John Smith

well, I took the "nose" apart AGAIN today to care of two bearings I didn't get in the first go-around. so I twisted the tension rod two turns to the right to tighten it up and sanded the tunnel off the top plate down a lot more. Cut the groove a tad deeper in the blade chucks, And very carefully put it all back together trying to make sure everything aligned properly. I notice a considerable drop in the "noise level" with the additional modifications I made. I accidently found something that sort of surprised me. when the machine is running at full tilt, I backed off the tensioning lever from 5 to 3 and and clicking, clacking or other noise just subsided down to nothing. Moving the lever back to "5" max tension, the noise picked up quite a bit and seems to be coming from the upper arm where the tensioning rod is. So, next time I have the opportunity, should I back it out one turn ? Tighten it one more turn ?? other than that, it is running 50% better than yesterday and I'm very satisified with it as it is (so I'm going to leave it alone for now). thanks again for the tips and notes.

yep - that's how I lucked out in this one - the seller didn't have the knowledge, ambition or time to mess with it. So he just "got rid of it". Hopefully, someone will stumble across the conversations and this excercise will get them to get up and running. Thanks again for tips. John

The tension rod that connects to the tensioner arm is held very firmly in place by the cap. While I had it open, there was no slack or slop in the rod itself. I'm done. There is nothing else to do. For me, in my very limited experience, it is running perfect now. Very, very little to no vibration and the blade is perfectly aligned (for me) and I'm very satisfied with the machine as it is running now, all I have to do is put some projects through it and see how they turn out. in http://www.scrollsaws.com/ Stopping the knock on the Dewalt: to remove the knocking noise you need to adjust the tensioning rod #24 counter clockwise (lengthens the assembly).Try one full turn. Then you say to turn in, not out (clockwise) . . . . well, since I didn't notice any movement in the rod while it was running wide open, I didn't do anything to it and buttoned it all up and it's done. Thanks for the input. Edit: The cheap Point-n-Shoot camera that I am using (not a smart phone) may be amplifying and distorting the sound which you hear in the video that sounds like it is coming apart. And actually, in person, it is running very smooth and I do not hear a knocking noise or other screaching sounds. (so it may be my recording device).

Ray - I shaved off the hump on the first time taking it apart. During my internet searches for problems, this was one of the common ones - so that's been done

Having read all the DIY articles on addressing the knocking noise, I pretty much eliminated all that I could find and fix myself. The question I have now is for the Tensioning Rod, Part# 24. From what I can see, this rod (or its parts) does not move when in use. There are no moving parts that come in contact with it while in use. So, how is adjusting this rod a potential solution to any knocking sounds ?? I have a very simple mind. I just can't figure out why some people say this "may be" one of the culprits. So, what am I missing here ?? (before I put it back together again for the 6th time).

I pretty much made it flat from the rear to the front on the belt sander like this example. I'll spend some time in the trouble shooting section of the link you provided when my mental capacity improves (LOL if there is such a thing). I think that replacing and repacking all the greased fittings made a huge difference. Now, just to get it fine-tuned to run like a sewing machine. I can see now that a new potentiometer is in the near future. thanks again for the kind words

thanks, Ray - yeah, I saw that tip on grinding off the corner of the plate and did it while I had it apart. I've only ran the saw that few minutes in the video - I just don't have the energy or ambition right now to do anything. (just recovering from Covid-19). When I finally get my stamina back, I'll take some time to get it fine-tuned and start cutting some projects. I haven't had a decent scroller since the late '70s. So this is quite an addition to the shop.

This is my latest "Barn Find" that needed a little love. (a tutorial on how to re-pack a bearing with new grease)

thanks for the kind words - I'm not really a scroller "enthusiast", per se. I like to make dimensional signs and have always used the band saw, routers, or Roto-Zip to cut the elements out then do some handcarving to perk them up a bit. I'll put some of my projects in my folder later on. I work mostly with HDU (High Density Urethane). I very rarely clear-coat anything. (I'm a painter. That's what I do. I like to paint things).

I joined here back in Nov-2018 with the "anticipation" of getting a scroll saw some day . . . . well, it took awhile, but, it finally came about. I'm 74, retired from the commercial dimensional advertising world. (carved and routed signs). I've always used the Roto-Zip, band saw, or other tools to make my projects. (wishing many times I had a good scroll saw). Well, I finally found an old DW-788 that the original owner said "it finally gave up the ghost" and advertised it on FaceBook. (Needing much repair). After a lot of research on the Ole Tube, I see that the major components that go bad aren't all that expensive so I picked the saw up for cheap (real cheap). So now, with a very modest investment, I think I have a pretty reliable machine. I'll cruise through the forums to see what's going on around here. Thanks for having me !! John