Old Joe Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Good morning! Old man, new to scrolling. Have worked extensively with stained glass in the past. Patience is my best trait once I tune in to something. Retired, bored, and ready to walk down a new road. I have done a ton of general handyman work over the years and believe in quality tools. Took a huge plunge yesterday and ordered a new DW788 with stand and light. Looking for advice on basic necessities to get started right. I can't go too much further overboard money wise, so my plan is to get a foot control switch and an assortment of blades. Then I'll play around with a few basic projects to get my sea legs.This seems like a terrific site. Looking forward to getting to know some of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryEA Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Hello Old Joe, Welcome to the 'Best' Scroll Saw Village.' Your intro showed that you have all the symptoms to become addicted. And we'll help you along the way. From selection of blades to pattern making... A to Z Your Avitar 'Says it all.' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Scroller Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 A big WELCOME from me Joe. I hope you enjoy your new found skill of scrolling in wood soon. Roly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrolling Steve Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Welcome to the Village Joe !.......We have some very talented and friendly people here !.......Make yourself at home and show us some of your projects when you can! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobscroll Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Hi and welcome to the village Joe, Thank you for the intro, You will find plenty of help on here if you need any, See you later, Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawk Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Hey Joe, Welcome. My only piece of advice is Flying Dutchman Scroll saw baldes. I get mine from Mike's Workshop (http://www.mikesworkshop.com/blades.htm) Plenty of choices and outstanding blades. Things to think about are a drill press, or a Dremel, I use micro drill bits for started holes. Good luck and enjoy.... Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris Martinson Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 joe, you are gonna love this group. Very supportive and helpful. You are also going to like scrolling. If you need any help with patterns, materials, blades, techniques, etc,you are certainly in the right place. Welcome to Woodworking Wonderland! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clayton717 Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Welcome to the Village Joe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorcier Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Hello and welcome to the Village. You will find a LOT of good advice here. Ward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amazingkevin Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Good morning! Old man, new to scrolling. Have worked extensively with stained glass in the past. Patience is my best trait once I tune in to something. Retired, bored, and ready to walk down a new road. I have done a ton of general handyman work over the years and believe in quality tools. Took a huge plunge yesterday and ordered a new DW788 with stand and light. Looking for advice on basic necessities to get started right. I can't go too much further overboard money wise, so my plan is to get a foot control switch and an assortment of blades. Then I'll play around with a few basic projects to get my sea legs.This seems like a terrific site. Looking forward to getting to know some of you. Take that light you bought and put it on your drill press.It the worst part of the deal with the scroll saw ,trust me.I have three of them and i do not want them on my scroll saws,Other lights yes! Soon as you can show us your pile of saw dust you've made scrolling!,lol Angle up the back of your scroll saw up,a foot ,it much easier to see what your doing that way,you've made friends already.Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heppnerguy Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 welcome. my advice on getting started is Blades. They are the most important thing to achieve good results. Flying dutchmen , Olson are a couple of brands that are highly used here. Wooden Teddy Bear sells both too. Start with basic patterns, as you have probably already learned, don't jump into the deep water until you know you an swim. trying to start our with small, numerous fret work will most likely discourage you..go for the basics and then push the envelope as you go. There are a lot of different kinds of wood out there but baltic Birch is very forgiving and not all that expensive. One source for that is Sloans. A family owned business and they are honest good people running it. Patience is important and you already noted that you have that. I am afraid that Amazing Kevin is right about the light but you will soon see if it is helpful to you. Check out the 'University secton' on the forum and you will learn a lot.. Glad you are here with us all Dick heppnerguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatie Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 G'day Joe, welcome to the Village. I'm Marg from Australia. Just remember no question is too stupid so just ask away. So now pull up a chair and make yourself at home. Marg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Joe Posted December 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Thanks for all of the welcoming posts. The main reason that I ordered the saw with the stand and light was