scroll saw troubles

[michaelpsutton2]

I have a Craftsman scroll saw. It always want to curve the cut around to the right. Last night I was cutting 3/8" plexiglass for a stand and I was feeding the piece in at almost 30 degrees to the direction of the cut. I have measured the angle of the blade and it is true. I have held a piece of steel against the side of the blade, turned on the saw and could not feel any "wobble or twist".

 

Is there some kind of adjustment or is it me?

Edited June 30, 2014 by michaelpsutton2

[Pete38]

It may be that the tension on the blades is too loose. or that you are feeding the material to fast for the blade type.

 

Not sure if this will help, just some things I found that was giving me problems.

[michaelpsutton2]

OK then, under the eternal law that of no good deed shall go unpunished... How do you properly tension the blade?

[mij]

The way I tension my blades is to tighten the blade with the tension knob until you can flick your finger on the blade and get a clear ting from the blade.

Hope this makes sense

 

 mij

Edited June 30, 2014 by mij

[popeye the sailor]

Your Craftsman Scroll Saw/Sander was thoroughly inspected to rigid standards prior to leaving

the manufacturer's factory and should give you many years of satisfactory service.

Occasionally when the Craftsman Scroll Saw/Sander is removed from its carton and the table

attached, the user will notice that the blade does not appear to be perpendicular to the table surface.

Before attempting to correct this condition, first check to see that the table is in its horizontal or zero

degree( 0") position. Use a square or other right angle device (a piece of paper will suffice) to check the

blade position relative to the table surface. if the blade is not perpendicular to the table, simply push the upper arm of the saw frame in the direction that will correct the blade alignment. Handling the saw by holding the upper arm of the saw frame can also cause the saw blade to tilt from the true vertical position. this is not an unusual condition and can be easily corrected by, again,applying slight pressure to the upper arm of the saw frame in the direction that will correct the alignment. if the user avoids the natural tendency to use the upper arm of the frame as a handle when lifting or moving the saw, there should be no further need to realign the blade. Figure 5 shows the proper way to pick up the Scroll Saw.

Before deciding on any adjustment, it is recommended that you operate the saw and make some trial cuts so that you can experience scroll cutting. Be sure to check the mounting of the saw blade in the blade holder prior to cutting. Generally the blade is mounted so that the teeth are facing front. However, the blade can be mounted with the teeth facing the side. Always have the saw teeth oriented to a downward cut.

 

Boy.......I didn't think it was this hard to copy and paste a section of a PDF manual, but the spelling was so jumbled! almost a waste to have posted this. it's not the problem. I got an old Craftsman scroll saw from a pawn shop......it has a built in side disc sander, but I don't have those parts. with the way that this scroll saw is made, I can see where this problem would arise....I found myself doing the same thing. from what I can see, there is no adjustments for the tension of the blade. what I have noticed though is that the blade suffers from deflections while it is in operation.....there is no built in guide for the blade, as it comes through the table. your looking at a 1 mm thick blade, coming through an opening that may be around 5 mm wide. even if you were to use {or make} a guide for the piece your cutting, adding to much pressure to the 'work' will make the blade 'walk' side to side. if your using a guide......work very slowly, allowing the blade to cut it's path. I thought I might have saved the link to the instructions and stuff, but I guess I deleted them. I would suggest making changes in the way your cutting, and see if it works out better for you.

[popeye the sailor]

if I'm correct, these saw work off of a spring tension in the upper part of the arm. the tab on the end is pushed down to insert a new blade. the end under the table is the reciprocator. do you have a manual, or an exploded part's view to look at?

[reklein]

Trouble might just be the blade itself. If the set of the teeth is different from one side to the other it'll cut curves. Also plexi might have ruined the set. Try another blade, maybe one labeled for metal as the plexi is hard on blades. Bandsaws are notorius for this problem.Also heat generated is often too much and after an inch or two you are just melting your way through plastic. If you are just making straight cts try using a scriber and snapping your cuts. Hardware stores sell scribers for plexi and laminates.

BILL

[michaelpsutton2]

My brother-in-law is a great wood worker and a fair model builder. He told me he always uses the round blades with the teeth all the way around the blade.

Any other opinions?

[mtaylor]

My brother-in-law is a great wood worker and a fair model builder. He told me he always uses the round blades with the teeth all the way around the blade.

Any other opinions?

 

I think, using a spiral blade is much like certain adult beverages.. it's an acquired taste.   I've never been able to get my head around using one without aggravation.

[Blue Ensign]

Me neither, I find it so much more difficult to maintain a clean line with a spiral. Probably to do with my low skill level, but I manage ok with the standard blades.

 

B.E.

[Modeler12]

I agree with Bill. The blade could be your problem, not the machine itself. 

If the teeth are duller on one side, the result is a curved cut. 

I suggest you try several new blades and see what the difference is. To verify what Bill and I are talking about, take one blade, make a cut, then dull one side with a stone and see how it cuts using the same material.

[mrjimmy]

 

Errrrrr........ I believe the brother-in-law is referring to a table saw blade (for cutting straight lines).

 

Si

[mtaylor]

Hmm..  Michael, can you clarify?  Table or scroll on the blades?  I was assuming scroll from your first post.

 

The other thing I've learned about scroll saw blades is that they have a "set" in that when the blades are stamped, there's a burr left on one side of the blade on each tooth which pulls the blade and cut in that direction.  The way around this is to use ground blades or buy blades and grind of the burrs with a stone.   Or, as probably most of us do.. live with it and compensate accordingly.

[Modeler12]

Errrrrr........ I believe the brother-in-law is referring to a table saw blade (for cutting straight lines).

 

Si

There are a number of blades for scroll saws and the one that comes to mind is the spiral blade shown below.

I have never seen this on a table-saw blade.

 

There is also a 'blade' with an abrasive or diamond coating around a wire that can be used to cut ceramic, etc. This could be similar to an abrasive cut-off wheel for a table saw.

[michaelpsutton2]

He was talking about the spiral blade. He claims that he has more control than with straight blades. He does say that the spiral blades remove moe material so that you have to be more aware of what side of the lines you cut to.