Saw Maintenance?

[new2woodwrk]

I  know most of you don't have the Delta 40-694 saw, but I am wondering about maintenance on the machine.

My machine is starting to make loud noises  when cutting. I am cutting at a faster speed, so not sure if that has anything to do with it.

But as I move a piece of wood through the blade it sounds to me like it is need of lubrication - kinda like a thump thump thump more than a metal on metal scraping - LOL if that means anything to anyone

I've read the user manual several times and don't see any reference to having to oil or lubricate anything. In fact it says it is not needed as it is a sealed unit

Does that sound correct or am i missing an entire section of the manual?

I hope it's not wearing out already, but if it is I see a new Dewalt or something in my future LOL. And now that the wife enjoys scrolling there would be no problem funding it

However, I do hope this is normal and I have a lot more hours worth on the Delta

Thanks as always in advance

 

[ike]

I had one and it ran good for 2 years and then everythin happend . It vibrated a lot and made the noise as yu discribe it was still under in the warent area. so Itook it to a repair shop that was 4 month ago and the repair shop is still waiting on parts in lthe mean time I bought a new saw and it wasn't a delta. I wish you luck.

IKRE

[amazingkevin]

Don,t you just hate it!!! Our eeonly love, our scroll saw.when I wear one out it,s bye bye and up grade everytime.new is always nice!!!

[kmmcrafts]

I think the Delta is basically the same as the DeWalt isn't it? 

Most saws these days require no maintenance.. They are sealed but not sealed, LOL.. Basically they are open needle bearings inside the case of the saw.. so inside the saw they claim is sealed... while not a lot of dust etc is inside them when I have taken them apart.. they still do have some.. 

I think if you watched the videos for doing the Dewalt saws you'll find that the Delta is the same inside the case once you pull the covers off.. From the factory they put very little grease on those bearings.. and it's not a bad idea to pull one apart and grease it up after a year of running it a moderate amount.. Now if you cut like Iggy or I then you might need to do it at about the 6 month timeline.. I think once one cleans out the old cheap grease and adds a quality synthetic grease you could probably run it a couple years between grease jobs.. 

The manufacture says no maintenance but when it wears out they are happy to sell you new bearing assemblies which cost nearly the same as a new saw.. so really they build them to not really last real long.. A quality saw like Hawk and Hegner do not have all the covers and you can put a few drops of oil on them every 25 ish hours use... run them for years before they need any bearings.. I will say the assemblies for the EX- Pegas types saws are not so pricey like they are with the DeWalt / Delta saws.. so it's worth buying the $120 -150 in parts.. If yu mechanical inclined you take a new or lightly used saw and clean up the bearings etc and add your good grease .. you have a good saw for a few years.. and not cost nothing but a half day of tinkering and very little bit of grease.. wait until you start making sounds.. too late.. at least some of the bearing will need replaced..    

[OCtoolguy]

It's not difficult to take those saws apart. It sounds to me like something has come loose more so than a bearing going bad. A couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon and you will have it apart and more than likely have found your problem. Once  you understand how it all works, you'll be able to do it much faster. Watch the video series on Youtube done by Bob Brokaw on a Dewalt. Not that much different.

 

[Woodrush]

Bob Brokaw on gwinette woodworkers has all the videos to do your bearings. He is the Ray Seymore of dewalt

[new2woodwrk]

10 hours ago, octoolguy said:

It's not difficult to take those saws apart. It sounds to me like something has come loose more so than a bearing going bad. A couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon and you will have it apart and more than likely have found your problem. Once  you understand how it all works, you'll be able to do it much faster. Watch the video series on Youtube done by Bob Brokaw on a Dewalt. Not that much different.

 

Thanks,

I'll take a look. Unfortunately, that may be the Coup de grâce for the saw LOL. I'm not very mechanically inclined.

[Be_O_Be]

This may help

[OCtoolguy]

5 hours ago, new2woodwrk said:

Thanks,

I'll take a look. Unfortunately, that may be the Coup de grâce for the saw LOL. I'm not very mechanically inclined.

Well, I'll bet Kevin will take it off your hands. And he is fairly close to you.

 

[OCtoolguy]

After reading and thinking back on my Dewalt, there was a problem with the tension rod that after a while would start a knocking noise. And the fix was fairly easy. It did require a bit of work and some filing but nothing to serious. Go over to Rick's Scrollsaw, Scrollsaws.com, and read on there about the Dewalt tension rod adjustment and the filing away of the underside of the tension rod cover where you make your tension adjustment. You might get away with just a turn or two on the rod to take up some of the slack in it. Very easy fix.

 

[new2woodwrk]

1 hour ago, Be_O_Be said:

This may help

Thanks,

Yes it does.

