CharleyL

If you have used a more modern scroll saw that pulls the blade both up as well as down like a DeWalt 788 or EX, you will consider any scroll saw that uses a spring to pull the blade up as scrap metal. It doesn't matter what length blade it requires. There's no comparison to the new style scroll saws that mechanically pull the blade both down and up. You can even set blade tension on the newer saws. Those old saws were tensioned by changing the spring on top or the length of the blade. You can cut curved designs in cedar wood shingles with them, but what we call scroll saw art today is impossible to do in one of those old scroll saws. You will also break a lot of blades with them. Bind the blade in the saw kerf and you will buckle the blade when the lower blade clamp rises and the top spring fails to pull the top end of the blade up. I hate to be so down on anything, but I fought with one of these old saws for many years before discovering the new scroll saw designs. Pin less blade technology and mechanically driven upper as well as lower arms in the newer saws have made these old scroll saws totally obsolete. Mine was converted to a reciprocal filing machine for a while and then it went to the metal salvage yard because it didn't even file well. Don't waste your money on one of these old design scroll saws. Charley

In my fire fighting career I've been to three moving van accidents, two caught fire and burned the front half of the semi trailer contents. The rest of the trailer contents wasn't worth much after the heat and water got to it. Definitely, mark every box and get a good mover's insurance policy. I hope you won't need to collect on it. Pack your tools well yourself and move them yourself, if you can. Charley

Mimi, If you can find an ohm meter or a multi meter and can't get help using it, send me a PM. I'll work with you by PM, e-mail, phone, or whatever, to help you diagnose your problem. Charley

Do a search for "Router Skis" on www.routerforums.com. There is a lot of material available on that forum about making a router ski jig and using it to plane boards. The ski jig is just 2 rods that will fit the cross holes in your router, the ones that you use for an edge guide. The ends of the rods are threaded. You make two identical plywood pieces with vertical slots for the threaded ends of the rods to fit through, spaced apart by the dimension between the cross holes in your router. You add nuts, washers, and wing nuts to attach the ends of the rods to the slots in the plywood end pieces. These end pieces need to have flat bottoms so they can slide around on your bench or sheet of plywood. Your router slides onto the rods and you roughly center it, locking it to the rods with wing bolts that fit the threaded holes in your router. You install a large diameter flat bottomed bit in the router, and set the height of the rods in the jig for the working range that you need the router depth control to work in. I use a piece of scrap the height desired under each end of the rods to get the height adjusted the same and tighten the wing nuts on the ends of the rods to hold them at that level. You place the wood to be planned on your workbench or a large piece of plywood to cover your bench and then screw down pieces of scrap around the board to be planned to hold it in place in both the X and Y direction. Set the router depth to remove the desired amount of wood with the skis resting on the bench or plywood, turn the router on and move the router around to plane the wood. I like to hold onto the plywood pieces at the ends of the rods while doing this. Using the router handles isn't a good idea, because it's too easy to push the router down, bending the rods slightly, and changing the depth of cut of the router bit. Follow a back and forth motion, keeping the router bit cutting in the right direction to avoid climb cutting, until the entire surface of the board has been planned. You can then increase the router's depth of cut and make another pass, or turn the board being planned over and do the other side. If the board is warped, cupped, or twisted, I place screws into the bench or plywood under the board being planned and adjust their length so the un-flat board will be held with the top surface is as level as I can make it and it doesn't move while I'm planning it. Then I plane the top surface until it is flat. I then remove the leveling screws and turn the board over, then plane the other side of the board to make it flat and parallel with the first side of the board. Slight variations in bit depth of cut can occur when doing this, especially when making deeper cuts. I always plan on planning or sanding the board to a final thickness to get the surfaces smooth. You can use router skis with smaller routers to do pattern engraving, remove material all around the outside of raised letters, etc. With the router above the work, it's much easier to see what you are doing. I use my router ski jig frequently for many purposes. Charley

