rash_powder

My current DIY dust collector runs off of a whole-home central vac motor. Its connected to a treadmill controller so its variable speed DC rather than single speed AC. Aside from its a bit loud as its a universal type motor, but it works great. My next will be based on a DIY impeller and washing machine motor - hopefully I can salvage a 3 speed; this will be MUCH quieter. Look up some of Matthias Wandel's youtube vids. He has made many DIY dust collectors. They take a bit of work but can be customized to the exact application.

Check with a local truck broker or shipper that isn't a commercial name (UPS, FEDEX, etc.). Locally we have Midnight Motor Express or MME. They haul stuff, but aren't a UPS type outfit. Truck broker's are the people who work out the logistics to get things from here to there and know whos going where when. Its worth a shot.

I *think* I am done cutting Christmas ornaments for this year. My wife was going to paint them but has since decided we will stain them. I've got 21 ornaments and 2 wall scrolls to stain; all the same color. Has anyone suggestions for a good bulk stain process? I've 1 1/4 of the small cans of Minwax stain, so I don't think dipping will work. Thanks!

I've been using 1/4" poplar for the ornaments. I have found that running about 1100 strokes/min (by my adjuster) and approx 1/2 turn on my tension rod (Hegner says 1 turn max) has been working best. I was running nearly wide open, so this is wicked slow by comparison. I am pretty sure I'm not side-loading the blade as I do check myself on that quite often; also I have been trying to check and re-set tension often since it seems to loosen on me. Cutting with the grain is sssssllllllooooooowwwwww going! I have to slow the strokes down and I know I am prob pushing to hard, but it seems like I can't cut with the grain otherwise. Since I changed my cutting speed and feed rates I haven't broken a blade in the last 10ish blades, so thats good. Will just keep going and change one thing at a time and sooner or later I will figure it out. Thanks!

I have been cutting a boat load of Christmas ornaments the last few weeks and have found that some blades of the same size/model/brand work much better than others with the exact same setup; as best I can tell. What I mean is an Olson Mach Speed 3R will cut roughly half to 3/4 of an ornament, and when it gets replaced, the very next might only be good for 4". I've found this with the Pegas #3 skip tooth reverse also, though I've only been through about 4 of them. The first was bad, and the next couple good. Is this bad setup or blade quality?

Try a local machine shop. They will likely have a large amount of the numbered drill bits. Where I live is an Acme Tools; they have many in stock at the store.

I use an add-on chuck from the local big box store. It goes to 0, and clamps into the existing chuck with the hex shape that all the screwdriver bits use. They are about $7 and work well enough. Drill press chucks are replaceable, but as mentioned watch that you get the right taper on both ends. Also, if you have a Harbor Freight press; your tapers may be metric or whatever they use and are not easy to source components for. If a hand drill, you've got what you got. When you change your chuck, be sure to keep that taper safe and clean. A little bit of dirt, a nick, or a bit of skin oil or machine oil and it won't fit right or slip.

+1 on the Pets Package! My wife loves them! I just need to find time to make for 6 cats, 2 dogs, and 2 passed dogs. If there was a passed dogs and cats that would be great; i wish i possessed the skill to draw these things. Thanks!!

Oh I know I am. Just gotta do it though.

When I built my stand I was having all kinds of vibration issues. The cause was lack of weight and (mostly I think) the old stand was flexing too much. My new table top is a few inches bigger than the saw footprint in all directions and made of 2x4's laminated together to form a roughly 3" thick butcher block. I cut the narrow edges off to get rid of the round-overs and sanded it smooth. The cabinet is framed from 2x4's using 1/2 lap joints that are glued and screwed. The whole lot is bolted together and skinned with 1/4" ply and rolls on casters. I've a drawer installed with many more holes than I have tubes for blades. Its very heavy, rolls very nicely, and absolutely cannot flex. The only time it shakes is when one of the casters does not contact the floor - I used 4 and my basement floor wasn't poured very level. Its not 100% what I wanted but it works. I have some improvements to make and some finishing to do yet someday.

I have been suffering a lot of blade breakage lately on my Hegner also. Most seem about 1/8" below the top clamp, the bulk of the rest about 1 1/4" up from the bottom clamp. Upon reviewing the manual I found that I was over-tensioning the blades - Hegner says no more than 1 turn of the tensioner from no slack and I was going 1 1/2 or more. Less tension has helped some, but I fear my current favorite blade has gone down in quality too, though I can't say for certain as I don't date the bundles of blades I have. I do tend to push the cutting life too as they feel sharp even when broken. Struggling is my thing, as is over thinking which is where I am at with it now. I'm trying to work out how to set the tension to approx 15000 psi as that is give or take where a bandsaw runs and a scroll saw blade is in a very similar situation. I tried tunining to 'C', but all the guitar tuning apps show it going from B flat straight to D sharp so that idea is a no go. If I ever figure something sciency and repeatable and measureable out I will post. I'm not too keen on the do it by feel thing.

