I have a couple of problems...

[ThCubed]

I have a Delta SS350 scroll saw and the blower is barely working. Is this typical for this saw? It has been like this since I bought it. If not is it an easy fix that I could do or should I send it in for service? It is no longer under warrenty.

 

My second problem is, we purchased some forstner bits from Grizzley last week. The first time we used it we had no problems, but the second time it burned the wood quite badly. Is there a way to lubricate the bits? Did I do something wrong?

 

Thank you for your help,

Steve and Terry

[Dan]

Steve and Terry, what is the model of your scroll saw? The blower on most are easy to fix. There is probably a bellow on the upper or lower arm that has deteriorated. You will have to replace it. It's not a major chore.

 

The Forstner bits will burn on some woods. They tend to clog up when drilling. Are you using the bits in a drill press or hand drill? Either way, make sure you're drilling straight and drill just a little bit then remove the blade from the hole to clear out the wood chips. The bit will build up heat from friction and the only way I know to counter this is to let the bit cool.

 

Dan

[Firedkm]

As far as the saw goes there could be several problems. I would imagine if this started from day one the tube is either clogged, pinched or not connected properly. Also the speed you run your saw will effect how hard the blower will blow(not sure if you knew that or not). I would just go for it and try to fix it. It really should not be too hard.

 

as far as the Bits go........Dan said it best!

 

Good luck

[amazingkevin]

I used the quick fix my using a tennis ball mounted under the bottom arm with a hole drilled in the ball to put your air hose.Worked better than the original set up.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

It probably is an easy fix if it is just the bellow. Some people and I was one of them when I first started with a Dremel 2 speed saw way back when, buy a fish aquarium pump. Works great.

 

As far as the bits go for you to be getting burning in the second use a couple things maybe the cause. First off Grizzly is not the best bits out there but still should cut . SPEED is the culprit. Slow the speed down. Let me say that again. Slow the speed down. A forstner bit is not a high speed bit and the larger the size the slower the speed. A good bit will have the speed stamped on the bit or on the box it came with. The other thing to make sure is if cutting into resinous wood it will build up on the rim of the cutter so you need to clean this. Also keep the bits sharp. Good luck and happy drilling./

[ThCubed]

Thank you all for your help!!

 

I am using a drill press with the bits. Someone said to keep them sharp, how do you sharpen them? I'm sorry, I'm new to these type of bits. And I'm sure we didn't buy the best bits. They weren't cheap, but they weren't the real expensive ones either.

 

I like the tennis ball and fish pump ideas. I'm going to have to look into both of those untill I can find a replacement part for the bellows.

 

Any other help would be greatly appreciated. But so far ya'll have given me some great advice!!

 

Thanks,

Steve and Terry

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Thank you all for your help!!

 

I am using a drill press with the bits. Someone said to keep them sharp, how do you sharpen them? I'm sorry, I'm new to these type of bits. And I'm sure we didn't buy the best bits. They weren't cheap, but they weren't the real expensive ones either.

 

I like the tennis ball and fish pump ideas. I'm going to have to look into both of those untill I can find a replacement part for the bellows.

 

Any other help would be greatly appreciated. But so far ya'll have given me some great advice!!

 

Thanks,

Steve and Terry

 

 

 

Just a note when people talk forstner bits, alot of times they are referring to a sawtooth bit. A true forstner bits does not have jagged teeth going around the outside edge. These are sharpened differently than a sawtoothed bit. But here is a chart that shows bit speed and also a couple photos of sharpening. The one key thing is to never touch the outside of the bit with a grinding wheel or file. This will change the dimentions on the hole it cuts. Always sharpen from inside out. A small diamond file are very handy to touch up the edges of the bits and if you keep the file flat against all cutting edges a few quick passes and it is good to go. If you google forstner bit sharpening you will see many examples of how to do this. Good luck. Here is the chart.

 

http://www.wwch.org/TechData/Forstner_B ... Lo_Res.jpg

[ThCubed]

Thank you all for your help!!

 

I am using a drill press with the bits. Someone said to keep them sharp, how do you sharpen them? I'm sorry, I'm new to these type of bits. And I'm sure we didn't buy the best bits. They weren't cheap, but they weren't the real expensive ones either.

