Blade adjustment issues

[new2woodwrk]

Saw: Delta 40-694 20"

This just started to happen the other day, and I need the experts help/advice...

I tune my adjustment every so often on the saw. I don't do it every time I change blades, just when I find a puzzle is not fitting correctly.

Usually, I can adjust the 90 degree lateral on the table/blade fairly easily.

However the other day, I notice after cutting a puzzle that was way out of whack, that the forward to rear alignment was misaligned significantly and I have no idea how to fix/adjust that!

I don't see an adjustment for forward/rear lateral movement.

I purchased the Scroll Saw Chuck Heads by Pegas Made for DeWalt & Delta thinking this would help solve my problem.

Questions:

• Has anyone else installed these heads?
• Has it made a difference?
• Is there an adjustment for the forward/rear alignment I'm not seeing?

Thanks as always in advance

Edited March 9, 2021 by new2woodwrk

[kmmcrafts]

Is this a sudden onset? I assume so by the way you found this issue so I'd first check the table alignment of the saw.. ie have you pushed / picked up on your saw by the table? Check to be sure it's mounted correctly in the pivot point at the back of the table as well as seated in the front angle adjustment mechanism...

I believe the Delta is like the DeWalt and there is no adjustment like the other slightly higher end saws have. This is what we talk a lot about with Excaliburs and like saws.. as well as Hawks..

Some of the first few DW type 2's was horrid and people was modifying them to make them cut right.. one of these mods was raising or lowering the table to come in line with the blade better.. so if this is a kind of all of a sudden thing.. I'm wondering it you may have picked up on the saw by the table and bumped it out of whack somehow.. 

This also can happen over time with worn bearings inside the saw at the back and allowing the upper arm to drop lower than it used to.. Make sure the upper arm is also coming down all the way and that there is no build up of sawdust or something that maybe stopping it from coming down all the way.. That upper arm should be parallel to the table.. My opinion is either the table got bumped out of alignment or the upper arm is not down all the way... hopefully it's not worn already and coming down too far.. normally in this case though.. I'd think you'd hear a lot of racket knocking noise of a worn bearing.. Loose motor could also do this some.. as that is the way the EX saws change the alignment.. by rotating the motor it changes the geometry of the blade angle during the up down movement.

Also check the front rocker arms for excessive slop where they connect to the saws link arms etc.. these bearings and bushings could be worn enough to allow the alignment to be wacked.. but again I would think you'd have some noise or vibration issues..  

Best of luck figuring this out..    

I'll touch back on installing Pegas blade chucks later if nobody has done so yet. But to answer the quick question.. I do not believe this will resolve the issue you are having.. I gotta get out to the shop and get these orders done.. I'll touch back maybe at lunch time or this evening.

Edited March 9, 2021 by kmmcrafts

[Brokentone]

Possibly something is stuck in the chuck not allowing blade all the way in to the stop, if you put something behind the blade and cycle it up and down you will be able to see if it is the top or the bottom that is causing this. 
Good luck

Bob

[LarryEA]

1. It could very well be the blade is FLEXING during the cut.

   This does happen with some thin blades. Especially with hard or thick wood.

2. The wood has a slight bow and is not perfectly flat on the table.

    It rocks a little as you cut, it's hard to distinguish this as you cut.

3. Worn part, could be. I doubt this.

I have two Delta 40-694's and have not ever had a front to rear alignment problem. 

This saw is made so the blade has a slight forward to back movement and the blade 

'looks to be out of alignment but is not. As I look at my saws, the upper and lower clamps are 'hard' fixed in place. No adjustments can be made except how you have placed the blade in the clamps.

You could check to see if the 'table' is properly installed. Maybe the grommet in the back where the table fits is worn and it is clamped in the front correctly.

[OCtoolguy]

With my limited knowledge of the Delta/Dewalt saws, I'd say that what everybody has suggested pretty well covers it. When I had my Dewalt, I tried the whole thing with elongating the holes in the front lower arm in order to move the assembly forward. That did take some of the aggression out of the saw but it really wasn't worth the time and effort involved. I just learned to work with it. You have had your saw long enough that you should have pretty well learned its quirks. So if something has "suddenly" happened, I'd be looking for some sort of out of alignment of the table. Check and recheck where it mounts in the front trunnion. Make sure those 2 bolts are tight. And check the table pivoting to make sure the little slider that guides in the slot is still in alignment. At the rear, there should not be any movement up, down or sideways. Good luck. It's something simple I'll just bet.

 

[new2woodwrk]

On 3/9/2021 at 12:29 PM, LarryEA said:

1. It could very well be the blade is FLEXING during the cut.

   This does happen with some thin blades. Especially with hard or thick wood.

2. The wood has a slight bow and is not perfectly flat on the table.

    It rocks a little as you cut, it's hard to distinguish this as you cut.

3. Worn part, could be. I doubt this.

I have two Delta 40-694's and have not ever had a front to rear alignment problem. 

This saw is made so the blade has a slight forward to back movement and the blade 

'looks to be out of alignment but is not. As I look at my saws, the upper and lower clamps are 'hard' fixed in place. No adjustments can be made except how you have placed the blade in the clamps.

You could check to see if the 'table' is properly installed. Maybe the grommet in the back where the table fits is worn and it is clamped in the front correctly.

Thanks @LarryEA That's exactly what it was and then some...