I'm not sure the habits of many; but several years ago I heard that amongst hunting men deer season was THE time of year to discover heart problems. Seems the increased cardiac load of walking/trudging miles, staying warm, and moving harvested critters causes many people troubles. And the stress of the holiday season too....... Stay safe and take care of yourselves! Condolences to Brad's friends and family.

Any motor could be controlled via a foot pedal quite easily. DC or AC, doesn't matter; AC controllers can get quite expensive but be it a knob, lever or pedal its just a variable resistor. The biggest problem that I, personally, see in a foot speed controller is consistency. I know that with my current bench and stool setup I do not think that I could hold my foot in just the right position for long periods. The throw on the foot pedal is too short also for consistent fine control. That is a hell of a saw though in that brochure; not really meant for most garage shops though as its kinda big.

I've put some thought into stack cutting, but the two troubles I keep hitting are aligning the stickers on already cut pieces, and everyone's name is a different length so I wouldn't know if I'm cutting a Karen or a Nicholas. So its one at a time for me. 45 minutes per ornament and I would think I was flying!

I’d like to stack these but they all have a diff name and lining things up - especially stickers - is not my strong point. my wife is going to paint them so little detail mistakes are no worry as the business of all the decorations will mask them. Also, I’ve found I see the mistakes until I pull the pattern and then they are much harder to see.

I've been cutting a bunch of the Christmas ornaments for friends from 1/4" poplar. They are the ones Travis sells that you can customize. I started cutting them with Olson Mach Speed 5R blades, and actually bought more just in case I run out. Yesterday, just for giggles, I tried a Mach Speed 3R. WOW! These blades just rip through the wood like mad! I've had to completely re-learn what I'm doing to keep them in control. They cut so fast I had to slow my blade speed down to avoid making mistakes. According to Olson, they have the exact same tooth counts; which I find odd. The only thing I can figure is that the narrower blade width lets it go faster. On a side note, it takes me about 1.5 hours to cut one ornament. How long do you guys take? I kinda feel like I'm going too slow. Laters!

Ive been using Loctite General Purpose spray adhesive over the clear shelf paper. Its been working well enough for my needs. All said, I wouldn't be surprised at all if it was all the same stuff, just in different cans and labels. OEM suppliers and brand names are sneaky that way. y

I made reindeers from a 2x4 of cedar on my 14" Delta bandsaw. Just mount up the smallest blade you can find, I think I used a 1/8" blade. There is a guide from Clark, I believe, that helps make tight turns a bit easier. I have one, but the product name eludes me at the moment.

That maquetry machine...... It looks very similar to the 1950's craftsman scrollsaw I have. The Craftsman was meant to use a shop motor or whatever you had handy, but that Marquetry machine, the first thing I thought with the wheel and foot speed control was a sewing machine. If a scrollsaw and a sewing machine were to mate; I feel that saw would be the outcome.

That looks like a solid start on a circle cutting jig! Similar devices are made for bandsaws to enable near perfect circles to be cut. This may help me with some of the projects I do!

1760 rpm's at the motor shaft is what first comes to mind. Any pully's involved may change this faster or slower. If you want variable speeds, a Variable Frequency Drive is needed for the type of motor used; they can be spendy and aren't easy to DIY. One could have a small stack of pulleys to swap in and out to change the speed. Even at a single speed, that $40 saw is a steal!! I wish stuff would pop up like that around here.......

How are the mini cyclones working for you? I have a dust deputy (I think thats what it is called) attached to a 1/2 gallon jar. The 3-stage central vac motor I have it hooked up to will suck the dust from the bottom of the jar if I turn the power up too high. I prob just need a bigger jar, but the small size is nice.

there are silicon collapsible dog bowls that might work. I just removed mine and mounted a dust extraction system.

I just watched a video where they recommended using transfer tape as a way to prevent some of the burn staining from occurring. I've not had much problems with my Ortur LM2, but I also don't use it very much.

Absolutely go for it. If you do score it, bolt that stand to the floor if at all possible. Mine had some weird probs caused by my stand flexing and being too light. My situation doesn't allow it to be bolted to the floor so I made a butcher block table top and a 2x4 cabinet to mount it on in order to create a non-flexing heavy stand. It absolutely is all of that.