Claymore

I have a Axminster EX30 (UK) and love it .....the blades were fiddly at first but seem fine now, only thing I would have liked is a foot pedal but cannot fit one thanks to NVR switch fitted grrrrrrrrrr. Also have another saw a Axminster Trade Series AWFS18 (Hegner clone) and its VERY smooth/quiet Cheers Brian

Try approaching wedding planners/cake makers and maybe include the initials of the happy couple into the design? would look great in white Corian and for custom one off's you can charge more. Cheers Brian

Blimey that basement is sooooooooooooooooooo clean and tidy you could do medical operations there! with careful planning you will have the ultimate workshop.....1st thing is to sort the dust extraction out as its easier to do that when the place is empty and always make more sockets than you think you need for future machine upgrades etc. I have yet to see a lovely dry basement here in Scotland as they all seem to be dark damp and full of critters....8-) Have fun and keep us posted on the workshop. Brian

Corian might work? Brian

Cheers Rob...........aye we get some beautiful skies here, they filmed a TV series here in the 90's called "2000 Acres of Sky" plus The Wickerman movie (original one) and yes the locals are still like those in the movie but we don't burn policemen anymore....just the odd tourist who strays off the road lol Cheers Brian

Cheers everyone, here's a link to a post about the EX30 dust extraction mod I made to my machine on the UK workshop forum.....hopefully it will make sense to ya http://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/axminster-ex30-dust-extraction-mod-t102117.html I have also added a small shelf to my saw for holding my small vise grips (I cannot use my left hand so use the small vise grips to hold the small pieces of wood while cutting and it grips very well) the shelf is just made from plywood scraps and painted black to tidy it up a little, its attached to the saw by a nut and bolt through the blade storage slots in the right hand side panel and doesn't get in the way. Here's a couple of photos of them Cheers Brian

Hi,I love my EX30 Scrollsaw (HMS Axminster) and cannot fault it anywhere apart from the steel tabletop that some eejit decided to paint...... why can't they use stainless steel? oh well as the paint on mine was starting to come off I decided to make a new tabletop that was maintenance free (could have made a plywood one but that would need replacing eventually) so I priced up replacing the whole tabletop and the price for 8mm Alloy plate was ££££££££££££££££££ (don't even mention S/S which was even more) so I bought a sheet of 2mm thick alloy and bolted it diretly onto the original steel tabletop so its extremely solid and won't rust One other thing I did was change the very large blade slot on the original table to a much smaller 5mm which has made a massive improvement when cutting tiny pieces of Intarsia (they no longer disappear down the slot ) I Started by removing the steel tabletop (4x countersunk bolts with nuts under the table) and placed it onto the sheet of 2mm alloy and used a scriber to draw around the steel top and marked and centre punched the bolt holes and also all the dust extraction holes, after trying various saws/tools to cut the alloy i ended using my Bosch jigsaw with fine metal blade and cut slightly larger than the table and then used a palm sander with 80 grit to trim to the exact outline and drilled/countersunk all the holes.Then all i had to do was bolt them both back onto the EX30, by using 2mm thick alloy you can use the original bolts (any thicker plate and you will need longer bolts) after testing the saw it works perfect and only took around 6 hours (probably 1hr if you can use both hands) I will give the alloy top a sand down with 600 grit wet/dry paper to take away the shine (the light reflects and dazzles ya).I suppose you could do a similar project on any scroll saw and its worth doing just for the smaller blade slot on the EX range of saws.I have included some photos of the mods and also one of the 4" dust extraction hood that attaches to the table using magnets so very easy to move when changing blades and much better dust extraction than standard.CheersBrian

Hi, I have quite a different dust extraction system and here's a couple of posts I made about my mods. http://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/workshop-hacks-t102950.html http://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/axminster-ex30-dust-extraction-mod-t102117.html Quite different to most and sounds like a Jumbo Jet on take off but works great and basically blows any dust outside (I live out in the middle of nowhere so no complains as its my land 8-) Even if you don't get a Bouncy Castle fan the mods to the EX30 work with a shop vac or similar. Cheers Brian