Actually, I prefer an analog meter for this, but a digital meter will work. You don't actually need the exact ohm meter readings, just the trend. As you slowly turn the motor shaft you will get short high readings as the brushes cross the insulation between the commutator segments, and then the meter should return to an approximate same ohm reading as previous segments, as the brushes ride over the segments of the commutator, then another short high reading, followed by another approximately the same lower reading. What you are looking for is a place where the ohm reading goes very high and stays that way longer than it does when crossing the short space between the segments. If you don't get a long high reading, that's wonderful, because it means that your motor is OK. A long high reading indicates trouble, and you have to proceed further to find out exactly what it is. Speed control problem- The speed control can be diagnosed in a similar manner, if you suspect that it is bad, but it has to be disconnected from the saw's electronics to do this. On a DeWalt 788 there is a small connector in the three wires running to the speed control about 4" from the speed control. Unplug the connector and you are ready to test. There are three connections on the speed control. Using an ohm meter, connect one lead to the center terminal and the other lead to either end terminal. Now, slowly turn the speed control shaft. The ohm reading should slowly increase or decrease, depending on which end terminal that you connected to and which direction that you turned the shaft. If you find spots during the slow rotation that the ohm meter jumps around, or it stays at a very low or very high reading, the control is bad. You should also test by putting the leads on the two end terminals of the control. This reading should be steady, and on the DeWalt 788 it should read 50,000 ohms, or very close to it. I'm not sure what the reading for an EX saw is, but it will likely be the same. If your speed control is bad, DeWalt wants to sell you a complete speed control board including the speed control. Radio Shack, or another electronics parts supplier can sell you a 50,000 ohm (linear taper) potentiometer (what they call the speed control) for about $1.85. Radio Shack carries one at a great price, but the shaft is too long and is round instead of having a flat on one side. I have used these as a replacement by using a hack saw to cut the shaft to length and a file to make a flat on the shaft. Be sure to turn the shaft of both the old and new controls to the same end stop and file the flat in the same position or your numbered speed knob will not be the same speed for a given number setting. Test the knob to see if the flat is enough for the knob to fit. Now, un-solder one wire from the old speed control at a time and solder it onto the same terminal of the new control. Do this 3 times using a low wattage (about 40 watt) soldering iron and "Electronic Solder" and you can install this new control in your saw. Plug the 3 wire connector in and test your saw for speed adjustment, then un-plug the saw and continue re-assembly. Harbor Freight sells a digital multi meter with several ohms scales for less than $6.00, and sometimes gives them away free with any purchase if you catch the right one of their weekend sales. I have about 8 of them scattered around my house and shop. They are quite accurate and will do this job, and many other electrical jobs around the house and shop quite well, so it's a good idea to have one if you don't already. You can't loose at $6.00, or even better if you can get one free. Charley

I just put Johnsons Wax on my thin BB table whenever it doesn't seem smooth enough. It doesn't have any finish, but it probably wouldn't hurt to put finish on yours if you want to, but the top finish should be a coat of wax. If you go with laminate on plywood, laminate both sides of the plywood. Laminate will shrink over time, and plywood swells slightly, even 3/4 thick plywood. This will pull the edges up and make a potato chip out of it if you don't do both sides. Laminating both sides is what they do to keep router tables flat. I just make my tables good enough to last a year or two, then replace them when the hole gets too large, or I might make a second hole and move the table over a few inches to use the new hole. I think it mostly depends on whether or not I have a scrap of BB plywood the right size. I don't put much effort, time, or money into them, because when the hole gets too large it's time for a new one, no matter how much you have invested in it. Charley

Since you are also in NC, why not get yourself a heat pump style window air conditioner. Then it will both heat and cool your shop year round. I'm just North of Charlotte, my shop is an insulated 14 X 26 building, and my 22,000 btu window style heat pump mounted high and through the North wall of my shop keeps it warm in Winter and cool in Summer. Since it's mounted high it doesn't significantly affect anything I put on that wall. I leave it running, set on low heat when temperatures will be below freezing, and sometimes leave it running set on 75 deg during the Summer when temps will be 95+, if I'm going to be working out there every day, because it has trouble recovering if I turn it off and night, then back on in the morning. Good insulation is important which ever unit you pick. You will not get much benefit in an un-insulated shop. My shop has 6" fiberglass in the ceiling and 3" in the walls. Charley

A dead and dry tree branch is best to minimize warping. I have also tried keeping the slices of greener wood in sawdust to slow the drying. It helps, but with sometimes limited success. When you cut the branch, it's best to cut diagonally at a 30-45 deg angle and 1 to 1 1/2" thick. Cutting diagonally will reduce warping and will also make scroll sawing easier, since your blade will be cutting across the grain instead of with the grain. People who do lathe cutting of bowls have also discovered this. Most bowl blanks are cut diagonally from the tree, are sealed if still green, and are slow dried. They are then trimmed to roughly round on a band saw before being put on the lathe. The end result is a bowl with the grain running diagonally across the bowl. Charley

