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I'm looking to get a new scroll saw (to replace a 1980's Craftsman). We've been replacing all our equipment with quieter systems, so I want to get something on the quieter side. I'm looking at the Seyco, Pegas, and Dewalt...and maybe Excalibur. Is there any data out there for dB level for these? Any owners want to use a phone noise level app and let me know what the approximate dB level is on your machine while cutting? Thanks!

Here's my version of a lift arm for the DeWalt DW788. I know, how many ways are there to skin a cat. I wanted something very simple to build and use. This design features a tapered catch that slides under the existing plastic housing by the speed control. The arm (1/8" x 1" aluminum) is positioned so that the latch pin normally sets about 3/8" away from the black plastic housing. The arm can be raised or lowered without interference. With the arm fully raised the latch pin clears the housing just enough to allow it to be pushed left to contact the yellow arm. To latch the arm in the up position simply raise the arm with an up-turned right hand and use the thumb to push the lift arm to the left. Allow the arm to come down and trap the latch pin under the housing. To lower the arm simply lift it up and the latch pin pops away from the housing allowing the arm to drop. The latch pin is a 1/4" x 20 flat head phillips screw. I'm sure it could have been used as is but I decided to turn a shoulder at the base of the head. This eliminates wedging the housing between the screw head and the nut. The mounting holes in the lift need to be positioned accurately to keep the arm as high as possible but still allow the latch pin to clear the housing. The arm only droops about 1/8" when held up by the lift.

I went to start working this morning, and my preferred saw (dewalt type 1) wouldn't start. I blew out the switch with canned air, opened up the switch cover and blew that out, checked the connections under the switch head. I checked the fuse, which looked good. I rotated the motor. I took the switch from my other dewalt (type 2) and tried that, and that didn't work. I check the brushes (and had a devil of a time getting them back in). I've had other problems like this with my type 2 dewalt, but never the type 1. Is there anything else I can do? My other dewalt (the type 2) that I haven't used in months since it had so much knocking and vibration won't start now either. So I have no saw at the moment. Anyway I can get one of them up and running? I've heard people talk about bypassing the switch, but I have no idea how that would be done. Any suggestions?

A recent post of mine ended up going down a path I hadn't expected or planned, but in a good way. If you're tired of Iggy and his banter, feel free to skip this post, it won't hurt my feelings. Much. I'll try to be concise... here goes... I've been scrolling seriously for exactly 1 year. In that time I have now worn out two DW788 saws, meaning they start making noise and need some maintenance. In this 1 year, I have cut 1,000-1,200 animal puzzles. So, I'm only getting 500 or so puzzles out of each saw in about 6 months before needing to have work done on each saw. I fully intended to do the maintenance myself, I even bought a 3rd one (used) as a backup to my backup so I'd have 3 in rotation... 1 I'm using, 1 that needs to be maintained and 1 ready to use in case of breakdown. Two days ago I took the plunge and tore down my original saw to perform maintenance. I had all the necessary bearings and sleeves on hand and felt pretty good about things. I removed the main linkage and started greasing bearings, replaced a couple of sleeves and reassembled it. I had a bit of an issue with my blade tensioner when I was done and pinpointed it to the top arm binding and not moving freely. I loosened the case screw and that helped. I started using the saw the next day and it was sounding better and doing well, but then then the knocking (more like "tapping") started again. I simply am not patient enough or mechanically inclined enough to take the time to learn to maintain them properly. I admit it, I'm a bit lazy and more than a bit impatient. But it's also a matter of time. I work full time and my puzzle "business" keeps me cutting 2-3 hours a day as well, not to mention attending sales events as a vendor. So much for being concise... anyway... while I was discussing all of this on another thread yesterday, the subject of high quality saws came up and Hegner being the top of the line got me looking at them again and pondering the possibility. https://advanced-machinery.myshopify.com/products/multimax-22-v-variable-speed-scroll-saw?variant=29346710854 I'll admit, I'm 99% sure I will order one soon, but I value the thoughts and recommendations of the SSV members here. Thanks to those that provided a lot of great information and feedback. Also an offer to let me come try out a Hegner before buying it. You guys and gals are great. I emailed Advanced Machinery yesterday and they replied just a few hours later as I asked about maintenance/repair and their response helped convince me they are a quality saw which require very little maintenance, have a 7 year warranty and in almost all cases if a repair is needed, the part can be sent and I can replace it myself. The machine is simple enough even an Iggy can work on it. I have watched videos, I have read sales brochures, I have read the owners manual and while I know the saw has various differences from the Dewalt, I feel I can adjust to them. The blade loading is quite unique but I use the same blade for everything, so I only swap them out when they wear out, about every 4 or 5 puzzles. I bottom feed for inside cuts so I will get the optional blade QuickClamp. The great thing is I have my wife's approval to buy one. :-) Seriously, it's great that she supports me, and my puzzles sell well enough that I can pay for it from my sales easily enough. I've looked at the Hawk as well and while it seems to be somewhat similar to the Hegner, I feel more confident about the history and reliability of the Hegner. I don't mind paying a little more for quality. Here's your chance to live vicariously through me... let me know your experience with the Hegner if you have one or if you've done research and have some helpful hints or information. Any and all feedback is welcome. Thanks in advance, Iggy