I bought an Axminster version of the EX30 30" model this year and love it, only negative thing about it is you cannot use a foot pedal due to the NVR switch. Would my saw be built at the same factory as those available in the States? it is a very nice bit of kit and built like a tank apart from the painted table top which shows signs of use already....why don't they fit a stainless steel table top to them? I have been thinking of buying some 2mm thick stainless steel and making a table cover for my saw (including the perforated holes around the blade slot but making a much smaller hole for the blade to go through) I made a similar table top for my other saw an Axminster Trade 18" Hegner lookalike using Corian and its lovely to use as the wood glides on the Corian. Cheers Brian

LOL wish I had four arms Kevin on a good day i can still "steer" my work on the saw with my worst hand so not totally useless, it annoys me more than but there are many much worse off than myself so best to just get on with it and mind my fingers Thanks too for your comments on my photos...I wasn't sure if it was ok to post so many in one go but thought it gives a better idea of my work and if anyone wants anymore info on them then give me a shout and hopefully i can help. Cheers Brian

Hi Don finally joined the forum.....you mentioned it to me a long time ago but as with everything i do I don't rush anything lol hopefully I can help with tips and ideas on here and see what they think of our designs from over the pond Cheers Brian Ps have you got the Mens Shed up and running yet? anything that gets people away from the televisions and into workshops is a good thing.

Thanks everyone for making me welcome here! I have meant to join for quite a while after fellow Brit Don (Watson) mentioned the village on the UK forums and its great to see such a varied selection of craftsmen/women creating great pieces of art. My hand/arm problems do hinder me a bit but its a case of either adapt or stop and get rid of my workshop which will never happen so I basically have to plan when my hands very bad to do less detailed work and also maintenance until its a bit better and then get back to the woodworking......slow process but i am getting a bit quicker and my wife is also helping me get organised lol Intarsia is still quite rare over here in the UK but more people are having a go which is good news and i try and encourage others to try Intarsia and share tips etc, we are also quite limited regarding decent hardwoods here so 99% of my projects are made from recycled old furniture and I have lots of Oak/Walnut/Mahogany/Beech etc all from old tables.....I also like to experiment using other materials than wood so you may see more Corian and even Pewter turning up in my intarsia projects (Pewter can be cast into flat sections and then cut using your scrollsaw and then polished up lovely, imagine a knight in armour with pewter armour etc ) Anyway enough of me waffling and thanks again Brian

Hi, I have finally got round to joining this forum as I love to read about other craftsmen and womens creations, I live in a very rural area of Scotland surrounded by mountains and forests etc with mainly wildlife for neighbours. I got my first scrollsaw in 2014 as a gift from my wife Ruth.......and have really caught the bug big time lol, I cannot do scrollwork due to only having full use of one hand/arm and tend to stick to Intarsia work as the pieces of wood are much chunkier and easier for me to hold (I actually use Visegrips/Molegrips to hold the wood as no pinch grip looks a bit strange but gets me by fine) My work is usually related to our local wildlife so things like Deer/Red Kites/Otters and Barn owls BUT I am also a motorcycle fanatic and have owned 40+ over the years including Harleys/Goldwings/Nortons etc so I also make motorcycle Intarsias......I have added some photos to my gallery but they haven't appeared yet so guess they will be getting checked out by Mods before going online? I have been on Steve Goode's forum and the UK Workshop forums for a while so some of you might already know my work.......its not great but keeps me amused which is always a good thing? Anyway hope to get to know you guys and maybe share some tips/ideas Cheers Brian Ps Scroll Saws OwnedAxminster Trade Series AWFS18 (Hegner Clone)Axminster Trade Series EX-30 (HMS Axminster Aircraft Carrier)