Sticky/FAQ's request....what do you think ?

[Scrollerman]

I belong to a few forums and one omission here is that there are no 'Sticky' or 'FAQ's' posts/areas !

How often do we hear the same questions asked over and over again and those questions are generally from those new to this great hobby.
Questions like :
What is the best scroll saw ?
I have a limited budget so which saw should I buy ?
My blades keep breaking....why ?

Not sure why we don't have these 'Sticky' posts so can I now please request Admin considers implementing such a basic informative feature ?

A 'FAQ's' section would also be a great asset to this forum as so many questions get asked that have been covered already in posts that new members would have to search hard and long for !
Sticky posts and a FAQ section will be of great help to new members.

What say you members and Admin ?

 

[Bryan Bennett]

I agree it does sound a good idea,if it helps new members to get information about this great hobby of ours that must be good.I am certain that would have been a great help to me all them many years ago. :roll:

Bryan

 

[RogerP]

Do you mean for the UKWorkshop forum or just the scrolling section?

 

[CHJ]

If Knowledgeable members with a broad experience of differing equipment or methods care to construct such a listing it can be incorporated as a Sticky and it may well help some new starters and regular users for that matter.

Unfortunately judging by the day to day posts that are seen across the forums on this site there will still be a significant number of posters including some with a reasonable post count that do not read any stickys already in place or the rules and guidelines for that matter.

 

[scrimper]

I think it would be a good idea to have an FAQ sticky in the scroll saw section. Regarding the fact that people often ignore stickys; I think that sometimes it is because they become very long eventually and when people see it's 35 pages long they think "ah blow I can't read all of that"!

But it is worth giving it a go if only to collate basic info such as what are the best blades to use and when can I buy them also perhaps a sticky listing the most popular and useful scroll saw website urls etc.

 

[powertools]

In theory it's a good idea but in practice there would be no point.
Question 1
What is the best scroll saw ?
Answer
We have all had that drummed into us by the forum regulars.
Question 2
I have a limited budget so which saw should I buy ?
Answer.
Don't buy one until you have saved enough to purchase saw in question 1
Question 3
My blades keep breaking....why ?
Answer.
Because you didn't take the advice in questions 1 & 2.

There must be lots of people who look on this section of the forum who have low end scroll saws who produce items that impress their wives and Grand children and give themselves a lot of enjoyment in the process but feel to intimidated to get involved but they could offer a lot of encouragement and advice to others who are just starting out.
A way to get them involved would transform this section of the forum.

 

[CHJ]

The above is one of the reasons I made a point in focussing on the blades this artist chooses to use for her work.
in this thread Fiona Kingdom

I understand that many members want to use the best blades they can get for their methods and work rate but the constant 'selling' of a couple of brands in the threads certainly put me as a non scroller on the back foot when I found out that this particular artist achieves stunning results with the cheap blades when I was discussing her work.
I suppose if you are having to re-thread a blade every few seconds, failed or worn blades are not such major annoyance.

I can understand the advise for best blades, I am guilty of the same regarding bandsaw blades having found a supplier that gives me unparalled advice and quality. But there are many 'good brand' blades that perform, or are welded, adequately for day to day use.

 

[nev]

Sticking my head over the woodturning wall... The following are points that pop into my mind...

1. Is a sticky FAQ section a good idea?
Yes if..
a) it answers the right questions and it is read.
b) There are not too many filling pages and pages.

2. What subjects and whose opinion do we make sticky?
thats the biggy!

3. Will people read the stickies before posting?
judging from the regular newcomer questions in other areas of the forum, generally no.

4. if newcomers looking for the answer to a specific question, first read the stickies and get their answer, do they
a) overcome their shyness, join the forum to offer thanks etc and become part of the community or do they
b) continue on their way having found their answer?
if b) then the stickies have prevented a possible new member asking the usual questions, being pleasantly suprised by the generous response and becoming part of the collective?

In conclusion - IMHO it would be better to suggest that the newcomer be urged to use the search function prior to posting and if that does not provide an answer then please post an intro and ask away

 

[stevebuk]

i tend to agree to certain aspects of this thread so far in that it does appear to be an 'Only a hegner will do' type of answer the newbie gets, i used a delta for many years (still will when i get it back) and never had a problem, but i own a hegner now because of the bulk of orders i get and i need a reliable saw..
I also agree that we do blow Mikes trumpet rather a lot but there are other blade manufacturers out there with equally good blades, i have never used them so cant comment on them..

