Seyco ST21 vibration/shaking Issue

[D-Tone]

Hi Steve,  I know you use the ST-21 and seem to like it. I’ve had mine for a couple years with very light usage. Mine has a vibration actually more of a shaking that seems to emanate from the upper arm. I’ve been fighting this issue for over a year.  Ray over at Seyco has been very helpful in walking me through adjustments and possible fixes. Nothing has helped and this has turned my favorite hobby into stress causing rather than relieving situation. I’m thinking of getting rid of the saw and going back to a Dewalt. I thought I would reach out to you or others on the forum for possible help before I do that. The upshot of the shaking is that the blade is dancing all over the place making it nearly impossible to do any kind of intricate fret work or detailed work at all - strait lines and gentle curves I can manage but I need to stay super focused. I’ve been scrolling for 20 plus years and have used cheap saws and the Dewalt that I had just before the Seyco and never had an issue that I couldn’t work out. This has me frustrated and avoiding the hobby that I love. Any help would be so appreciated  thanks Dan

[Norm Fengstad]

I have a Seyco that had vibration issue that became excessive after much consultation to no avail I found the problem to be the lower arm bolts holding the square collar into the lower frame were loose.

[D-Tone]

Hi Norm. Thanks so much for the reply, mine were a little loose but unfortunately I tightened them some months ago with no result. But thank you for taking the time to reply. I’m kind of at a desperation point. I may ship it back to Seyco (which will cost a mint) to see if Ray can work some magic. I don’t want to sell it to some one with it acting like this and I can’t do much with it the way it is. 

[Norm Fengstad]

Gwinnet woodworkers have an excellent site and a member Bob Brokaw has utube videos on repairing Dewalt this may be a source to search

[GLC]

Good point Norm.  I haven't seen Bob Brokaw's name pop up in a while nor do I know if he has hands on experience with the Seyco design.  However, I would certainly concur that I would consider him an expert among experts in the world of scroll saw mechanisms.

[D-Tone]

Hi Guys Thanks so much for the responses. I actually used Bob’s videos to help with the rebuild of the DeWalt I had right before the Seyco. Great videos, great guy. Maybe I should have staid with the DeWalt. Thought the Seyco would be an upgrade - not so much.  At Norm’s suggestion I rechecked those two bolts that hold the lower arm to the frame and I found something unexpected that may be the root of my problem.  I don’t want to post based on my speculation so I will wait until I test my fix. Fingers crossed.

[D-Tone]

Hello sorry it's taken me so long to get back - I messed up a finger and its been in an oversized splint making it hard to do any woodworking - the finger had nothing to do with woodworking thank god.  so I'm done with this Seyco saw.  it has been the most frustrating experience of my almost 30 year woodworking career.  I've been unable to minimize the shaking to a level that would make the saw usable.  The blade clamps have also been problematic from the get-go.  Thought I would replace them once I got the shaking under control but never got there.  I think I've spent more time tinkering with the saw than actually cutting with it. As I said earlier, Ray over at Seyco was very nice and gave a lot of advice and spent quite a bit of time on the phone with me over the past 2 years - but phone talk doesn't really get it done when you spend this kind of money for a saw. Maybe the Seyco is a good saw and I just got a lemon.  Either way, for the price, I would expect a saw that works correctly or that it be replaced with one that does.  That didn't happen - SO I WOULD CAUTION ANYONE THINKING ABOUT PURCHASING THE SEYCO ST21 SCROLL SAW TO DO YOUR HOMEWORK.  Service and support is not available locally and if you were to have an issue, you are probably on your own.   

In case this might help someone else - I mentioned in my last post that I had made a discovery that didn't end up helping me but may help others.  Norm mentioned tightening the bolts that hold the lower arm to the frame.  I had done that but decided to recheck them after reading Norms post.  on my saw, the bolt in the front could not be tightened completely because it was bumping into the table - the back of that slot in the table.  I added thicker washers between the table and the frame which raised the table enough that the bolt no longer ran into the back of that slot and I was then able to tighten the bolt completely.  It may have helped a bit but not much.   

Thanks again to those of you who responded to my plea for help.  I will be scrolling again as soon as I can afford a new saw.  I would welcome recommendations.  Thanks Dan.

[GLC]

I don't know what a round trip ticket would have cost Seyco, but it might have been a good investment to avoid all of this bad press.  Just thinking...

[rfielder]

I will be scrolling again as soon as I can afford a new saw.  I would welcome recommendations.  Thanks Dan.

Don't hold out for a new saw.

Get a use Excalibur, test it throughly, and you may be very happy.

That is what I have, and it has been great.  Upgraded the chucks with the units from Bear Woods, and it has been working hard without issue.

[D-Tone]

Thanks for the recommendation on the Excalibur - I actually hadn't thought about looking for a good used machine. That helps, now I feel like maybe I can get back to sawing sooner rather than later.  Be glad to put this whole Seyco experience behind me and start enjoying time in the shop again. 

[Norm Fengstad]

Sorry to hear your vibration problem hasn't been corrected. Persistant frustration can destroy a person's desire for our sport of scroll sawing. Sometimes we need to just move on and another saw appears to be your best solution. I live in Canada and shipping from the U.S has become a real expensive issue for me. My thoughts on your saw is something bent or misaligned or maybe a defective bearing. I look forward to seeing posts of your work in the future. Happy Scrolling

[D-Tone]

Norm - Thanks for your thoughtfulness on this.  I agree that something must be bent, misaligned or otherwise defective internally.  I've been over everything externally many times with zero improvement.  I think I will poke around internally once I get a new saw - for now as frustrating as it is, it's all I have and don't want to make it worse.  Who knows, I may open it up and find some obvious thing that has been the cause of this from the start.  At least then I could sell it to someone in good conscience.