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I posted pics recently of Willie Nelson. Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash. I got around to Kris Kristofferson thanks to a Dearing pattern. This one took a minute to cut.

I just realized that I hadn’t put up the Willie Nelson I had done before.

I saw this video and added it to my wish list for or when my current system dies. https://rumble.com/v5hohn7-harbor-freight-just-changed-budget-dust-collection-forever.html

I got creative. I found that a powdered caffeine drink, the tubes they came in fit perfectly in my Excal and my Pegas holders. Also, they came in different colors.

Yes, the ones I sell are large and don't fit the holes on the Pegas and other saws. I sell these as they will hold over 12 dozen blades with no problem.

I would definitely take that over my Fein. Mainly because of the attachments. The Fein attachments that have brushes, the hole is so small it clogs up very quickly, and it will not attach to any of my hand tools unless I find or make adaptors.

I also have the plastic test tubes that fit into the Excalibur slots. I bought them from eBay but that was some years ago so not sure I could find the seller now. I never measured them but I think they're approx. 1/2".. when I purchased them they was size in mm so I struggled to figure out if they'd fit. Could always buy some PVC pipe and some end caps to make some. Edit: Looking on eBay I think it was 16mm x 150mm but 16mm is more like 5/8 inch so you would need closer to a 12-13mm.. 12 being just under 1/2 and 13 just a fraction over 1/2.. 150mm is approx. 6 inch. I think

I do some bowl making,I am watching this thread and would like to see how you like the new saw. If cutting a 30 degree angle on a pattern, its important the angle doesn't change. I do ok with the Hawk I bought from Kevin but maybe the arm tilted and the table flat would be better.

@Denny Knappen has a shop "artcraftersonline" He has blade tubes there. Great guy to deal with and a member here.

The mask https://www.harborfreight.com/multipurpose-nuisance-dust-mask-with-replaceable-liners-94222.html

For me, it's not just the dust, it's the organic vapors. HF sells a soft neoprene mask with a carbon filter, it's very soft and has a very wide seal, so it puts very little pressure on your sinuses and temples. I have to limit my cutting sessions to 30 minutes or... pain. There are times I can't cut because of the sinus tenderness . I have high blood pressure so I have to be careful what I take. I recently tried the sinus/allergy medicine for high blood pressure patients, Coriceden, and it is working well for me so far.

I rarely do angle cuts but when I do it's very nice on the Excalibur with the arm tilting rather than the table.

Well, I've been on the fence about this saw from Harbour Freight for about a month now. Short back story. I started with a Delta P-20 back in 2000. Loved that saw. Mt daughter wanted it to start her scrolling, so I gave it to her and picked up a Hawk 220VS to replace it. While the Hawk is a great saw, and replacement parts still available, I just couldn't figure out an easy to top feed for fret work. The Delta was a breeze. So I finally pulled the trigger today on the Bauer. Here are a few pics , the video is literally 2 minutes after I put it on the bench and plugged it in. I was amazed the nickel stayed put thru the speed range. Tomorrow I'll really get into this saw, but as of now, I'm impressed 20241014_104926.mp4

Got a couple more finished. The mouse is a Janette Square design. Woods used Walnut, Wenge, Aspen and Spanish Cedar. The snowglobe was designed by Lori Jenks. Woods used Maple, Cherry, Poplar, Aspen, Elm. I ended up taking off the "glitter", couldn't get it to stick on. Third photo is the final of the snowglobe. I used a paint pen to put on the silver dots. Both were very quick and easy patterns.

Recently finished these up while taking a "use it or lose it" week off from work. The fidget-spinner came from some Etsy 3D print patterns, that one was fun as I had to modify the pattern a bit. It had 3D printed clips holding the top and bottom together. The other three patterns came from the Pattern Library, here. The two lovers were done in some live-edge oak, I had a small piece left from another project that I didn't want to throw away, and had been looking for something to use on it.

