# Ready to take the plunge........



## dynax (13 Sep 2016)

........, but still haven't decided on a saw yet, i've thought about the budget axi, but that seems the same as most of the other budget brands, seen a few on ebay, hegners,proxxon, but travelling distance puts some of them out, plus with the hegners i don't know the usage they've had, so all in all i would prefer to buy new for peace of mind, the other axi ones are above my budget, even the jet is very similar in design and spec to the other budget ones, it seems to me that axi could do with a mid range scroll saw around the £150-£200 mark, that has an induction motor, variable speed, foot switch, and quick blade change, and easy access to the bottom blade holder, does anyone know if axi will market a mid price saw in the near future, if not i would probably take a punt on the scheppach sd1600f, or the sd1600v, although i would prefer the 1600f with the induction motor, the 1600v seems to have some better features, but the sd405 does seem to have all the features i want ecxept the footswitch, but it also has a price tag to match and for a few quid more i could get the axi, but i'm not willing to spend more than £200, i think it might be flip a coin time, it's worked in the past on some other indecisive moments, and for the better :shock: ,


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## Claymore (13 Sep 2016)

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## dynax (13 Sep 2016)

Hi Brian, i'm still not convinced by the AWFS18, when for another £44 you can get the EX16, which is a whole new beast in itself, to me the AWFS18 should be priced at around £150, i can't see what is has to offer against the AWFS16 that's worth the extra £310,


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## NazNomad (13 Sep 2016)

Just get a second-hand Delta.


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## dynax (13 Sep 2016)

Hi Naz, my problem is the distance i can travel to pick one up, i'm a full time carer for my partner, and i can't leave her on her own for too long,


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## Aggrajag (13 Sep 2016)

I wouldn't be without my footswitch; on and off without moving either hand.


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## dynax (13 Sep 2016)

Aggrajag":19vte8ns said:


> I wouldn't be without my footswitch; on and off without moving either hand.




that's what appeals to me both hands on the workpiece on and off by the foot,


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## Claymore (13 Sep 2016)

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## loftyhermes (13 Sep 2016)

I second Naz, get a second hand Delta with the quickset blade clamps. There's one (buy it now) on the 'bay in Beverley which is not too far from Doncaster. 
happy scrolling
Steve


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## dynax (13 Sep 2016)

Thanks Brian, it is such a minefield out there, plus i don't have the oppertunity to try any out, there are no major stores that do demos in Doncaster, or any store for that matter,

Cheers Steve, i have seen that Delta, i suppose for the money it's worth a punt, but no idea on what usage it's had,


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## dynax (13 Sep 2016)

ok, i've put in an offer on the Delta, so will see what happens, one of my concerns though is noise, just hope it isn't too noisy as i will be using late at night,


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## loftyhermes (13 Sep 2016)

Good luck with it, I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Just remember to get a quick demo before you pay up. Any questions just ask, I've had one for over 20 yrs now and it's still going strong. Re the noise, I'd say mine purrs like a sewing machine.
happy scrolling
Steve


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## finneyb (13 Sep 2016)

NOISE - if you are using it in the house at night even the ' purrs like a sewing m/c' will cause noise to travel. If you're outside the house in a garage/shed then no problems. 

Brian


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## dynax (13 Sep 2016)

cheers Steve, sewing machine purrr will be fine, i will check it when i go to collect it, if my offer is accepted that is,


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## dynax (13 Sep 2016)

finneyb":1qixdcrb said:


> NOISE - if you are using it in the house at night even the ' purrs like a sewing m/c' will cause noise to travel. If you're outside the house in a garage/shed then no problems.
> 
> Brian



Hmmm, will be in the spare room, we're in a groundfloor flat, but if wear my ear defenders at least i won't hear it (hammer)


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## Claymore (13 Sep 2016)

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## dynax (13 Sep 2016)

cheers Brian, i have a decent vacuum that i use for my table saw,
addicted!!!!! lets hope so, it might stop me buying more tools,


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## Aggrajag (13 Sep 2016)

Surely the dust extraction will be much louder anyway?


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## dynax (13 Sep 2016)

it's mine, just had email from him, collecting on Saturday :lol: :lol: (hammer)


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## dynax (13 Sep 2016)

Aggrajag":4ks5oelv said:


> Surely the dust extraction will be much louder anyway?




mine is, it's a beast, industrial wet/dry sounds like a jumbo jet getting ready for take-off,


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## loftyhermes (13 Sep 2016)

Well done Mike, you will have so much fun.
happy scrolling
Steve


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## Claymore (13 Sep 2016)

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## dynax (13 Sep 2016)

Thanks Steve/Brian, so looking forward to playing with it, i'll get some pegas blades, also heard olson blades are good awell as the ones from Mike in the USA, there's some included with the saw so i'll have some to practice with, i imagine i'll be bending your ears in the future for some advice etc for some simple patterns and so on, i have downloaded a pattern for some chess pieces as a future project which looks fairly simple, geez i feel like a kid a xmas,


