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Blade tension rod.

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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby Phil » 02 May 2021, 14:38

Mr P wrote:I scroll sitting down and with the saw tilted forward with a piece of 4 x 2 under the back of the saw.


I cant even lift the Polycut, let alone get anything under it.
It weighs 38KG then the stand then the thick ply base and the wheels.

I had to strip it down on the back of the LDV to get it off and onto a mobile base.
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby Phil » 02 May 2021, 14:40

Mike G wrote:And then look what popped up today on Ebay.



No manufacturer plate?

The looks a bit 'exposed' :lol:
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby AndyT » 02 May 2021, 15:07

Agreed. It could take you into the 1950s but if you want a treadle powered version without a (possibly) scrap electric motor, they're not hard to find.
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby AJB Temple » 02 May 2021, 15:41

Have you picked it up yet Mike?

Don't hang about ....would not surprise me if he is not super happy at selling for 99p.
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby Mike G » 02 May 2021, 16:00

Yes, I've got it. The tension rod looks fine to me, but it's missing a collar that the tension mechanism bears on. It's also missing some air tubing. Other than that, on a cursory inspection it looks fine. I'll take it to bits and rebuild it when I get a moment.........the best way of understanding a machine, I reckon.

-

It says that the blade only goes 15mm up and down. Why do they have so many teeth, then? Surely it only needs an inch or so of toothed length.
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby AJB Temple » 02 May 2021, 16:04

Good.

Are you confusing stroke length with depth of cut?

Mine is Hegner and has 65mm maximum depth in wood (much less in metal) and a stroke of about 19mm I think. Table tilts too, which affects which teeth are in contact and where.
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby Andyp » 02 May 2021, 16:09

Before you replace the tubing Mike consider some of this

549ACADA-CC21-4D2E-8404-2D5F3AC0B57B.jpeg
(45.2 KiB)


https://www.cromwell.co.uk/shop/fluid-a ... gLqc_D_BwE

I use it on my Hegner and as it is flexible AND hold its shape it is useful for blowing the dust in any direction you want.
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby novocaine » 02 May 2021, 17:44

Or ignore the air blower full stop. Great of it works, not worth fixing if it doesnt.
Carbon fibre is just corduroy for cars.
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby Mike G » 02 May 2021, 18:17

AJB Temple wrote:Good.

Are you confusing stroke length with depth of cut?

Mine is Hegner and has 65mm maximum depth in wood (much less in metal) and a stroke of about 19mm I think. Table tilts too, which affects which teeth are in contact and where.


Yes, I hadn't thought it through. But I'd also never imagined trying to cut anything that thick on this buzzy little thing. OK, so depth of cut + oscillation + allowance for tilted table = maybe 100mm of teeth needed.
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby AJB Temple » 02 May 2021, 19:00

Yep. I think that's about right. Mine came from a retiring jeweller a while ago. It was his basic machine (he had much finer machinery than this, including a beautiful little lathe that I wish I had bought) and he gave me a massive box of all kinds of blades, from skip tooth to almost invisible tooth, some with pins, some not. It never breaks blades as he told me to just feed material in slow and steady. He said "like a virgin" but I have no idea what he meant.

The blower thing gets on my nerves. I just rig the extractor up in the pigeon loft and let it suck from beneath and one side. I know you are more relaxed about this, but when cutting materials like abalone, the dust obscures the line. They don't produce much dust though.

My son last used mine to cut out dozens of pieces for a drone he made. Moaned constantly that in his uni lab the CNC machine would be much faster :D
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby Lons » 02 May 2021, 22:10

Mike G wrote:And then look what popped up today on Ebay.


An old friend was a clockmaker and he made something like that out of brass and a sewing machine motor, as you would expect it was precise and more like a work of art, I wanted to buy it when he retired but he wouldn't part with it.
That one on ebay looks home made and overpriced.
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby novocaine » 02 May 2021, 22:22

AJB Temple wrote:

My son last used mine to cut out dozens of pieces for a drone he made. Moaned constantly that in his uni lab the CNC machine would be much faster :D



I think that kids should have to use hand tools and do stuff the old fashioned way before getting their hands on CNC.
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby Phil » 03 May 2021, 13:29

novocaine wrote:Or ignore the air blower full stop. Great of it works, not worth fixing if it doesnt.


The Hegners have a 'bellows' set up as a blower.
Plastic pipe is very cheap. What Andy shows above is ideal, but costs.