After reading the replies I went back and re-examined the table - it's tight and not moved (i had taken it apart a few days earlier so it was still very tight)

I noticed that forward to rear alignment you mentioned and then noticed I had not "seated" the blade all the way into the holder which gave it even more of an "out of whack" appearance

Once I re-seated the blade and cut another puzzle, all was well with the world again

Thanks to everyone for their replies - greatly appreciate it

Now not sure what to do with the Pegas Chuck Heads I ordered

[OCtoolguy]

2 hours ago, new2woodwrk said:

Thanks @LarryEA That's exactly what it was and then some...

After reading the replies I went back and re-examined the table - it's tight and not moved (i had taken it apart a few days earlier so it was still very tight)

I noticed that forward to rear alignment you mentioned and then noticed I had not "seated" the blade all the way into the holder which gave it even more of an "out of whack" appearance

Once I re-seated the blade and cut another puzzle, all was well with the world again

Thanks to everyone for their replies - greatly appreciate it

Now not sure what to do with the Pegas Chuck Heads I ordered

You will love them. I'll bet that once you install them, you'll find a bit less vibration. They are just better. And when you do install them make sure that the anvil screws are in alignment so that the blade sits absolutely straight up and down in them. Then, if you do have to adjust them, make sure you recheck your table to blade alignment. Once all that is done, get to cutting.

 

[LarryEA]

14 hours ago, new2woodwrk said:

Thanks @LarryEA That's exactly what it was and then some...

After reading the replies I went back and re-examined the table - it's tight and not moved (i had taken it apart a few days earlier so it was still very tight)

I noticed that forward to rear alignment you mentioned and then noticed I had not "seated" the blade all the way into the holder which gave it even more of an "out of whack" appearance

Once I re-seated the blade and cut another puzzle, all was well with the world again

Thanks to everyone for their replies - greatly appreciate it

Now not sure what to do with the Pegas Chuck Heads I ordered

If you ever have a problem with your40-694 clamps, just sand them flat.

I have never needed new clamps.

[kmmcrafts]

1 hour ago, LarryEA said:

If you ever have a problem with your40-694 clamps, just sand them flat.

I have never needed new clamps.

I ran my DeWalt for 10 years production cutting.. Never replaced the clamps either.. Bought some as spares as everyone mentioned how the over tightening will spread the clamp and or strip the threads..

It's important to maintain the clamps though.. Keep the little spinning insert on the thumb screw lubed and spinning freely.. Keep oil off of them but yet you need to keep the threaded part oiled and working very smoothly.. gritty threads can make you over tighten on the blade and or get the threads boogered up.. When lubed up and working properly I was always able to feel that rubber O-ring squish when tightening the blade.. that was my Q to say that the blade is tight enough.. If it's slips then I need to dress the end and clean / oil the thread. 

 

 

[ike]

When I had my delta and dewalt saws I had problems with the blade alinement. I used a michinist square ( 2").   to aline my blades both saws the table was a pain to aline. My excalaber is real simple. when you tighten  the table after alining the blade it sometimes doesnd't stay true.

IKE

[rash_powder]

Any saw that uses parallel arms to move the blade up and down, will move that blade ever so slightly front to rear.  The longer the arms, the less that motion will be.  This is because the arms each pivot around a point, that is located the same distance from the ends, making the arms sweep out a circle.  The two arms work together to keep the blade oriented vertical, but the arc makes the blade move fore and aft slightly.  Longer arms will have a greater arc, so less fore-aft; shorter arms will have a smaller arc so more fore-aft.

I hope that makes sense.  Its kinda hard to describe.  

[Rockytime]

46 minutes ago, rash_powder said:

Any saw that uses parallel arms to move the blade up and down, will move that blade ever so slightly front to rear.  The longer the arms, the less that motion will be.  This is because the arms each pivot around a point, that is located the same distance from the ends, making the arms sweep out a circle.  The two arms work together to keep the blade oriented vertical, but the arc makes the blade move fore and aft slightly.  Longer arms will have a greater arc, so less fore-aft; shorter arms will have a smaller arc so more fore-aft.

I hope that makes sense.  Its kinda hard to describe.  

Perhaps 20 or more years ago I attended a woodworking show where I watched a dime being crossed out on a Hegner. At that time I didn't know a scroll saw from a ham sandwich. The demo was fascinating. I was the only one watching at that particular moment and was given a long demo. He said that the Hegner was the only saw that had a perfect up and down motion. Course that comment stuck in my mind. Now of course, I know that is not true, just a sales pitch. However I was fascinated but I recall the show special was something like $800. I could be all wet on that. But, eversince then I wanted one. Not for scrolling per se but for cutting out small brass clock parts. I had been using a piercing saw or fret saw. It was not until I discovered scrolling art work did I finally get two used Hegners, an 18" and 14". Scrolling has never been the same. Sorry for the Highjacked thread.

[OCtoolguy]

On 3/20/2021 at 5:47 PM, Rockytime said:

Perhaps 20 or more years ago I attended a woodworking show where I watched a dime being crossed out on a Hegner. At that time I didn't know a scroll saw from a ham sandwich. The demo was fascinating. I was the only one watching at that particular moment and was given a long demo. He said that the Hegner was the only saw that had a perfect up and down motion. Course that comment stuck in my mind. Now of course, I know that is not true, just a sales pitch. However I was fascinated but I recall the show special was something like $800. I could be all wet on that. But, eversince then I wanted one. Not for scrolling per se but for cutting out small brass clock parts. I had been using a piercing saw or fret saw. It was not until I discovered scrolling art work did I finally get two used Hegners, an 18" and 14". Scrolling has never been the same. Sorry for the Highjacked thread.

I recall how happy you were with your Hawks. BUT then you got you first little Hegner. And then your second. No looking back.