To test the motor you are going to have to unhook it's leads from the saw electronics, then connect an ohm meter to the leads. Very slowly turn the motor shaft and note the ohm readings. Since the brushes are touching segments of the motor commutator there will be a drop in reading each time the brushes cross a gap between the segments, but the readings on the segments should be approximately the same. If there is a "dead spot" where the ohm reading goes very high in resistance then the segments of the commutator that the brushes are touching have an open winding connecting them. With the motor in this position, remove the brushes and look down the brush hole with a flashlight. If the brushes are visibly damaged or the bottom of the brush hole (the commutator segment) is visibly damaged, then this is likely the problem. The brushes are behind the 3/8 diameter black plastic covers on two sides of the motor opposite each other. There is a spring behind the cap, so be careful when removing. At the other end of the spring is a black carbon brush. The brush is square sides and the bottom end will have a curved shape. It should be at least 1/2" in length (it wears away and becomes shorter as the motor runs. New brushes are easy to replace, but be certain to always replace a used brush with the curved end the way that it came out. The curve should match the curve of the motor rotation. A damaged commutator or open winding inside the motor will require motor replacement. If you replace the brushes, do the test over again to be sure that you don't also have a damaged commutator or open winding. The motor should have approximately equal resistance at each segment as you slowly rotate the motor. Variations of a few ohms at each reading will not affect the running of the motor. A very high reading compared to the rest will affect the running of the motor. If you can, it's a good idea to blow out the motor with compressed air before you put it back on the saw (wear eye protection). As the brushes wear, tiny pieces of their conductive material will settle in the bottom of the motor and could cause motor damage later on, if not removed. I haven't worked on an EX. But the design is very similar to my DeWalt788. With it, the side cover opposite the motor must be removed. You probably have already done this to be able to disconnect the motor wires for the test above. If not, follow them to their connection point and disconnect them. Be certain that you can return each wire to it's correct terminal by labeling one wire and it's connection somehow (a piece of tape on one wire and it's connection)or some other method). If connected opposite, the motor will run backwards. This doesn't matter on a DeWalt, but might on the EX. Then the bolt in the end of the motor shaft must be removed to separate the shaft and eccentric from the motor shaft. After it is free from the motor shaft, you can then remove the bolts that hold the motor case to the saw. It's not that hard to do, but keep track of the pieces removed so you can replace them correctly later. Charley

Bill, Formica is a good choice, but not so much if you want to make a table significantly larger than the saw table. It will crack easily if it extends too far from the saw table. 1/8 and 1/4 Baltic Birch will hold up better. DAMHIKT Charley

My wife has forbidden me from making, and keeping, one of these large scroll saw clocks. She wants no part of trying to clean anything like them. I made a dragon clock some years ago, and managed to get him into the house. He's still there too, but it's my job to take him out to the shop and use compressed air to dust him off every month. About once a year I also use cotton swabs to clean his scale holes. Here's a photo of him. I call him "The Keeper of Time". The pattern came from a scroll saw magazine Charley

Scott has posted a good photo of what we use. I have an older photo that was part of my LED light bracket post earlier this year and posted here again. You can see one of my clamps in use on my saw with a compound cut reindeer block clamped in it and ready for cutting. It's not the best photo for the subject, but what I already have in my computer. It's basically the same as Scott's clamp, but I prefer making my clamps from 3/4 birch cabinet ply because the clamp doesn't bow as easily. I also prefer 10-32 stainless all-thread when making this size clamp because it doesn't stretch or bend over time. I buy the stainless all-thread in 8" lengths from Lowes. They have it in the bolt specialty drawers. For very small clamps I cut them shorter if I find that the excess length gets in my way as I'm cutting, but I usually just leave them 8". Be careful when using the sandpaper that Scott suggests. It works great to hold keep the work from moving in the clamp, and I too use it sometimes, but any grit that falls off the paper and onto your saw table will scratch the table surface. This is another good reason to use a zero clearance table cover that completely covers the table as scratching it wont matter. Charley

Using playing cards or other thin material held in place over the blade hole for zero clearance has never worked very well for me. I keep catching the work or clamp on the edges of it. That's why I make one to cover the entire table, so there is a completely smooth table surface. Charley

Whenever compound cutting, like making bird houses, reindeer, etc. I always use a clamp. Just two strips of 3/4 birch plywood with threaded rod through them spaced apart enough to fit the block of wood that will be cut. The 10-32 stainless all thread seems to work best for this because the steel version stretches and bends over time. I use wing nuts to pull them together. The clamp holds the pieces together as they are being cut, keeps the block perfectly square to the saw table, and also provides more surface to hold onto while doing the cutting. It makes a big difference when making small compound cut pieces. Charley

