Craftsman scroll saw -crazy excessive vibration - help

[mrsn]

I use a sand bag with my saw stand to help with vibration, it helps a lot. another thing you can do is to put a carpet pad under your saw and clamp it down (bolting it would be better, but you said you can't bolt it down)
You can build a stand for the saw, or buy something. Pay a little attention to how tall you want the table to be and what you plan on sitting in. if you have an uncomfortable set up you will get less use out of it.
I find that using too large of a blade with thin wood is almost worse then too small of a blade. the piece will jump and be really hard to control.
good luck, and ask lots of questions. We are here to help!

[emtdonald]

you need to order a variety of blades from Mikes workshop. you can't go wrong with his blades. they are 10 times better than any other blade. they are also notched so you know which end goes up. i think they are 15$ for the variety pack. you will have to check to make sure. the blades will make a big difference.

[Spartan scroller]

Brighty:
Don't take offense at countryscollers suggestion that you upgrade to a better saw.  If you decide you really love the hobby you will do it anyway.  Most of us started out with a saw like yours and when we decided to really commit to scroll sawing we upgraded to the best we could afford.  For me that was the Dewalt 788.  The Excalibur would be the next step but is about $300 dollars more.  It all depends on how far you want to go. If you just want to make gifts for family and friends and cut a few things for yourself to display and enjoy you're Craftsman may well be enough.  But if you want to become a production cutter and do craft shows and such you'll want to upgrade.

Regards,
Terry
terrysscrollshoppe.com
terrysscrollshoppe.blogspot.com

[king310]

Vibration is a compilation of several problems. Light weight stands, loose blades and quality of the machine etc;.
There is a small fix which will help but will not eliminate it. If you are bolting the saw down to a stand or bench you can add small dense foam pads between the saw and bench and use pads on the bottom of the legs of the stand.
Old mouse pads are great for this. Industrial machines are mounted on small rubber pads
I fixed my vibration for $2.98.

[mlwmerk]

I didn't see the Craftsman Scroll Saw you refer too, but the issue of a Craftsman saw and vibration struck a cord with me. -  wood reference

Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree but here is what happened to me and my Craftsman Scroll Saw, circa 2006. -  another wood pun

I have been using it a lot since I bought and it has always worked very well.  However, recently, all of a sudden it began running like an out of tune Model T Ford.  I checked it out and discovered that the drive bearing on the upper arm had completely blown out and in addition to being missing, the shaft had completely distorted the upper arm to to about a half an inch clearance.  It vibrated awfully. 

Being a former Sears employee and a Craftsman fan, I knew that replacement parts were readily available.  Don't laugh there are a lot of us Craftsman fans out there and we vote.

I easily disassembled the machine, quickly ordered new parts for the damaged parts in addition to new bearings, etc.  They came within a week and I reassembled the machine and it now runs like a sewing machine.  Quiet, no vibration, smooth operation.

Say what you will about Craftsman machines, but if needed, repair parts are readily available on-line and they are relatively inexpensive.  This is not to say that Craftsman machines break more frequently, but that the Parts and Service facilities are as close as your phone or computer.

FWIW - When I worked at Sears 5 years ago the RIKON representative was the one who came in to the store to tutor us and service and clean the display machines and check inventory.