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Was tired of the way my shop had been since we built it 11yrs ago, had a swing out table which blocked a lot of space, also making impossible to get to the cupboards behind it….my solution was to get rid of the swing out table, redo the bench behind it, and make a flat/level 4x4 assembly table…..put hardboard on the 4x4 table this morning and on the workbench on other side of 10x24 shop…..I’m very pleased with the way it turned out….see before and after pics.

Finally I have an opportunity to cut new projects by new scroll saw - Proxxon DS 230. In general, if you have a choice and financial opportunity, then I would not recommend this scroll saw, but at the moment for me it has some advantages. Anyway here is my first project in 2 year - 3D sphere. I hope such patterns will be popular: it looks unusual and eye-catching, interesting to assemble, it could be made of scraps of wood (as each piece is not large) and it could be assembled without glue. I plan to make more 3D geometric patterns, so what do you think of this project and such patterns? Video of making 3D sphere Pattern - https://alexfoxua.etsy.com

Looks Great!

Yes a great improvement, RJ

Much better. I wonder how it would work if you put wheels on your square table. This way to you roll it out of your way when needed.

Very nice Dan!

Kinda like a software update, but not really. My hosting provider sent me an email basically saying that they're restructuring their plans and SSV is using a lot of space and will be moving us to another price tier. The move would basically double my operating expenses. I think because SSV is a picture-heavy website, we have a lot of files, and many of them are large. So we're going over our limit. At any rate, I have to move a few things around. I think much of the uploads (gallery and forum attachments) will be moved off and onto a different server. For those interested, they'll be moving to Amazon's S3 service. S3 is very fast, which might even improve the responsiveness of SSV. It will be cheaper than what my hosting provider will charge, but it's just another bill I have to add to the pile, which is a bummer. I think everything will move over smoothly based on a few tests I ran. But there may be a transition time, potentially broken images that shouldn't last too long. I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Let me know if something goes sideways.

As a filter clogs, it removes finer particles, but the airflow decreases. At some point, the airflow decreases enough that there is not enough air to draw the dust in. That is why I have a piece of yarn hanging in the outflow. If the yarn is waving around straight out. The filter is working. If it begins to droop, filter maintenance is in order. I worked on equipment that had several 100 air filters. These were designed to be reusable indefinitely. Cleaning these filters was a major chore until someone discovered filter paper. We started using filter paper outside the filters and rarely had to clean them.

I agree with everything @Dak0ta52 has said, I also had a 16” and the arm did not move. I bought a 30” a few years ago and I love it. I do cut fairly big projects, it’s nice not to be limited in the projects I choose.

I have no personal experience but I might just say, in your scrolling experience, have you ever had a need for a bigger saw? Do you ever make large projects? Have you ever had to NOT do a project because it was too big? For me, all the answers would be no. I have no need for a larger saw. But if you do signage, I can see where it might be useful. Just my 2 cents worth. And probably not worth that, even.

After seeing Ron Johnson's posting of toys I had to try my luck. Seeing his posing of the F-16 fighter jet I decided to make one for a nephew who is a pilot in this aircraft. Probably not the easiest pattern to choose for my first attempt, but I think it turned out OK. I am pleased with it, hopefully my nephew is and you are too. Jerry

This is Jim Blume's "Heading West" pattern that was designed to be 11X14. I decided to make it a little more challenging by cutting it into an 8X10. Baltic Birch stained Ipswich with a black backer and a Pine frame. Both cutting and frame were sprayed with several coats of Polyacrylic with light sanding between coats. This was a lot of fun to cut and surprisingly the reduced size didn't make it very difficult. Thanks, Jim, for another great pattern.

Since so many of us seem to be fixated on dust, some might find this interesting. I noticed that the dust collector wasn't blowing air like it should, so I climbed up there and pulled the filter. I didn't change it for a new one, but I carefully took it outdoors and blew the dust off with my battery-powered blower. The blower is gentler than using my air compressor. I reinstalled the filter, and all is well. The fine secondary filters looked good, so I didn't touch them. They were still white.

Now no one will be able to tell you what you should do because we have no idea what your intentions are. but we can mention the pros and cons. I do not have a 30" saw but have 2 RBI saws. a 220 and 226. The 226 does take up much more room as will the 30" If you have the room then that is a check in the +. I bought the 226 because I got a good deal and also I was making larger projects such as my mirrors. I was able to increase the size of those which made them more sales valuable. If you have plans for making larger projects than what you do now then put that in the + column. Now I found myself using the 220 much more than the 226 because it just felt more comfortable and yet both operate the same way. If you plan on keeping both saws you too will probably gravitate toward one saw over the other more. But if you want just one saw then you have to weigh the other +'s and see where they stack up. Good luck.

They make a 16" saw, but only for the European market.

I have a 21" Pegas which I bought from Denny at Artcrafters. I love the saw and I like doing business with Denny. As I understand it, the difference between the 2 saws is the depth of the throat and the size of the saw. The action and feel of the machine at the cutting end should be the same. I have limited space and sometimes think I would be better served with a smaller machine, maybe an 18" Pegas (if they made one).

