BadBob
-
Posts
1,888 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
19
Content Type
Store
Profiles
How-To & Articles
Scroll Saw Reviews
Clubs & Organizations
Clubs & Organizations International
Pattern Shop
Suppliers
Village University
Help Desk
Forums
Gallery
eBooks
Everything posted by BadBob
-
Mechanics stethoscopes are great tools, and they don't cost much. An excellent tip for the use of a noncontact thermometer and yet another use for one.
-
This was like that when I bought it. I could get it powder coated, but it works fine like it is and I have a lifetime supply of Johnson's Paste wax.
-
Yes, I would much prefer that we could replace the bearings.
-
The table wear is the first thing I look at for one of these saws. This one looks good to me. I would also ask for a photo of the serial number plate. My EX-21 has been ridden hard, and it shows on the table.
-
I have a Taiwan EX-21 and mine does not stick up like that. Neither does my pegas.
-
Every machine that has moving parts wears with use. Parts will need to be replaced from time to time. How often these parts need to be replaced depends on many factors. Just because the bearings wear out does not mean something is wrong with the saw. All it means is that the bearings are a consumable part that must be replaced periodically. I bought my EX-21 used; it had been used hard, and about two years after I bought it, the bearings started to go. I replaced the whole drive link assembly. I can keep doing this for many years as long as parts are available. The important thing is that parts and support are available.
-
Speed has to make a difference. When I got my first variable speed saw, I ran it at full speed all the time. That was what I was used to. Now, I run it at the speed that seems to work best for what I am cutting.
-
I went through the same decision process recently. I chose the Pegas for two reasons. I don't like the magnetic top. It is not as smooth as a waxed steel top. My Pegas saw purchased second hand came with a Seyco magnetic top cut to fit. I tried it for a short time and took it off. I don't like the table angle adjustment I much prefer the Pegas/EX21 style.
-
Potentometers are cheap. Check this out.
-
There is nothing special about the variable speed pot on the EX21. All it does is change the control voltage. I would not pay $55 for one. I would buy from eBay if I could find the correct potentiometer there. My guess is Seyco's are made up special for people who can't solder. Why do they use these? Because they can buy them in bulk for pennies.
-
I have Bauer sanders from Harbor Freight specifically because they have round dust ports that can be adapted easily to connect to a vacuum. They work but not near as well as my Hitachi sanders with the weird-shaped dust port. The cords are a bit short and stiff. Here is what I have without the adapter.
-
I changed my link arm assembly a few years ago to fix a knock issue. I bought my used, and it had already been ridden hard. I used it for a couple of years before the problems showed up. I replaced the entire assembly for the speed on Ray's recommendation. The instructions that came with mine were not very good. A crowfoot wrench will come in handy. I would not trade my EX21 for a Hawk, or any other style saw, even if I had to rebuild it every few years.
-
I started a new sale today for 25% off of selected items. Nothing yet, but it has only been a few hours.
-
I have made a lot of puzzles some sell well, and others not so well. I cut a puzzle from a piece of 1x12 southern yellow pine once. It sold quickly, but I could not make myself do it again.
-
This seems true of anything flat and thin, and you can cut with a laser. Yesterday, I thought I needed to stick to things that can't easily be cut with a laser.
-
If you make toys, you are competing with Hotwheels.
-
I know this is an old thread, but I will post here anyway. I stumbled across this when I hit the next unread button. I read all the posts, and one question came to mind: All these people own a scroll saw, and no one suggested cutting the wheels out with a scroll saw. I made toys for years before this occurred to me. I have a set of patterns for wheels. The patterns are pages full of the appropriate wheel-size circles with their centers marked for drilling the axle holes. I cut them a little over the size to allow some wood for smoothing and truing the wheels. No, I can't cut perfect circles, but I can cut 100 wheels and sad them all perfectly round, smooth, and the same size. When using a scroll saw to cut wheels, I get a few more wheels out of each piece of wood, and it is not nearly as messy as a hole saw. I made them with hole saws for years, owning every hole size between 1 and 3 inches. -
There is a lower guard? My Pegas does not have one and neither does my EX-21. You made me get up and go look.
-
Is there any smoke or burning smell?
-
It was luck. I was looking for something else when I stumbled across it. It wasn't listed as a scroll saw. The seller told me it had been listed for three weeks, an I was only the second person to ask about it.
-
Every once in a while, a saw will turn up within a day's drive. That is such a good deal that it is worth a road trip. I recently picked up an assembled but never used Pegas for sale a day's drive away. For less than half what a new one sells for.
-
If you scroll down the listing, it shows a US plug. I think you are safe. Try this: go to aliexpress and search for "router trimmer". I'm tempted to buy one just so I can use the accessories.
-
I have had sales running on Etsy since November. They had no discernable effect. Sales and views are in a death spiral. For the year, the number of orders is down 16% from 2022; 2022 was down 20% compared to 2021, and 2021 was down 6%. This downward spiral started in February 2021. For two months this year, I have had a negative income. My retirement fund is slowly increasing number-wise until inflation is factored in. The inflation rate is much greater than the interest rate. The best interest rate I can get is 5%. With inflation at 13.5%, I am losing money there too. Anyone with half a brain knows what is causing this.
-
Be sure to check the sizes on everything, and I don't care how many times it gets repeated 19mm is not 3/4 of an inch.
-
I have been on the phone several times with Ray and others at Seyco. They are great with anything mechanical. I learned that they don't know much beyond the straightforward things with anything electronic. I suspect that when they have a saw in the shop, They replace electrical parts until they are fixed or determine that isn't the problem. I had a bad motor, and they could not tell me how to test it. It's a DC motor, so all I had to do was take it out and hook it to a battery. A DeWalt or other 18V or greater battery will spin the motor. So will a car battery. I had a knocking problem several years ago and spent much time on the phone with Ray. I wound up replacing everything in the saw that was mechanical to get the saw working in as short a time as possible.
