blade changing

[John Saxton]

Can any of you proponents of the art advise in a scroll saw that gives ease of change of blade as listed among it's good points?
Is the Hegner all it's cracked up to be?
My present scroll saw requires the use of a hex cap screw/driver to change blades and is a pain in the ol' proverbial when having numerous movements during a pattern cut,but then it is a cheapie bought at a trash and treasure and I'm looking to off-load onto some unsuspecting soul who like me thought he had a "bargain."
Cheers http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/smile.gif


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Johnno

[Iain]

Johnno, I've got a deWalt DW788 which I think is one of the best units on the market, I suspect it is made by Excalibur as the unit is made in Canada and the head is identical. Vibration is almost non existent and all the contols are up the front of the machine including blade tension. Blade change is a 5 second affair with little wing nuts. Table tilts both ways and it is a good solid unit, the blower works well too. About $1200.00.
Go to www.seyco.com (http://www.seyco.com) and have a look at the current specials, there is a quick blade change for existing scroll saws.
Why am I up at this hour on Christmas day, kids were up at 5.00am and I thought we had burglars.


[This message has been edited by Iain (edited 25 December 2000).]

[ubeaut]

Have had a Hegner for almost 18 years and love it. Couldn't recommend it too highly. It is even better now that they have a square headed screw on the blade clamping blocks which is undone by what looks like an old toy key similar to what was used on wind up trains. This is a much bigger and therefore easier to use and tension version of the wing nut affair used on the deWalt/Excalibur.

This makes for a reasonably quick and painless blade change. There are a number pretty good saws on the market today however that offer pretty good value for money and some really inovative blade changing ideas That utilize the use of both pinned and non pinned blades.

Worth a look around before you commit to buying one. Hegner is probably. arguably still the best with the deWalt running a pretty close second Both are hellishly expensive. Especially in a bigger than standard size.

Hope this helps a bit Johnno

Cheers - Neil

[Iain]

And having said that Neil, if you are feeling really flash for cash a 30" Excalibur is about $3500.00, it is really a beautiful machine, but $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

[John Saxton]

Thank-you both for your input.I have just sold an old sawbench which was sitting under covers down the back of my workshop for years so I guess the 1000 smackeroos will go a long way towards contributing to a decent scroll saw,that perhaps will make life a little easier and not so frustrating in the shop.
Cheers http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/smile.gif

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Johnno

[John Saxton]

Update on the Scrollsaw research.One of the hardware stores in my aea has one DeWalt 788 that he will let go for $960.00 all up due to the fact that it has a little surface rust on the table.
The Wood Works in Sydney has a couple of Hegners with the variable speed option one which is the Multicut-SE with 18" table for $1755 all up,a Multicut-2S similar to the SE for $1542 all up,and the Multicut-1 with 14" table and variable speed for $1069 all up.
So it comes down to going for a red job or a yellow job which has a bigger table and would save some serious bucks which could be spent on the lathe soon to be got also.
Both are quality tools in my humble opinion and capable of performing the same functions so I guess the DeWalt will probably get the money by a short neck!!
Thanks to you both for the info.
Cheers http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/smile.gif

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Johnno

[RETIRED]

Gooses neck? http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/cool.gif

[John Saxton]

Yeah ,both of them worthy of havin' a Gander at.

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Johnno

[John Saxton]

The DW788 whilst being a reasonably well constructed machine and with a lot of forethought going into the planning of the machine,I have one critique of it and that is that the designers failed to incorporate a facility for dust extraction ..,a consideration most paramount in todays design of tools.
It does as Iain suggests have a problem with the the dust getting in to the switching of the machine which would be alleviated by the incorporation of dust extraction of the machine.
A majority of the cheaper units around these days have a provision for the removal of dust and I question the wisdom of DeWALT in this day and age of such a folly.
The machine for all its good points is let down by this one failing.
Thats my bitch for the day!!
Cheers http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/smile.gif all ...have a great day.

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Johnno

[Iain]

It's a gripe with me too, but, I drive a BMW with the indicators on the left of the column, you get used to it and put up with it for the sake of a superior machine that performs well. Lifes a bitch and we all have to compromise to some extent. http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/frown.gif

[John Saxton]

There ain't no such word as compromise when it comes down to health.
The stress on the plastic when continually visiting specialists attests to the fact that you cannot take short-cuts with your health!
I'm looking at rigging up a similar situation with my lathe by using a dedicated point of suction at the scroll-saw to try and beat the dust incurred by the machine.
Cheers http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/smile.gif

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Johnno