My Next Scroll Saw

[dirtrider73068]

If you have a lowes they carry the cans of sc johnson paste wax its in a yellow can in the cleaning isle. Its 4.99 for a can.

[sweet saw]

I would vote for Excalibur.

[IBMer]

I'd love an Excalibur, but the idea that they won't be available for 4 months minimum, with a long line already waiting for those, it may be next year before I can find a new one.    Unfortunately, my current saw is on it's last legs, which is impacting my ability to make decent cuts.

Maybe I'll trade up to an Excalibur when they have their inventory / shipping policies worked out.

I checked Woodcraft's site and it looks like what I paid was about right for a regularly priced 788 + stand.    I won't think about it anymore, it's just money anyhow.

John

[IBMer]

DGMAN, may I get some background on why the table needs to be sanded and waxed?  Is it prone to rust, or not smooth enough?    Just trying to get a feel for what is driving this recommendation.

John

[dirtrider73068]

DGMAN, may I get some background on why the table needs to be sanded and waxed?  Is it prone to rust, or not smooth enough?    Just trying to get a feel for what is driving this recommendation.

John

The cast iron top will get surface rust over time and will make it hard for the wood to slide easy, plus sanding it down gets it smoother than what they did at the factory. The paste wax is best as it does not have silicon in it, that will mess up a finish on the wood, useing the wax help make the table top slick so the wood just glides around making it easier to control.

[dgman]

Yes, the machining on the table is not as smooth as it should be. You would like the table to be as smooth as possible so your work will slide easily. Not a big deal, it shouldn't take you more than ten minutes to do. If you don't want to take the time to sand it, keep it waxed. It is cast iron, so it can rust. Waxing it will protect it from rusting.

[dirtrider73068]

My craftsman scroll saw had pretty good machine marks on it, enough you could feel with your fingers, I sanded mine, started with 60, then went to 80 then 120 then 220 and it made a difference, the wax was even better.

[IBMer]

Thanks for the clarification.   I assumed that it had to do with smoothness, but thought I'd ask.

[dirtrider73068]

It does deal with smoothness as well as getting rid of the machining marks, they don't seem to get it real smooth. At first I didn't sand mine, just wiped it down and used some teflon coating, it helped a little was better to sand it down with the coating got even better, but it wore off too fast, the wax is the best.

[IBMer]

Cool.    I sanded and waxed it today, then put the saw together.   190% smoother and quieter than my old PC saw.     
When I bought the PC saw, I bought a Lowes replacement warranty.  I'm going to ask them if it's covered for premature wear.   Who knows, maybe they'll fix it and I'll have a spare.

Thanks for the input.


Any other good advise regarding the DW-788?   I see some people replaced their blade holders with an arm style nut.   How well does that work?  Where are they buying these?   

[dgman]

Any other good advise regarding the DW-788?   I see some people replaced their blade holders with an arm style nut.   How well does that work?  Where are they buying these?    

The reason some folks do this is for more torque to keep the blade from slipping in the blade clamp. There is a coating of oil on the blades to keep them from rusting. If you remove the oil by sanding the ends, you won't need to torque them down as much.
I keep a piece of folded 220 grit sand paper next to my saw and sand the ends of the blade before I install it.
The end of the thumb screw has a rotating anvil. The anvil rotates as the blade moves up and down. The replacement levers don't have these, so I suspect blades don't last as long as they should with these installed.