that Grizzly had a hard to beat price of $459 for the whole setup. I tried out a DW788 and also a Excalibur model at a scroll saw introductory class a year ago. I liked both of them, but the Excalibur was priced out of my range right now. I figure I'll get a foot switch, the modifying accessory to hold up the arm for blade changes, and a pretty good assortment of FD blades, per advice from many. I already own a drill press, Dremel drills, a couple of routers, etc. Most woodwork that I have done has been pretty barbaric in comparison to what I see here, though I have done a fair amount of general carpentry. I also spent 36 years grinding spectacle lenses before I just wanted a change, so I started doing handyman work. I like working with small, detailed things, but as warned, I'm sure that I will make a lot of kindling for the wood stove along the way. So, now I await anxiously to see a post from Grizzly telling me that the saw has been shipped. I went to see a independent cabinet maker friend of mine yesterday and he sent me home with a variety of scraps to practice with. Getting excited! bobscroll 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappile Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Welcome to the forum. Glad you joined. There are a ton of great free patterns right here for free. Frome eazy to very detailed ones. Another great source for free patterns is here http://www.stevedgood.com/catalog/ Get some blades, some wood and start cutting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimW Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Welcome to the forum. I'm new here myself, recently retired, but have learned a lot from reading the past forum posts. There is a lot that has been covered in here. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Joe Posted December 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Take that light you bought and put it on your drill press.It the worst part of the deal with the scroll saw ,trust me.I have three of them and i do not want them on my scroll saws,Other lights yes! Soon as you can show us your pile of saw dust you've made scrolling!,lol Angle up the back of your scroll saw up,a foot ,it much easier to see what your doing that way,you've made friends already.Welcome! As to the light, if it's as bad as you, and others, say, I will make needed improvements/replacement.My bigger concern is the stand. Many reviewers say that it's fine, but others say that it's so top heavy that it renders it to near useless unless bolted down. I wasn't planning on bolting it down, as I am hoping have some mobility with it. It has been shipped, scheduled to arrive Friday. I will let you all know my first impressions after I assemble and do the initial setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ike Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Welcome Joe here is a few tips. Wax the saw table- But good blades snot box store lots, j Olson's blades or Flying Dutchman I per fer Olson's and a foot pedal. I also use a awl to enlarge the hole on the underside of the work this helps to guide the blade in..but most of all sit back ad enjoy your new hobby Old Joe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Joe Posted December 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Welcome Joe here is a few tips. Wax the saw table- But good blades snot box store lots, j Olson's blades or Flying Dutchman I per fer Olson's and a foot pedal. I also use a awl to enlarge the hole on the underside of the work this helps to guide the blade in..but most of all sit back ad enjoy your new hobby Thanks for the "wax" tip. I will definitely follow that tip. As to FD vs. Olson, I ordered a beginner's assortment of 7 dozen of 7 different FD blades just to get the feel. I have found Olson blades to be great on my band saw, so I am sure that I will incorporate both brands into my stock. And, Amazing Kevin, I will also take your advice regarding raising the back of the stand when I do the initial setup. Thanks again to all of you for the training wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorcier Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 I put a plank across the stand braces and put a cinder block on it to reduce vibration.. Ward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Joe Posted December 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 My new DW788 was delivered right before sundown. So much for the early delivery promised by UPS, but it is what it is.Too late to deal with the stand tonight,but I assembled the saw itself, attached the light. waxed the table, and cut a lousy looking leaf. But it's a start. First observation: the saw cuts nicely, even with the crap blades sent by Dewalt, and you all are right about the light. Let's just say that it beats a Bic lighter, but not by much. Dewalt does not get a pass from me on it. It sucks. Tomorrow assemble the stand and rearrange my small shop to find a place for this bad boy. I am awaiting a couple of assortments of blades, so we'll see how long it takes me to break the 2 that came with the saw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heppnerguy Posted December 6, 2015 Report Share Posted December 6, 2015 Try not to guide the saw blades by pushing them in the direction you wish to cut but instead move the wood in front of the blade so you are always cutting straight ahead, then the blades usually will not break. Well actually NOT straight ahead because the blades cut on an angle but you will get used to that really fast and you won't even realize they are doing that... have fun with your saw and your projects. Dick heppnerguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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