Doug

Great job. I prefer the all black.

Roly That is so violent and unlike you. How about this one which also refers to the rolling arsenal as "Black Beauty"? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oejp8rvH2Pk Okay, some violence here too, but not as deadly.

Nice job. I need to keep that in mind. For an appropriate project it sure beats making a frame.

Never have closed my eyes scrolling although some of my finished product might look like I did it with my eyes closed. Thanks Kevin, I think I now have a new excuse I can use for poor product.

I think when they did their anniversary edition they also permanently switched from green to black. Black is all they show on the General International web site. I like the black better. Now if the green had been John Deere green rather than Oliver green I probably would have been disappointed with the change.

Darcey Do not know how you are setting up but if you are getting the stand and do not intend to assemble it for a lower angled front, consider slapping a piece of plywood between the stand and the EX 21 so you can keep frequently used items handy. I used 3/4 ply.

Don't look now, but I do think you have tears running down your legs.

Thanks Carl - I appreciate the effort and detail. I am printing and saving to try probably when we start having some extended warm weather. I am a garage junkie and generally do not heat the garage except on weekends - the day job generally limits cold weather work to weekends and very few evenings.

Darcy Congratulations, you will love it - where I grew up we called that "having tears run down our legs."

All of the advice is good - your one comment "Took apart my whole scroll saw found nothing wrong or wearing, it seems like the knobs that i turn to pinch in the blade seems to loosen even when I crank down on it" struck me as a problem I once had. When I first started scrolling I thought I need to tighten the thumb screws as tight as I could and I managed to strip the threads in the clamp. It may not be noticeable when tightening the thumb screw but with the saw action it permits the thumb screw to slightly loosen. If the other fixes do not work, consider installing a new clamp for the thumb screw and set screw and see if that solves the problem. I would probably change both upper and lower and while at it I would order an extra clamp or two to have on hand and one or two extra thumb screws and set screws - I hate down time while waiting for something. After learning that tightening firmly but not as hard as I could worked well, I have not have any problem. As a result I do still have extra clamps, thumb screws, and set screws on hand. You really do not have to "crank down" on the thumb screw.

Okay Carl, I got the bucket of sand figured out and I use a lot of PVC for blade and tool holders but it is not as organized as what you have done. Give me some more description if you are willing. Is the one just a 2 x 4 with drilled holes or is it some other material you used. The second one, what did you use to build it. It looks like a standard swivel plate underneath but help with how the actual circular organizer was built or what you converted to make your organizer. I might consider doing one or more of the three if I get to where I am willing to quit scrolling for a while in my limited time. I think I could do either of the PVC concepts but why spend a lot of time figuring out how to do it when I can get a head start from you. I do know the bucket of sand would not take long and in fact have used that concept on a larger scale - a five gallon bucket of sand, motor oil poured in, and then put shovels, spades, hoes, and garden tools in it. Looking forward to more info.

Most of my work is on 3/4 to 5/4 wood and I have an electric branding iron I use. I did not intend to mark my work at all until some folks started insisting on it. I found a source for a custom branding iron and to suit my personality it is just two lines "Done by Doug - Live Long and Prosper". People get a kick out of it. It is a little bit of personalization, a message from Mr. Spock, and it can never be traced back to me. With my handwriting it makes no sense for me to try and write something. Apparently Travis has legible handwriting.

Those are great - what blade or blades are you using?

Looks good - what did you use in the bucket?

I have a DW and and EX21. They are both very good saws but the EX is my favorite and my go to saw with the DW as a backup. I got my EX at a locally owned hardwood / woodworkers supply to support a local business I frequent. If not for that I would have gotten it from Seyco just because of how everyone talks about the support Ray provides.

Gotta find what works for you and what you love - main thing is to do what makes your scrolling enjoyable and fun. I do mostly 3/4 to 5/4 wood and most is word art and a few other things. I primarily use 2/0 and # 1 spirals and may want a larger vein on something and go to # 3 or # 5 on rare ocassions. I tried non spirals and on the thickness of the wood could never get as smooth a corner or do an O or S as well as with a spiral. Me, I love my spirals and respect and admire those who can make non spirals do the job in thick wood - that is beyond my skill level and I am now so comfortable with spirals if I ever did thinner wood I would panic if not using a spiral. Thanks to Carl for his assist on spiral technique. As he said it is difficult to describe and just an art acquired through repetitive use.

Great job on a great pattern. The reflection in the water and your cutting of it are both amazing.

Dan I had that problem also. The clamps I believe are aluminum and thus getting the clamp as tight as you can eventually strips the threads in the aluminum clamp. From others I learned that firm but not overly tight will hold the blade if the ends of the thumb screw and set screw and blades are all clean. I clean my blade ends by dipping in denatured alcohol (I do a dozen every time I open a bunch) and wiping them dry and then prior to using the blade I brush the ends with 220 grit sandpaper. If I start to get any blade slippage I then will clean the ends of the thumb screw and set screw to get off any accumulation that may have come from the blades. I think the blades have a light coat of oil on them when shipped. Since doing this I have found I do not have to tightened the blade thumb screw as hard and I have had no thread stripping in the clamp.

Kevin Do you remember Gary's post last October on the DW light? http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/topic/7569-lamp-upgrade-on-my-dewalt-scrollsaw/ You might consider it on your new machine which has the DW lite on it. I made the change on mine and really like the improvement. Just a piece of PVC, some super glue, and a new bulb. I also really like "The Lifter" in the banner at the top even though my saw is not elevated at the back.: http://papasworkshop.net/index.php?id_product=8&controller=product&id_lang=1 Happy sawing!

All look great. My favorite is the hawk.

Does it say anything about us when the subject line "I might get lucky" refers to scroll saws or wood and we all know what it means?

Smitty A public thanks for sending the font which works great. While looking for something else I discovered the font at http://www.scrollcrafters.com/Pages/FreeStuff.aspx Apparently it was developed expressly for scrolling by Mike at Scrollcrafers.com which explains why it was not on any of the free font sites. He also has a couple of other free fonts for downloading. Doug

Dental picks and parchment paper

I have never timed it but I cannot imagine I ever go more than 20 to 30 minutes without a short break of a few minutes - I need to rest my eyes and then go back with a clear focus. Just stopping to change blades in generally not enough as I need to do some focusing on more distant objects than the table top or a blade going into a line.

Welcome aboard. You will get addicted to scrolling and to this forum.