 

I like the tennis ball and fish pump ideas. I'm going to have to look into both of those untill I can find a replacement part for the bellows.

 

Any other help would be greatly appreciated. But so far ya'll have given me some great advice!!

 

Thanks,

Steve and Terry

 

 

Just a note when people talk forstner bits, alot of times they are referring to a sawtooth bit. A true forstner bits does not have jagged teeth going around the outside edge. These are sharpened differently than a sawtoothed bit. But here is a chart that shows bit speed and also a couple photos of sharpening. The one key thing is to never touch the outside of the bit with a grinding wheel or file. This will change the dimentions on the hole it cuts. Always sharpen from inside out. A small diamond file are very handy to touch up the edges of the bits and if you keep the file flat against all cutting edges a few quick passes and it is good to go. If you google forstner bit sharpening you will see many examples of how to do this. Good luck. Here is the chart.

 

http://www.wwch.org/TechData/Forstner_B ... Lo_Res.jpg

 

 

John, thank you so much for that chart. It will come in handy for future cuts. The picture of the bits looks like the bits we bought, so the chart will also be helpful in sharpening them as well. Your help is greatly apprciated!!

[steviegwood]

just a thought on the blower for your saw. if you find that it is the bellows that is damaged i suggest that you use one of the other methods that has been suggested. (tennis ball/aquarium pump) these methods will outlast the small rubber/plastic bellows 100 fold. steve

[ThCubed]

It probably is an easy fix if it is just the bellow. Some people and I was one of them when I first started with a Dremel 2 speed saw way back when, buy a fish aquarium pump. Works great.

 

As far as the bits go for you to be getting burning in the second use a couple things maybe the cause. First off Grizzly is not the best bits out there but still should cut . SPEED is the culprit. Slow the speed down. Let me say that again. Slow the speed down. A forstner bit is not a high speed bit and the larger the size the slower the speed. A good bit will have the speed stamped on the bit or on the box it came with. The other thing to make sure is if cutting into resinous wood it will build up on the rim of the cutter so you need to clean this. Also keep the bits sharp. Good luck and happy drilling./

 

John, I like the aquarium pump idea. I even have a couple laying around here somewhere. But not sure how to put it on the saw. Could you give me an idea how to set it up? Thanks for your help!! Steve and Terry

[merlin]

John thanks for the info on forstner bits, Now I now what I was doing wrong (speed).

 

Cheers Merlin

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

It probably is an easy fix if it is just the bellow. Some people and I was one of them when I first started with a Dremel 2 speed saw way back when, buy a fish aquarium pump. Works great.

 

As far as the bits go for you to be getting burning in the second use a couple things maybe the cause. First off Grizzly is not the best bits out there but still should cut . SPEED is the culprit. Slow the speed down. Let me say that again. Slow the speed down. A forstner bit is not a high speed bit and the larger the size the slower the speed. A good bit will have the speed stamped on the bit or on the box it came with. The other thing to make sure is if cutting into resinous wood it will build up on the rim of the cutter so you need to clean this. Also keep the bits sharp. Good luck and happy drilling./

 

John, I like the aquarium pump idea. I even have a couple laying around here somewhere. But not sure how to put it on the saw. Could you give me an idea how to set it up? Thanks for your help!! Steve and Terry

 

 

 

Steve way back when I first started scrolling aover 25 years ago, I had a Dremel 2 speed scrollsaw. They were all the rage because all these big companies were not around yet and these things everyone who scrolled owned one. But the blower was not good with it so I used an aquariam pump. All I did was place the pump off to the side. I eventuall made a little shelf for it and attached the shelf to the dremel stand it came with. I then took the clear flexible tubing which you can buy in home centers today and at that time got mine in the fish store. Attached it to the arm of the saw using tie wraps which again you can get at home centers. Cut the end on an angle and put a loop it in so that the dust would blow away from me and not torward me as most saws have. I used a two way adapter on my chord and turned it on. It stayed on till I was done. I have one of those power strips where all my scrollsaws are plugged into and at night all I do is turn the power strip off and shuts down everything that is plugged into it. Worked great and was quiet. They are cheap and you can probably find them in yard sales or even ebay.

[ThCubed]

It probably is an easy fix if it is just the bellow. Some people and I was one of them when I first started with a Dremel 2 speed saw way back when, buy a fish aquarium pump. Works great.

