In my last post I promised to tell you about my experience with the extractor from hell, but first I thought I'd show you what my wife has been up to with her pyrography iron. She managed to get her hands on three quaint wooden hearts and has decorated them with a rustic theme.
Heart 1 some honey bees
Right, let's get back to the extractor from hell. After setting up the scroll saw and reading the instructions it was obvious that some sort of dust extraction would be required before I commenced on any serious sawing activity. I purchased one from a vendor on Amazon and it was delivered quickly. So far so good. However, when I read the instructions that came with the dust collector, I was totally dismayed.
It said in at least two places in the instructions that the unit was not to be used for dust collection and also went on to say that it was to be used for shavings only. At first I thought I'd dropped a clanger and purchased the wrong item. I am close to "that age" so nothing would surprise me.
Anyway, I looked at the front page of the instructions and sure enough they were for a dust collector. Further more, it said in large letters on the top of the unit that it is a dust collector. This was a bit like buying a teapot and finding out it wasn't suitable for making tea.
To resolve the issue I contacted the vendor by e-mail and they said that it was an error in the translation of the instructions and I was only the third person who had ever mentioned it. I think it is a disgrace that companies can be so cavalier when it comes to matters of health and safety. In fact they couldn't give a monkey's uncle once they'd got my hard earned in their little piggy bank.
If it wasn't so big and so much hassle I would have sent it back, but I decided to attach it to the saw and see how I got on. First the good news; the dust extractor is very powerful. When I switched it on for the first time, it dragged the saw, which weighs about 60lb, and the bench it was on that weighs about the same, across my workshop. The bad news is that it is extremely noisy, something on a par to being in the same room as a Vulcan bomber.
There was no way I could use the saw with the extractor running so I connected it to the sander which will only be run for short bursts. In the mean while, I have connected the saw to a vacuum cleaner. It isn't ideal but it will do for now.
So have I produced anything with the scroll saw yet you may well be asking. The answer is yes; I have cut out a fish and done simple pyrography on it.
It isn't going to set the world on fire but it's early days yet and I reckon he is kinda cute. Hopefully, I will have something new to show you in my next post.
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