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Just finished these thought I would share.

Im Happy with this but if I ever cut this pattern again I will modify the lower coons head to look more like the other I think it looks better that big chunk cut out. If I ever get inkscape working again.

Thanks to Russell (birchbark) for making the pattern. I was able to make the picture for a woman's son. Made out of basswood with bark frame. Using the peel & stick paper I was able to put the pattern on the wood so it looks like the animals are on dirt.

Got a few of these mini birdhouses cut but not assemble yet and no finish on them. will wait for a rainy day to this, it is too nice when you can cut outside and the sun shine on your back. Also got a sea puzzle done will apply some color to it to jazz it up a bit. Enjoy

Problem Solved: Wen Scroll saw Pinless Adapter and inside cuts. If you have or are thinking of purchasing a Wen scroll saw, one of the issues with it is cutting inside patterns. You have to remove one of the adapters to thread the blade through the drill hole. When you remove the top, the bottom falls down. If you remove the bottom, it's difficult to impossible to reset the set screw to secure the blade! It's really inconvenient and a PITA trying to get the adapters back on the holder. Today I've solved the problem, at least for myself. I placed a magnet on the bottom adapter to hold it in place: Now I can undo the top adapter, let it hang free while I insert the blade into the drilled hole and then re-tighten the set screw Now it's not nearly as difficult trying to thread the blade through a drill hole

The blades that come with new saws are worthless to me. I either give them away or put them in the trash. Any blade that I can't identify also goes the same way. I keep my identifiable blades in 5" tall prescription bottles and keep the label that came on them inside the bottle, just in case I miss place the cap, but I label the bottle caps with the blade information to make it easier for me to just look in the box at the top of the bottles to find the blade that I want. I made a kind of tool box with half of it for blade container storage and half of it for the small tools that I use when working with the scroll saw. It sits on a milk crate next to me while I saw, and it goes with me when I teach or demonstrate scroll sawing. It keeps me from forgetting anything. This box was made from 1/2" Baltic Birch with a 1/4" Baltic Birch top and bottom. I box jointed the corners and just glued on the top and bottom. Who said that you can't box joint plywood? It seems to work very well for me. I have made many sizes of this same style box for my shop tools, to protect them and keep all of the small pieces of each tool together with the tool and well organized. This one is not stained, just clear coated with 3 coats of polyurethane. Most of the others are stained in different colors to make the right box easier to identify. I made a second larger version of this box, also clear coated, for the rest of my blade stock that don't usually go with me when I teach or demonstrate. Each one of the prescription bottles will easily hold 3 or more gross of blades and still have space for a finger to pull out a single blade. I usually open only one bundle of blades at a time and keep the loose single blades in the same bottle along with the rest of the bundles. My pharmacy gives me the bottles whenever I ask for them. I don't have to take this many pills in order to get them. Charley

A few projects I finished yesterday. The last one still needs the backer, but I ran out of material.

I love the Hawk BM26... it's a great cutting, precise saw, but it's just not the saw for me. I swapped it out with my DeWalt in my cutting area over the weekend. I won't get into why it isn't the right saw for me, that's all covered in another post I made a week or two ago. It's just like Ford -vs- Chevy, Toyota -vs- Honda, Nike -vs- Reebok, it boils down to personal preference. I can imagine someone who does fretwork and detail cutting would love it. And someone who doesn't feel the need to cut 1600 puzzles in one year. ;-) If anyone in North Carolina or nearby is interested in getting a great saw I'll give you a good deal, let me know. You can use it as an excuse to enjoy a weekend at the beach. ;-) I'm in no hurry to get rid of it, it's not in my way.

Hi, the old saying, practice makes perfect. Don't give up. If your cutting 1/4 inch ply, try and stack cut two or three together and use a #3UR blade. Tape the pieces together with clear box tape. That will also help lubricate the blade. It's harder to control 1/4 inch ply if your only cutting one at a time. I would also try and cut a little faster so the blade cuts better. You shouldn't have a lot of sanding. Don't be afraid to change your blades if they seem to start cutting rough. Hope that helps a little.

