Wichman

This is a project I'm currently working on, a spice rack for the girlfriend. These are about 10" long, 1/4" Elm, the shelves were stacked 3 high, the ends 2 high, all cut with FD Polar #1 (just didn't want to change blades). They are not perfect, but will touch up pretty quick with the stationary belt sander. I will post pictures of the finished project as soon as I get it done.

With the HF ( or other small band saws ), remember that these are light duty tools. Yes the specs say that it will cut 3 5/8" ( a 2 x 4 on end ) but it will be slow, and you'd better have the right blade ( 1/4" or less and 3 to 4 tpi ). I was trying to cut 2" Elm and I kept stalling the motor; 1/2" Elm and it was fine ( I was ripping 6' live edge boards inteded for non scroll saw project wood ). Before I cut a single thing I went through the saw and adjusted everything to the specs in the manual. I also bought a couple of blades from other than HF sources. I have had the saw for about 5 years now, and although it doesn't get much use, it has stayed in adjustment the whole time.

I have the HF 9" saw and it's a little workhorse. But about your Craftsman 10". Have you tuned it up using the Snodgrass video? New blade? More about the HF saw in the next message.

This time the requested rose color was bright blue, I painted the leaves teal green. The Rose pattern is from Steve Good. The small butterfly shape is from an old Patrick Spielman book, "Scroll Saw Handbook with patterns" and the small heart I found in the font "webdings" (Capital Y ) The letter font is Z003 with the "outline font effect" turned on. The wood is 3/4" Poplar, FD Polar #! blades throughout, Two coats of shellac after painting.

Frank Ev did indeed upload a similar pattern. Search for "two heads" (include the quotation marks). and it will be second or third in a short list. He published this circa Oct 2021.

Thurman, If you expand the bottom picture it gives the size; 11 inches tall, 5.1 inches wide, and is listed as 2 inches thick (thickness is probably because it's multiple items)

I just checked the FB account. The gentleman is having FB issues, surprise, no surprise. The original page "A saw subject" is still up. the new one with the brand name has been taken down by FB ( he is not Hegner, so it violates the "rules" ).

A couple of options to think about. #1. micro bit plus a spiral blade, use the spiral blades to ease the shoulders for a smooth line #2 micro bit, drill two or three holes in line with the pattern, creating a slot to feed the blade through. Difficult to line up but doable. With the Hegner and the slot in the table, you can put the blade in the wood before you put the blade in the saw. Takes a little wrangling and practice but again, doable.

For Christmas I made one of my grandsons a "soccer" plaque with shaker pegs. The daughter asked me to make the granddaughter something similar with a cheerleader motif. Here's what I came up with. Top layer 1/2" Baltic for all the inside cuts, FD Polar #1 blades throughout the interior cuts. 1/2" Baltic laminated to the top with polyurethane glue. All outside cuts made with FD #3 Polar blades. Name painted white and then with glow in the dark paint, for the cool factor. Steve Good pattern modified with the name and the shaker pegs. Mounting holes hidden under the lower team logos. The cheer team.

Been thinking about this one. 1/8 hardboard backer just over the size of the plaque, this will present some issues because that's larger then the throat of the saw, I can cut half from each direction though. I was thinking of painter the backer the colors of the Idaho License Plat; Red on top, a band of white in the middle, and blue on the bottom. If I use the tractor cut outs as plugs, I can use countersunk screws to mount the piece and eliminate tipping (the piece is out of balance. I'm thinking of adding shaker pegs on each end to make the piece more functional.

Did you get the fill and stroke issues resolved?

I haven't decided on a backer yet. The piece is prefinished with a cream paint ( that was part of the test, paint stayed put and did not splinter at all ) The plaque is really off balance, the knots are much heavier than the rest of the wood. I'm thinking of using a couple of small screws and a cord, maybe shifting the attachment points towards the weighted side.

Just finished this one. Idaho plaque, pattern by BoB scroll . Wood is a repurposed plaque ( 6" X 23" ) from a thrift store, 3/4 pine; blades FD Polar #1 throughout. Second Picture is the piece on the saw with a " 1 2 3 block" as a counterweight, nonslip pad underneath. Started cutting in the center to reduce the weight when I got to the ends.

