788 rookie question....Blade Clamp, upper

[GrayBeard]

The upper blade holder has two screws that hold it to the oscillating arms.
How much play (slop) should there be in the blade clamp with relation to the two arms?

My blade clamp actually is able to move side to side about a 32nd of an inch.
Seems to me this is too loose.
Can't find anything in the parts sheet or the silly little instruction book that came with the saw so here I am!

Should those screws be snug or have some play???

~~~GrayBeard~~~

[scrollgirl]

My saw is the same way.  I used to think there may be a problem too, but I have had it over 10 years and it is fine so I figure it needs to be that way. When you tighten the tension, there is no longer side to side play.  

I had to fight the urge to 'fix' what wasn't broken, so unless I hear anything different from any one else here who knows of a reason it should not do that, I invite you to join me in leaving it alone.  I don't know about you, GB, but more times than I care to remember, I "fixed" something so well I had to repair it. LOL

Glad that you asked the question though.  I will be interested in the other responses from other DW users.

Sheia

[Rapid Roger]

Mine has some "wiggle" to it but, not 1/32" when it it is free of tention.
It must have something to do with self alignment with the lower clamp and the blade. Under tention it doesn't move at all of course.
I would think that if it was too tight that it might cause excessive wear.
Just my 2 cents worth.

Rog

[GrayBeard]

Thanks to you two so quick to reply....

I am a lifelong mechanic, taught by my dad, and sometimes things just don't seem logical but when you have a source of information it is best to use it before striking out on your own!
I had that 'torx' driver in my hand and was ready to 'tighten things up' and got to thinking, "I know where to go the get the answer first!"
Sometimes you think the 'engineers' need to service equipment instead of design it and then there those who really know what they are doing and you should just go with what they designed.
(Did you ever try to change the serpentine belt on a '72 Pinto? Had to remove half the engine just to get to it!)
Now that I know it is that way on other 788's I will leave it alone and since it moves a little bit it obviously needs a dab of light machine oil from time to time.

Thanks....

~~~GrayBeard~~~

p.s. Do we really understand how great it is to have one of the premier persons in 'scrolling' here to help us so frequently?
Thanks Sheila!!!! for being the helpful person you are!!!

[scrollgirl]

Hey GB!!!  My sister's first car was a '72 pinto and my first one was a '76 mustang hatch back - the pint's cousin.  My boyfriend at the time was a mechanic and I remember him doing the serpentine belt - not fun!  I just had to tell you 'cause it made me laugh!

Sheila
 

[GrayBeard]

Really 'off topic' Sheila but how many smashed fingers did it take him to get that damn spring loaded 'idler pulley' back in position?
That was good for more cuss words than dropping a small bolt in the engine compartment of my '92 Cutlass Supreme V-8!!!

~~~GrayBeard~~~

[scrollgirl]

I just remembered lots of swearing and pounding.  I was very young then and kind of ran for cover.  Eventually we rebuilt the mustang engine and I remember the pieces of it laid out on a shower curtain on the living room floor.  I was at university at the time and lived in a trailer near campus.  The car had a small 4-cylinder motor with no power anything so it was like putting a sewing machine together again.  That was my learning experience with engines.  I guess I was never a 'girly-girl', as I liked to know how everything worked.  The Pinto was pre-Mustang though so I wasn't as 'astute' (<---HA, ha, ha!!) as I was later. I left that to Dave, the boyfriend.  I just hid when things got rough and hung out around back and rolled bandages!

Sheila

[MadHatter]

mine is the same as yalls is, just a tad bit of wiggle, but it cuts fantastic.

[Rapid Roger]

Now, this is getting funny.    We used to own a Pinto also!!  Frankly, my wife or I either one can rember what year it was. Wife drove it to work for a year or two then we got her a different car and I drove the pinto for two or three years. My daughter learned to drive it  in '82 (it was a 4 speed) and used it for a school car. Then our son learned to drive using the same car in '86. We must have put 3 or 4 clutches in it. When the son went off to college (we got both kids a Rangers with floor shifts for college cars) I got the Pinto back as run-around transportation for another two years and we finally sold it in about '93 or so for $300.00. It had been in two heavy hail storms, 3 minor wrecks, a ditch and a flood. Still ran great when we said good bye to it. 

Rog

[Russ C]

The old Ford Pinto was a real good car. Couldn't kill it. We use to race them (Mini Stock) at the circle track. Had allot of fun.
    

[GrayBeard]

My little Pinto hatchback was like a TANK! Went anywhere I asked it to go and I especially had fun when they would run the snowplow around parking lots and leave those long lines of snow piled up. Everyone else drove around the lot to bypass them and I just dropped my 'little Pinto that could' into low and busted right through them laughing out loud the whole time!
Made a run to KC for business and crossed over to the Kansas side to bring back some Coor's beer for our softball team. All the way across I-70 I prayed I would not get stopped! I had 29+ cases of Coor's cans stuffed into every nook and cranny of that little workhorse!
I don't even remember why we couldn't get Coor's in MO then but we sure had to have it so anybody who went across the state HAD to take orders and bring some back.

Sure miss those "Good Ol' Days"!!!

~~~GrayBeard~~~

[scrollgirl]

You guys are killing me!!!!  Here I was having a kind of 'blah' day and all these Pinto stories are really cheering me up.  I know its not scroll sawing but if we all laugh quietly, maybe Steve won't hear us!  Comic relief is great sometimes!  "The Little Pinto That Could"  Ha ha ha ha ha !!!!!!!

Thanks for making me laugh!  Great pictures going through my head right now!

Sheila

[GrayBeard]

I got caught short when i quit a job and had to turn over the company car. I walked across the street to a dealer from whom I had purchased many cars for the company and told him my story. His first response was, "I figured you to quit a long time ago, how can I help?"
I told him I needed a car to at least get home! He said, "See those two Pinto's sitting on the Used Lot, tell John I said you should take the '72 (the other was a '74 and he said the '72 was better)...
I asked about paperwork and money and he told me' "We'll work that out when you get re-settled"!
I eventually paid for the thing and drove the holy bejeezus out of it for almost 3 years!

After our first camping trip in it (that was a hoot!) and where it took us I nicknamed it "The Little Pinto That Could"! That thing went up and down backroads that some of the current 4-wheelers would hesitate to challenge.

Wish I still had it but I got remarried and we went for 'comfort' in a Chevy Caprice Classic Sedan with everything on it you could possibly get. It was the dealer's wife's car! Got a hell of a deal from a friend and drove it until I traded it on a LeBaron convertible (red with white top). Bought that on a whim on one of the coldest December days in this town ever! Drove it home with the top down, windows up and the heater going fill blast!!!

[Barry]

I was a letter carrier back in the 80's, the Post Office had a contract with Ford to purchase some Pinto's.  They were the worst vehicles for carrying mail, though they were dependable.  I had heard back then that there was a danger of them blowing up if rear ended.  Every time you stopped the car you could hear the gas sloshing around in the tank.  It made me nervous to say the least.

Barry

[Barry]

Graybeard -

More to your comment, there is play in the blade holder.  It does not seem to be a problem, though.  The only problem I have had is strippping out the metal over time from tightening too much.

Barry