I still love making the goofy little puzzles, it's very relaxing to me. On a daily basis, I cut for only about 90 minutes a day unless it's crunch time for a big event. And the whole idea behind cutting 5 a day is so I don't end up in those crunch situations. We'll see how many years I last. Besides, I'm very routine oriented. :-)

Kirk, if you buy the EX21, you'll never regret the purchase. I've used different saws over the years, and the EX is the nicest saw I've ever used. They are long lasting, and they will cut pretty much anything. They are very reliable saws, and parts are easy to get if you ever need them. The one you have a chance to purchase is priced at a reasonable price, it's the one I would buy. Len

You can get replacement parts for the Ex. from Seyco.com. I had an Ex and loved it, not going into a long story but I sold it, was eyeing a second used Hegner, but didn't get it, so Ex were not on the market at the time, I purchased a Seyco. Seyco is a good saw, there are a couple things I liked a little better on the Ex. The only reason I would hesitate to encourage the Hegner (my favorite saw, by the way) is if your are a beginner, the Ex is an easier saw to learn on and to use. For one thing you have the option of top or bottom feed. You would be able to decide which you like best for the type of scrolling you want to do. Hegner is bottom feed only. Hegner tensioning is also a little more critical than on other saws. Something you get a feel for over time, but there is a bigger leaning curve. The Hegner will be around longer than any other saw you would buy. But, used you do not know how abused it has been. But Hegner is a great machine. If I could only have one saw, it would be Hegner for me. Of the ones you mentioned, personally I would go for the Ex and feel very thankful that i got to start out on one of the better machines. I can't really speak to the King, never even had a look at one, but parts and repairs for it I think would be the same as the Ex. Seyco would be your best source. Oh, the Hawk depending on the age may be bottom feed only and maybe some other minor deficits, I do not have any experience with them. I want one, someday, you can't have too many scroll saws.

Possibly. That is certainly something to keep in mind when working with someone new. I don't know if it's legit or not. But I have come across these in the past and they usually use words in a strange way and generic way. This one actually used "Scrolled sawed sign" which sounds like they have something specific in mind. They also had a proper company email address. I'd certainly take precautions if anybody is interested. Get the money up front. You can also work through Etsy, which has a lot of nice safeguards in place. Don't do one of those "I have $200 cashiers check, take what you need and send me the change" scams.

Tat is thinking out of the box. Good fix!

First attempt.....HOF Project........Ty Cobb...........any tips or advice, please comment I can take it. Be Safe!

I have decided to purchase a controller. I can make much more money repairing a clock and in less time than I spend with the controller. I do appreciate the input from each one of you. What a great group. Were it a simple and quick fix I would do it. The simplest thing is a defective pot or cold solder joint but that is not the case.

Just in case some one is interested, I don't think you can much cheaper, except free. https://www.ebay.com/itm/25-Pack-16-x-150-mm-Clear-Plastic-Test-Tubes-with-Blue-Caps-6-inch/121693675627?hash=item1c5582206b:g:bkEAAOSw9N1VlMpc

Great start. As mentioned, curves and arcs are tricky and take practice. You'll eventually learn how to use "pivot points" for lack of a better phrase in holding the pieces and pivoting to make curves in order to avoid stopping, adjusting, creating flat spots. Nothing you can do but keep doing it until you get the feel for it. Use scrap wood to practice when you don't have anything you really need to make. Keep up the good work.

Cutting circles or large arcs free speed is important keep the speed constant. Stops will make flatspots ans speeding up will make the blade go outside the line. Practice is the only way to get better. The hardest things to cut with a scrollsaw are circles, and letters, The human eye will detect even the smallest error because we know what they should look like. Pattern lines for all else are recommendations. Fredfret Wichita, ks

I have two of the test tube racks and use "Baby Soda Bottles" from Steve Spangler Science. https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/store/baby-soda-bottles-test-tubes-rack.html They are nearly indestructible, the lids prevent spillage and I just mark the blade size on the lid with a Sharpie®.

Guess I am the odd ball. I use a lot of different sizes/types of blades. I even change blades when cutting on the save picture, real small in delicate area, larger and more aggressive where there are large areas to cut out or a straight line, I even sometimes switch blades cutting the same cutout. Cutting "The Last Supper" piece I had to use spirals because of the length of the board. In many places I went back to a cutout with a straight blade to make sharp pointed corners where needed. The only blades I don't use many sizes of are the spirals. Was using only the FD 3/0 New Spiral, recently tried the Pegas 2/0 spiral and I really like it. I have several other sizes but do not like them.

Yeah, I'm nothing if not persistent... or hard headed... I wanted to give the saw every opportunity to win me over. But in the end I have to break up with her... just before Valentine's Day... LOL

I just checked with the wife, a road trip from Wisconsin is not going to happen for me. Can't say I didn't try.

