hotshot

Yep, I found a type I last year and though I couldn't justify it, I couldn't resist.

I found the listing in question. This is a very very old saw (a 19") and as dgman mentions, you cannot get parts. On these, the table tilts, not the arm. Because of the parts situation, steer clear. ---------Randy

Is this the site? http://www.liveinternet.ru/users/3900865/post224547808/ I'm really thinking that the folks at berry basket would be super happy to see what these folks are posting :-)

The trick Travis showed was pretty cool. Apart from this topic, I can see someone having a shop injury, and hiding the picture to spare those with weak stomachs. May be other uses as well. ---------Randy

With Dewalt, you know you will always be able to get parts, and that the company is on sound financial grounds. When B&D sold off the Delta brand to TOTY (Chang Type Industries), then parts became almost impossible to get, I think Delta lost a lot of trust, at least they did with me. Are you sure parts have been consistently available with Delta? If there is good evidence that "Delta is Back", then maybe you risk it. Things at Delta may be better now as you say, I'm a little skeptical. I hope you are right because we need more competitive saws in the market. I do know that their previous saw was parts compatible with the 788, so for that saw, I wouldn't have worried. But now that Delta tweaked the design, no one seems to know just how many parts the two saws share between them. I like the fact that Delta added a feature that keeps the arm in the up position to aid in blade changes, but all in all, I'm still leary of Delta. ------Randy

I think one of the biggest problems is many brands are using the exact same chinese core design, and adding little tweaks that do nothing to address the main issue. Having easy access to that bottom clamp, and having the actual clamp mechanism be "reachable" is my main complaint. I wish delta would just re-release one of their earlier models to fill that market gap. Instead, we get a zillion crappy clones:

Any chance of sharing the ear ring pattern?

How much does something like that cost? I would pay a talented artist to do some original work for me if it was affordable for me. -------------Randy

The set screw should not be flush. It should be just "proud" or extending slightly into the gap.The blade is held between that set screw, and the clamp.

In a similar fashion to Silver Sliver, I use blue tape to hold down a credit card over the hole.

I think this is one of those cases where the organization will either adapt, or will continue to die a slow long death. Days are gone where people jump to join "Exclusive" organizations. I think SSV is what SAW should have been.

FD blades are a re-brand of blades manufactured by Niqua, so if the blades look identical, then he is probably selling re-branded Niqua as well. Here is the Niqua Catalog: http://www.niqua.de/config/media/files/niqua-katalog.pdf

One of our overseas friends resolve the his issues with the little holes in the table by filling them with bondo, and removing the plastic shroud from under the table.

Concerning B&D buyout of Craftsman, Craftsman is pretty poor quality already. I think of them as the expensive harbor freight. At one time, they made some pretty solid stuff. I'm not sure how Craftsman descended to where they are now. SInce Black n Decker also own Porter Cable and Dewalt, there are possibilities the line could improve. I seriously doubt it get's worse. Concerning the Craftsmane scroll saw, I think this model is quite a bit better than the common harbor freight, ryobi, and other saws in that bloodline. I will echo the sentiments above, if vibration is your only complaint, I think you can fix that by bolting it down solid to something heavy. Even better saws have excessive vibration without a solid stand.

The set screw working back is not unusual, even for new saws. This may happen again, depending on the saw. The standard solution to this problem has been to apply threadlocker on the set screw to keep it where you put it.

Some of the Olsen blades offerings (like the Precision Ground) have a little more heft to them and I would think could handle more abuse. That said #5 isn't a small blade, so it should be able to handle a lot. Here are my ideas: 1. What type of Saw is she using. If it is a DW788 or EX, then she needs to check the set screw to make sure it hasn't worked itself into the clamp. Newer (non-Barrel clamp) Hawks might have this same deal, I'm not sure. If she is using a Hegner, the top clamp should have some slack to swivel slightly. 2. Does it always break on the top (or the bottom). The thing is, if the blades were weak, I wouldn't expect it to always break towards on the same end or in the same place. If it always breaks near the same clamp, then focus on issues with that specific clamp. 3. You said she was an experienced scroller, has she changed saws since the issues started, or is she using the same saw she has always used? 4. How thick of wood is she cutting? Thick wood is blade abusive. 5. Have her cut for a few minutes, then check blade tension to see if she is losing tension after it is initially set. Blade could be slipping. 6. If you yourself cut with FD #5, then as a sanity check, have her give you a few blades to test with, which takes her saw out of the equation.

So Flying Dutchman is a rebrand of Niqua. Mike didn't carry their entire line, but that was his source. I think Mike originally had an exclusive deal with them for our side of the pond and I assumed those agreements extended on to the new owners, but I don't know. I guess that contract could have been with Mike alone, and dissolved once he passed. In any case, hope you like this bit of Scrollsaw trivia. If you want to see the Niqua catalog, look for english on the right side: http://www.niqua.de/downloads/Niqua_Katalog_Holzlaubsaegen.pdf

If you like Olsons, try http://www.sloanwoodshop.com They are scrollsaw centric and very good to work with. They also have a storefront if your ever in TN, only Scrollsaw Storefront I know of.

This is not the Hawk G4, so it is bottom feed only. ----------Randy

I'm excited for you and think you will be very pleased. The 788 is a pure pleasure to use. ----------Randy

You need to cut the "post Negan" version of Glen to hang beside this one :-) Negan will die miserably because of that.

In a similar vein to Ike's point, when you are cutting real thick wood, there is a little bow in the blade, meaning, the blade may be a little "behind" in the middle of the wood. So, to get a good turn, you have to "wait for the blade to catch up." If you turn before the blade has caught up, , the cut will be uneven, which is bad if you need to remove an inside waste piece. When I cut puzzle boxes, rushing the corners will result in firewood.

My biggest concern with Delta is the problems with the availability of parts. It may or may not be better/more stable now, I'm not sure. For peace of mind, I would pay the extra 100 to ensure I have a saw that I can get parts for when I need them. If you go with Delta, and have no issues, you just won the gamble and save 100. If it dies, and you can't get a part that is unique to this saw, you lose $350.

You know, I've explained the basic techniques many times, but your idea takes the concept and communicates it in a way that is easy to understand. Good job.

This saw will be better than any new saw you can get for that price. If you see this saw in person, you will see it is built very very solid and is impressive. It might make a great backup for your 788, however, if you are a top feeder, you might not want to make this your primary as this is a bottom feed saw. Try a few blade changes, and if you are happy with it, this might be a good fit for you. If the serial number on that saw is below 3107, the bottom clamp is probably a barrel clamp, which may or may not bother you. If it is the older model saw, you might check with Bushton to see if the newer style clamps will fit.