DeWalt Saw

[Volcanobud]

Steve,

I have a DeWalt saw and seems to me that the blade holders have a lot of slop in them.  They wobble side to side, I tried tightening the nuts and bolts that hold them in place.  Should they have much movement side to side?  Seems like the blade moves around more than it should.  Normally I put the blade tension at just about the highest tension.  This is my first scroll saw and seems like a lot of reviews like this saw, have had it for about 6 months now.  Thoughts?

[dgman]

Hey Bud, Yes the blade clamps are supposed to be loose. When properly tensioned, they should not move around. To make sure you get proper tension, first clean off the oil residue off of the ends of the blades. I use a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. Next, after you mount the blade, push down on the top blade clamp. If the blade bows, loosen the top blade clamp till the bow disappears. Re tighten the blade clamp, then tension the blade. You want a high pitch "ping" when you pluck the blade. If is more of a "plunk", Check the blade again as above. Good luck!

[Volcanobud]

dgman,  Thanks for the info.  Finally had a chance to give it a try and got the "ping" when I set tension at maximum.  Have been using Olson blades.  Think it helped.  Have been working on some simple Christmas ornaments on thin plywood (3/16").  Using a #5 reverse tooth blade; however wondering if maybe I should be using a #3 or smaller for this type of work.  Also noticed in one of the videos that it seemed like the speed was pretty slow and I've been using a fast speed on the saw.   Still a lot to learn it appears.  Thanks for your feedback.   

[dgman]

Hey Bud, I never cut thinner than 1/4" because anything thinner is to difficult to cut. So I stack cut. That is I stack multiple layers of wood and cut all at once. The advantage to this is you cut several pieces at once, and you have better control of the work piece. If you only need one piece, use some inexpensive plywood to add to the stack for better control.
There are many ways to stack the wood. Two methods I  use is blue painters tape along the edges of the stack and Hot glue from a hot glue gun on the edges of the stack. there are many other methods to do this, but these are the two I use.
I would use smaller blades also For a 1/4" Stack I would use a 2/0 or a 2.

[Volcanobud]

dgman,

Okay tried smaller blade and understand the stacking option.  Using smaller blade helped.  Thanks again for the pointers.

[spiderman]

 

when I set tension at maximum

Do not set the tension to the maximum you could damage the scroll saw set the blade tension to 3 to 4.

to much tension can also do damage to the moter as well.

[dgman]

when I set tension at maximum

Do not set the tension to the maximum you could damage the scroll saw set the blade tension to 3 to 4.

to much tension can also do damage to the moter as well.

Hey CB, Respectfully I have to disagree. You want the blade to be as tight as it can go without the blade slipping in the blade clamp. You want the blade to have a high "ping" when you pluck it after the tension is applied. Saws are designed to apply high tension to the blade.

[spiderman]

you want the tension of the blade to bend in the middle as little as 1/8" or less. by putting a little pressure in the middel of the blade.

and you don't want to over tight the blade chucks cause that well were them out.  
 

[Russ C]

Correct Tensioning of Scroll Blades will extend life & improve accuracy of the blade. You are really not going to damage the saw or motor with blade tension, the blade will break first before really any damage could be done. Now you can damage the blade holders by overtightening them.