xocd

I typically reinforce fragile veneers by glueing some paper to the front of the veneer using hide glue, which is easy to remove with some water once the piece is assembled. (I have never been successful using a knife, though.) xocd

Would a jam nut under the tension knob and against the body of the saw work? xocd

I plan to try this. Thanks! xocd

I’ll have to experiment with that. It’ll have to be gray for starters as I don’t have a color printer. I aim to split the line, but with a 2/0 blade and a black pattern, it’s hard for me to see if I am on the line when I look at the blade straight on. xocd

I am finding that I have an easier time of telling whether the blade is on the line of my pattern by looking at the point where the blade meets the pattern slightly sidewise. If I look at the blade straight I'm less accurate. What's your experience? Thanks, xocd

Don, I am not sure if this is what you mean, FWIW here we go. You can use the ellipse selection tool (Tools>Selection Tools>Ellipse). Hold SHIFT to select a circle. Select the center zone and then cut. To include the fire truck you would select again with the ellipse tool, copy and then paste in the previous image and then play with the size. I am including a quick and dirty version.

In the comments the author writes: "La maquina que uso yo es electrica y es italiana la casa se llama colombo filipeti Son caras" (The machine that I use is electric and Italian. The brand is colombo filipeti (sic). They are expensive.) He does have other videos where he uses a treadle-powered scroll saw. xocd

I watched a long (2+ hours) youtube step-by-step marquetry demo (in Spanish). In the comments section the author says that he controls the speed of his scroll saw with a pedal - "like a sewing machine", he adds. (The machine is a Colombo-Filippetti - an expensive, Italian-made, industrial scroll saw.) I do not know of any machine in the US market whose speed can be controlled with a pedal. Though this should be easily possible with machines that use a DC motor. Do you know of an after-market way to control a scroll saw's speed with a pedal? Thanks, xocd

Just ordered some blades from Denny. xocd

This is more a comment on my ability than on the blades: I find that, for now, I hope, Pegas 2/0 skip tooth blades cut too fast for me. I am learning how to control them. When I am dealing with a tricky section I use slower blades. xocd

On an iPhone you press on the video and hold. It will offer you a menu on which you can pick "copy url". I do not know about Android, but imagine something similar. xocd

Duels have been fought on this question. I have used a chevalet and I much prefer the horizontal frame saw. It is as accurate as I need, much simpler to make, and easier to use. But I am a tyro. There are important professionals, who have much more experience than I have, that swear by the chevalet: e.g., Patrick Edwards of the San Diego School of French Marquetry. It seems that they trace their lineage to the École Boulle in Paris. (Though Boulle himself did not use a chevalet, as the chevalet is a 19th century invention.) Jack Metcalfe, expert on Chippendale marquetry, swears by the horizontal frame saw. In the video below you can see Patrick Edwards gleefully using a frame saw, though he is a chevalet evangelizer:

You should be able to get the link by right clicking on the video. xocd

Depending on the motor, it might be possible to add an external speed control. xocd

Last one, I promise:

A different frame saw:

Yes, but I need both hand for moving the wood, and both feet: one to treadle and the other one on the floor so I don't fall off xocd

This video shows Jack Metcalfe operating his frame scroll saw (the model for mine). It might be a bit sped-up:

Let me first get a tripod mount for my phone. xocd

The saw in the picture is my version of Jack Metcalfe's frame saw as shown on his book on Chippendale marquetry. The saw consists of two rectangular frames made out of 3/4 baltic birch plywood (using pocket holes). Between the two frames there is a set of two bog-standard drawer slides that serve as linear bearings. One of the frames is stationary and is clamped to my workbench in my basement shop via a horizontal member that is screwed to the stationary frame. The other frame holds the blade and moves up and down. Pushing on a pedal (a short length of 2x4) brings the frame down. A lath of white oak acts as a spring to bring the frame back up. Right now I have a small piece of 1/4" plywood screwed to the horizontal member serving as the saw table. I should make a better version, but I am having too much fun playing with it as is. In this version, the throat of the frames is 26". I.e., the maximum size of the piece can be no more than 13". The frames can be made larger, of course. The blade holders are from an outfit in Barcelona that I bought a few years back when I was visiting. I think I could make equivalent holders with in my shop with some work. Tension is controlled by the big wing-nut on top of the upper holder. It is designed with marquetry in mind: i.e., to cut a few layers of thin veneers using a skinny blade. It might work for 1/4" bbp using a #3 blade, but I have not tried. Features: The blade moves strictly vertically. (For some definition of "strictly") One can use a lot or as little of the blade as one wants on each stroke One can control the speed and length of each stroke independently, which is great for tight turns Sawing goes goes surprisingly fast Quiet Vibration free Very light and easy to store as it doesn't have its own stand I feel much more in control using this saw than when using my Excalibur, even at its slowest speed. I haven't yet, but I think I could use this in my kitchen or dining room and not scare the horses. xocd

As commented in a previous topic, my Excalibur saw was breaking 2/0 blades. (I use 2/0 blades for marquetry.) Leaving slack on the blade before tightening solves the problem, sort of: blades do break every so often, when there is not enough slack; and, the tension on the blade is erratic, sometimes too slack. The saw was not giving warms and fuzzies. Sawing was not fun. I took the plunge and ordered the Pégas chuck-heads. Installation was a breeze, once I found a 7mm wrench and a 3mm hex key. I am happy to report that I am not breaking blades and that the tension on the blades is consistent. Also, the saw seems to run more smoothly; this could be a figment of my imagination. xocd

It appears under a youtube search for "marquetry knife". There is no knife in the video. xocd

I like the saw on this video: - Large throat - Induction motor - Pedal controlled speed (clutch?) - Hand wheel for delicate cuts - Probably unobtainable :0 xocd

I am a new Hegner owner (eBay). I have been doing what I saw on a couple of youtube videos which I think of as "out-feeding", i.e., feeding outside the saw: take out the bottom holder with the blade in it, while leaving the top holder on the saw; with the blade, holder and piece outside of the saw, feed the blade from below; with the blade vertical, slide the blade, piece and holder into the saw via the slot on the table; push the lower holder in position; engage the blade to the top holder It's faster than it sounds. I am guessing that the table slot was included just for that purpose. One could follow the same process on the Jet scroll saw. (Edit) Found a video (warning, it's in German but the process is clear): https://youtu.be/yX46Cgqh_lw?t=475 xocd

(OP) I have noticed something that is fixing the blade breakage issue I was having: when attaching the blade, make sure to move the tension lever as forward and down as possible. This seems to stretch the blade by the correct amount. Moving the tension lever back moves the top holder up, and results in the largest distance between upper and lower blade holders. Assuming no slack, the blade is stretched by the difference in the distance between the holders when the blade was attached and the distance between them when the lever is thrown back. I noticed that the minimum distance between the holders does not occur when the tension lever is completely forward and down; it happens when the lever is a bit higher than that. I was attaching the blade at this (minimum distance) position, which stretches the blade too much (at least for the 2/0 blades I am using). Thanks! xocd