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## loftyhermes (14 Sep 2016)

As for blades Niqua are good and are available here from several suppliers, Hobbies, http://www.alwayshobbies.com/tools/powe ... ccessories Hegner http://www.hegner.co.uk/catalogsearch/r ... ua++blades and Original Marquetry http://www.originalmarquetry.co.uk/cate ... es_1.htmto name 3.
Oh and it has been said that Niqua make the Flying Dutchman blades.
happy scrolling
Steve


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## Claymore (14 Sep 2016)

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## Aggrajag (14 Sep 2016)

I've tried Niqua and Pegas and whilst neither are bad in the slightest I still prefer the Olson PGT for practically every job. Shame they're so expensive in the UK and the last time I ordered from the US I got hammered for VAT/Excise etc (although it still works out cheaper if you buy 12 various packs of 12.)

http://www.woodenteddybearonline.com/x/home.php?cat=87


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## dynax (14 Sep 2016)

Thanks for the links Steve and Aggrajag, talk about jumping out of the frying pan into the fire, if looking for a decent machine isn't hard enough, looking at blades is even worse, i think to start with i will try a selection of reverse tooth, and just gradually build up a stock of others,cheers,


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## Claymore (14 Sep 2016)

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## Aggrajag (14 Sep 2016)

Claymore":2fmmuh4n said:


> You can buy Olson blades here in the UK
> http://www.woodworkscraftsupplies.co.uk ... p-700.html
> 
> Cheers
> Brian



I used them a couple of times but they are much more expensive.


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## Claymore (14 Sep 2016)

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## Aggrajag (14 Sep 2016)

I'm no expert and can never remember so it's trial and error each time - having said that I've just started keeping notes so hopefully I can build up a useful guide for myself. (I'd say for others too but I don't do a lot so it'll be years before its worthy!)


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## gilljc (14 Sep 2016)

Brian, when I want to cut thick wood with intricate turns I use Olsen mach blades 3 or 5 they are excellent
Gill


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## Claymore (14 Sep 2016)

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## dynax (16 Sep 2016)

I was able to collect it today, tried it while i was there and it is as quiet as a church mouse, it's in excellent condition for a 15 year old machine, a few rust spots on the table but nothing excessive, and the rest of it is like factory condition, all the tools and instructions present, it is fitted with the quickset blade change, only a few basic blades with it, so i will be online later ordering some new ones, all in all very pleased with it and a fantastic bargain, just need to build a stand for it now, time for a little bit of playing me thinks, cheers,


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## Aggrajag (16 Sep 2016)

dynax":10f5u6d8 said:


> I was able to collect it today, tried it while i was there and it is as quiet as a church mouse, it's in excellent condition for a 15 year old machine, a few rust spots on the table but nothing excessive, and the rest of it is like factory condition, all the tools and instructions present, it is fitted with the quickset blade change, only a few basic blades with it, so i will be online later ordering some new ones, all in all very pleased with it and a fantastic bargain, just need to build a stand for it now, time for a little bit of playing me thinks, cheers,


Great news, well done - and welcome to our little club


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## dynax (16 Sep 2016)

thanks Aggrajag, i've decided to be a good boy first, made a coffee and sat reading the instruction manual before i start playing


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## Aggrajag (16 Sep 2016)

if it's any help I started with this guys 3 tutorial videos and found them very useful... http://www.scrollsawparadise.com/tutorials

Buy yourself some decent plywood and crack on 

(I've used 6.4mm and 1.6mm plywood [going to order some 3.2mm soon] from here http://modelshop.co.uk/Shop/Raw-Materia ... t/Plywood/ - buy a stack of 10 and postage becomes reasonable spread over the lot. To begin use single sheets of 6.4mm, there's no grain and it's great to learn with.)


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## Claymore (16 Sep 2016)

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## dynax (16 Sep 2016)

Hi Aggrajag, i have his channel bookmarked already and a few others, i have plenty of 6mm, 12mm, 18mm ply, plus a fair bit of walnut and maple, plus we had a eucalyptus tree felled a few weeks ago so i have plenty of logs stored for seasoning, my main hobby is model railways, this will be a little sideline aswell as being able to make more stuff for the layout when i start rebuilding it, i'm in the middle of rebuilding the baseboards for it, cheers,


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## dynax (16 Sep 2016)

Thanks Brian, can't wait to get started properly,


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## dynax (16 Sep 2016)

i've had a play about, will definatley need new blades, tried on different tables and stands, some are noisier than others, so i will make a dedicated one for it, other than that all seems well,


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## NazNomad (16 Sep 2016)

I made a close approximation of this stand for my Delta, it transformed the whole experience for me.







http://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.co.uk ... -from.html


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## bigbob1 (17 Sep 2016)

