# Wish me luck!



## martinka (5 Jul 2013)

Off to Cheshire in the morning for a free Hobbies treadle fret saw. I saw an online ad saying 6 saws were available, although in various states of disrepair in the gentleman's garden. I was first to respond so I got first dibs. I am like a kid on xmas eve tonight. :mrgreen: 
I had a good clean up in the garage to make room for the Lidl vac I bought yesterday, but it looks like that is getting bunged under the bench and the Hobbies saw will be taking centre stage.
By the way, I am pleased with the vac, though it's not as quiet as I was expecting. The vac being switched on and off by the Hegner is a real boon.

Martin.


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## Dalboy (6 Jul 2013)

You lucky so and so I just missed one at a rally a week ago, some one just beat me to it it sold for £20. Good luck all the same and look forward to some pictures of it


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## powertools (6 Jul 2013)

Funny enough I am off to collect a Hobbies A1 saw today.
After buying the Victory the other week bugbear posted a picture of his Ai on that thread and I decided I wanted one to go with the Victory.
Still looking for a Hobbies Companion treadle lathe without success yet.


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## mac1012 (6 Jul 2013)

I am so jealous I would love one of those ! would be great for doing demonstration craft fairs people would love it 

you could come up with a simple design and stand there making i it and people would buy it by the truck load 

I reckon there would be a market for making this type of machine again pity they don't as I for one would buy one I very keen on getting back to traditional kind of ways of making things that have to do with historical methods I know it wouldn't be as versatile as a hegner but I would love to make larger uncomplicated items on something like this and with the price of electricity these days !! 

mark


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## martinka (6 Jul 2013)

mac1012":29fq2lrz said:


> I am so jealous I would love one of those ! would be great for doing demonstration craft fairs people would love it
> you could come up with a simple design and stand there making i it and people would buy it by the truck load
> mark



Mark, I reckon name plaques are the ones to go for, kids love seeing their names up in lights. Easy enough to do on a cheap saw which is light enough to cart about, assuming there is power, with no internal cuts to make, if you cheat a bit.

Martin.


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## martinka (6 Jul 2013)

I picked up two saws, an A1 and another Hobbies that I don't know the model of. One was already started on and is painted, the other is rusty with seized parts, but this is the sort of thing I love working on. The chap has 4 left that need a fair amount of work, with parts needed such as the wooden arms and some small metal bits. The link to the ad is http://www.homeworkshop.org.uk/index.php?option=com_adsmanager - about 10 ads down, although there's no photos. He owns some other working Hobbies saws and is obviously very knowledgeable about them and takes them to local shows, traction engine rallies, etc. I could have stayed a couple of hours just looking around his garden and shed, if there had been room to move. :mrgreen: 

Martin.


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## mac1012 (20 Jul 2013)

hi just I case I get one of these in the future I am curious as to what type of blade you use as no good having a machine if I cant cut anything 

mark


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## Graham Orm (20 Jul 2013)

Loads on Ebay


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## mac1012 (20 Jul 2013)

ok I see hobbies sell blades on ebay that say suitable for treadle machines but they are 5 inch plained end scroll blades so I am assuming it accepts normal 5 inch blades , cant see any specific treadle blades but I know they used to do them as seen on a listing for a machine on ebay 

also does anybody know if you can alter the rubber belt tension as one I seen says just needs belt tensioning on it 

mark


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## powertools (20 Jul 2013)

mac1012":2xgczt9u said:


> ok I see hobbies sell blades on ebay that say suitable for treadle machines but they are 5 inch plained end scroll blades so I am assuming it accepts normal 5 inch blades , cant see any specific treadle blades but I know they used to do them as seen on a listing for a machine on ebay
> 
> also does anybody know if you can alter the rubber belt tension as one I seen says just needs belt tensioning on it
> 
> mark



The old Hobbies treadle saws as referred to on this thread use pinless 5" blades as used in most modern saws so there is no problem getting blades.

The belts on these old saws are not rubber but are leather and there is no adjustment as such you just shorten the belt. I think that most of these old saws will need a new belt because the leather has deteriorated but replacements are about £7.


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## mac1012 (20 Jul 2013)

ok thanks for info can you tell me where you get replacements for 7 pound ?

mark


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## powertools (20 Jul 2013)

As you can see I have been thanked 13 times. That seems a bit unlucky as it has been stuck there for some time.
You make it 14 and I will tell you where to get the belt.


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## mac1012 (20 Jul 2013)

there I have thanked you I paid the ransom now give me the goods !!


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## powertools (20 Jul 2013)

Sorry you think that I held you to ransom, I just thought that it would be nice for you to say thanks for the answer to your first question before you asked another.

I have 3 Hobbies saws in different stages of repair and am more than happy to help anyone doing the same thing in any way I can.