 

As far as the bits go for you to be getting burning in the second use a couple things maybe the cause. First off Grizzly is not the best bits out there but still should cut . SPEED is the culprit. Slow the speed down. Let me say that again. Slow the speed down. A forstner bit is not a high speed bit and the larger the size the slower the speed. A good bit will have the speed stamped on the bit or on the box it came with. The other thing to make sure is if cutting into resinous wood it will build up on the rim of the cutter so you need to clean this. Also keep the bits sharp. Good luck and happy drilling./

 

John, I like the aquarium pump idea. I even have a couple laying around here somewhere. But not sure how to put it on the saw. Could you give me an idea how to set it up? Thanks for your help!! Steve and Terry

 

 

 

Steve way back when I first started scrolling aover 25 years ago, I had a Dremel 2 speed scrollsaw. They were all the rage because all these big companies were not around yet and these things everyone who scrolled owned one. But the blower was not good with it so I used an aquariam pump. All I did was place the pump off to the side. I eventuall made a little shelf for it and attached the shelf to the dremel stand it came with. I then took the clear flexible tubing which you can buy in home centers today and at that time got mine in the fish store. Attached it to the arm of the saw using tie wraps which again you can get at home centers. Cut the end on an angle and put a loop it in so that the dust would blow away from me and not torward me as most saws have. I used a two way adapter on my chord and turned it on. It stayed on till I was done. I have one of those power strips where all my scrollsaws are plugged into and at night all I do is turn the power strip off and shuts down everything that is plugged into it. Worked great and was quiet. They are cheap and you can probably find them in yard sales or even ebay.

 

 

John, Thanks for your help! I'm definately going to give this a try! Steve

[two saws]

Steve and Terry, If it has been determened that the diaphram is split or otherwise inoperatable,that part is still available from Replacement Parts.com. But first take a look at the tube that connedts to the flexable nozzle abd see if it is kinked or if it is stopped up. When I took delivery on a new P-20 Delta I had the same problem of no air to the nozzle. After removing an inspection panel at the rear of the saw, I found that the tube had been installed with a very serious kink in it. After removing the tube and routing it like it should have been the blower worked just fine.

The company that I stated above is extremly good to work with and if they have the part in stock it will be shipped the same day. I did notice that the diaphram would have a 1to2 week shipping time. They have parts available for nearly any brand tool thats available now and parts for discontined tools.

Hope this helps,good luck.

Ervin

[ThCubed]

Steve and Terry, If it has been determened that the diaphram is split or otherwise inoperatable,that part is still available from Replacement Parts.com. But first take a look at the tube that connedts to the flexable nozzle abd see if it is kinked or if it is stopped up. When I took delivery on a new P-20 Delta I had the same problem of no air to the nozzle. After removing an inspection panel at the rear of the saw, I found that the tube had been installed with a very serious kink in it. After removing the tube and routing it like it should have been the blower worked just fine.

The company that I stated above is extremly good to work with and if they have the part in stock it will be shipped the same day. I did notice that the diaphram would have a 1to2 week shipping time. They have parts available for nearly any brand tool thats available now and parts for discontined tools.

Hope this helps,good luck.

Ervin

 

 

Ervin, Thanks for the information. I took the saw apart tonight and I can't find the blower. I'm not real knowledgable on scrollsaws, so I'm not sure how to locate it or fix it. I'll keep trying after Terry recovers from her surgery and gets back in the shop.

 

Everyone has been very helpful on this site. Thank you all for your information!!

 

Steve

[scrollsaw frank]

Hi Steve / Terry

I would suggest you go for the tennis ball idear, my Delta did the same thing ,

i try'd the fish tank pump and found it wasn't powerful enough, tried the tennis ball worked better but kept on moving out from under the arm ,

ended up with a cube shape, squeaky dogs ball, took the squeak out and fitted the blower pipe in the hole

--- hey presto !------ were back to work again , better than the original !!,

been using it 3 years or more now.

-------Frank---------

[amazingkevin]

Back atcha,The bellows is just behind the carrying handle on top ,inside.Part #8 They want $8.00 plus shipping for it. hope this helps.it should be about 2" by 2" clear,black or gray looking and you may not beable to see the air hose as it's situaded snug as a bug in there. It all just pulls out .