UncleApple

Bearwood customer service, in my humble opinion, should be industry standard for ALL customer service departments...

Received my Pegas saw & stand a week ago Friday. Runs smoothly & quietly. Love the blade clamps & the fact that the blade tension is retained. The plastic membrane for dust collection, located underneath the table, came off on its own after about 6 hours of saw-use. I wasn't using the dust collection anyway and I'm sure it can be placed back on with some heavier duty glue / silicone. I feed from the top, so I'm kind of glad it's gone anyway because it is next to impossible to top-feed with it in place. Could definitely use a light...but couldn't all scroll saws? I don't notice the delay mentioned by Iggy from the time I step on the foot switch. Purchased it from bearwood.com. It's worth mentioning that their customer service is top-notch. Very friendly and helpful. They shipped the saw with a replacement tension lever which concerns me a little...do they wear out quickly??? They also shipped a pack of Pegas blades to try out which is great because I've never tried them. I found the stand a little frustrating to assemble, but you eventually figure it out. :) So far I'm VERY pleased with it.

Appreciate the feedback! I'm supposed to get mine tonight.

Yep, got my notification too...even got a shipping number...still hasn't shipped. Can't wait to get it though!

The good news is that I've been commissioned to created a welcome sign for someone. The bad news is that they want it as an outdoor sign on 3/4 inch thick Curly Maple. I've done 1 outdoor sign in the past (for myself) and it faded horribly within the first 6 months. Can someone please let me know what finish or sealant or combo I should use to make sure this sign looks amazing but is protected and retains its Curly Maple glory?? All help is appreciated as always!

They are my primary source of all woods I use. I find their prices reasonable and their product exceptional. I've had 1 issue with an order missing a piece of wood and it was resolved in a matter of days. I highly recommend them as a source.

Thanks for this advice! I came across a place called "WoodTurningz" that has some of the wood-species I've been looking for...

I'm late in my reply, but I use a DW788 that I bought new last year. It was "right" for me because of price and the fact that I purchased it from Lowes...so I knew I could return it if I hated it. I thought about waiting and saving up more money to buy an Excalibur or Jet model, but then decided against it after reading a number of posts like this thread. It wasn't that they were portrayed poorly or anything...I just figured that I wasn't ready to invest that much money. All in all I am pleased enough with my saw. I did struggle with tensioning for about 5 months, but I think I have that under control now. I had to work up the nerve to take my saw apart and make some adjustments. Anyway, there's my 2-cents...no refunds

I have, but I've decided I'd rather stick to working with wood...but thanks for your input!

Are you trying to get me in trouble with my wife???

The Ocooch blanks have always been square, but I was hoping for a wider selection of species so I tried WoodCraft...NOT SQUARE. I may have to settle for the woods I can get from them, but was hoping to here from others first, before giving up.

Guess I should have mentioned that Ocooch Hardwoods is my main source. Their precision has always been spot-on. I order the Walnut and Aspen blanks from them for my first chess set.

Very nice! How well did the wood cut?

Let me begin by stating once again that I love being able to tap into the knowledge of all of you fellow scrollers who have "been there, done that". I once read a post from someone that mentioned they wished their neighbor was so & so...I too have thought that many times about many of you! Today marks 1 year that I've been working with my scroll saw. It has been challenging at times, but the advice I've received from many of you has helped immensely. If it weren't for the advice you've given me over the past few months, my DW788 may have ended up being returned and I would have given up on many projects. This leads me to my latest endeavor. I'm once again embarking on another chess set. I'm looking for wood combinations that will go well together, but most importantly, scrolls fairly easy AND that I can buy in 1.5x1.5 blocks from SOMEWHERE without having to square my own blocks. My first set was done out of Walnut and Aspen, so I want to do something different. I ordered a number of wood-species from WoodCrafter to "try" and didn't consult with you first...my bad. The blocks WERE NOT square, and despite my efforts to square them, never ended up quite right... I tried Wenge, Palm, Cherry, Yellowheart, Ash, Maple Ambrosia, Marblewood, and Zebra-wood. Sycamore cuts GREAT and seems very forgiving to heat build-up without burning ...most likely my choice for "white" this time. But paired with what? The Zebra-wood wasn't bad to cut, but not crazy about the wood-pairing. Wenge and Cherry were too difficult for my preference and BURNED during my turns, no matter how slow I went. They also consumed A LOT of blades (nearly twice as many as Sycamore or Zebra). Both Palm and Marblewood were impossible to cut (you would have likely told me this, thus saving me the expense). I love Maple Ambrosia, but I need a reliable source for truly squared blanks. Yellowheart also seems to cut really well, and should it scorch, it turns a darker gold instead of ruining the piece. And finally, Ash, which also cut well but did scorch on most of my turns. Not a hard "no" for future use, but I'm not crazy about it. All said, I'm looking for your help. Part one...where can I get SQUARE blanks that are true? What wood pairings would you suggest? One last note...I do NOT stain woods. I am partial to the beauty from within if you will. My only "finishes" include Danish oil or spar urethane. Thanks as always!!

Why thanks...I assure you they exist I have a book titled "Making Wooden Chess Sets" written by Jim Kape which contains patterns for 12 different chess sets and 3 patterns for the boards/cases. In this case, my wife designed the board & case herself. Somehow she's able to do it all in her head...not me...must have pattern!

Finished this set a few months ago & realized I never posted any photos. For my first set, it had its series of flaws...mainly due to failing to follow the advice given from the get go...but the recipient was very pleased regardless. I've attached a few photos & hope you enjoy. I'm now starting a second set and testing various woods. I really like how sycamore cuts, so I'll likely use it in place of Aspen for the white-side, but I'm not sure what I will use for the black-side yet. I'm trying cherry, but it seems to eat up a LOT of blades per piece. For instance, the on a sycamore pawn piece I used about 4 blades...the cherry, on the same pattern, about 8-10 blades. Have you cut 1-1/2 cherry before? Does this sound about right or too excessive? Thanks!!

Thanks everyone for their replies! I would have bet that they were hard-plastic, but their not... As it turned out, the issue wasn't related to the set screws at all. The bolt that goes through the tension-control lever had become loose so during operation I was loosing my tension. I have since corrected that problem

Bought mine last year. I'm referring to the upper & lower thumb screws used to hold the blade in place...they are hard-plastic.

For those out there who are long time Dewalt DW788 users, have any of you replaced the plastic set screws with metal? I'm really struggling with keeping blades tensioned even after sanding each end of a blade. Seems like the plastic doesn't want to grip hard enough on the blade to keep it tight. Suggestions?

Thank you!!

Gorgeous inlay! Thanks for the advice...now back to the shop

I can't seem to find the article from Mr. Finn you mentioned in your post. Can you post a link in the reply? Much obliged!

Glad to hear that it was only a fuse & that you'll be operational again soon!

Thanks everyone! Looks like a trip to Harbor Freight for me!

Very nice!