All in all i like the interaction of new members asking questions, it gets the forum motivated and they could always be asked to search the posts for answers, although i think that is a bit off putting and they may feel shunned..

 

[boysie39]

My tuppence worth ,
WhenI joined the forum first it was through the woodturning section , I must have asked hundreds of questions and got hundreds of answers .I did the same in the scroll saw section when I became interested in it .

I think that apart from the great advise I got on both forums the fact that members were answering my questions gave me the impression that they were speaking to me and made me feel a part of the community . That feeling still exists today .

As regards the makes of saws and blades we do seem to have a leaning towards Hegner & certain blades .However some of the work posted on here and made on "inferior " saws and with hand scroll saws :shock: makes me feel that patience and skill can not be bought .

I would urge anyone who is involved in scrolling with whatever machine or tool and feels they want to learn or help others,join the forum ask your questions or make your point tell us how you do it ,you will be made very welcome .

 

[scrimper]

In theory it's a good idea but in practice there would be no point.
Question 1
What is the best scroll saw ?
Answer
We have all had that drummed into us by the forum regulars.
Question 2
I have a limited budget so which saw should I buy ?
Answer.
Don't buy one until you have saved enough to purchase saw in question 1
Question 3
My blades keep breaking....why ?
Answer.
Because you didn't take the advice in questions 1 & 2.

There must be lots of people who look on this section of the forum who have low end scroll saws who produce items that impress their wives and Grand children and give themselves a lot of enjoyment in the process but feel to intimidated to get involved but they could offer a lot of encouragement and advice to others who are just starting out.
A way to get them involved would transform this section of the forum.

TBH I don't think it is fair to imply that people who recommend Hegner here are Hegner 'fanboys'. The fact is that people often ask the question "what is the best scroll saw to buy" and it is only fair for members to advise as they feel fit, the fact is that at this moment Hegner do seem to be a top quality saw and most of us who have them do seem to think they are excellent, it would be a bit odd if we were afraid to say so and recommended what we felt was an inferior saw for fear of 'intimidating' people.

I don't remember anyone here suggesting that one cannot do excellent work with a cheap brand scroll saw of course they can, even if I had the best scrollsaw ever made I could not match the work of some of the highly expert scrollers here even if they were using a very cheap £50 was from the likes of Screwfix.

There are other saws that are good but unfortunately Hegner seem to have the monopoly on being the best at the moment, and most people do like to have the best. I would also suggest that although using a Hegner won't make you an expert having a top quality machine does make learning easier and encourage one to continue whereas a begginer with a cheap saw may just get frustrated and give up.

If you read through my posts I have said many times that although I think Hegner are brilliant they are very over-priced and I would like to see another maker offer some decent competition.

 

[toesy]

+ 1 totally agree with all you have said Boysie39,

I'm one of the newest in here, and forums for me are about interaction, sharing ideas & knowledge, and showing your passion for what you do.

Does it really matter that someone asks the same question, that may have been asked before, don't things change with experience and time also., and what may be relevant a year ago, may not be now.

For me, I was made welcome by the response's by the members in here, If all I had to do was read a sticky, then I maybe would have read and left and not become part of the community.

 

[scrimper]

Does it really matter that someone asks the same question, that may have been asked before, don't things change with experience and time also., and what may be relevant a year ago, may not be now.

I agree with that and it always annoys me when some posters (not this forum FWIW) refuse to answer a 'Newbies' question and rather snobbishly say it has been asked many times before and rant at how they won't answer the question! Lol

However I do still think a sticky would be useful if only to list urls of other interesting scrollsaw websites and suppliers, yes they do get mentioned from time to time but then as the post moves down in the pecking order they disappear and are forgotten.

For example a lot of people new to scroll sawing have no idea where to buy blades, yes they can ask but if suggested sites were at the top in a sticky it would save time searching through older posts.

Put it this way what harm would having as sticky do? if people don't like it they are not forced to read it and if after a time it's disliked by most it can always be removed? Surely it will do no harm to give it a go?

 

[boysie39]

Scrimper , I would agree with you ,questions are asked and go down the line and are lost eventually . Your suggestion that a sticky for Url's /FAQs would be good, available when the required No. of posts are reached . :roll: In that time hopefully they will be hooked . :lol:

As I have no idea what is involved in the setting up of something like this it is over to the MODS .

