Total noob Re: Fox F40-561 footswitch capability?

[mephistophles]

Hi guys,

Just managed to pick one of these up for £60 and have shedloads of blades for it. Looking forward to (hopefully) sharing my eventual successes with you

I just wondered if anyone knew whether it was capable of having a footswitch attached to it?

If nobody actually knows for sure, is there an easy way to check? For example, if I power it on at the machine switch then turn it off at the mains and it comes back on when I restore the power, is that a guarantee that it WILL work with a footswitch or is not quite as simple as that?

I've not actually tried it yet but I know that a lot of the newer power tools tend to "fail safe" and need the switch hitting again when the power is cut.

TIA anyway

Andy

 

[Bryan Bennett]

Hi Andy a very warm welcome to the forum,and to the fabulous hobby of the scrollsaw.At the moment we do not know the make of your scrollsaw.I am not a technical guy to be able to answer your post.I myself do not use a footswitch,I just use the on/off switch. :roll: have not seen a Fox F40-561 :?

Bryan

 

[scrimper]

I just wondered if anyone knew whether it was capable of having a footswitch attached to it?

You should be able to use a foot switch.

If nobody actually knows for sure, is there an easy way to check? For example, if I power it on at the machine switch then turn it off at the mains and it comes back on when I restore the power, is that a guarantee that it WILL work with a footswitch or is not quite as simple as that?

All that means is that the saw does not have a NVR switch (no volts release) Scroll saws are not generally equipped with NVR switches,

 

[martinka]

All that means is that the saw does not have a NVR switch (no volts release) Scroll saws are not generally equipped with NVR switches,

You've surprised me there, John. I thought all modern Chinese sourced machinery had an NVR switch. Certainly I thought that any switch using seperate on and off buttons was likely to be an NVR switch. Still, I've been known to be wrong before now. :mrgreen:

Edit: Even with an NVR, a footswitch might be of use to someone with limited arm movement, for example, who didn't want to fumble with the OFF switch, though it would mean pressing the footswitch and the ON button to start the saw.

 

[Claymore]

wonder if you could make a wireless footswitch out of one of those remote control plug socket adaptors? I use them on my shop vac and maybe if you plug the saw into the wall socket part and then make some sort of pedal that will depress the start button on the remote (it would need beefing up a bit so it doesn't damage it, its plastic) they don't need to be in sight of the actual socket so would work from the floor etc.
I bought mine on Ebay for around £7.00 and saves loads of time walking backwards and forwards to switch the vac on.
Simple idea (from a simpleton) that might work 9-)
Cheers
Brian

 

[scrimper]

All that means is that the saw does not have a NVR switch (no volts release) Scroll saws are not generally equipped with NVR switches,

You've surprised me there, John. I thought all modern Chinese sourced machinery had an NVR switch. Certainly I thought that any switch using seperate on and off buttons was likely to be an NVR switch. Still, I've been known to be wrong before now. :mrgreen:

Yes and no, I have machines that were manufactured in the far east that are equipped with 2 button switches that look like NVR's but in actual fact they are simple on off switches. IMHO NVR's are essential with most machines, you would not want to have the power go off on a router or radial arm saw; forget that it is still on (with no NVR fiitted) and have the power come back on and be fiddling with it! However I would not normally have one on a scroll saw, probably the safest machine in the workshop.

I actually made my own NVR for one of my router tables using a surplus 16amp relay, a sprung switch from a fridge and a washing machine switch I made the front plate from wood and turned the on and off buttons, it cost me nowt and has been working brilliantly for the last 20 years!

 

[mephistophles]

OK, so I tested my machine by turning off the mains while it was running and discovered that it DOES indeed seem to have an NVR switch fitted as it stayed off when power was restored. I also bought one of the footswitches from Amazon and it's been sat in my workshop waiting since last Thursday but I've only just got round top removing the switch faceplate today.

Andy

 

[mephistophles]

Took a photo of what I can see as far as the switch goes and it has Blue/Brown (and earth which goes to the saw chassis) coming in and Black/White going out. I guess I should just be able to connect the wires together to bypass this switch but just want to make sure I'm right in thinking in I need to connect Blue -> White and Brown -> Black? (Hopefully I should be able to add the link in the next post)

If you need me to get a meter on it before you can tell me then let me know what you want it setting on and where you want me to put the probes and I'll happily oblige

Thanks for all your help so far by the way

 

[mephistophles]

(Apologies for the multiple postings, only have this picture stored on Photobucket)

Thanks
Andy