Rolf

Well said Melanie. I also subscribed to CWWC, yes it was nice getting the two magazines, but of the two SSWWC was my favorite and that was long before I started working with them. Towards the end they were discounting their magazine so heavily I don't see how they covered their costs. Wood magazine and some of the others also do that. For my taste in scrolling CWWC was too much of the same lots of painted fretwork etc. I always looked forward to the Intarsia articles and Shiela Landry's work. Bottom line we all have different tastes and what stirs our creative juices. I always look for something different simple or challenging. I just did my first carving for something different. Behind it was my first vase turning.

You have been a busy man.

I have had a Delta floor model for a long time and all I have replaced is a belt. The old Delta machinery was great, I don't know what it was new but this seems like a fair price. You could always haggle a bit.

zimmerstutzen your name intrigues me . zimmer is room stutzen is support. Also zimmerstutzen is a highly collectible air riffle. I agree with your Sears tool dept. Many years ago my father and I would stroll the aisles enjoying their tools. I still like their automotive socket sets etc. But for woodworking I go online. We have no specialty stores locally with one exception but I wouldn't bless the owners coffee. It is a shame, we used to have a Woodworkers warehouse, the chain went under, where I could take care of those tool urges. But then again Amazon prime is impressive time wise.

These were patterns from Rick and Karen Longabaugh. This image is in this book from Fox Chapel publishing. http://foxchapelpublishing.com/miniature-wooden-clocks-for-the-scroll-saw.html That was a great deal back then, I don't remember if it was a download or a CD set but it pretty much had all of their designs.

Glad the move went well. That is serious heat dry or not. Russell LOL that is a bit scary.

Frugal is not a word that has ever been associated with me. I look forward to each issue as it is something other than bills and junk mail. And if I get one new idea or or project direction it is worth every penny to me. JT I agree with many of your points and yes there are lots of places to find ideas. But I will say that SSWWC has taken my hobby in directions I would never have thought possible when I first started scrolling. And like Randy I truly enjoy the magazine. Randy a few years ago we had a local vendor selling lath art, I was blown away with his depictions of local maritime themed scenes. They were commanding some serious money unfortunately it was not the best venue for his work. On another note I missed the open house as it was great to meet some of our friends and designers in person. I had surgery and would not have been able to go anyway.

Here is a poser for those of you that are disappointed with the magazines. Is it the projects that are becoming less challenging or is it that your skill sets have grown to such a level that it takes more to challenge you.? This is a problem with our clubs also. We have scrollers that have been at it for 70+ years and newbies. Trying to keep things interesting for all is extremely difficult. Our club has made a conscious effort to focus on new scrollers as that is what will keep our hobby alive. We have tried surveys in our wood working club and responses have been very minimal. If you really are so disappointed in the content of the magazines, don't wait for a survey, send an email with suggestions of what you would like to see to the editors, trust me they will appreciate it. I have not yet received the new issue, so can't comment on it, but every issue has a mixed variety, if a clock is not challenging enough and puzzles too easy and there is too much fret work or too much Intarsia. What is it that you guys want?

Out of that selection I would go with the Hegner Multimax 18 if it is in good shape.

I think the issue is with the electronic control circuitry. I have Nova DVR XP wood lathe that I can not run on my dedicated GFCI circuit line in the shop. I think there are pulses in the controller (electronic noise) that feed back in to the outlet causing it to trip. Unfortunately my oscilloscope has decided not to work and I cant verify that. I will plug my Hawk into that circuit and see if I have a problem.

The small bits need speed, the Dremel plunge setup is perfect for what you are doing. I have a Micro Mark drill press that I use for most of my fret work.

Some neat stuff in the Christmas issue. I know since I just finished cutting some of them.

Orangeman, what vintage Hawk? If it is an older one with the lower barrel clamp etc. If so you may not like it. What seems to happen many people buy older used saws hate them and then bash the whole brand, I am not saying you will do that but be aware the newer Hawks are a different beast.

As stated Scroll Saw Woodworking and Crafts. There is also a German magazine but unless you read German it can be a bit of a challenge. I do a fair amount of test cutting for the magazine and I will say there are some really neat projects coming in future issues. And like Bill said it is difficult to please all of the people all of the time. The fret work folks want more then the Intarsia fans say they want less fretwork and more intarsia and then I want more mechanical stuff like clocks.