 

[nev]

..

As I have no idea what is involved in the setting up of something like this it is over to the MODS .

any post can bemade a 'sticky' by the mods. The tricky bit is deciding what to make sticky, that is helpful, unbiased, relevant and succinct.

 

[boysie39]

Nev ,Nev ,Nev , surly by now you would have to accept that all of my posts are Sticky material . :wink: :roll: 8) :lol:

 

[CHJ]

Nev ,Nev ,Nev , surly by now you would have to accept that all of my posts are Sticky material . :wink: :roll: 8) :lol:

Would that be " like to a blanket" :twisted:

 

[Grahamshed]

Sticky posts, in this or any other section, have their uses but it is not necessarily in the Forums interest to stop newbies asking the same old questions over and over again. Answering them in a polite and friendly way propagates downwards. Ie, I will ask a newbie question 'today' but in a few days time I will be able to answer that same question from another newbie. It allows me to become more involved in the forum without having to have a massive amount of knowledge. but as that knowledge increases ( from reading more newbie and intermediate questions ) I will be able to answer more intricate questions...... and so it goes around and around. Isn't that what a forum is about ?

 

[Grahamshed]

On a lighter note, I was in flu agreement with Nev`s post until I got to the bit about being in a collective. Is resistance futile ?

 

[powertools]

In theory it's a good idea but in practice there would be no point.
Question 1
What is the best scroll saw ?
Answer
We have all had that drummed into us by the forum regulars.
Question 2
I have a limited budget so which saw should I buy ?
Answer.
Don't buy one until you have saved enough to purchase saw in question 1
Question 3
My blades keep breaking....why ?
Answer.
Because you didn't take the advice in questions 1 & 2.

There must be lots of people who look on this section of the forum who have low end scroll saws who produce items that impress their wives and Grand children and give themselves a lot of enjoyment in the process but feel to intimidated to get involved but they could offer a lot of encouragement and advice to others who are just starting out.
A way to get them involved would transform this section of the forum.

TBH I don't think it is fair to imply that people who recommend Hegner here are Hegner 'fanboys'. The fact is that people often ask the question "what is the best scroll saw to buy" and it is only fair for members to advise as they feel fit, the fact is that at this moment Hegner do seem to be a top quality saw and most of us who have them do seem to think they are excellent, it would be a bit odd if we were afraid to say so and recommended what we felt was an inferior saw for fear of 'intimidating' people.

I don't remember anyone here suggesting that one cannot do excellent work with a cheap brand scroll saw of course they can, even if I had the best scrollsaw ever made I could not match the work of some of the highly expert scrollers here even if they were using a very cheap £50 was from the likes of Screwfix.

There are other saws that are good but unfortunately Hegner seem to have the monopoly on being the best at the moment, and most people do like to have the best. I would also suggest that although using a Hegner won't make you an expert having a top quality machine does make learning easier and encourage one to continue whereas a begginer with a cheap saw may just get frustrated and give up.

If you read through my posts I have said many times that although I think Hegner are brilliant they are very over-priced and I would like to see another maker offer some decent competition.

I didn't imply that you or any one else are "Hegner Fan Boys" and I have not disputed the fact that the general consensus of opinion of many forum regulars is that Hegner saws are the best iv'e never used one but for the money I would expect it to be better than most others.
I feel that there is a fine line between people being advised that they are likely to be put off scrolling for life if they buy a cheap saw that does not perform well straight out of the box and putting people off by the cost of a top of the range saw.
A scroll saw of any make is a quite simple machine and I think one of the biggest differences between top end and low end machines is the care put into the manufacture.
I would think that a cheap saw is just assembled from random parts and just switched on to make sure it works once it is built a top end machine is probably assembled from parts that match in terms of weight and a lot of work goes into adjusting things after it is built to give optimum performance straight out of the box.
Most if not all problems found on cheaper saws can easily be fixed by the owner but people expect it to work at its best straight out of the box and if it doesn't it is declared as being rubbish.
What would be useful to newcomers to the forum would be a link to a site or video showing the main problems and their cures much the same way that exist for band saw owners who face many of the same frustrations.
In conclusion I would say everyone should buy the best saw that they can afford - and if that's a Hegner, go for it - but no one should feel put off scrolling by thinking that they have to spend hundreds just to get started.