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scrollsawing necessities


rljohn56

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As i get more into scroll sawing i was wondering what are some necessities i should have.  currently i have, of course, the required scroll saw.  I also have a drill press, a belt sander and a table saw.  I am considering adding a band saw of some sort and a router. Just curious what others have or suggest.  I'm not going to make furniture by any means just sticking with wood scrolling crafts. thanks.

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One of the best buys I have is a foot peddle ., a 1" belt sander ( harbor Freight) took off the backing and it comes in handy for curved areas, I use a dremel plungh router to drill holes where the drill press wont work.. And at my age i need the lighted magnifying glass. ( at Menards for 40)  The list goes on and on.

IKE

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lumber.....LOTS and LOTS of different flavors. :)

 

something that gets used a lot in my shop is painters pyramids. theyre very handy when spraying clear on projects.

another tool that gets used a lot in my shop is my DA sander. all plywood gets sanded with 220 prior to cutting.

 

also my dremel. its handy when theres holes needing drilling that my drill press cant reach.

 

and something quite major- dust collection at the saw and air filtration, which air filtration can be as simple as a box fan with high quality filters on the intake side.grizzly makes a 3 speed hanging filter for a good price that ive read quite a few people happy with,too.

 

personally I hope ya focus on dust collection at the saw and air filtration before a bandsaw. that fine dust we make is not good for lungs.

edit:

after seeing ike respond:

I second the foot pedal!!! what a difference it makes!

Edited by tomsteve
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I third the foot pedal!!  One of the best investments I've made.  Some other things that have made my life easier are a good set of needle files, and my exacto knife kit.  Makes cleaning up detailed fretwork so much easier.  Another handy thing I have is a Punch Awl that I keep next to my saw, I use it to knock out stubborn chunks of wood that get stuck in the fretwork.

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Do you have a lot of money???   :rofl:  I am just kidding, I know I don't. I would say don't rush into buy something that isn't very good quality. I know I wish I had bought better quality tools like my drill press and I wish I had bought a better router table. The guy's that posted before me have given you some pretty good advice. 

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to answer a couple of the suggestions i bought these As seen on tv magnifying glasses you can wear..they are awesome!  Yeah, i have my shop vac hooked up to my scroll saw. loud, but it works for now.  I'm currently building up my wood selection/supply. I have a dremel, but suck at it since i have never used it for crafting as such. I got a foot pedal when i got my scroll saw.  Didn't even know what a mop sander was until i looked it up.  oh, yeah, i can already see where that will come in handy.  I cut  a lot of square pieces with my scroll saw for backing, but i just seems to me a band saw would be a little easier.  I rarely use my table saw for doing any of these cuttings since the wood i use most of the time is 1/4 or less which feels  a little excessive.  Thanks for all the suggestions!  Ray

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I couldn't see myself going without a detail sander, you can sand any type of fretwork with them. I've been using mine for years on fretwork, and I've never had a piece break. I use my random orbital sander a lot also, it's perfect for sanding Balctic Birch panels with.

 

Len

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some drill bits smaller than 1/16,.if you are into fret work.  Some blade holders. I find one of my most used tools it a small awl for opening the drilled holes on the back side when needed and to help push out small pieces of fret. A spray booth,. could be a large cardboard box, really good lighting (very important) and a 2 way audio communications device if your shop is away from the house so you don't miss dinner

 

 

Dick

heppnerguy 

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a comfortable adjustable chair that swivels ,raises ,lowers,and the back adjusts.an electric pencil sharpener, a spray bottle with 50/50 mix of mineral spirits an acetone for removing spray glued patters,a scroll saw blade assortment holder,Paper towels for cleaning off the softened glue left behind the patterns,needle files,a straight edge, quick fix CA glue with accelerator for instant fixes so you can keep scrolling,dust masks, scotch tape,Lots of pencils, a 2" blade machinist square for checking the blade to table squareness, a small air hose to plow off projects, a vacuum to clean up fret work before staining or painting or displaying,Great lighting,trash can next to scroll saw,a hand held blower to clean the shop in a hurry,a break chair to relax in when needed, a small fridge new to the scroll saw for a cold drink when you'd like one or a sip,rags,flashlight for looking for pieces that blew out of the project on the floor.Dust pan, aq clock to time your project cutting time ,spray glues,Tapes,for a start,lol

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The one thing that goes hand-in-hand with the band saw (for re-sawing) that I haven't seen here yet yet is a planer.  I have also found that my chop-saw is a lot more effective and efficient at cutting consistently accurate angles than is my table saw. 

 

My final bit of advice is to think about the kinds of projects you wish to do - typical scrollsaw projects, at least for me, are generally "detail intensive" small projects - meaning tools that allow a fine level of detail are good - a singing 10 inch blade does not always lend itself to finger-fine cutting - neither does a typical router - currently I am thinking of a crafter type of table saw (4 inch blade), and have also included on my Santa list a set of router bits for my Dremel tool.

 

 

Jay

Edited by RangerJay
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