# scroll saw problems



## aramco (13 Feb 2018)

last week my record power scroll saw was vibrating like no ones business, I got in touch with them they did reply with check blade tension , and take the side panel off and check the bottom bearing . Blade tension ok, side panel off nothing to see, so set the machine going at slow speed no problem,gently increased the speed till about 700 rpm that's when the vibrations started and got worse until till about the 1000 rpm mark then it stopped again smooth as silk - well maybe not quite -.
I informed record power and am not awaiting their input.

One thing I did discover was that despite having dust extraction working the amount of dust left inside was a lot so I may have to make a new side panel and put a connection in for the dust extraction and maybe plug the original one up for a while and see how it works .

I have asked is there a modification to put a quick tension lever on the machine aka hegner etc, last time I was in touch with them they said there might just be another scroll saw coming into their line up so asked about this ,I am awaiting their reply on all counts. will up date as and when that happens.

Have just been on a web site called " WISH " it is in wing wang land (china) I got a watch ,100 foot 16 mm para cord, 5 magnets 20 mm x 2 mm with a hole in the center 3 magnetic drill bit holders, and 50 drills bits and the total cost including postage and vat was £12- 95. There are 4 inch clamps on for £1 each, go an have a look and see if you can find any bargains. 

john


Pain is the best attention getter


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## aramco (24 Feb 2018)

hooray scroll saw going back to Record Power on Monday 26 th Feb don't know what they will think of the packaging it's a lumberjocks chop saw box .

John


pain is the best attention getter


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## aramco (27 Feb 2018)

machine gone just await record powers input


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## aramco (14 Mar 2018)

My saw came back today from record power they said they could not find any problems with vibration, I rigged it up and it's still the same vibrations in the middle rang of rpm, so I guess this is the way the saw is made, I am starting to think I should have gone to specsavers when I was looking to buy a scroll saw.

john


pain is the best attention getter


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## AES (15 Mar 2018)

John, is your saw fixed to a table (or stand)? By fixed I mean bolted down? And is the table/stand bolted down (or weighted down - sand bag, etc)? 

I have exactly the same problem with my Excali 21, a saw which is known for be very vibration-free! In fact is IS normally free of vibration, IF firmly fixed down!

In my case the reason is that although my saw is firmly bolted to the table, the table itself is mounted on 4 of those old-fashioned "dense rubber ball" castors. So I have exactly the same problem, i.e. at certain speeds the whole assembly (saw and table) vibrates. Not that much, but it happens, and it is disturbing.

In my case I very need much need the mobility of having that table mobile within my cellar shop, so until I get around to changing the castors to another type (IF I can find suitable), I find I can live with the vibration - I just move the speed control on forwards (or backwards) until the vibration disappears - like yours, my vibration appears in a pretty narrow rpm band. It's actually a "harmonic" of the scroll saw rpm "resonating" with the rubber ball castors. Doesn't seem possible, but I'm pretty sure that it is.

I even tried fixing the saw to the table by the equivalent of "silentbloc" bushes (like on a car) but that made the problem worse.

So I suggest the answer to your problem is the same as mine - fix the saw firmly to a stand/table, then make sure the stand/table is either VERY firmly weighted down, or fixed to floor/wall/s.

HTH

AES


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## whatknot (15 Mar 2018)

Its a curious thing that some cheap end saws vibrate like mad, yet others of the same brand or design do not, and likewise some upper end saws also suffer with it yet most don't 

As has been said, bolting it down firmly may help reduce it as does hoovering all dust frequently and lubricating where required 

On the quick tension lever, looking at the manual for what I assume is your saw (Record SS16V) you should be able to fashion a quick release yourself

The set up is virtually the same as Hegners earlier saws, I converted one fairly easily, using a cycle quick release spindle, cost less than £3 from ebay, I wanted to keep the original for when I sold it so made the V shape blocks from an old door knob spindle, it worked perfectly


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## whatknot (15 Mar 2018)

My conversion


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## AES (15 Mar 2018)

John, whatnot also raises a good point about the blade QR. In my case, the local DIY Emporia have those bicycle over centre cam locks in stock, if also in UK, that will save you going to ebay.

Also, I forgot to mention this morning, that if you do a search on the Scroll Saw section and look for posts about better dust extraction, especially posts by a member called Claymore (Brian) you'll find he's had several good ideas about DE. His saws (he has 2 or 3 I think) are not Record brand (if I remember correctly he has a Hegner clone from Axi plus an Excali and perhaps something else) but I'm pretty sure you'll find his ideas adaptable to your Record. As whatnot has already pointed out, having saw dust building up inside the machine will not help with vibration - worst case it could dry out the arm pivot bearings. That will of course make any vibration worse.

HTH too.