Cut out of Rimu rescued from a building site

They come out with a quiet vac to compete with the DeWalt... Maybe this isn't new? I don't know for sure but it was in there new items email a few weeks back.. but sometimes I've noticed that their new items email is actually not a brand new item.. maybe new for the year? https://www.harborfreight.com/12-gallon-osha-compliant-dust-extractor-58966.html

I have bought these blade holders in the past from Lee Valley or Busy Bee but they no longer carry them. I cant seem to find them anywhere. The size fits the tray that I have all my scroll saw blades in. Does anyone know where I can purchase a pack or so. Amazons size is thicker so they won't fit in my tray holder. The size I need is 5./12 to 6" by 1/2"wide . Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

From what I read from the posts, I did purchase one of these today, I have a thing for making bowls and inlay patterns. I cut one ring of 1/2 inch maple about eight inches in diameter, I thought it went well. I am concerned about the blade tension handle made from plastic. I plan on giving it a good test run the next few weeks.

I bought 16x150mm plastic test tubes from Amazon about 75 cents each. (CANADIAN). They fit in my EX-21. They have cork tops instead of of twist tops. A little higher but would work. I have enough of the tubes I got from Lee Valley a long time ago. I do group buys by the gross for our club and this easier for members. I added a dollar to the price and they still got a deal.

I have a Festool and have to say the hose is a tremendous upgrade to the plastic ones. I have a Ridgid shop vac and the plastic hose is a pain. Thankfully it is not real long because I can see that being a tripping hazard and pain to keep straight. Not sure why they can not make the hose more flexible. Even the upgrade hose for the Ridged vac was a tremendous upgrade. I went with this and thankful I did. https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-1-7-8-in-x-10-ft-Locking-Professional-Vacuum-Hose-Kit-Accessory-Shop-Vac-Attachments-for-RIDGID-Wet-Dry-Vacuums-LA2570/305626336?irgwc=1&cm_mmc=afl-ir-2003851-1420157-EdgeBingFlow&clickid=TKey9q38HxyPRN2yAiQ7G2yKUkCRFVS13xn72A0

Could you modify the holder to accept the larger tubes? To me that would be the easiest answer.

That is one of the major flaws with Hawk and Hegner type saws is trying to precisely set the angle and with the pinch style clamping system they have trying to make sure you don't push on the table top slightly to move that angle.. I don't feel the "holding power" of that pinching ( tightening the knob ) that down is adequate enough.. the rack and pinion is so easy to just turn the knob to the precise angle is really nice.. as is the flat table instead of a angled table. Not sure but Grizzly has a similar saw to this HF saw but it looks to me like it also has the slotted motor so you can adjust how aggressive it cuts.. These parallel link arm saws are a bit more aggressive cutting than the Hawk.. and if you can't fine tune that out at least some you're stuck with a aggressive saw. Having the slotted motor mount where you loosen the screws and rotate the motor you can adjust how it'll cut.

Very much agree.. The EX, Pegas, Jet, King, and many others ( not sure how the HF one tilts ) that have the rack and pinion type angle adjustment is a big plus for anyone that might do angle cuts.. It's a real pain in the behind to try to tap the table top to move the angle when just needing to change it 1 degree or something and the table moves too far or not far enough etc.. being able to just twist the knob to move it precisely where you want it is a major improvement over the Hawk and Hegner type saws.. Plus these saws run super smooth. One thing I don't like about the HF saw is it doesn't appear to be able to rotate the motor to dial in how aggressive your cut is.. motor doesn't appear to have a slotted mount.. great entree level saw though for the money.

H Botas has a group pattern.

My EX-21 has the tilting head and I like it much better than tilting the table to cut on an angle. Mine uses a rack & pinion system to pivot, so it stays put very well. Better, I think than my old Dewalt's tilting table. The tilting table relies on friction from the tightening the table adjusting knob to hold it in place. The rack & pinion style just feels more solid I stable to me.

Hi, I'm Jim, and I've been scroll-sawing for about 3 years now. I mostly do wood-cut versions of old video game sprites. I do a big Super Mario World-based Halloween display every year, do some commissions and art shows, and have done a big public display once now. I've been mostly focused on the design of the pieces and painting aspects but I'm a mediocre to poor cutter and am looking to improve. I attached some samples, happy to be here!

I have some plastic test tubes that fit the holders on my EX-21.

Those tubes are just over an inch (30mm) in diameter, the OP is looking for 1/2" tubes to fit an existing holder.

The arm will stay where you put it until you set it back to 90 degrees. Some folks like to do bowl work, that requires an angled cut. but I would have to say a large chunk of scrolling doesn't require any angle of the cut other than 90 degrees.