good fix, sometimes the simplest things solve the problem

Congratulations on deciding on the used Excalibur 21. It should be a great saw. Sounds like you are getting a steal of a deal on it and based on that information, is the one I would have probably gone with in your situation as well. I did want to clarify/ask a couple of things regarding your concerns with the Seyco saw. Mainly for the future when people are looking back through old threads considering the purchase of a scroll saw. Steve Good also did a video and review on they Seyco saw last year when it first came out. Is that where your initial concerns were raised? His initial issues had to do with getting the saw together. It can be a bit of a pain but with his video and information - it should be easier for the next guy. I also got one of the original saws and had my hubby put it together. (He's much more technical minded then me and definitely can do the heavy lifting much more then me! Besides he bought it for me as a gift.Only fair that he put it together. But I did help.) He did so before Steve did his video and thus had the same issues that Steve did with putting it together. Once together, it has been a great saw. I believe that it is Steve's go to saw from what I have seen on his blog. I have a couple of choices in our shop now, including an Excalibur and the Seyco is my go to saw for various reasons. Some don't like the magnetic top - but it doesn't bother me. I did add the washers that Steve did to raise it up a tad and that has helped with the issue of it sitting low and the "hole" under the middle. I know several others who have gotten the Seyco saw and been happy with it. So, I just wanted to add this to let people know that while the initial reviews of a few raised some concerns, they are not issues that should eliminate this saw from consideration. It is a good saw, on par with my Excalibur. I had purchased the Excalibur used from Seyco and we bought the Seyco new in the first batch. I had excellent service from Ray at Seyco with both purchases and he was always willing to help/answer questions/concerns.

Poszgaidesign.com I believe. But the magnet seems seems pretty awesome. The only thing I would change is to get rid of the Allen screw and make some kind of handle so you could change blades tool free.

Thank you everyone for your responses - I really appreciate it! I'm going to go ahead with the used EX-21. I'm glad I came upon this website and forum as well...I began this journey watching a video of Steve Goode's on youtube regarding the Porter Cable with stand from Lowes for $199.00 and really decided that simpler blade changes were a necessity to get the most joy out of a saw like this and continue to use it. That led to a deep dive into various brands, user experiences, etc. It seemed like a lot of people seem to really like the Excalibur and the biggest downfall of it was the production issues. My thought is that in the grand scheme of things a higher end scroll saw isn't that large of a price jump up from one to the next and it's easier to convince my wife one time that I need a scroll saw instead of going through a future conversation that the perfectly good scroll saw I bought last year has to be replaced because... My experience is that it's hard enough to convince her once let alone go through the process again. I'm also a part owner of a business where we've purchased tools in the past that have been undersized for our needs and have had to be replaced later on - sometimes it was all we could afford at the time, got us through, and was a good stop gap but other times it was more about saving a dollar or two. A lot of times it just ends up costing more in the long run. The Hegner is still a tempting add on buy at the price point just to have around and from all user accounts they seem indestructible. I think since I'm just getting started with this hobby I will stick to learning the ins and outs of one saw for the time being. In regards to the location of member Iggy, I am located in Wisconsin (a lot of your locations sound pretty nice right about now weather-wise) so a little far away from him but thank you for the suggestion. The only additional thing I will add and that did affect my decision a little bit is that many have stated Home Depot has some discounts available that I am not eligible for. Home Depot does, however, price match (not sure if they meet and beat prices anymore) and they also match competitor coupons. In my area we have Menards as a direct competitor. They tend to run 11% off sales at least once a month - often enough that if you buy something at regular price you now feel like you overpaid. It's not actually 11% off the price of the cost of goods, but rather an in store rebate. A lot of midwestern Home Depot location will match this 11% and they have an online site for submitting that is as follows: https://www.homedepotrebates11percent.com/#/home It takes awhile, but as long as you purchased a product during the time frame of a Menard's 11% sale you will get a gift card mailed to you. Based on the rebate website it does appear that the purchases need to take place in a store and not online so my grand thought of purchasing a new EX-21 for $799.99 and getting an 11% gift card would probably not work. Anyway, thank you everyone for the responses - I read and appreciated the insight each of them offered. Have a great day!

Way to go Jes, that's a great solution. Len

Good job! I bought the adapter thing from pozsgai design. It only takes about 10 mins to set up but it’s definitely not as cheap as the magnet! Great idea

I have like 8 tubes and use 1-2 of them. the rest are just full of blades that are rusting and get used once a year.

An old ceiling tile screwed to the wall and a thumb tack to hold the blades. I cut a slit in the top of each packet. Dirt cheap and very easy to see the selection of blades

I use Ziploc bags, write on the area provided and then hang with Christmas tree hooks on a rack. May be changing when the workroom is up an running again but not sure.

I would grab that EX 21 for 580.00 if it’s really barely used.

Parked and reading...

organize blades??? ya cant just put em in a pile and know which ones which by feel???? me neither. one thing i suggest whichever one ya build: if the blade storage isnt mounted down, have some tops on the tubes. i knocked mine over a few years ago, which is very similar to rockytimes. fortunately i only had about a dozen of each of the 10 sizes/styles unwrapped, but it was still unfun sorting them.