I'm surprised no one caught this: The thrust of my argument was about leverage. But if you look at spiral blades the argument works the other way around. If you primarily use spiral blades then the sideways leverage is the other way around. 2 to 3 inches on the rear mounted motors vs 16" (or more) on the front motor. So it really depends on your style of cutting or your preference of blade type.

Jimmy, In regards to cutting time; while it is variable, my speed is usually around 30 seconds an inch. If you can navigate Inkscape there is a way to have the program measure how many inches of lines there are in a pattern, then it's just math. Inkscape shows that this pattern ( the one page version ) has 321.9 inches of lines. So 321.9 x 30 = 9657 seconds 9657 / 60 = 160.95 minutes 160.95 / 60 = 2.6825 so I would guesstimate 3 hrs for this project. But that is me with a Hegner and 39 yrs experience. The Hegner VS ranges between 350 and 1750 spm, I usually have it set at about 1400. I started keeping track of the metrics ( how fast I cut ) so I could give a real world estimate of how much a project would cost a customer to make. I'm not trying to set speed records, and at this point in your journey, neither should you. Practice on getting great quality cuttings, and you are, the speed will come with more experience.

I'll be taking a break from the village. Pattern making is such a PIA and to have multiple users misunderstand what I ask about is extremely frustrating, and I don't handle frustration well. Getting private messages "helping" with issues outside the questions I'm asking is annoying as well, I know you think you are helping, but you are not. TTFN

Gene, What was the cause of the thumping noise? Parts? Which one(s)? Adjustment(s)? Again, which ones inquiring minds want to know.

Very, very nice cutting. For the issues with the spiral blades, have you tried the "new spiral" blades from Flying Dutchman? They have flat ends.

HF has an 8" polisher with a 3/4 hp motor. They also sell a speed controller (for routers) that is well within the amperage rating of the polisher. I would call the HF technical number and ask if they are compatible. The motor needs to be a "universal" motor for the speed controller to work. The Foredom machine ( 500-7000) has a much larger variation in speed than the HF grinder (2000-3450), so there's that.

The chucks are installed on the right hand side because of the direction the rotation of the motor relates to the direction the threads of the chuck turn. If you want a chuck on both sides either find a left handed threaded chuck or use a keyed chuck. The keyless chuck will be a PIA because they will constantly be trying to loosen up, the keyed chucks can be tightened more than the keyless chuck and "should" work.

I am the original poster on the other board (LJ). And I stand by my opinion. I also stated that if a person needed the tilting head style or the top feeding ( I have bone spurs throughout my neck and upper back, so I can see the advantage ) then to go for it. If you normally cut 1/4" or less, then you will never see the difference between a front or rear mounted motor. If you routinely cut 1" or more hardwood then I believe you will see a difference. The only reason I was able to get a Hegner was the retirement bonus I got; I want to cut wood, not get yet another mechanical project to fix up and update, so I went with the brand new largest capacity saw with all the trimmings. The saw does not make the sawyer. I started with a Sears, 13" throat saw that used 3" pin end blades in a spring loaded holder, and I made some pretty awesome pieces with it. The biggest issue I had with it was that the blade would curve inside an arc if I was to close to a knot in the pine I was using. Buy what you want and make some sawdust. P.S. I've never posted this opinion here because I didn't want to start a flame war, we had way to many of those back when WOOD had a forum and in the Google groups (what a mess, that was )

So, I saw this pattern and thought "that looks cool" and wanted to make one. I fiddled with the pattern a bit;' shrunk it down to 7/8", added a center divider and a red outline. I have most of a bottle of glow in the dark paint so, a glowing atomic star.

This is a Steve Good pattern. The original was somewhat larger ( 7 inches ), but I need to use up some 3 1/2" cork coasters I have. So, I reduced the pattern until it just fit within the 3 1/2" coaster. I cut the inside of the pattern, then laminated the wood to the cork, and after the glue (polyurethane, 100% waterproof) cured I cut the outside. Everything worked like a charm, very pleased with the result ( many, many times it just doesn't work the way I want and I have to make adjustments). 1/4 inch Elm, 1/8 inch cork, FD Polar #1 for the inside, #3 for the outside.

I liked making this vanity tray for my granddaughter

Very nice. Love the use of the heartwood/sapwood. What type of wood? What finish did you use to prevent snags?