I use the plastic pipe and tape the end to the light to blow the dust off the cutting line.
If connected to the machine-arm thingy on the older Hegners, the dust blows back onto you and you end up looking like a 'dust bag' :twisted:

The cutting stroke - I can get about 55mm thick piece of timber cut on the Polycut. Just very slowly.

For dust collection at the bottom, see this thread. I have just cleaned the unit and maybe next year build a revised model.

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=4380
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby Mike G » 03 May 2021, 17:52

Could someone suggest a starter pack of blades, please. I have no idea what I am looking at. Apparently the machine takes pinned or pinless, 127mm, and I haven't a clue as to which I should be using (wood or plastic only, at this stage). It's unlikely I'll cut anything thicker than an inch for a while.

It all seems in pretty decent order, other than the the tension knob, which is about to fall in two, and a missing collar on which it should bear. The bellows have disintegrated. The motor looks fine, the switch and speed control all work, and there is next to no wear on the brushes. The bearings seem fine.
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby Andyp » 03 May 2021, 19:06

Mike, sorry I have had my bumper pack of blades for so long I just cant remember where they came from.
I can't even find an email trail.

if Gill doesn't pop up soon drop her a PM
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby Gill » 03 May 2021, 20:16

Always use pinless blades. It's years since I bought any but the Niqua brand has always served me well. I'd do an internet search for a retailer - they're widely available and often sold as variety packs. Skip tooth and reverse tooth blades tend to give the best cut but reverse tooth blades can slightly encourage the workpiece to jump upwards during cutting. If this happens, it's usually a sign that you're making turns which are too tight or you're forcing the piece into the blade too quickly.
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby Mr P » 03 May 2021, 20:18

Pegas do a blade selection pack from either Hobbies and Axminster.
https://www.hobbies.co.uk/pegas-scroll- ... -18-blades
https://www.axminstertools.com/instants ... l%20saw%20
When the bellows went on my saw I "borrowed" a squeaky toy from the dog, took the squeaker out, pushed the pipe into the hole then glued it under the bottom arm.
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby Mike G » 03 May 2021, 20:35

Thanks Gill, Steve. Much appreciated.
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby Mike G » 03 May 2021, 20:37

Given as I cant tension the blade at the moment, I am in no position to take any measurements.......but is there any practical difference between a 127mm blade and a 130mm blade?
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby Gill » 03 May 2021, 21:09

It sounds like a bit of metric/imperial measurement confusion to me, Mike. Scroll saw blades are 5 inches long, which is 127mm. Unless someone is selling a metric version, in which case it might make more sense to continental purchasers to call it 130mm.

I'm surmising. :eusa-think:
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby Mr P » 04 May 2021, 06:27

Mike G wrote:Given as I cant tension the blade at the moment, I am in no position to take any measurements.......but is there any practical difference between a 127mm blade and a 130mm blade?

The 3mm won't make any difference Mike, as Gill said, the continentals rounding up.
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby Phil » 04 May 2021, 07:25

Mike, an indication of what blades to use

My 'general' use blade is a #7
The #3's just keep on breaking
#12 for very thick cutting

ScrollSawBlades.JPG
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FlyingDutchMan_Blades.JPG
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby Mike G » 04 May 2021, 07:27

Thanks for that. I'll find some blades this morning online, and try to track down some parts before I have to resort to welding and cutting up scrap pipe......then n a few days I'll have alittle play and get a better idea of the world of scrolling.

I have no doubt that scrolling fora are filled with discussions on pinless vs pinned blades, but could someone sum up the differences/ main points for me.
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby Mike G » 04 May 2021, 07:29

Phil wrote:Mike, an indication of what blades to use

My 'general' use blade is a #7
The #3's just keep on breaking
#12 for very thick cutting.....


Thanks Phil. Saves me ending up with packets of blades I'm unlikely to use.
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Re: Blade tension rod.

Postby Phil » 04 May 2021, 07:41

Mike G wrote:Thanks for that. I'll find some blades this morning online, and try to track down some parts before I have to resort to welding and cutting up scrap pipe......then n a few days I'll have alittle play and get a better idea of the world of scrolling.

I have no doubt that scrolling fora are filled with discussions on pinless vs pinned blades, but could someone sum up the differences/ main points for me.



Pinned blades are what we used on a fretsaw and also my old 1970's Rockwell.
Only buy pinless now.
I suppose a lot depends on your blade holder.
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