Over 3 years ago and as a newbie, my new Sears scroll saw broke. I found a Dewalt 788 Type 1 on Craigslist and was a happy camper for a long time. How much use it had before was unknown. Over time the noise of the saw increased and I read all the threads about 788 repairs here and watch the You-tube videos on the subject a couple of times. Not being a mechanic I admit to being kind of intimidated to tackle doing a rebuild. Since new saws were not in the budget and lately CL has lots of $50.00 Craftsman, a couple of $1000 Hegners, and Dewalts at $500 and up (really?? for a used machine that is going for $490 at Home Depot?). It was time to dive into DIY repairs. I studied the videos until I almost had them memorized. Ordered sleeves from e-replacements and bearings (INA brand) from my local distributor Bearings Inc. They are less then 10 miles for me and were very helpful – great service. The job is done and the saw has quieted WAY down. Just kind of purrs. My observations: Should have done this much sooner! Not that there were any big issues, just that after 15-20 years of life everything was slightly warn. I found nothing nearly as bad as what was shown on the vids. The parts lists that are on other threads here, seem for type 2 machines and there are some differences in part numbers. If you have a Type 1, verify your part numbers. The videos show using the new bearing to push out the old one in one operation. Bearings Inc people told me to do it in two steps. Push out the old one and than install the new. Their reasoning was the the side with the part numbers on the bearings is hardened steel and the opposite side is not. Pushing on that side could deform the bearing and shorten its life. I have know idea if that is true or not. Going forward, I will be doing a disassembly and applying new grease probably every year.So my recommend that if you have a Dewalt that is less than ideal, be braver that I was and go for it. I have a like new saw at a cost of about $150 in parts.

While my move from my current Delta 4-694 to a DW-788 isn't imminent (I tend to give these things a lot of thought and study), I did have a question that I could not find answered anywhere else. I found a HEAP of questions/answers at the link I've posted below. In one of the responses, I read where the DW-788 uses 51/4" blades. On my Delta, I use 5" blades. Now, granted I'm still very new to this hobby and that 1/4" may not make ANY difference, however, it's one of those things I want to be certain of, since I have a particular blade that I prefer to use, that happens to only come in 5" (that I know of). Can anyone expound on this? Thanks!! Questions/Answers https://www.amazon.com/ask/questions/asin/B000022313/ref=ask_dp_dpmw_ql_hza

