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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.

Back on Feb 26 I posted a question asking for comments on the DW788 ("Any comments on the DeWalt DW788 scroll saw?") I want to thank everyone for the many positive responses on this saw. At first I thought it was out of my budget, but I came across a special sale from one of the big box stores that saved me almost $200 off the list price, including shipping and sales tax. it arrived in-store last Friday and I picked it up on Sunday morning. It came basically pre-assembled except for the table (it weighs a ton - seems like maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of the total weight of the saw !!!) and a couple bolts and thumbscrews. It's a dream compared to my old 16" Craftsman. I haven't had time to do more than a few basic tests cuts, but I can't wait to start on projects. Again, many thanks to "The Village People." Without your overwhelmingly positive comments I would never have gone ahead and purchased the DW788. Now if only I can find an old posting here for an easy to use script font for scrolling. -aj43

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

Happy New Year all! Well, after much deliberation, I adopted the practice of OCToolguy and like-minded scroll sawing addicts and bought a used DW788 (2016 on the motor) for a fair price. It did (and still does) have some knocking sound, but appears to cut well. Since it is used, I was OK with opening it up and seeing what I could see. Armed with camera/video, plastic bags, labels, tape, tools, every Bob Brokow video available (thanks Bob!), and a prayer, I disassembled the saw and examined most of the sleeves and bearings. This being my first time, I labeled and bagged every part/screws and took numerous photos throughout the process. The good news – 1) The bearings had minimal grease in them but/and the sleeves showed on signs of abnormal wear. 2) No leftover parts after reassembly. I cleaned out the bearings and sleeves and re-greased them using the suggested Valvoline synthetic grease. Reassembly, like disassembly was slow, but without any issues. Whew! Crossed my fingers, said another prayer, and hit the power button. Dang! Still have the knocking. Went to Rick’s ScrollSaw workshop and tried the “adjust the tension rod” tip without success. Stopped at only rotating it counter-clockwise one turn. There didn’t seem to be any improvement with the one turn, so decided to stop there, say Uncle! and ask for help . . . HELP! The bearings I greased: Front and rear upper and lower link drive bearings/sleeves Rocker Assembly vertical bearing/sleeve Blade Chucks upper and lower bearings/sleeves The knocking symptoms: Speed setting 1: Knocking 2: smooths out 3+ Knocking returns 4: Knocking gets louder 5: smooths out 6: smooth 7: Knocking returns 8: Knocking I have gone back over the forum postings to see if there was anything like this mentioned but came up empty. And looked elsewhere with no success. The knocking – smoothing out – knocking returning stumps me. A prize to the person who solves this mystery - an autographed photo copy of my very first scroll saw project. But seriously, any and all comments, thoughts, ideas are welcome. I could use it as is, but that’s just not me.

Hi Folks- I decided to jump into scroll sawing with both feet, and purchased a lightly-used DW788. I had the seller fire it up prior to the purchase, and to my untrained eye, all seemed well. Fast forward a week and a little more experience watching videos, and now I'm concerned there is a problem with the saw rattling/vibrating a bit more than it should. Problem is, I have no baseline for comparison to know what is "normal." Please check out this short video, and focus and periodic "bumps" and rattles visible in the air nozzle. Especially at higher speeds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLBxPC9gi_I In your opinion, is what you observe considered typical, or could the "bumps" be considered a sign of a bigger problem? Thanks for your advice! Jim

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?

After few month waiting for it, I got yesterday my DW788 delivered at home ðŸ‘ðŸ‘😃😉😄😜