Tight or not tight enough

[bodgerbaz]

…. but still get an awful fright when the blade breaks

Oh yes that can be a quite a jolt to the concentration.

I’m glad the cutting is better and you’re starting to make progress. It’s all part of the learning process. It will become second nature picking the right blade and setting the correct tension.

I still get the occasional break and it’s usually my fault! You can tell when the edge goes off a blade and you have to push a little harder for it to cut. THEN should be the time to change a blade not “well I’ve almost finished so I’ll carry on”

 

[antifoul2020]

Many thanks for your help and advice
I shall report back my progress good or bad
Bernard

 

[bodgerbaz]

You’re very welcome Bernard. I’m glad that through our combined experience we’ve managed to help you and we look forward to hearing about your progress.

BTW, which pattern are you cutting? Just being nosy really

 

[antifoul2020]

Just some animal ones i got out a book

 

[bodgerbaz]

I’ve known people who have scrolled for a long time and never produced such good results. That’s some lovely clean work. Well done you and keep up the great work.

 

[antifoul2020]

Surely you are kidding me on
Only got the saw a month ago
Had a lot of encouragement from Galvanisednuts

 

[Bungalowbill63]

Have you backed off the thumbscrews for the blade clamps ?
They should be loosened half a turn to allow clamp movement in the v of the top and bottom arms.
Too tight will result in blade breakage.

 

[user 42626]

Surely you are kidding me on
Only got the saw a month ago
Had a lot of encouragement from Galvanisednuts

You're very welcome Bernard, you're making good progress thus far.
If it's Hegner related there's not much I don't know about.
In fact everyone here will give you good encouragement and support

 

[Stuart1953]

Steve Good (Scroll Saw Workshop) has a sound file that you can download giving the correct sound for a properly tensioned blade.

My problem is that I forget to listen to it!

 

[antifoul2020]

What bungalow says will this not give the blade more play

 

[user 42626]

Have you backed off the thumbscrews for the blade clamps ?
They should be loosened half a turn to allow clamp movement in the v of the top and bottom arms.
Too tight will result in blade breakage.

As per Bungalowbill63 the blade clamp thumbscrew should be backed off slightly, Hegner quotes approx 1mm gap on the top clamp in the manual.
This allows the clamp to rock slightly in the arm during use. If its held rigid then stress transfer to the blade will occur

 

[user 42626]

Also I noticed you mentioned getting a bit of a shock when the blade snaps. When this happens the top arm will initially bounce about abruptly. To help absorb some initial inertia, there is a suspension damper rubber on the rear C bracket. Intended to almost catch the top arms movement and slow it down. Check the rubber is there,, they often fall off and are easily lost. It pushes onto the peg and is about £12 off Hegner but you can use a short piece of rubber pipe which was what Hegner used on the older models anyway.

 

[antifoul2020]

I will loosen the knurled thumbscrew to 1mm above the top clamp
The rubber ring is still in its place
Don’t see a way to loosen the bottom clamp
Try and find my feeler gauges now
Many thanks for the info

 

[user 42626]

I will loosen the knurled thumbscrew to 1mm above the top clamp
The rubber ring is still in its place
Don’t see a way to loosen the bottom clamp
Try and find my feeler gauges now
Many thanks for the info

The thumbscrew doesn't need to be exact, anywhere near 1mm is fine, tighten it back down when loosening your quick release clamp

The bottom clamp is held by a sprung clip so this allows the clamp sufficient free movement so no need to worry about that one. Late M2S shown in picture but principle is the same.

Not relevant here but on the Polycut 3 model there is a bottom thumbscrew and it has to be fully screwed in but it has a tolerance gap to allow the clamp free movement.

 

[antifoul2020]

Goodness you are one handy guy

 

[user 42626]

Haha it's ok, 30 years of running and refurbishing Hegners. Then I've got a small army of them here too

 

[scrimper]

Yes cuts it fine at the moment can only do rounded 90degree turns
Not got the confidence or experience to turn the workpiece quick
Have tried it but still get an awful fright when the blade breaks

I have been fretworking since I was a young boy using my Dads Treadle machine (over 60years) and I can tell you every single time a blade snaps I absolutely 'jump out of my skin' I think it's natural because it's so sudden and you get a bang!

Your original question has been well answered by very experienced people here but can I just add that it is possible to get a duff batch of blades, (probably production errors) I won't detail it fully but I bought a batch of blades, (a new brand I had not tried before) and they were useless, every one just snapped at or near the blade clamp after just a few minutes or less use. As you get more experienced blades rarely snap they need to be replaced as the blade wears out but those I mention here just snapped every time.

 

[user 42626]

I have been fretworking since I was a young boy using my Dads Treadle machine (over 60years) and I can tell you every single time a blade snaps I absolutely 'jump out of my skin' I think it's natural because it's so sudden and you get a bang!

Your original question has been well answered by very experienced people here but can I just add that it is possible to get a duff batch of blades, (probably production errors) I won't detail it fully but I bought a batch of blades, (a new brand I had not tried before) and they were useless, every one just snapped at or near the blade clamp after just a few minutes or less use. As you get more experienced blades rarely snap they need to be replaced as the blade wears out but those I mention here just snapped every time.

Agreed, it's often assumed things that are new will be ok, the quality of many things these days can be questionable.

 

[antifoul2020]

Using new Olson No5 blades
Got a lot these ones with the saw
Loosened the blade clamp holder couldn’t find my feelers
But the clamp is free to move

 

[bodgerbaz]

They don’t look much like Olson blades?