AES


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## aramco (15 Mar 2018)

Hi all and thanks for he suggestions ,I built a scroll saw table like Steve Carmichael on you tube made out of wood ,and it is standing on - believe it or not - rubber cow mats - I used to bed my ponies and goats on them - , they are about 1 inch thick, they cover the shop floor to keep the cold off of my feet. The top was as Steve's height and made out of 2 inch thick work top, but when my saw came back I raised it 2 more inches again with more worktop, feels much more comfortable, the saw is screwed down with 2 inch screws and the base has my old metal work vice a 2 ton hydraulic jack, a one tone jack, 4 x 6 mm 8 inch square plates and a very stout metal frame which I use now and again to make shepherds crooks out of buffalo horn and weighs about a stone all this is because I have no where else to store it for now, so I would say the table is " fastened down " and screwed to the garage wall. My next idea was to make a metal frame, but, I am now making 3 large planters for my wife out of 6 x 1 inc planks one 4' x 3' is finished that's for for the lilly's sorry I digress. I have some 1 " angle iron which I was going to weld up and make a one but I am blooming sure I am not going to freeze my whats is off in the garage to get done will have to wait until the weather improves.Please correct me if you think I have missed something,a spare brain may not go amiss.

thanks 
John


pain is the best attention getter


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## AES (16 Mar 2018)

John, it sounds to me you've got the possible causes of vibration "at your end" well covered! Personally I doubt that a steel stand for the saw would make much difference, if any, but that's just my own guess.

I don't know the Record saw you have very well (I've only seen pictures) but again just a guess, I think you'll either have to learn to live with the vibration, change the saw, or look internally for the problem. I THINK your saw is very similar to an Einhell that I had (old model, not the current model), and that was, frankly speaking, poorly made in some areas.

In my case, there were several areas that were quite poorly finished, including such things as casting "flash" not having been "fettled" during manufacture, and that's what I mean by looking internally at your saw. If Record have looked at it and can't find anything you shouldn't be able to find anythingeither, but IMO it's still worth looking yourself. Are there any odd "lumps" sticking to the eccentric weight which rotates with the motor? Or "flash" on the 2 arms? That's the sort of thing I mean (though as said, Record should have found such problems (if any) when you sent it back).

If you do find anything like that it's worth cleaning them up with a smooth file, but apart from that it sounds like you're going to have to live with the vibration, sorry.

If like my "problem" with my Excali (my own "fault" as described in my previous post) then if the speed range where the vibration is worse is quite a narrow band then I THINK you'll just have to live with it and don't set the saw to that speed range, sorry (or as said, change the saw).  

AES


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## aramco (16 Mar 2018)

hi again the very band I would like to use is the one with the vibs, as at the moment I am cutting plaques in 3 mm Baltic birch ply, and it a puppy having to reach to the rear of the machine to undo and tighten the tension, think I will have to do more intarsia and other stuff that does not require the tension to be moved or if it does only a few times and not 100s. Roll on when I can afford a better machine I might even get an axminster in stead of a hegner, who knows the secret of the black magic box.

john

pain is the best attention getter


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## AES (16 Mar 2018)

aramco":2pexfeeh said:


> hi again the very band I would like to use is the one with the vibs, as at the moment I am cutting plaques in 3 mm Baltic birch ply, and it a puppy having to reach to the rear of the machine to undo and tighten the tension, think I will have to do more intarsia and other stuff that does not require the tension to be moved or if it does only a few times and not 100s. Roll on when I can afford a better machine I might even get an axminster in stead of a hegner, who knows the secret of the black magic box.
> 
> john
> 
> pain is the best attention getter



Ahhhh, that's VERY annoying, I feel for you John. Personally I can't think of anything else to try other than suggested before, EXCEPT (very long shot), as you say the feet of your stand are on those rubber mat thingys, could you possibly just move the stand/move the mats out from under, just temporarily, to see if by any chance the vibrations either disappear completely (or - luckily - at least moves the speed band where the vibration occurs to a more convenient range for your work). With the feet of the stand directly on the (concrete?) that MAY "just happen".

I'm by no means an expert on such stuff but do know from practical experience that vibrations, their harmonics, and the resonances involved can be very difficult things indeed to sort out. By far the easiest route is just to try various combinations to see if you can at least move the present vibration "sweet spot" to another rpm range where it doesn't interfere with your work so much. That's why I haven't (yet) bothered too much about my own self-induced small vibration problem on my machine.

Other than that (faint) possibility I'm out of ideas, sorry, except, as said before, get a new machine. Just an example, there was a bloke on here recently (I think in the "Buying advice/Tool reviews" Section, not sure) who has an Excali 16 who was thinking of maybe selling it to buy a better band saw 'cos he wants to concentrate on making boxes. So SH machines do come up here once in a while.

I'd be very pleased if any other scrollers with any ideas would join in here - as above, I can't think of any other "fixes" to help the OP.

AES


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