However, even though mine is a little loose the bolts and lock nuts are tight - I can't even loosen them they're so tight

And like that thread, both my top and bottom arms are wobbly - however, I do know they've always been that way. I know this because I noticed it in the beginning when I first got the saw

I notice also that the noise only happens when I am cutting

 

 

[OCtoolguy]

1 hour ago, new2woodwrk said:

Thanks,

Yes it does.

However, even though mine is a little loose the bolts and lock nuts are tight - I can't even loosen them they're so tight

And like that thread, both my top and bottom arms are wobbly - however, I do know they've always been that way. I know this because I noticed it in the beginning when I first got the saw

I notice also that the noise only happens when I am cutting

 

 

Well, that tells you that when you "load" the mechanism, it is removing the "slack" from all the parts and transferring it to some other parts. I'd seriously look at adjusting the tension rod and relieving the area under the tension adjuster cover so that the rod cannot contact the cover. Once that is eliminated, if you still have the noise, then you will know that's not it. But, it's a fairly common and known condition that is very easily fixed. Also, spending a few dollars on the Pegas blade clamps will take the sloppiness out of the area that is now very loose. When I first heard the knocking noise on my used Dewalt, that's when I decided to dig into it. When I got it apart, I found a very loose bolt back toward the motor on the main drive link. Someone had installed the wrong bolt. I replaced it with the right one and installed it the correct direction. While I was in there, I took it all apart from the rear to the front and cleaned and greased every bearing with the Valvoline synthetic grease. That in itself will go a long way toward removing unwanted sounds. I inspected all of the sleeves and found none that required replacing but I could see where there were many that were dry and would have failed. Do yourself a favor and either do it yourself or have a more mechanically inclined friend help you with it. Your saw will outlive you if you do.

 

[Woodrush]

7 hours ago, octoolguy said:

Well, that tells you that when you "load" the mechanism, it is removing the "slack" from all the parts and transferring it to some other parts. I'd seriously look at adjusting the tension rod and relieving the area under the tension adjuster cover so that the rod cannot contact the cover. Once that is eliminated, if you still have the noise, then you will know that's not it. But, it's a fairly common and known condition that is very easily fixed. Also, spending a few dollars on the Pegas blade clamps will take the sloppiness out of the area that is now very loose. When I first heard the knocking noise on my used Dewalt, that's when I decided to dig into it. When I got it apart, I found a very loose bolt back toward the motor on the main drive link. Someone had installed the wrong bolt. I replaced it with the right one and installed it the correct direction. While I was in there, I took it all apart from the rear to the front and cleaned and greased every bearing with the Valvoline synthetic grease. That in itself will go a long way toward removing unwanted sounds. I inspected all of the sleeves and found none that required replacing but I could see where there were many that were dry and would have failed. Do yourself a favor and either do it yourself or have a more mechanically inclined friend help you with it. Your saw will outlive you if you do.

 

I agree. I've watched all the videos because I sold my almost 3 year old type2 to my buddy. The saw has a lot of hours on it but I installed the Lever pegas chucks when they first came out. I always hated the dewalt tension. When the saw was new I was setting at 3 but after 6 months I was over 4.I was just starting to get the tension noise when I put the pegas on. That saw still runs like brand new. But I know I will have to help him rip it down and do what Kevin did

[Dennisfm56]

I took my Delta apart and found a bearing on the pivot rod that was dry and it was making a sound. Works fine now and taking apart and reassembly was greatly assisted by the videos mentioned and taking pics at each step along the way.

[OCtoolguy]

7 hours ago, Dennisfm56 said:

I took my Delta apart and found a bearing on the pivot rod that was dry and it was making a sound. Works fine now and taking apart and reassembly was greatly assisted by the videos mentioned and taking pics at each step along the way.

The camera/phone is one of the handiest things I own. I take pictures of everything I do. 

[Rockytime]

14 hours ago, octoolguy said:

The camera/phone is one of the handiest things I own. I take pictures of everything I do. 

Yeah, l do too. Love pictures. Years ago I was heavy into photography. Had a fortune in several cameras and lens. Now just a cell phone and the results are nearly as good. 

[OCtoolguy]

2 hours ago, Rockytime said:

Yeah, l do too. Love pictures. Years ago I was heavy into photography. Had a fortune in several cameras and lens. Now just a cell phone and the results are nearly as good. 

I still have a Canon A-1 with lenses, auto winder, Canon flash. About 2 grand invested. I never did learn how to use it to its full extent. I have really burned through a lot of money with all of my hobbies. I'm so happy I never got into stereo and recording. That's a really deep hole. I did make sure though that I was always on the good side of people who owned swimming pools, mountain cabins, boats and airplanes. 

 

[Rockytime]

I think I had no less that a half dozen 35mm cameras, telephoto , wide angle and macro lens. One reason is my art department made custom presentation slides for the oil patch when oil was king in Denver. As a result I had a Forox slide duping system and bought my film in bulk. The cameras were "business expenses." I'm afraid I hijacked this thread. My bad.