Gene, my thoughts on slanted tables.

[Smallpatch]

Guys I'm sorry but I have to respond with a negative side of Gene's table for his saw.   

   It does seem like there are a lot of guys here that are experts on the operation of a scroll saw but I do have to explain why I think the slanted table was the wrong idea from Dewalt's first offering of the slanted table..

   I sit for long periods at a time sawing and need to be comfortable or else I would not want to do it that long at a time I am sure....

  So often I relax my hold on the wood while the saw is running and see if the wood would stay there in place. This lets me know if I am pushing side ways when I should be keeping the blade straight up and down when sawing...This is the best way to get all the pieces to come apart when need be and to go back together later.

   Keeping the blade straight up and down while sawing is the name of the game here. I saw out all my projects into small pieces for I can hold them in my hand to do the power carving.

  This is a project I finished yesterday and all the pieces had to slide together both ways or else I could not get them all back in their place after they got carved.

 With your slanted table makes it almost impossible to know if the blade is in the right position at all times.....

 

Each piece has to be able to slide back and forth in to their slots in order to get all the pieces back to their original spots.

  As I am gluing each piece back on to the backer board they all have to slide together or else you got a problem.

  I show this angle of the carving for I use the blades until they start burning the wood then they can't be controlled.. When the lines start getting wild its time to change the blades and smelling smoke is the first hint to change blades.

  To see how you are doing draw out a jig saw puzzle piece out from the edge say on a 3/4" piece of wood, drill a small hole and insert the blade then after sawed it out see if your piece will slide out both directions. smallpatch

 

[Grandpadave52]

Patch, I won't enter into the discussion flat or tilted as I have no expertise to offer in that arena but for the piece you just finished, it may be one of your best ever in my opinion. Maybe its just the art pattern/ topic you've chosen which really appeals to me, IDK?, but I love this piece. Your color shading on the apple, pear and tomato is amazing; they look so realistic. Well done sir...BTW, good to have you posting again.

[Gene Howe]

Jesse, I use a small machinists square to make sure the blade is 90° to the table. The slight tilt of the stand, from back to front, makes it more comfortable for me. I've not tried bowl cutting yet. There's where several angled cuts will be made.  Nor have I tried any jigsaw puzzles. They are on the list, though. 

BTW, what are your most used blade sizes and configurations? And, do you have a favorite brand?

Edited October 12, 2023 by Gene Howe

[Smallpatch]

Gene, I don't mean setting the blade straight up and down before you turn the machine on......I\m talking about what you do as the machine is running and you are sawing. That's why its important the table is flat all the time...As I am sawing I keep an eye on the blade as much as I can and still make the blade cut exactly on the line... It's a chore but with the table slanted all the time it's impossible. Most of the time when learning a person tries to turn the wood to stay on the line but he also pushes the wood to one side or the other making the blade bend as the blade drifts away from the line. Every once in a while I relax my hold down pressure to see if the wood gets shoved one way or the other by the blade.

   I also am talking about 1 piece of a jig saw puzzle. Make it about 1" square to look like a regular piece of a puzzle. If you can saw out that piece using 3/4" wood and can push the piece out each direction then you have been keeping the blade straight up and down as you were sawing out that piece...

    Now that is how I do it but I don't suggest you have to do it but by my experience I think it is the best way for good control of the blade.

 Draw a puzzle piece, drill a hole in the middle , insert the blade in the hole and saw it out. If you have been keeping the blade straight up and down the piece should come out of the hole both directions

[Gene Howe]

Jesse, maybe I wasn't clear about my table slant. Actually,  I built a stand whose top (TABLE) is slanted back to front, about 5°.  With that slant, and sitting in my chair, I find it easier to follow a line as my visual perspective is better. I prefer to be looking sorta down rather than a more acute angle. Probably due to my tri focals. The slant is also more comfortable for me as the angle matches my flexed arms more naturally. 

[Smallpatch]

What ever turn you on Gene.

I found a cheap box blower and built a slot for our used filters from the cooling system in the house. Blow them out with the air comp.  and they help the little blower on the saw push the dust on away from me. Filter just slides in and out so easy to operate.

 The magnifying light I found at a garage sale and changed it over to the new LED bulb and is much brighter. The bulb needs to by pass the little starter thingy and wire the bulb in directly to a switch.

   When sawing out real small pieces I use a piece of bb 1/4" plywood, sawing to the middle of the board and clamp it down with two Harbor Freight spring clamps. It keeps me from looking down under the saw wasting my time. 

Gene to keep your saw running better longer I take the side panels off and there is lots of brass bushings that need greased from time to time..every year or so.  I use to use wheel bearing grease thinned down with motor oil but I noticed The new catridges for my grease gun is much thinner and this is what I like to use on the Dewalt......  But before you take the panel off along with all the controls up front you need a super clean dust free area for there are lots of things that need removing on the inside so be aware before you start... and be aware some of the arms might slide off while greasing so look every thing over before you start screwing up. No special tools needed except some torx drive  in the small sizes.

    And I find it better to never bolt the saw to the table as I keep some pieces of rubber tire tube under the saw to do away with vibration. Plus I can slide the saw around if I need more area on either side of the saw. I can still stand a dime on the work area while the saw is running.

 Let me know how long it takes you to decide working with a flat area has more advantages than something tilted.

I built my table 20" which is perfect as I am 5,8" but if a person is 6 feet tall he will have to measure what height the table needs to be when you are sitting in an office chair to be comfortable.  Your slanted table makes me think it would be like standing on one leg for long periods of time.