DRugerH

I'd also say keep it. You never know when you can use an extra scroll saw or 5 Dan

Thanks all. I'm certainly not looking for praise, but just wanted to share this experience that I had with the boys, and I just thought you would all appreciate it. I had told my mom about this (she lives with me now that she was not able to take care of her home any longer) and earlier this evening, she decided that she wanted to try her hand at scroll sawing. I did the same for her that I did for the boys, except she got to use my Hawk G2. I gave her the same practice board and then she made a star. She was quite proud of herself as well. Something tells me she wants her own now. I'll be looking for a Delta 40-540 as it's built similar to the Hawk, but smaller and more cast iron for less vibration. One of my saws is a Delta 40-550, I think, the 2-speed version, and that was the best out of all the 16" saws I used for the boys. That one will stay with them, so my hunt begins. Again, thanks all. Dan

Good morning all. As I mentioned in my introduction a couple of weeks ago when I joined up, I have been purchasing a bunch of scroll saws for a boys club at my church to teach the boys some wood working and so they can make some ornaments. I told them that we would be doing this back in October, and there has been a lot of excitement and anticipation ever since. I also got a couple of gents from the church, who are also woodworkers, to help out on the nights we are going to use them as I wanted one adult per saw. On Wednesday, December 1st, we had our first workshop. As I was bringing the saws in from my truck, the boys excitement and anticipation turned into nervousness and hesitation. One little guy of 6-years-old looked down at the floor with a disappointed look in his face and asked me how old someone would have to be to use one of those saws. I told him I've seen boys as young as 4-years-old use them, so he is more than old enough to operate one. Well, after the guys were setting up the saws, and the boys and I were doing our pledges and oaths, I walked them into the room that we converted into a scroll saw workshop. I gave the boys my safety speech, handed out the safety glasses, and proceeded to explain all the things that would warrant us shutting off the saws and asking them to sit down away from the saw (screwing around, not watching where they are cutting, etc.). Once I was done with that, I demonstrated how to use a scroll saw with a practice template. Straight line, zig-zag and wavy line. After they boys felt that they got the concept, I had each boy grab an adult and a saw, and I passed out the practice boards and asked them to do the same thing I did. I'm telling you, if I didn't have 6-saws running at one time, you could have heard a pin drop. The boys were 100% focused on the saws. I saw the nervousness and hesitation slowly melt away and replaced with sheer enjoyment and amazement at their new found ability. After they started getting comfortable with the saws, I had them pick out the ornaments they wanted to make. I had prepared the pieces ahead of time with painters tape, then gluing the ornament templates to the tape, and pre-drilling any holes that they may have needed. The boys started cutting them out, and one by one, as they finished, the look of pride when they showed me what they did was so rewarding that it was worth spending well over my budget (I had $300 of my own cash set aside, and spent over $400). They peeled the tape off of their now scrolled out ornament and painted them up. They wanted to go back and make another one, but we had run out of time. We are going to do this again on December 15th, so I assured them that they would probably have enough time to make two more ornaments, so they were very happy with that. And, remember the 6-year-old I told you about? Well, I have to say, that little guy totally MASTERED the scroll saw. He chose a rather difficult Christmas Tree with multiple branches. This little guy stayed on the line the ENTIRE TIME! He had never even seen a scroll saw before Wednesday, let alone used one, and he had that little Wen scroll saw 100% under his control. He never broke a blade, or anything like that. For him, going from thinking he wasn't going to use a scroll saw to cranking out the best ornament of the evening was so rewarding for the both of us. I am very proud of all those boys, ranging from 5-years-old to 11-years-old. I still have a smile on my face from that night, and I am looking forward to the 15th as much as they are. Anyhow, I just wanted to share this with the community. Dan

You might need to replace the pitman arm and pin I had that issue when I purchased my G4. Of course, both the pitman arm and pin were very worn out, and made my saw sound like it had a rod knock. I wonder if the pin walking out is an early sing of wear. Now that I have the new pitman arm and pins, it fits very tight. I had to use a clamp to seat it. I think that pitman arm and pin was only like $10. Not sure of the other pin you are referring to, but give them a call and they can get you the parts you need cheap. Replacing them is very easy too. Dan