Well done Mike I have just recently started too and have been following Scrollsawparadise and two of his simple tips has helped me out the first is new blades come with a film of oil on them I now wipe the ends of the blade with white spirit and also give them a rub with 120 grit and now have very little incidents where the blades come out of the blade clamp after being tightened. The second tip is when using a new blade take it up to tension then run it for ten seconds take the tension off with the blade tension lever and the blade has stretched undo the blade clamp reseat the blade then do the blade clamp up then the new blade is fully stretched. All simple stuff which most folk who have done scrolling for years probably do this all the time but to a newbie like me is a revelation. Still have not made anything yet with the scroll saw except a celtic knot pen I have turned and used the scroll saw to do the cuts and used a coke can instead of wood


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## Claymore (17 Sep 2016)

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## dynax (17 Sep 2016)

Thanks Bob, all tips welcome, 
Hi Brian, i have a long way to go yet to reach the quality of yourself and others on here,
thanks Naz, i will make something similar but on castors, also thought about using some carpet on the base the saw sits on, i haven't had the chance to do anything today, plenty of time though to get to grips with it all, cheers,


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## loftyhermes (18 Sep 2016)

Well done on getting the saw Mike, you could try putting a paving slab under the saw, it might help. Steve Good has some videos on youtube that might help you as well. https://www.youtube.com/user/sdgood/videos
happy scrolling
Steve


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## bigbob1 (18 Sep 2016)

> Bob have ya got a photo of your Celtic Knot pen?



Hi Brian here it is. The actual knot is from a coke can which has the ends cut off and then cut into strips to slightly more than the width of the pen blank. About an inch down the blank you take a square and draw a 90 deg line on all sides then draw a 45 deg line off the R angle on all sides then cut through the first 45 deg but stop about 1/16th of an inch before going right through the blank then glue in coke can strip with medium c a glue and use accelerator then go and do the same to side 2 until all 4 sides are done at which point you will have a cross on each side when this is turned on a lathe these crosses turns into a Celtic knot. The wood used was Lime which has very little interesting grain so I used different stains to hopefully make a more attractive pen the pen was finished with 9 coats of thin c a and sanded and polished






Mike I use an A frame stand for the scroll saw it is easy to build if you have a chop saw just set the saw to 10 deg set up a stop, cut the 4 legs and cut 4 sides 2 for each "A" then 4 bits of wood without the 10 deg angle to join the 2 A frames together and then put a top of ply or mdf on sorry for the state of my workshop.


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## dynax (19 Sep 2016)

thanks Steve,
Nice pen Bob, and thanks for the picture of your bench,
ordered some blades from Axminster, i got some reverse tooth 3,5,9 they were out of stock of 7's, i will start to build up a selection and buy some every month of the different types, cheers,


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## dynax (1 Oct 2016)

Finally managed to get the stand made this afternoon, also ordered the ink for the printer which should arrive Tues/Wednesday, so all systems go now, here's a couple of pics of the stand still got some end pieces to go on but it is workable for now,cheers,


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## dynax (2 Oct 2016)

Got the chance to have a play this afternoon, i used a pegas no3 reverse skip tooth blade, i cut out some various shapes using both fast and slow speeds, i noticed there was some flexing in the blade, i cut some 6mm ply and 18mm whitewood, also i will have to do something with the insert as there is a slight lip between it and the table, i will probably get some acrylic sheet and make some zero clearance inserts, but apart from doing some more practice cuts all seems good, no vibration and very little noise with either of the speed settings, cheers,


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## Claymore (2 Oct 2016)

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## dynax (4 Oct 2016)

cheers Brian, i was hoping to have a go today, but due to unforeseen circumstances it was not happening, as posted in the off topic section,


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## dynax (5 Oct 2016)

Hooray made a start, i printed off a copy of a simple sea shell pattern, it seems a popular choice as a beginners project, anyway i printed it onto some decent gloss paper and laminated it, reason for laminating is that i can use masking tape to make the indivual templates, saves messing around with glue and sellotape and suchlike, well just having a coffee after cutting my first 2 pieces, i only have some 25mm masking tape, next time i'm out and about will pick up some wide stuff saves having to overlap on wider sections, i'm only using 18mm pine for this first attempt, but if it comes out to a reasonable standard i will stain the pieces to give it some character, cheers,


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## loftyhermes (5 Oct 2016)

Mike, all I do is print onto ordinary paper, spray the back of the pattern with repositionable glue and stick it to the wood. If I think that the blade might burn the wood then I cover the pattern with clear packing tape after I've drilled the holes.
happy scrolling
Steve


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## dynax (7 Oct 2016)

Hi Steve, for fretwork stuff i will use that method, but for intarsia, i find the way i'm doing very quick and easy, but we all have our own ways of doing the same job, cheers,


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## loftyhermes (7 Oct 2016)

No worries Mike, I didn't realise you were doing intarsia.
happy scrolling
Steve


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## Aggrajag (7 Oct 2016)

For my scrolling (not intarsia) I use the masking tape method which can be left on the wood for weeks if I get distracted, and prittstick my pattern (cheap paper) on top of that. No risk of residue and easy to remove when ready.


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