I don't like the slot or the bottom clamp design, so my next saw is still going to be an EX. They would have been very smart to put a few heavy scroll sawyers on their design team. Things like this would have never made it into their product if they did. Charley

Scrappile has the right idea, but here are details about how to do it, if you need them. I use a piece of Baltic Birch, but any flat thin board will do. It can be larger than your saw table, for added work area. Without a blade in your saw, place this board on your saw table and mark the approximate blade hole position on the wood. Also reach up from the bottom and trace the edge of your saw table onto the bottom of this piece of wood. It doesn't have to be accurate or complete, just some guides for the next steps. Remove the wood and drill a small hole at the location of your mark, large enough for the blade to pass through. Then turn the board over and place several strips of double sided tape inside the table edge marks that you made. Now put a blade in the bottom clamp of your scroll saw. Remove the protective covering on the tape, and without letting the remaining sticky side of the tape from touch your saw table, place the wood over your saw table and thread the blade up through the hole and into the upper blade clamp. Since this is difficult and requires 3 or more hands you can place some spacers under the board to hold it off of the saw table while you do this. Once the blade is in both clamps and tensioned, you can remove the spacers and stick the board down to your saw table with the double sided tape. Enjoy your new zero clearance scroll saw table. When the hole finally wears out and gets too large for your taste, just make another zero clearance table, or remove this one and drill another small hole a couple of inches left or right from the first hole, then replace the board on your saw table using new double sided tape to attach it. Charley

Use a jointer to remove the cupping. Use a planer to thin the wood. The rollers in a planer will flatten the wood as it's being cut, so the knives will remove the same amount of wood all the way across the board. When the board comes out of the planer it will spring back into it's cupped shape. The result will be a thinner, but still cupped board. A jointer will remove the high points, making a cupped board flatter, but also thinner. Twists and bows are much harder to get out, usually requiring a jig to hold it from turning as it goes across the jointer or through the planer. Again, the wood will get thinner during this process. I have a DeWalt 735 planer and the shortest board that I might even try to plane would be 12". Anything shorter and you run the risk of damaging the planer if the board lifts and the end gets caught by the blades. You can plane boards, remove twists and bows, etc, even on boards of less than 12 " in length using a jig and a large router with a large diameter flat bottomed bit. Do a Google search for " Router Skis " for the details of the jig and the process. You will need a fixture to hold your board in position in the center of your bench, shimmed so that any twist or bow is held from moving, With the router supported above the work by the Router Ski fixture you them move the router back and forth over the board to remove the high spots. This may take several passes. Once one side of the board is flat, you can turn the board over and cut the other side flat. Of course, the board will be thinner when you finish, but it will be flat. Any roughness from the router bit can then be planned or sanded off. The result will be a flat board, but much thinner than you started with. Charley

I also use the 5" tall pill bottles. Mine came from Walgreens. If you are a good customer, simply asking for them will get you new, unused bottles and caps free. Each bottle will easily hold several gross of any size 5" long scroll saw blades, if you should ever try to fill them. I unwrap a dozen blades at a time and just leave the loose ones in the same bottle. My fingers are big, so getting blades out of smaller tubes is a pain for me, so this works well for me. I made a BB plywood kind of tool box to carry bottles of blades and my scroll saw accessory tools. One end of the box is partitioned to allow space for 12 of these pill bottles. When doing demonstrations and classes, etc, I just take the bottles containing the blades that I will most likely be using in this box with me. The rest remain in a similar larger box in my shop. You can buy round sticker labels, even in different colors, from the stationery stores that fit the lids of these bottles very well, so labeling the contents is easy, and can be changed easily. Labeling the bottle tops makes it easy to choose the one that you want from a crowded tool box too, but I always drop the paper label that comes with them from Wooden Teddy Bear, into the bottle, in case I should ever loose track of the cap DAMHIKT. It sometimes also helps when it's time to re-order blades to get the exact same ones ordered. Charley

If the motor control board has a problem, it will do this, but it could also be the motor. Only electronic testing of both can determine which is bad. Can you use a screwdriver and turn the motor shaft easily while the power is off? There shouldn't be much resistance when spinning the motor this way, unless there is a bad bearing or something rubbing the mechanism inside the case. If mechanical resistance to turning the shaft is encountered, then this may also be the cause. Charley