As most know I am a major proponent of Hawk saws (2005 and newer) That said we have a variety of saws in our club. The majority of them are Hegners. Some members have been scrolling with them for 60+ years. The question of maintenance on Hegners and Hawks. They are simple machines, no complex linkages, no shrouds to be removed, the clamps are separate pieces that snap in not part of the mechanical arm that can strip or bend with a heavy handed user (me). All of the bearings and bushings are easy to get at should you need to. But there is no need with routine maintenance. I have broken a spring on my Hawk since May of 2005 , bought some extra clamps and replaced one bearing because it just didn't feel right to me. I chose the Hawk because it was a top and bottom feeder and it has more room under the upper arm for my style of cutting. I was lucky to have the variety in our club where I could do a side by side comparison. Like Hotshot said it would be great if you could take the saw for an extended test drive. As we have seen before some folks are not comfortable with change. And all saws have their differences.

Well what was the issue?

I just posted this on the SSWWC forum. and will repeat it here. If you are new to scrolling joining a club can really accelerate your learning curve. It did mine! It also gave me the opportunity to try different saws before investing in a good one. We all have our favorite things that we like to cut a club can open your eyes to many other challenges. Another plus, whenever I think I am getting good , something that another member made is just a bit better, It keeps me humble and continuously trying to improve what I do. Just like the work that is posted on sites like this. Just think how much fun it would be if we could meet once in a while. Here is what I posted. I belong to a local woodworking club Long Island Woodworkers http://liwoodworkers.org/ . Within that club we have what we call SIG's (special interest groups) Scrollers, Turners, Cabinet makers and Carvers. The main club The main club meets once a month as do the SIG's.I was president of the scroll saw club for three years meet in an Old restored barn. We used to bring our saws to the meeting but they seem to be getting heavier every year? So now we have someone do a presentation each month. It is challenging to present something of interest to a group where we have members that have scrolled for over 65 years without scaring the crap out of newbies. But our main focus is the newbies.Our current members number about 25. The turning SIG is the most active, probably because it is much more difficult to become a good turner without hurting yourself. Not to belittle scrolling, but once you understand the basic operation of your saw and can follow a line the rest is how much you want to challenge yourself.I will say the both the scrolling and turning SIG's reduced my learning curve dramatically. So much easier to watch and learn from a master.

The majority of compound cut designs fit on 1.5" x 3/4" stock. Chess pieces and mini bird houses use square stock. As others have said I use lots of scrap that I cut to my needed size. If you are doing this for the first time I would use clear pine. And of course make absolutely certain that the blade is perpendicular to your table.! And don't push sideways as you cut.

Very well done!

That is a really nice design! The natural edge base and added details really make this special. Since you asked, the only thing I would do different is use a 1/8 round over bit on the cross's frame to soften the edges. I have a thing about sharp edges,

No they are not like the Jets, the clamps that come with the saw look like this Clamp, the second picture is it snapped into place under the table. The last picture is the Old Delta clamps that were offered as a modification kit from http://www.pozsgaidesigns.com/ . The kit is no longer available as Delta stopped making the clamps. It is a simple cam action clamp that does not distort the blade.

Yes she is Kevin. Now my problem is what to get her for her up coming birthday.

Scrollsaw703 You are right on the spot. JT I agree with you also, especially with the foot switch. I tried the BM 20 at the last open house and at a couple of other shows. Absolutely loved it, There is only one thing I would change on the saw, and that is the clip material that keeps the clamps in to beryllium copper a lighter springier material, but that is just me tinkering. My 2005 Hawk G4 26 has the same removable clamps. The attached picture is the bottom clamp. I think it is the simplest clamp and if you strip one out from being heavy handed it is easy to replace with out removing parts of the machine like you would do on a Dewalt. I keep a bunch of pre-loaded clamps ready to go for very fast blade changes. I don't get the problem, I hold the clamp with my left hand and tighten the blade with my right. Why is that difficult? KMMCrafts, Interesting comment on the Delta clamps, I think they were the best clamps ever for a scroll saw, so much so that I put them on my upper arm of the Hawk. The trick with them was not to over tighten them. I adjust mine so that there is about 1/8 " before the cam tightens, perfect grip every time. I did not change this because I don't like the Hawk clamps but for speed. One day I will do a short video on my blade changes.

I had asked my wife for one of the $99 special Festool sanders for my birthday, needless to say there were none to be had. On my birthday there is a big box on the table and she said," I am sorry I did not get you what you wanted" . A bit disappointed I opened the box and it it was the Festool ETS EC 125/3 sander. I am really happy with this and ordered the Festool Midi vacuum to go with it (It arrived the next morning). After playing a bit with the sander and vac I am totally impressed with how quiet and dust free a job it does.

Yes you did an excellent job on this clock. Along with the designers name what woods did you use. The contrasts really make this pop.