I'll try one of these.. thanks

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and tips I'm always willing to listen to tips and suggestions. My wife has been a nurse for over 30 years and works side by side with some great doctors.. we have tried many of the maneuvers to help with the vertigo.. have not seen a physical therapist yet but have watched some YouTube videos etc. I have found some of the things do give me some relief but nothing puts me back to normal yet.. I see the ENT next week for a follow up after some test but he is really thinking I'll need surgery and only one the wife trust to do it locally.. unfortunately he is retiring end of this year so I may have to shut down all my selling.. unfortunately during the 4th quarter when that's when I actually get to make some money, LOL Meanwhile, I guess I'm stuck with playing with the laser machine.. miss scrolling but I pay for it if I wear the mask for more than 20 minutes or so.. I do run box fans two of them, and the ceiling mount filtration.. seyco scroll saw dust collector at the saw so dust is minimal..

Or just design it so the pin snaps in, then to release it, you raise the arm sightly, and it releases the pin, and the arm comes down. I am sure some engineer could figure that out pretty easily.

Yes I am, I'll try bypassing the foot switch to see if it removes the jerk start. Can't say as I know exactly what a rack and pinion is, but is the same set up as the King and Hawk has if that helps. Oh, believe me, my brain is on over drive on this. I still have a few servos from my R/C Plane days. Thinking about hooking one of those up, I tend to over think things sometimes. But for now I have a 1/2" dowel that I use to reach the pin. Didn't think of that, I may do that for the short term.

So, I quickly got spoiled by the dust collection I had set up on my Dewalt (using the Scrollnado) and was really missing it with the Pegas with dust being nicely sucked up from the bottom, but blowing around on top... so I just make a quick modification and BAM, now I have 100% dust collection again... Simply ran some clear tubing I had laying around after drilling a hole in the vacuum hose connector to the Pegas saw. Very happy Iggy now.

I really don’t do too many Baltic Birch portraits anymore, as I have been working more with thicker hardwoods. That said, a friend asked if I had ever done any with Johnny Cash or Waylon Jennings, or if not, would I consider doing them. So I have some 1/4” BB, checked Charles Dearing’s site, found some cool patterns,and with some minor variations came up with these two. The Waylon Jennings has some very delicate bridges, which were a little nerve wracking.

I believe they are keyhole brackets.

Another member, Scott M, recently posted here with an image of his version of "Skull" by Janevski. He did a great job and inspired me to give it a try. As a relatively new scroller I was intimidated by the large number of cuts required in this design and wasn't sure if I could pull it off. To up the risk factor even more I decided to try a spiral blade for the first time. What the heck, the videos make spirals look easy to use! What could go wrong? With a new #2 spiral and a piece of 1/4 inch BB I dove in headfirst and began cutting. To my surprise, like the videos show, cutting with spiral blades is easier in some ways. The piece doesn't need to be rotated, and I was able to work much faster at higher RPMs than I ever did with a straight blade. To be fair, the design doesn't require much accuracy except where cuts run close to each other. I did make a few mistakes and had one breakout but am happy with the result.

Wood will do some crazy and unpredictable things. I cut a small plaque out of some 1/2" red oak once. The wood was very dry and stable. It was a cutoff from a larger piece, from another project and had been in my shop for a long time. I colored it with some water based dye. It was pretty much dry to the touch by the time I was ready to leave the shop for the day. Without thinking, I set it down flat, on old t-shirt, good side up, and left. I came back the next morning and the piece had curled up like a potato chip. I had never seen this type of extreme warping in such a small piece before. It was actually kind of shocking. My first instinct was to toss the piece into the scrap bin, but decided to turn it over and see what happened. So I laid it face down and left alone for another day. When I next checked it, it was flat as it was originally. It has been hanging in my shop for several years and hasn't move a bit since.

