Dave Monk bought a Dewalt Scrollsaw today

[LarryEA]

Congratu;ations Dave !!!!!!!

How late are you staying up?

Or should I say, "How long did you stay up?"

Tested it out?

[Dave Monk]

I have tested it out and am pleased. I did not buy the Dewalt light because I have not heard many good comments on it.  I would appreciate any alternative lighting ideas. It also appears that an arm lift might be handy. I see there are a few different types on the market. Any opinions on those would be appreciated. dave

[Scrolling Steve]

Congrats Dave !....Enjoy !

[dgman]

Congratulations Dave! It should serve you well!

The DeWalt saw was designed for top feeding. That is feeding the blade through the top of the blank when doing inside cuts. If you learn to top feed, an arm lift is not needed.

I started scroll sawing on a 16" saw that was very tedious to change from one hole to the next. When the DeWalt saws came out, I had to have one. For me, top feeding came very natural. When the arm lifts became available, I had to have one. After a few weeks, I realized it was just in the way so I took it off.

If you learn to top feed, you don't need an arm lift,

[Gordster]

Good going Dave, I am jealous

[Ron Johnson]

Congrats Dave. Save your money purchasing a arm lift. Dan is right. If you learn to top feed an arm lift isn't needed. As for a light I've always used one that's attached to my table. Lamp has a magnifier.

[Lucky2]

Congrats on the new saw purchase Dave, hope you enjoy owning it.

Len

[Dave Monk]

Ron, Do you know the brand of light. Does it get in your way since it is attached to the table? dave

[heppnerguy]

I too had a magnifying and lighted lamp and for me, I did not like the magnification distortions, I felt from it. I also did not like having something between me and my  work, so I gave it to my daughter. To each his own and nothing is perfect for every scroller

 

Dick

heppnerguy

[wombatie]

You and your DeWalt will be very happy together, believe me me and mine are.   

 

Marg

[Sparkey]

Congrats on the new saw. I found that if I tightened a bolt in the bottom arm just a little the top arm will stay up by itself like the EX. As for a light I bought a magnifier with LED's around it at woodcraft for around $40. It's a nice white light and they never shine in your eyes. At my age I need the magnifier. Enjoy the new saw.

[Phantom Scroller]

Well done Dave I think a block of wood would do the job for a lift I have a arm light and magnifier on my saw. Roly

[FranMike Harley]

Congrats Dave .. Here's to you and many happy scrolling years ahead of you !!

[GrampaJim]

Ron and Dan are right, learn to top feed and you will like it a lot!  Once you learn it, it is faster and easier. 

[Scrappile]

Great saw, congratulations.  I purchased a Magnifying lamp from Harbor Freight for around $40 and it works well.  I  have since purchased a little more expensive one and it works even better.  The reason I stepped up a notch on the light is I prefer LED lights over Fluorescent and the glass lens has less distortion and will not scratch as easily as the plastic one on the HF one.  That being said the HF one works fine, I now use it as an extra light to even better light my work.

 

As for the arm lift I had a JimDandy on mine, worked just fine and I am sure the others on the market do also.  A block of wood works fine also, except I kept knocking it off the table top.

 

I can not top feed so the lift was required for me. 

[Young_Scroller]

http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/topic/7697-click-n-lock/?hl=%2Bdewalt+%2Barm+%2Blift#entry54007

Check out this post and scroll down a little bit someone made there own arm lifter and in my opinion looks easier and better than most you can buy.

As for what sparkey said, I read somewhere that iif you tighten the bolt that he mentoned it will where the inside bearings out faster

[rdatelle]

Congrats Dave. You'll like it. The light I use is one of those magnifying ones with the light around it and it's magnified so it sticks to the metal table and you can just slide it around if it's in the way of some of your work.

[CharleyL]

Here is the lifter that is on my DeWalt   http://www.jimdandy.com/products.html

 

It's a spring counterweight system. With it in place and adjusted you can lift the arm to almost any position and it will stay there. 

I'm not saying that this one is any better than the others, just putting it out here for you to make your own choice, but this one works pretty good for me.

 

Charley

[Dave Monk]

I was at Walmart this morning and found a light that works perfect for me. It's almost like it was made for it. It cost $7.98. Thank you for all the great comments you all have made. dave

[jbrowning]

Congratulations Dave, I'm sure you are going to make great things.

[Doug]

I have tested it out and am pleased. I did not buy the Dewalt light because I have not heard many good comments on it.  I would appreciate any alternative lighting ideas. It also appears that an arm lift might be handy. I see there are a few different types on the market. Any opinions on those would be appreciated. dave

If you purchase one, I really recommend The Lifter

 

http://papasworkshop-org.3dcartstores.com/

 

I really liked it and they also advertise on this site.

[amazingkevin]

I have tested it out and am pleased. I did not buy the Dewalt light because I have not heard many good comments on it.  I would appreciate any alternative lighting ideas. It also appears that an arm lift might be handy. I see there are a few different types on the market. Any opinions on those would be appreciated. dave

I think the arm lifer i have is called the jim dandy,like it

[Scrappile]

If you purchase one, I really recommend The Lifter

 

http://papasworkshop-org.3dcartstores.com/

 

I really liked it and they also advertise on this site.

 

 

 

 

Good point, they are all good, so why not buy from someone that helps support this site.

[heppnerguy]

Congrats on the new saw. I found that if I tightened a bolt in the bottom arm just a little the top arm will stay up by itself like the EX. As for a light I bought a magnifier with LED's around it at woodcraft for around $40. It's a nice white light and they never shine in your eyes. At my age I need the magnifier. Enjoy the new saw.

 

Sparkey,

    I saw an article on tightening the bolt to hold up your saw arm. I also  did it until I read the article. It said NOT to do this as it cause undue stress on the bearing it supports and will cause early wear, I immediately put mine back to it normal torque. Did not seem worth the price I might have to pay. I just use a 2 X 4 and it is no extra effort after a short while as it becomes habit. I also tried the wooden knob that Steve Good designed to help one give easier tightening and extra tightening on the blade thumb screw and in a very short time, i stripped it out, had a weeks downtime and unneeded expense from it.

 

Dick

heppnerguy

[EarltheScroller]

I will argue with each and every soul that says an arm lifter is not necessary. I went for 8 years without one...used a block of wood. I splurged last year and got the Jim Dandy, mentioned above, and it is the single best purchase I have made. Yes, it is a top feeder, but every time you put the arm up you have to block it to keep it up while you feed the blade through the hole in the wood...at least if you are doing a fret work. Now I just push the arm up and it stays there. I can't understand why that is not part of the package. As for lights I have an old one from somewhere that has a big magnet base. It just sits way back on the saw's table and I can adjust it. Sorry no help about where it came from but it works great.