Dick, Try some paste wax on your scroll saw table. Even though you may think you don't need it, "you will be amazed at the difference" that it makes. A fresh coat of wax gets put on my table saw, band saw, miter saw, drill press, sanders, and both scroll saws each day that I will be using them, before I start working. It also keeps the rust away. Go borrow your wife's can of Johnsons or Butchers wax and try it out. You will be amazed at the difference. I tried some Butchers Wax that was given to me, and it worked OK, maybe a bit better than Johnsons Paste Wax, but I got sticker shock when I went to buy a new can of it, and went back to using Johnsons. I didn't see enough difference to pay the added cost of Butchers. The Johnsons works just fine, and I've been waxing the cast iron and aluminum of my tools and lubricating my tools with it for 60 years. The only place that I'll put any teflon based lubricant is where shafts go through bushings, etc. Gears, ways, slides, and table tops all get Johnsons wax. As a lubricant, it gets a dry crust that keeps the sawdust from sticking and building up. I apply it to these areas with a tooth brush. For table tops and the frame castings I wipe a thin film on with a clean rag, let it haze, and then buff it off. It will take about 3 applications to get a good starting layer, then just an additional coat before use. Of course, I don't do the gears and ways that often. They get the treatment about every 3-6 months depending on how much shop time that I've put in. Charley

The motor in the 788 doesn't draw more than about 2.2 amps full load. Percentage wise, you likely increased the fuse rating by 300 % by adding that fine wire to it. Go get the right fuse or you may set fire to your $250 motor and $150 control board, if you haven't already. Buy a few extra of the right fuse so you have them the next time you need one. What about your other 788's? Can't you borrow a fuse from one of them? Charley

A new set screw and wing bolt should fix your saw, if you haven't stripped the threads out of the blade arm. Jus make sure you order the wing bolt with the insert in the end. DeWalt has several versions of these and you need to get the one intended for holding the blade. They are more expensive than the others. The one that you want is 286303-00 Clamp Knob Assembly Part Number: 286303-00 Availability: 25+ in stock Price: $12.03 The set screw for the other side of the blade is 286301-00 Set Screw Part Number: 286301-00 Availability: 21 in stock Price: $1.99 Both are in stock at www.ereplacementparts.com Be sure to re-calibrate the position of the replacement set screw so your blade tracks truly vertical and is centered in the table hole. You may need to adjust the upper and lower set screws to get the blade tracking right. If the aluminum arm has stripped out threads, the right size Heli Coil and the special tap will put new stainless threads in it that will be better and much longer lasting than the original threads. It isn't cheap (for the special tap) or easy to do, but I doubt that you will ever have trouble with the Heli Coil, once installed. Your biggest problem will be getting the tap so it threads the hole for the replacement stainless threads straight and parallel to the original hole. Once you buy the special tap you will be able to replace threads of that size again in other places. The Heli Coil thread pieces are quite reasonably priced. Read the instructions carefully to get the thread pieces locked in place so they won't back out. I've had better luck with the Heli Coil brand than any other thread replacement inserts on the market. They can be very permanent and long lasting. All threads in aluminum or other soft metal should have them. http://www.helicoil.in/pdf/helicoil%20catalogue.pdf Many sources sell these. Check auto parts stores, industrial distributors like MSc McMaster, Grainger, etc. Even Lowes and Home Depot might have what you need. Charley

Clayton, that's beautiful! Now I want one!! I'm at a bit of loss for words to show how I feel about it. If you put it up for sale, I'll bet it will sell quick at any price, probably to a VFW Post. I don't have the time to comment on many projects, but I had to post a comment on this one. Charley

That was a great deal, at any age. I haven't seen any sell that low, in good condition, like that one looks to be. Now, can it be upgraded to be close to the new model? Bushton makes a lot of parts available for them, so maybe you can buy upgrades for it and end up with a new / old saw, but then as a back up, maybe you don't really need to do anything except clean and oil it. I don't own one of their scroll saws and I only tried out one at a show many years ago, but I do own an RBI Router Shop. Bushton wants crazy prices for them now and hasn't improved the design much, if any, so I think this is why you don't see many of them around. They don't do well with big routers mounted in them. The router mount and slide is not sturdy enough for them or their power. It could be a great router table if they improved and ruggedized the design of it and priced it closer to other router tables. If you find and buy a Router Shop cheap they are very handy for smaller lighter work using a 1 hp router, but don't sell your other router table or try to put a 3 hp router in the Router Shop. Even my 2 1/2 hp DeWalt was too much for it. To me, it's a great idea, but still at a prototype design level. They need a really sharp mechanical engineer to take the original idea and make it right. Charley