Similar experience here. I also go outside to knock the dust off the outer filter and I do replace it occasionally. For those who might be curious: The outer filter catches dust 5-micron and larger in size while the inner filter catches dust that passes the outer filter down to 1-micron in size and I note that the inner filter seems to stay clean. The conclusion is that the dust we create with our various woodworking is mostly 5-micron and larger.

I agree Kevin. The laser Woodcraft is currently carrying in the store is the smallest laser Xtool has. They have other offerings and from my research they have some pretty good products. I think the Xtool is more marketed toward the casual user that does not need a lot of features but still wants to be able to do some laser work. Plus the software is very easy to use, not a huge learning curve. The F1 specifically is a small limited unit, but I have seen a lot of people wanting to buy one because of it's portability, i.e. being able to personalize items on the spot. I do however agree with your bottom line; Do Your Research.

They sure are pricey for what you get.. Maybe they are much more durable than a Co2 laser.. I don't know much about the diode type lasers as I've never used one. I have one that came with my CNC router but everyone on the CNC router groups say they aren't worth using as they are way too underpowered and very slow to do a job. They've come a long way with these diode type lasers though and many claim they can cut through wood comparable to a Co2 laser.. however the price of this so called 40W laser is more than buying a decent 60W Co2 with a larger work area so I'm not sure I'd ever recommend going with something like this. I say so called because a lot of these diode lasers are "claimed" to be X amount of watts but that is not measured the same way as a Co2 type laser.. I recall reading that the diode wattage is not the output power but more like a power consumption.. or something like that. where as a Co2 is the output power. They say a 40W diode is really about the equivalent to around a 10W Co2.. I think it's pretty hard to beat the power / price cost of the Omtech Co2 laser line up.. They are cheap China made lasers but they are pretty good quality for the money (Though most all the diodes are also China products) Their "polar" laser is a copy of a Glowforge. The polar is around $3000 last I knew, and a Glowforge starts at $6000.. https://omtechlaser.com/collections/omtech-laser-engraving-cutting-and-marking-machines I've got two of their 40W machines but back when I got mine they was about $300. The second one I picked up used and came with a lot of extra goodies for $250 a couple years ago. Bottom line in my opinion is.. Do Your Research and decide what laser is better for the money for the projects you plan to do..

I change the filter routinely in my shop on a Jet air filter.

I trim the inner cardboard 'frame' that is in a diamond shape. gives more area to collect dust and lets me get the vacuum nozzle in there to clean it when it's full to extend the life of the filter.

I have a piece of yarn hanging on the exit. As long as it blows straight out, I don't do anything.

I have a Pegas 30" I purchased from Denny (Artcraftersonline.com) and I love the saw. I typically cut portrait type wall hangers and having the saw 10-months now I haven't cut anything that would require the extra throat depth. However, I do have a pattern that will require the larger saw and plan to cut in the future. The way I looked at it was the difference in the cost was just a couple hundred dollars and the extra depth was there if I ever needed it. If I had any negative to say about the 30" would be lifting the arm. I can't say that it is any harder than it would be if it were the 21" saw because I've never cut on a 21" saw. My first saw was the WEN which only had a 16" throat and the upper arm did not lift. As with any piece of equipment I did have to make slight adjustments when I received the saw. Initially the upper arm would not stay raised when lifted. Also, the blade was set for very aggressive cutting. The adjustments for these corrections are clearly indicated in the manual and were very easy to fix. Finally, the saw is BIG!!! And Heavy! I mounted casters to my stand that aid in moving but have recently placed it in an area where it most likely will sit for now on. My shop is not climate controlled and I purchased a 6X8 popup greenhouse enclosure and a 1500 watt heater cuts the chill nicely. If you have the bucks, go for the extra throat depth. But make sure you have the space to set it up once it arrives. Give Denny a call. I'm sure he'll do you right on price.

Great work Jerry!

Very nice, RJ

Steve Good Pattern, still need to clean up and fix the S and stain. Made for Hubby. He loves his coffee.

I finally completed this project. I took me the longest of any project I have tried in my years of scrolling. Took two tries. I wanted to make a picture of a modern diesel train engine for my nephew-in-law that is a conductor. I could not find a pattern of one. Talking to @munzieb one time I mentioned it to him, he told to send him a picture of what you want and he would make a pattern. And he did, a real detailed pattern. A beautiful pattern.. I worked on it, gave up once, then decided to try again. I worked on this over a period of 4 or 5 months. Bernd Would call every once in a while to see how I was doing. I told him I was about to give up. I just could not scroll like I use to. He said he would give it a try. Two weeks latter he sends me his completed scrolled picture of it! So the challenge was thrown down. I had to quit whining and keep cutting. Finally got there. Many, many thanks to Bernd for the coaching and encouragement. Would never have finished it without it. I still have to frame it. The first picture is mine, the second is the one he cut and sent to me. His was even more difficult than mine, his was a little smaller.

Here is some specifications for that engine... You might use something from this site for frame labels. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GE_Dash_9-44CW

Wow! Both pieces are amazing! As one who loves model railroading (and anything to do with trains) that is right up my wheelhouse. Going back and forth from photo to the two pieces, it just blows me away.