Absolutely! December 1st is going to be their first try on the saws, and they are very excited. I made an ornament on every one of the saws they are going to use so I can tune them up and make sure they will operate as good as a beginner's saw can. Plus, when they tell me the saw isn't cutting right, I can show them the ornament I made on it Dan

Very nice saw. I was looking at saving up for one of those, but as of last week, I am the owner of a "new to me" G4, and after rebuilding it (PO used it heavily), I am very happy with it, so I'm sure you will be as well. Amazing saw. Dan

Greetings all. I just wanted to do a shout-out to Bushton Manufacturing. Last weekend, I answered a Craigslist ad for a Hawk G4 26" scroll saw, about 1-hour and 45-minutes away from my home. I don't think the price was great, but it wasn't bad either, about 1/3 of a new one. I offered a slightly lower number, and we met in the middle. I drove out to pick up the saw from a very friendly guy who was selling it for his friend's widow. Well, he didn't have much information, but the saw looks like it was in really great condition. He said his friend was meticulous about maintaining and cleaning his machines, so I made sure it powered on, loaded it in my truck, and drove the 1:45 home. After getting it into my shop and futzing with it for a while, I discovered that the saw was A LOT more worn out than expected. The pitman arm was worn out by the lower blade arm, and rattled terribly. The table tilt was broken and had a hard time keeping the table dead flat as there was some minor play in it, and the upper blade holder was cracked at the roll pin, and basically held on with tape. So, the saw was not very usable, and really loud. The saw was also missing the upper arm hold-down lever and blade guard. Neither of which I was going to worry too much about. Well, since I restore antique woodworking machinery, I decided I was going to fix it myself. I called Bushton Manufacturing, and spoke to the very, very nice lady on the phone and gave her a list of parts I needed to make the machine functional again. Bracing myself for a huge number, she gave me the total of something like $24. In my disbelief, I had to ask her again, and it was true. So... I ordered the missing parts, and the counter-weight, in case that was worn out too, but the total was still under $60, shipped. Anyhow, I went ahead and ordered them. She said a couple of the parts had to be manufactured, so there would be a delay in shipping those parts to me. I asked her to just ship them in one box since I wanted to rebuild the saw in one sitting, and it would save them on shipping. Well, 6-days later (today), I get all of the parts i needed and wanted. So, I went down to the shop and went to rebuilding the saw. How such a great saw can be so simple is beyond me. I had the entire saw rebuilt in under an hour. and now, the sucker works as good as new. I made a snowflake on it, and I have to say, this is the best scroll saw I have ever used, and I own quite a few (7 of them for a boy's club, and two vintage machines I restored). Anyhow, I just wanted to give a shout-out (that's what it's still called, right?) to Bushton Manufacturing for their absolute top-notch customer service and their great products. Thanks for putting up with me, Dan

Good morning all. I thought I would get off of my duff and join a Scroll Saw forum now that I am getting more into scroll sawing. I have owned a vintage ~1935 Delta 700 that I restored about 15-years ago, or so, and only used it twice. For wood art, I am more into using the lathe, but I recently volunteered to be a troop leader for a boys club. I thought it would be great to introduce these boys to wood working and using a scroll saw. Because of this, I blew the dust off of my Delta 700 and started making some simply Christmas ornaments as samples for the boys, and in the meantime, I picked up 7 16" scroll saws on CraigsList ($50 and under was my budget) for the boys to use. Needless to say, they are anticipating using them, and on the first Wednesday in December, they will touch their first scroll saw. After a safety talk, and some rules, I'll start them on some practice patterns, and then once they are comfortable with it, they will start making Christmas ornaments. Also, as I have been scrolling, I picked up a Hawk G4, that needs a little work done. Parts are cheap, and I can get it up and running for under $60, I hope. I also have a 1960's Craftsman 18" saw that uses 6" blades, so that one will be a pain to locate blades for. But, I say all of this as I think I found another hobby, to add to my wood working hobby, as I will be making samples for the boys as they get more into scroll sawing. Also, this place looked like a really good resource, so I am looking forward to diving into this journey. Dan