I know everyone is different, and some take to skills better than others, however... How long would you all 'guestimate" it would take a newbie to become "proficient" (not expert) enough to be able to display their creations proudly - I'm not talking about selling. As it is right now, I don't even want to take pictures of the crap I'm doing For example: I've done 6 basic cut outs so far (from a book I have) - simple bells and simple trees (no inside cuts) - and not a one of them would I consider hanging on my wall LOL! I've been using 1/8" hardboard for the most part to practice with on medium to high speed (not all the way up) with an Olsen #5 skip tooth blade. While they have gotten better, I still feel like I am extremely far from getting curves and specially angles cut well enough to display. Thoughts? Thanks in advance

Very nicely done. The folks these are for are going to love them. Thanks for sharing them with us. DW

Last week, Sheila Landry offered this pattern free on her website. I used 1/2" Redheart approximately 6" x 6 1/2". I used FD UR #3 blades and finished with spray Shellac. This was a fun project to make. Comments welcome.

Been working on these for a couple of days. Finished them yesterday. These are patterns I ordered from Steve Good. There around 7 1/2 inches long, except for the Jesus one. Made out of Walnut, Cherry and Birch.The Kitty Kitty is Iggy's pattern I made for my Granddaughter. Used a #5 polar blade on them and a #3 UR on the Kitty. All dipped in Mineral oil.

A baby shower gift.

Dick, the product I use to get an even stain job that is not blotchy, is called Min-Wax prestain. It's very similar, to applying a coating of thinned varnish to the wood. If I were you, I would do a test on a piece of scrap wood, to make sure the stain applies the way you want it to. I would hate for you to ruin such a project, by not doing a test piece first. Len

Iggy, I'm sorry the Hawk didn't work out for you, but I'm not surprised to be reading this posting. It's taken longer then I imagined it would, but I never did think you were ever satisfied with the saw or how it performed. Len

Nothing wrong with trying something, and letting it go because it didn't fit your particular needs. It will be interesting to see if you stay the 788 route, or try something else at some point. It will also be interesting to see if you burn out. That is a lot of time in the shop doing the same basic thing. I admire you work ethic for sure.

Katie: Hit the nail right on the head Marks add Character on a toy - - - This way you know someone is playing with the toys Fab4

Might be of more help if we know the version you downloaded.. as well as your operating system.. when windows 10 first came out none of my drawing / photo editing software worked right with it.. and corel draw actually crashed my computer.. as it was a old version.. ( actually why I use inkscape now ) Not paying big $$ for corel draw if inkscape does what I need for free..

If you have word it may be easier to use that instead of learning a new product while trying to learn the saw at the same time Word, has wizard you can use. Depending on which version of word you have, put a sheet of labels in your printer, select the label size in the wizard, enter your text and print - save the layout for the next set of labels Aside from that you can get an inexpensive label maker from amazon

I've got one very similar to that one but I'm not sure if it's exactly like it. Same shape and configuration. The back rest is too short for me and I don't get any use out of it. The seat is too small for my butt and the back rest is too close to the seat. Other than that, it's perfect. Ha! If you lived closer, I'd give it to you. Ray

Like when I cut a keychain for my wife and mispelled her name (we'd only been married for 25 years at the time. Luckily, my daughter caught it before I gave it to her. Stupid - I didn't toss the bad one and the wife found it in a shop drawer a couple of years later. Then she though it was funny. She still has it and pulls it out to tease me every now & then.

As you may have already discovered, the simple answer is "It Depends". I'll give you an example from my own experience. I started scrolling about 20 some years ago. I had no mentor, no outside resources to help me learn, just 15-20 years of experience making sawdust as a carpenter and hack woodworker, that taught me a lot about tools and wood. My first projects were pretty decent, nothing I would be ashamed to give as a gift or hang on my own wall. At that point my expectations were relatively high, because I already had some experience working with wood and knew what I should be able to do. However, after a number of years of scrolling on my own, I found and joined a local scroll saw club. I'll tell you, the talent and skill those guys had (have) was amazing and I was thoroughly intimidated to bring any of my stuff for show & tell at the meetings. I've outgrown that and after all this time, feel that my best stuff would stand up next to most anything those guys did. That's not bragging (at least it isn't intended as such). It's just that it took a long time for me to reach that point and be comfortable putting my work next to theirs. The point is, becoming proficient is a relative thing. It's relative to what it is being compared to. If you stick with it and keep practicing, you will find that your skills should progress pretty rapidly, to a point. How far you go beyond that point and how long it takes, will depend on how committed you are and what you are striving to achieve.

Birch plywood 1/6 inch (4mm) finishing - gloss varnish blades: inner cuts - #0, outer - #3 of LuxTools (Germany)