Doug

Great work - I see the names of a lot of people you have made happy!

Work less (hard to walk away when someone wants to pay you to show up) and spend more time with family - especially grandchildren. Finish the solid body electric guitar my grandson and I are building for him - actually I have told him the goal is to finish it before I die and dieing this year is not in the plan. Get a Hawk Follow the lines and cut a perfect circle, a perfect "S", and a perfect "O". Okay, a perfect "C" would also be alright. I do not mean to imply that all of the other letters are perfect but each of them has been perfect at least once. Get the spouse to leave her vehicle in the driveway so I have more floor space in the garage/shop - each of the preceding items (well, at least the first three) have a better chance of happening than this one

Right handed and counter clockwise is the preference although some cuts I will do better clockwise. Almost exclusively use spirals.

You will like it - I have the DeWalt and EX21. After problems with the DeWalt I got the EX21 while the DeWalt was being repaired. The DeWalt is now my backup. I have a Hawk on my wish list. I have no idea what your shop is like Clayton but I put the stand on 3/4 ply with 4 inch locking swivel casters and then also slapped a piece of 3/4 ply between the stand and saw so I had a storage shelf right next to the saw. Let us know your thoughts on the dust collection. I am not impressed and have my own PVC Rube Goldberg setup for dust collection.

What Ike said.

Seriously Larry, with a worn out old pot who knows what is next - I think you need a whole new scroll saw for your birthday tomorrow, not just a new pot. At our age you have to spoil yourself some as the opportunities are getting fewer and fewer. I am leaving the "pot" jokes to others.

Dan Love your work and your designs. What do you use for making your patterns? Thanks for sharing.

And I have my flannel lined slacks on and just wondered this morning whether I should also wear the insulated underwear.

To each their own - I would do absolutely nothing which had the effect of putting more fine dust in the air.

Give me a break Hans - what is the coldest it ever gets where you live? How many hours below 50 degrees in any calendar year? I know, I know - you are just thinking of us who live further North.

Thomas Carl has a great system. I took a different approach and you may find something you can use in this old thread and may come up with your own Rube Goldberg system. http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/topic/7141-dust-collection/ I now have the newer EX21 (long story) but did not like its dust collection system so am using the same system I used with my old EX21. You have to work in your budget but as a minimum I would encourage you to use whatever shop vac you may have and invest in an Oneida Dust Deputy to put between the shop vac and your dust collection point - the Dust Deputy is unbelievable at capturing the dust before it gets to the shop vac so there is really no blow by from the vac and I rarely have to clean the shop vac filter. I would not be without the Dust Deputy. I use spirals almost exclusively so do end up with table top kerf dust. With non spirals I think you will find the blade will carry nearly all of the dust down to your below table collection. The point has been made about shop vacs not being designed to run continuously - I have a delay turn off outlet which turns the shop vac on when I turn the saw on and runs for seven seconds after I turn the saw off and then stops. Some shop vacs will have that built in. Whatever you do, do something to protect your lungs and your health. Although I think I have great dust collection, I still wear a mask to try and preserve an old man's breathing capacity. You can read all sorts of things about the danger of dust and although our bodies may be amazing, the effect of sawdust (and other types of dust) in the lungs is cumulative and by the time you realize you have a problem it is too late to reverse it.

Larry If you got the Model #, check here for a user manual http://www.hawkwoodworkingtools.com/WebsitePages/Scroll-Saw-Manuals.html Bushton acquired Hawk in 2009 and I do think some of the older models did not have as good a blade clamp / blade change mechanism as the now current models but you would need to have the owner of one of the older Hawks speak to that and whether there are upgrades available or call Bushton directly and ask them.

Larry - we share a birthday so I know what you mean. I am the 18th, a sister on the 20th, and one on the 25th - all in December; when we were young and all at home things just kind of all ran together this time of year. One sister was born in August and we assume she must have been adopted. When I realized I would never get Ernie to make an Eclipse for me I did a lot of looking, reading, and listening so I could decide what my next scroll saw would be if I ever got another one. It came down to Hegner and Hawk and I am committed to the Hawk if it ever happens. It is a four hour drive to Bushton, Kansas but maybe one day I will make the drive to check it out at the factory.

Eclipse is no longer being made. Ernie Mellon made them and I worked with him for about a year trying to get one but he had several health issues and went to just trying to fill orders on hand and furnish parts if needed. They were around an $1,800 saw. At this point I do not think he has sold his business or the patents. Maybe they will reappear in a few years. I did not check today but the last time I looked his web page was still out there and he had a unique drive system which allowed for a perfectly straight up and down cut and also a longer stroke than most saws. That being said, Larry, you have a birthday in a few days - do birthday and Christmas together and spoil yourself with a new Hawk. Happy early birthday.

I slapped a piece of 3/4 ply between the stand and saw so I would have a place to keep blades, etc. handy. I use PVC for blade holders. I have a clamp on magnifier light you can see in the left part of the picture - it extends and position is very adjustable. Mine is LED but other types would also work.

Intriguing name - welcome to the team.

Hawk http://stores.bushtonhawkstore.com/ $1,200 new. You said "new" Hawk so I am assuming it is unused or only slightly used and is a BM20 or BM26 rather than the older but still good RBI Hawk 226vs. You can check out manuals here http://www.hawkwoodworkingtools.com/WebsitePages/Scroll-Saw-Manuals.html I have a Dewalt and an Excalibur and would love to have the BM20 which is American made. A warranty is only as good as the warranty repair shop and many of them do not know how to work on a scroll saw - I had that experience with my Dewalt which is why it is a backup.

Hans With all of your fine detail work, I would have guessed 2/0 spirals would have been one of your main blades. I also use spirals almost exclusively with my main blades being # 1 and 2/0 and occasionally a # 3.

Been there

Great cutting Dan. What font do you use on your "Believe" names?

Nothing on the saw. Just cooking on the stove and then positioning and routing body cavities on a solid body electric guitar grandson and I are building. He started his guitar fixation about ten years ago. Then Now

Great deal. Next time you are in town, come by.

Dick I thought long and hard about what I could produce with my skill on my scroll saw and decided I need to stick to word art. But I think you did awesome.

Doc Maybe your next project could be one of these for your shop - that is where I keep mine. Been there, done that.

Thomas - it is steel. If you wanted added weight that certainly provided it.