Here is a list of the small VXB bearing part numbers for the DeWalt 788 Scroll Saw, and it's likely that the similarly designed Porter Cable and Delta scroll saws also use the same bearings. This is not my list. I managed to loose the good complete list that I made along with my invoice from the bearing store where I bought them, so this is a re-post of someone else's list. Here are the VXB Bearing part numbers These bearings can be sourced from VXB Bearings (800) 928-4430 , but most bearing stores also stock these or can get them for you. They will cost less through other sources than buying them from DeWalt or ereplacementparts.com as spare parts. http://www.vxb.com/p...earings/PROD... Kit8616 (HK0609 Needle Bearing 6x10x9) qty needed 12 Kit7492 (HK0810 Needle Bearing 8x12x10) qty needed 2 Kit7189 (HK1412 Needle Bearing 14x20x12) qty needed 2 When I bought the full set of bearings for my DeWalt I asked the counter man at the bearing store if he had any higher quality bearings for any on my list and he said "Oh yea" and then filled my list from them. Many bearings are made by different manufacturers and some are better quality than others. All have identical part numbers, but sometimes with different suffix letters after the part numbers. These guys know who makes the better quality, tighter tolerance bearings and will give you better ones if you ask, but it may cost slightly more than the cheapest ones. Unfortunately, I don't have the invoice so I can't tell you what I ended up with, but my saw was much quieter than the new DeWalt saw of a friend's after I replaced them all. The larger sealed bearings that are located near the motor (the ones in the connecting rod and rocker arm) "must" be pressed out to be replaced. DeWalt sells these assemblies complete with the bearings already pressed in. The www.ereplacementparts.com numbers for these are Rocker Arm Asm 286268-00 present USA price $63.83 Connecting Rod Asm 286280-00 present USA price $28.82 But if you have an arbor press like this one from Harbor Freight http://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-arbor-press-3552.htmlor a larger drill press, you can press out the old bearings and press in the new ones and save considerable money. When I replace bearings in my shop tools, my lawn mower, cars, etc. I use my bearing press frequently. So for me, this bearing press paid for itself very quickly. In the two assemblies above, I don't think there is $20 worth of bearings in them, so you can see how quickly this press can pay for itself if you have a frequent need. Bearings are very hard to keep straight while pressing them in and out without using one of these presses, and it's easy to crack aluminum castings if you should get a bearing crooked while pressing it in or out. I usually press the old bearing out, while at the same time pressing in the new one. You may also find that a bearing press will help sometimes with the smaller bearings too, especially if you don't have much or any experience changing bearings. When I need DeWalt replacement parts, I usually buy from www.ereplacementparts.com because they have always been good to me. Sorry, since I lost my bearing list, I don't have the bearing numbers for the larger bearings any more. You will need to get them from the bearings in your DeWalt saw or wait until I or someone else performs maintenance on our saws again and posts these numbers. They are etched into the side of these bearings (very small - you will need magnification). The list above are the bearings that will likely wear out more frequently anyway. Every bearing that rocks back and forth constantly without making a full revolution (all except for the bearing at the motor shaft end of the connecting rod) will have it's lubricant gradually driven out of the load areas by this rocking motion. Once the lubrication is gone from these load areas, the bearing balls or needles and the bearing races (inner and outer ring) begin to wear. Fortunately, the little HK bearings used in the 788 have a removable center race (sleeve), so this sleeve can be removed and a tiny bit of synthetic instrument grease added (I use a tooth pick as an applicator) to the inside of the bearings through the center hole (wipe the grease onto the needles in the sides of the bearing hole, and then the sleeve (which is the inside bearing race) can be replaced. When you do this, spin the sleeve a few revolutions to distribute and mix this new grease with the original grease before replacing and securing the bolt. I use Blue Locktite to secure bolts (absolutely do not use Red or Orange) Also try to position the sleeve so it is not in the exact same orientation as it was before you removed it. Then replace the bolt or pin through the center of the bearing and secure it. In bearings that rotate 360 deg, the lubricant is pushed ahead of the balls or needles inside it, and is constantly being redistributed around the entire inside of the bearing. They will last much longer without any attention than the ones receiving a repeating motion of less than one revolution. Unfortunately, by the design of a scroll saw, only the bearing in the motor end of the connecting rod assembly receives a continuous 360 deg motion. All of the rest of the bearings receive the partial back and forth motion, the motion that is so hard on bearings. All that we can do to prevent them from wearing out too quickly is to add some light synthetic grease to their insides during scheduled maintenance. Only remove one side cover from your saw at a time. Removing both side covers at the same time will cause your saw to fall apart. There is no internal frame in the DeWalt or similarly designed Porter Cable and Delta Scroll Saws. The saw will fall apart if you remove both covers at the same time. Also, dis-assemble only one small assembly of the saw at a time to be certain that you can put it back together the same way before moving to the next assembly. With a cell phone or small camera, pictures can be taken before dis-assembly, to make putting it back together the same way much easier on your memory and the saw. In addition to doing the bearings for general maintenance, check the condition of the bolt that connects the vertical rocker piece and connecting rod, back near the motor. This bolt receives a lot of force and can loosen or break. I replaced my bolt the last time that I had my saw apart. Some have reported that their bolt loosened, bent, or broke. So check it's condition carefully and replace it if necessary. It's a metric M5 cap screw that can be found in the better hardware stores, Lowes, and Home Depot, and it isn't expensive. Buy one the exact same length. These are available as stainless bolts too. Either black or stainless cap screw should work very well. While your saw is apart, look around for other moving parts beside the bearings and put a little oil on them. The shaft through the center of the Rocker Arm has a sleeve that could stand a little oil. Again, use a high quality light weight oil for this. I use Tri Flow. There are other places for this oil, but I don't have them memorized. Charley

Purchased a supposedly nearly-new Dewalt 788 within the past year. We haven’t used it much at all yet. Noticing that the motor is bogging down when blade tension is increased. What do I need to know to overcome this motor bog down issue?

Hello, I just wanted to introduce myself. I signed up to this forum about 10 minutes ago. My name is Pat and I'm 32 years old. I recently purchased a Dewalt DW788 scrollsaw with a stand. Since then I've been playing around and cut out a few symbols. I have quite a few pine pallets that I dissambled, removed the nails, ran through a thickness planer, cleaned the edges up and plan on glueing up to later cut out some designs. Two days ago I downloaded Inkscape and I'm trying to learn that application so I can make some patterns to cut out at a later date. Right now it's really cold outside and I don't have a heater in the garage so I've been inside looking for scrollsaw forums\sites to learn off of. Is anyone else from Maryland? I recently purchased a chainsaw mill so I'm looking forward to having a good amount of wood to work with. Pat