Ok so I gave in!

[Tdub4ever]

Been having a lot of trouble with my scroll sawa lately. Don't know what the problem is, but I've been through 3 tensions rods for my Ryobi in the last 2 weeks. I use my 24" craftsman, but since it only has 2 speeds, snail and lightning, which lightning is just too fast and snail is too slow I go through blades like crazy. So, i gave in and ordered a Dewalt 788! I will get it before the 29th. I know the majority of you have one, is there anything I should know before using it? I'm excited!!! 

[wombatie]

Yes, you will love it.

 

Marg

[PaPa50707]

Have fun with your new scroll saw.

[Barry5180]

You are going to love this saw! I upgraded from a Craftsman a few years back and couldn't believe the difference. Enjoy

 

Barry

[amazingkevin]

if your an avid user like I was keep your top thumb screw cleaned out and lubed it wears out 10 times faster than the bottom one. Get rid of the annoying light that comes with it. Keep an eye on the underneath table screws ,they fall out. Your blade tension adjustment should be 2 to 2.5 if not your doing something wrong. Tighter than that will cause premature wear out. Best thing I ever did was take it apart and repack all the bearings I could with Valvoline synthetic grease. Only two bearings I could not take out to do so and one of them is real bad ,but lubing up the machine this way you would never know it has a problem. This bearing is on the bottom from mechanism above the degree wheel. I don't know what to call this assembly for you. but I love the machine ,at least you can do precision work with it , and quite ,not a whisper. if anybody knows of a better machine that's lasts with out fixing offen  i'd like to know about it ,I hate down time.  

[Jim Finn]

.. if anybody knows of a better machine that's lasts with out fixing offen  i'd like to know about it ,I hate down time.  

Hegner will out last a DeWalt by decades.

[amazingkevin]

THANKS JIM,WHICH MODEL AND DO YOU HAVE A WEB SITE TO SEE THESE.I DIEING TO TRY YOUR METHOD OF INLAY.THATS GOING TO BE THE CATS ASS FOR ME.THE CAT HOLDS ITS TAIL UP HIGH AS IT'S PROUD OF IT'S BUTT IS WHAT I FOUND OUT ABOUT THE AS A CATS ASS SAYING ,DON'T WANT TO RUDE.WHICH MODEL HEGNER DO YOU HAVE.I THINK CHANGING THE BLADES IS TEDIOUS?BUT DON'T KNOW.  

[heppnerguy]

Don,

  you will enjoy your new saw. I have had one for several years and I really like mine. I do believe that it is not the very best saw onthe market but it is also a long way from the price of a lot of the others. I think it is the best one for the money and I would purchase my saw again if I was on the morket for one. I have had to replace one of the set screws because I made and used a pattern to help  tighten the set screws and it put too much stress on the threads, so I suggest you do not do that. Other than that, the more i use my saw, the more I like it. It is a great saw. I too have a Ryobe VR sitting under my bench. It was ok for a starter saw but you are right , the tention rod is not worth the metal it is made from. If Ryobe woke up and changed the quality of that piece , they would have many scrollers that would not be looking for new machines. It is a little troublesome threading the blade but all in all not too bad to work with. The parts are cheep, but unfortunately in more ways than one.

    Let us know how when you get your saw and if you have any questions about it, just post, Oh by the way, if you ever do have anything go wrong with it, you will find that you can take it apart, yourself and reassemble it without worrying about thing. It is a very simple machine that is very user friendly.

 

Dick

heppnerguy

[Jim Finn]

The Hegners I have are listed in my signature.  Blade changes are not as easy as they are on a DeWalt.  Not a big deal to me, doing inlay, because you only make one blade change for the whole inlay unlike fretwork, that may require hundreds of, one end of the blade being removed and reconnected, per project.

Edited October 23, 2013 by Jim Finn

[Fish]

Have fun, you'll like it so much you'll be up all night !

[TXScrollsawartist]

Don,

 

Like Kevin said watch the screws. I ended up using plumbers nylon tape to give the screws that slight extra grab so they don't work loose. I also found that the front mounting bolt holes were ackward to use when I mounted it to my bench top. I bolted the saw to a piece of plywood and then screwed that to my bench top. If you are going to use the stand, you are not going to have that problem.

 

One more thing. I wasn't born with three hands so I cut a 4 inch block to hold the arm up so I can hold the piece being cut while threading a blade through a tiny pilot hole. You will understand this as soon as you have to move your blade the first time in a piece of fretwork that is larger then 5x7.

 

I hope my two cents helped.

Mike

[Tdub4ever]

Thanks for the info Mike. As for having no room to feed the blade, I have the problem with my Craftsman now. In the pic, I'm cutting 1/8" stock and only have 1 1/2" or 1 3/4" space tp lift it. When I cut 3/4" or 1" stock, it's really a bear!

Edited October 24, 2013 by Tdub4ever

[TXScrollsawartist]

When you start using the DeWalt you will find that the tilt arm will allow you to stack cut 4 or 5 pieces of 1/8th inch stock. I would rather cut two stacks of five pieces of stock and have 10 finished pieces rather then cut the same design 10 times.

 

Have fun making lots of sawdust with your new toy!

Mike

[Fish]

Go over and see Steve Good's site and look at the " Lifter " from papas workshop.. Definitely worth the money and I got it in less than a week.

[Tdub4ever]

Sure can't wait to get the new saw boy! Cut this Charles Dearing pattern the last 2 days and used all these blades!

[Travis]

Go over and see Steve Good's site and look at the " Lifter " from papas workshop.. Definitely worth the money and I got it in less than a week.

 

 

The Lifter is advertised on this site too.  They have a banner at the top, as well as a link in the Hot Deals & Announcements.  He has a coupon code for 10% off that expires on Nov 1st.  You can find his thread here:  http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/topic/6481-arm-support-for-the-dewalt-788-delta-40-690-scroll-saws/?hl=lifter

[Barry5180]

The lifter works great. I purchased one about 1 1/2 years ago and haven't looked back. Saves a bunch of time when you have 500+ piercing cuts to do. Took about 10 minutes to install.

 

Barry

[TXScrollsawartist]

It looks like I found something else that I "need" - just watched the video on the Lifter. And I will use the 10% discount code too!

[rteubner]

I checked out the lifter after someone recommended it here and I ordered one. It came already and I put it on my saw last night. It works great!

[rjR]

When I bought my 788- Rockler had a special $400 in the box-- saw-stand-light.

 

The light is a big disappointment. Depending on how you mount your saw; factory stand or bench or home-made stand, I would find a way to do a better light system.

 

Mine came with the factory stand. I found the stand has room to just slip extra hardwood flooring between the stand and saw. I then made some  about 2 by 8 by 1 inch oak blocks-- drilled several holes in them- (screwed them parralell to the saw about 2 inches from each side. to the flooring) - that just fit the prong on the spring arm lamp that I previously modified. The lamp came with a hollow tube end and a slip -in clamp.

 

The 2 or 3 rd time I used it I flexed the hollow tube and cracked it. I then cut the head off about a 2-1/2 in long 1/4 inch bolt-- welded it in and repainted. Works much better than original;-- uses standard bulbs and can be moved where I need the kight for the project I ma working on/

 

 

 

I liked my light so well I did a similiar one for the drillpress!

 

U think the attached pictures will explain betterthan I did.

[Jim Finn]

I have that same light set up ProScroller.  My light was given to me and I would like another.  Where did you get yours?