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Scroll Saw Built From Old Air Conditioning Compressor
"I wanted a scroll saw with a deep throat but I didn't need it bad enough to pay for one. I ended up having almost as much fun building it as I do using it," says Cecil Fitzpatrick, Bee Branch, Ark., who used an old air conditioning compressor as the key component on the saw.
"It's a 2-cyl. reciprocating compres
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Scroll Saw Built From Old Air Conditioning Compressor FARM SHOP Miscellaneous 18-2-33 "I wanted a scroll saw with a deep throat but I didn't need it bad enough to pay for one. I ended up having almost as much fun building it as I do using it," says Cecil Fitzpatrick, Bee Branch, Ark., who used an old air conditioning compressor as the key component on the saw.
"It's a 2-cyl. reciprocating compressor. I removed the head (valve assembly) and discarded it. Then I drilled and tapped one of the cylinders to accept two 3/8-in. bolts and made a plate of 1/4-in. thick steel plate that's slightly smaller than the top of the piston. This plate bolts to the top of the piston with the 3/8-in. two bolts.
"Before bolting the plate to the piston, I drilled a hole in the center of it and inserted a piece of round stock 3/4 in. dia: by l 1/2 in. long, brazing it into place. Then I used a hack saw blade to cut a slot in the top of this round stock to accept the scroll saw blade. Then I drilled and tapped holes on either side of the slot for set screws to hold the blade in place.
"The compressor is driven by a 1/4-hp. electric motor with a single 1/2-in. V-belt. I used a 2 1/4-in. pulley on the motor and left the 7-in. dia. pulley on the compressor. With the 1,750 rpm motor, that gives me about 600 strokes per min. One change I might make later is to speed it up since I think it might cut even better.
"For the top blade holder assembly, I bored out a piece of hot rolled steel that's 1 5/8-in. dia. A spring-loaded retention assembly goes inside with a steel rod that I slotted with a hack saw to hold the top end of blade like the blade holder at the bottom.
"The base of the saw frame is made out of 8-in. channel iron 32-in. long. A piece of 3 by 3-in. sq. tubing 28 in. long is welded to the base to form the upright and a 24-in. piece oft-in. pipe holds the top blade sup-port assembly. The blade assembly is positioned about 18 in. above the base channel iron.
"I bolted a plate over the other cylinder on the compressor to add check valves that make it possible to use the air to blow dust from the area being sawed. The top blade assembly support pipe is airtight. I added fittings to it so I can use it as a small air tank.
"I also plan to build a powered metal hack saw using a junked 5 hp. mower engine to furnish the reciprocating motion."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Cecil C. Fitzpatrick, Rt. 2, Box 86A, Bee Branch, Ark. 72013 (ph 501654-8852).
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