the table and not pushing sideways when cutting.

I agree Ray, the folks at Fox Chapel are a great bunch. I have had the pleasure of working with them for about 7 years now.

Rj you are a brave man! I would have had to lock my wallet in a vault before going in. Anything in particular grab your attention?

Regarding Festool I was never convinced that they were worth the significant investment, until I won the track saw at one of our clubs show's. It was the door prize. To say I was impressed by the saw is an understatement. It gave me the ability to cut up big sheet goods in my small shop much more precisely and with no chip out. Their engineering and quality is amazing. I have the Makita 10 inch dual slide miter saw. It is a good saw but not as precise as I would like. I am very impressed with the Kapex but it is as much as my Hawk was. Maybe down the road one will find a home in my shop.

Jt as I said I have both the Sand-Flee and the drum sander and I also now have one of the Festool brush less RO sanders They all have their place in my shop and all are heavily used. Have you ever used a Sand-Flee? I would not give up any of them. If you use a lot of thin wood, and I do, yes the drum sander will pay for itself when re-sawing. my planer gets very limited use these days.

JT the Sand-Flee style of sander can do lots of things a regular drum sander can not. First off it is not a thickness sander. There is no height limit to what it can sand., so if you have a box it is very easy to sand all sides., I use mine to flatten the backs of my intarsia assemblies. I also carefully sand some of my finished fretwork with the mop that I have on the output shaft and also on the flat. I used to pre-sand all of my ornament blanks on it, half of the drum has 180 the other 220. A couple of passes over each grit did the trick. But now that I also have the Supermax I pre-sand an entire 50 inch long strip with 220 grit through it, saves me a ton of time. This video is a bit too much like an Infomercial, and I have told him that, so look past that as it still shows some of its capabilities. There are lots of videos showing this style of sander. Price wise it is a bit of a luxury tool but very well made with a smooth direct drive motor. Mine does get constant use as do most of my tools. I am a bit of a tool junkie. and lucky to have the resources to accommodate my urges. The limiting factor now is space. These are my unbiased opinions and I get nothing from any of the manufacturers

I just looked at the Grizzley 18" video I really don't like how they install and clamp the paper. The paper stretches a bit after being used for a while. and there is no compensation for that. I am also not too sure about the table coming up VS the drum moving up and down, I would like to see an independent review on that aspect.It sure does have a nice price point. . I had been looking at the small jet bench top but it's reviews were not great at that time. I did a lot of research before buying the Supermax 19-38 drum sander. I was pointed in it's direction by Carole Rothman. It is more money but has been amazing right out of the box. Here are the specs for it. https://www.supermaxtools.com/products/wood/19-38-drum-sander-71938-d/ I have sanded down to the 1/32 they claim making my own veneer. Also changing the sandpaper is tool less and the end clamp provides constant tension to keep the paper tight. Just more food for thought.

Has anyone been in touch with them?. For purchase or questions. Have they been at any of the events this summer?

I have now made three of them. I cut them out of 1/2 inch curly maple. Honestly I never look at the blade recommendations, after about 13 years of scrolling I have my go to blades . I agree a#5 is a bit big but I tend to use much smaller blades than most. For this I used an Olson Mach 3 blade for almost all of it. I thought that the snowflake would look better if it stood proud of the rest of it. So when I was all done cutting I set my table to 3.5 -4 deg left side down and with an Olson #2 blade cut the 4 points connecting the snow flake. I put a small mark at the top of the snowflake (on the back) to maintain the orientation. Withe a bit of wood glue at the 4 points I pushed the snowflake back in. I also put a few drops Of thick CA glue from the back in several places for additional strength. The image with arrows shows direction of cut so that the snow flake stands proud. Also this picture was taken before I removed a bit of glue squeeze out.

And so it begins!