BluesMatt Posted October 15, 2020 Report Share Posted October 15, 2020 Hello everyone, Matt here, a newbie. I have 2 scroll saws; a Central Machinery (Harbor Freight) 16" and a used Hawk. So far, I have replaced the blade clamps on the HF saw so I can use flat end (pinless) blades and they seem to work very well. These clamps seem to grip a large portion of the blade end (the clamp is what grips the blade, not the screw). On the older Hawk, both the upper and lower blade clamps work by using the end of the screw to press against the blade end. When I slowly move the arm of each saw, it looks like the downstroke pushes the blade into the workpiece a small amount while the up stroke moves the blade away from the wood. At first I thought this was a good thing since the blade cuts (mostly) on the downstroke and moving the wood away from the blade on the upstroke might lessen the tendency for the wood to jump. My question is, should the blade move perfectly vertical or is it supposed to move slightly into and then away from the wood being cut. thanks OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockytime Posted October 15, 2020 Report Share Posted October 15, 2020 On all scroll saws the blade moves front to back a bit but some saws more than others depending on the type of saw design. There are others in the Village that can it more succinctly. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted October 15, 2020 Report Share Posted October 15, 2020 (edited) As Les stated, just about all scroll saws have some front to back motion. I think that is what they refer to as "aggression". It can be adjusted out of some saws quite easily and on others it requires some elongating of screw holes to move the lower blade mechanism one way or another. On the later model Hawks, there is an adjustment for that also. I'm not sure about the H/F saw. Anyway, if you can't adjust it out of the saw, you will just have to get used to it and let it be. The only saw that I think had a perfectly up/down stroke is the Eclipse but it is no longer made. The Excalibur/Excelsior/Pegas saws are the easiest to adjust. Edited October 15, 2020 by octoolguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trackman Posted October 15, 2020 Report Share Posted October 15, 2020 When I got my EX21 I put a piece of wood against the back of the blade. With the saw running I adjusted it until the wood stopped moving by being hit by the blade. Again not sure if you can adjust yours. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesMatt Posted October 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2020 Thanks for the replies. I'm a little smarter now thanks to you guys. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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