I haven’t been here in sometime, though I still scroll regularly, I don’t get online as often. I have been expanding into more hardwoods, though I will still cut an occasional portrait in Baltic Birch. This first one started from the Treehouse pattern by the incomparable Charles Hand, though I took a few liberties to make it unique. Instead of BB I used a 5/8” African Rosewood board and cut a large vertical oval with a recessed angle cut. I extended the tree, added the girl in the swing, added the foliage, carved the bark into whole tree, along with a couple of knotholes. Then I cut a piece of 1/4” BB to fit behind the recessed cut and I inlaid the boy with a kite, his dog, the two cats, butterfly, the hanging birdhouse, and the 4 birds over the treehouse. Hope you all like it! This one took a bit of time to do. I will add a couple of other recent projects on another post. Incidentally, other than the inlay work and the recessed cut, almost all of the rest of this was done with spiral blades and I used my Pegas saw. The carving was done mostly using a Foredom power carver, and some by hand.

I have done dozens of projects combining stained glass and scrolling. This is an engagement present I scrolled backed in glass. I cut an angled recessed ring in the outer perimeter and inserted the glass in back of it.

This is heresy and I'll probably be boiled in oil,drawn and quartered, and the remains burned at the stake. I recently had some of my air dryed elm warp a little too much for a project. I took the pieces, sized for the project, into the shower. I rinsed the boards down with hot water and allowed the steam of the shower to soften the wood. I stacked the boards by size on a cinder block and then stacked three blocks on top. I let them dry for a week and a half. So far so good. It's been several weeks, and no return of the warp. Your results may vary.

I remember taking this photo and thinking it was a bit of a dud at the time. But not so long ago I took another look and this is what I ended up with.

good info....thank you Wichman

It’s important to understand what causes the warp or twist, and for the most part, its uneven moister absorption or drying. If you purchase thin boards, it is important to provide equal air movement around the board. If it is just a few boards, then just lean them against a wall or work bench to allow equal air movement. Do not lay them flat on any surface. This does not allow for equal air movement. The same applies if you resaw or plane your boards. You must provide for equal air circulation around the board. If it is a lot of boards, it is best to stack and sticker the boards. That is stacking the boards on top of each other with stickers or thin sticks in between each board to allow for equal air circulation around each board. Either way, you must allow for some time to allow the boards to equalize to the environment of your shop. As for trying to take the cup out of a warped board, you might spray a little water on the cupped side of the board, then apply a little heat with a heat gun or hair dryer to the wetted surface. This trick works sometimes. I make and sell a lot of ornaments each year, so I stack cut all of my ornaments. Beacuse I have a full woodworking shop, I can mill all of my thin stock. I either plane or resaw my blanks to 3/16” thickness. I will usually stack three layers. If any of the boards have a cup in them, I’ll stack the cups against each other, then clamp the stacks together along the length of the boards. This will flatten the stack. Then I apply hot glue along all edges of the stack. After the hot glue sets and removing the clamps, the stack will be reasonably flat enough to cut. These picture show a stack of boards I bought online before I got my band saw for resawing. I cut the stickers from 3/4” pine.

My go to blade for this type of cutting is the Pegas #6 super skip. I have also tried the FD Polar with good results. Jerry

I have done a couple projects and actually have a couple that I wish I had finished and maybe will at some time. I had bought many sheets of stained glass years ago and they hopefully are still in tact in basement. But here is one I did and you can guess when. It is a blue stained glass piece behind te scrolling to represent the sky. I also make alot of religious projects that I use various stained glass behind some of the elements. Tough to see on this one but behind the scrolled areas on the steps is red stained glass. Years ago I made many religious prayer box crosses plus religious stand crosses that I used stained glass behind the scrolled cutouts. I would then line the box with felt. meant to hold prayer beads and prayer cards. sorry I do not have any of the photos because they are all still film version. Those are another project that I have many pieces cut but never assembled and would like to finish them too. I think one of these days I am going to dedicate some months in a winter to just finish up some of my started projects and nothing but that. Sounds like an idea but who knows.

I've noticed that GrandpaJim hasn't logged in here in a few months.. He sold his crafts on Etsy and Go Imagine websites and had shut his stores down too. So I got to looking him up and sadly found his obituary. He passed on July 3rd. RIP Jim https://www.schmidtfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Frank-Jim-Mikul?obId=32256215

Try uline 1/2" plastic tubes, they have caps for the ends. This is a pet peeve of mine. You take the time and effort to make things and then " they " change the standard sizes of things and your efforts go to waste. Just went through this with the spice rack I built, now it's a knick nack shelf and every one is downsizing and minimizing. Aak.

What advantage is a arm that tilts if not doing a lot of inlay?I am curious if the arm stays at angle desired for long periods.