The correct length and dia. of belt is available at the link below.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SINGER-INDUST ... 519ef09d2c

For advice on fitting the belt do a Google search for Singer treadle sewing machine belt fitting and there is loads of advice.

Any more questions just ask I will help if I can.


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## mac1012 (21 Jul 2013)

that's ok I guess when scroll saw newbies ask me question after question after question I just reply and never given it a thought about c them clicking the thank button in fact it took me a while to find the button yesterday but I am now fully schooled in the dark art of being thanked and thanking someone 8) 

I stumbled across the singer leather belts on ebay and I pretty much guessed that's what you were going to point me to but thanks for the help 

when I get the machine I am sure I will be asking you for some advice but I will have the thank button at the ready

mark


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## mac1012 (21 Jul 2013)

oh I found out that I have been thanked a few times =D> never noticed ths until I was searching how to do the thank button yesterday 

so somebody does love me after all (homer)


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## mac1012 (21 Jul 2013)

if hopefully I have some thank credit left I will ask another question the saw I am buying is I think a hobbies gem that has been fully restored I have compared it to some images on the internet one difference I did notice was that it hasn't got the cast iron foot plates like I seen on other models but then again I seen some pictures of models on internet without the cast iron patterned ones and just have plain foot pedals ? a later model perhaps or replacement feet ? 

the machine looks in good fettle and has all the clamps belt etc , I like the fact you can use standard 5 inch scroll blades , I have a hegner and I don't really need this but always fancied having a go with one and cutting things under my own steam  

the idea was probably taking to craft fairs to demonstrate and give my work a traditional rustic feel but I can see from videos they probably make a bit of noise which some people might find annoying so it probably would only be suited to kind of proper demonstration craft fairs 

another idea I had is setting a gazebo on my patio , when weather not great and being able to sit outside and cut things you know being one with nature and all that , I can see it now me on a little stool pedalling away overlooking my big lawn , classical music on and my cat giving me a look that says he has finally lost the plot.

mark


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## mac1012 (21 Jul 2013)

Another question :shock: how do you find the dust when cutting ? obviously there isn't a dust blower :idea: does the dust get in the way of the cut line ? do you have to keep blowing ? :roll: 

mark


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## martinka (21 Jul 2013)

Mark, as far as I have seen, the treadle saws are no more noisier than a well set up Hegner, and are probably quieter. I've only seen two working treadle saws, but neither had problems with dust, though it probably helped that they work outside.  My friend in Whitby who uses a Hegner outside has no blower connected and has to resort to blowing the dust away from the line but has a vac under the table.
The chap I was watching in York on Friday does his name cutting freehand, so no line to follow anyway. His saw is pedal rather than treadle, which I reckon would be preferable and easier to control. Not that I know from experience. By the way, the older of my two A1 saws does have a blower, or at least the remains of one.

Martin.

P.S. I think the "Thanks" system is ridiculous when people generally say thanks in their post anyway, as I believe you did, unless it was an edit.


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## mac1012 (21 Jul 2013)

yeah your right martin I hadn't realised I had said thanks in my reply and no it wasn't an edit :lol: 

anyway I digress ..... about the saw yeah I guess I could rig something up with my vac but then that kind of defeats the object , be interesting , I don't really want to be having to blow away the dust all the time but I give it some thought , these guys amaze me that they can cut letters freehand 

mark


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## martinka (21 Jul 2013)

Mark, I don't know if the slower speed of the treadle saw causes less dust, but it certainly appears that way, unless the one in York occasionally sweeps up the dust, which I doubt. Maybe you could be partially hidden by a display table and any dust swept up later, or like my friend in Whitby, have a vac hidden below the table and only use it when necessary. 

To address one of your earlier questions, all the pic's I have seen of the Hobbies Gem show a flat plate foot treadle and none of the decorative castings such as the A1 has, no doubt to cut down on cost.

Martin.


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## powertools (21 Jul 2013)

mac1012":dvd74kpo said:


> if hopefully I have some thank credit left I will ask another question the saw I am buying is I think a hobbies gem that has been fully restored I have compared it to some images on the internet one difference I did notice was that it hasn't got the cast iron foot plates like I seen on other models but then again I seen some pictures of models on internet without the cast iron patterned ones and just have plain foot pedals ? a later model perhaps or replacement feet ?
> 
> the machine looks in good fettle and has all the clamps belt etc , I like the fact you can use standard 5 inch scroll blades , I have a hegner and I don't really need this but always fancied having a go with one and cutting things under my own steam
> 
> ...




I think that Martin has answered your questions and there is little to add.
Hobbies produced both the A1 saw and the Gem for many years The Gem was the cheaper of the 2 and used more pressed steel and less castings than the A1.

I think that if you do 6 inches of cutting with either a powered saw or a treadle saw you will produce the same amount of dust but with the treadle it takes 3 times as long and has less impact.

When you get yours it would be interesting to see pictures.


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