This 8-inch Happy Birthday cake stand spells out happy birthday. I cut this cake stand from 1/4 inch thick MDF. I thought this project needed some color so I spray painted it red.
What's up with the Jet JWSS-22 Scroll Saw?
The jet scroll saw came out last year with lots of fanfare and for good reasons. It features a unique dual action clamping system not seen on any other scroll saw on the market. The saw is extremely well made. I have used the Jet scroll saw since it came out and have been very pleased with.
The Jet is a fine machine but there is something we have to talk about. First, let me talk about reverse teeth scroll saw blades and why we need them.
Reverse tooth scroll saw blades have the last several teeth pointing in the opposite direction. These teeth cut the fibers on the bottom of the wood blank to make a nice smooth underside of the project. This eliminates a lot of sanding. Reverse tooth scroll saw blades are one of the most popular blades used today.
All images can be clicked to enlarge.
This is a picture of a reverse tooth scroll saw blade installed in the Seyco scroll saw. The red arrow is pointing to the top reverse tooth on the scroll saw blade. Notice that this tooth is about a half an inch above the table surface. In all of these pictures, the saw is at its topmost stroke.
This picture is the same scroll saw blade installed in the Excalibur scroll saw. Notice that it also is about a half an inch above the table surface.
In this picture you see the same blade installed in a Jet scroll saw. Notice that the top reverse tooth is still below the surface of the table. This picture is also taken with the blade at the top of its stroke. This is a big problem if you use reverse tooth scroll saw blades on the Jet scroll saw.
This picture is the lower clamp assembly for the Jet scroll saw. Notice that the blade is not installed below the bottom of the clamp. It's installed correctly. There is simply no way to get the blade high enough for the reverse teeth to go above the surface of the table.
This is a picture of the Excalibur scroll saw. The two red marks indicate the top of the blade from the table at the lowest stroke and highest stroke. Compare this with the next picture.
This picture indicates the highest stroke and lowest stroke of the top of the blade on the Jet scroll saw. I think you're starting to see the problem here. The top of the scroll saw blade sets lower at its highest stroke on the Jet scroll saw than any other scroll saw I've tested. This prevents the reverse teeth from ever going higher than the surface of the table.
This picture just simply shows the length of the stroke for both the Jet scroll saw in the Excalibur scroll saw. Notice that the length of the stroke is basically the same on both scroll saws give or take maybe an eighth of an inch.
From my observations, the length of the stroke is not the problem. The problem is simply that the jet scroll saw starts the blade lower than any other scroll saw.
I made these observations after receiving a few emails from readers. These Jet scroll saw owners were telling me that reverse tooth scroll saw blades were not working. They were asking me if I knew why. I went out into my shop to try to determine the problem. And what you see above is what I discovered.
My suggestion for a workaround to this problem is to simply use the Flying Dutchman Ultra Reverse scroll saw blades. The Flying Dutchman Ultra Reverse blades give you the same benefits of a reverse blade but are designed in a way that does not show the problem on the jet scroll saw.
If any of you see any flaws in what I've shown here please let me know. If you have made any observations that might be relevant to this problem pass them along to me.
Dragon Naturally Speaking test:
Several years ago I tried speech to text software to write articles on my computer. Let me just say it was less than satisfying. I decided to give it another try. I downloaded Dragon NaturallySpeaking Home from Amazon. Amazon had it for $33. That's over $60 off of the list price. For that price, I decided I would give it another shot.
After I got the program installed I spent just a few minutes going through the training. This thing has improved drastically since I last used it several years ago. They claim 99% accuracy and I believe them.
In the past, I would guess that I got about 80% accuracy. This made writing articles just too much trouble and it was easier just to use the keyboard. That's not true any longer.
I used Dragon NaturallySpeaking to compose this complete blog post. I had to change two words during the writing of this article. I had to add a couple of commas. Other than that it worked flawlessly.
Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking along with the keyboard together is a really good combination now. Even if I have to make a few corrections it's still better than my typing skills.
I am a reasonably competent two-finger typist. But my typing accuracy is very poor. Dragon NaturallySpeaking increased my productivity of this article tenfold.
One thing to consider is that I have a very fast computer and a high-quality microphone. I can't speak for how this program will work on a lesser computer but if it's even close to what I'm seeing it's very impressive.
Disclaimer: The link in this post is an affiliate link. I will earn a few cents if you purchase this product from this link.
Email Newsletter Readers: Remember that the Newsletter is just a copy of the daily blog post. To see the post in it's proper formatting click this link. If you ever misplace a pattern or any item you see here you can always find it on the blog. Everything stays on the blog forever.
Products for your consideration:
Scroll Saw Pattern Design Tutorial: DVD
Let me teach you to create a beautiful wooden portrait pattern. I will show you everything you need from start to finish. The video will show you the free software program you can download for Windows or Mac OS. I will show you how to install the program and configure it for best results.
Let me teach you to create a beautiful wooden portrait pattern. I will show you everything you need from start to finish. The video will show you the free software program you can download for Windows or Mac OS. I will show you how to install the program and configure it for best results.
Then I will show you the technique to take your photograph and make a pattern from it. When the pattern is complete we will go in the shop and cut it.
The DVD is $10 plus shipping. This is a data DVD that you will use on your computer to watch the video tutorial
Every Scrollsaw Workshop Pattern from 2007-2017 in DVD
Purchase the entire Scrollsaw Workshop pattern catalog for offline access.
This DVD has 2,300 patterns published from 2007 thru 2017.
The DVD is $20 plus shipping. Ships to 60 countries around the world.
The DVD is $20 plus shipping. Ships to 60 countries around the world.
If you use the DVD on a Windows PC there is a simple viewer program to browse through the patterns.
The DVD also works fine on a MAC. The viewer program is not MAC compatible but there is an included PDF with all the patterns shown as thumbnails for easy viewing.
Want to create beautiful wooden vases on the scroll saw?
My two "Wooden Vases on the Scroll Saw" books make it easy.
The books are $12 each and available for instant download after purchase. Click for Video Demonstration.
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