# Scroll saw vibrating



## Appaloosa (24 Jul 2013)

:? Hi All. I`m new to the Forum and Scroll saw working and i am hoping for a bit of advice. I`ve just bought my first saw, a Proxxon DSH/E, but i find that the vibration is quite severe on my work top. Can anyone recommend a solution? I have thought about buying some sort of mat and have even contemplated a separate work stand but don't really know which is the best option. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Steve.


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## marcros (24 Jul 2013)

is it bolted to the bench?


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## Appaloosa (24 Jul 2013)

No, it`s free standing at the moment, but the bench itself is very solid and heavy. Have just checked again but there are no fixings or holes for bolting it down, which would of been ideal !


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## ChrisR (24 Jul 2013)

If you did not want to drill or make screw holes in your bench top, would it be possible to use clamps maybe with a rubber mat between saw and bench top (car type mat), I don’t know the saw, so there may not be a suitable flange to the base on which to clamp.

I make this suggestion as this is the method I use to hold my bench sander or polisher in place.

Welcome to the forum, you will find plenty of good advice on here.

Take care.

Chris R.


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## martinka (24 Jul 2013)

Are there any threaded holes underneath? Such as rubber feet screwed on? If so, you could remove them, bolt a piece of ply to the bottom of the saw, then bolt or clamp the lot to your bench. It made a vast difference to one of my saws to have it bolted down solid.

Martin.


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## martinka (24 Jul 2013)

The manual shows a hole both back and front centre for bolting or screwing it down.

Martin.


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## Chippygeoff (24 Jul 2013)

In your shoes I would have something like 2 pieces of 18mm MDF glued together as a bench or stand base and then place a cheap car rubber mat on top and bolt the saw to this, tight, and I think you will find vibration to be a thing of the past.


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## Gill (24 Jul 2013)

:roll: 

How many times does it have to be repeated... placing a rubber mat of any sort ('anti-vibration' or otherwise) between a saw and its bench will _exacerbate_ vibration, not reduce it. To reduce vibration you need to add mass to your saw and the best way to do this is by securing it tightly to something heavy. I know there are people who are convinced this is not the case and that you need to use a rubber mat. They are quite simply *wrong*.

If your saw still vibrates unacceptably after being secured in such a way then it may be worthwhile speaking to the manufacturer about having it serviced.


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## ChrisR (24 Jul 2013)

Gill":1x61eki6 said:


> :roll:
> 
> How many times does it have to be repeated... placing a rubber mat of any sort ('anti-vibration' or otherwise) between a saw and its bench will _exacerbate_ vibration, not reduce it. To reduce vibration you need to add mass to your saw and the best way to do this is by securing it tightly to something heavy. I know there are people who are convinced this is not the case and that you need to use a rubber mat. They are quite simply *wrong*.
> 
> If your saw still vibrates unacceptably after being secured in such a way then it may be worthwhile speaking to the manufacturer about having it serviced.



I spent all of my working life as an industrial electrical engineer, if you want to stop or greatly reduce vibration transferring from one source to another, then a shock absorbing material must be used between the two components.

Fact.

There are large manufacturers with their business built solely on producing anti vibration transferring materials.

Take care.

Chris R


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## Gill (24 Jul 2013)

It's not about transferring vibration - it's about stopping vibration.

Oh, this is a waste of time.


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## RogerBoyle (24 Jul 2013)

Gill":31s214rf said:


> :roll:
> 
> How many times does it have to be repeated... placing a rubber mat of any sort ('anti-vibration' or otherwise) between a saw and its bench will _exacerbate_ vibration, not reduce it. To reduce vibration you need to add mass to your saw and the best way to do this is by securing it tightly to something heavy. I know there are people who are convinced this is not the case and that you need to use a rubber mat. They are quite simply *wrong*.
> 
> If your saw still vibrates unacceptably after being secured in such a way then it may be worthwhile speaking to the manufacturer about having it serviced.



Sorry but *YOU* are wrong [-X [-X #-o 

Have you never heard of resilient mounts this is not new technology LOL


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## Chippygeoff (25 Jul 2013)

I don't want to cause any arguements here. As it happens both my scroll saws are bolted to a really solid bench made from 4 x 2s. The top is also 4 x 2s and on top of that 2 layers of 18mm MDF. I can run both scroll saws at full speed with a glass of water on the tables and there is not a murmur. I went to sort out a friends workshop some months ago and she had her scroll saw on a less than substantial bench than mine, although it was bolted down it vibrated so we placed a rubber car mat under it and re-bolted it down and it did the business. Another friend of mine puts rubber feet under his planer/thicknesser and again it did the trick.


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## wizard (25 Jul 2013)

The engine in my jeep is mounted on rubber mountings so would it run smooth without them!


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## Appaloosa (25 Jul 2013)

Thanks every one for your help and advice. Martin, i located the two fixing holes ! I should of read the manual a bit more thoroughly!


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## martinka (25 Jul 2013)

wizard":rxxldcbm said:


> The engine in my jeep is mounted on rubber mountings so would it run smooth without them!


The engine would run just as smooth without rubber mountings as it would with them, but you might not want to drive it far. :mrgreen:


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## scrimper (25 Jul 2013)

Here is my opinion on the vibration issue.

When I bought my first motorised fretsaw over 20 years ago I first tried it out standing on a bench and the vibration was simply awful. The saw was a diamond it was British made by J Woodward and very heavily built, I contacted Mr Woodward and he explained that the best solution was to bolt it to a heavy stand and to bolt the stand to the floor. He also advised me to remove the counterbalance weight explaining that it was only fitted to try to prevent serious vibration when the saw was not bolted down. At the time he advised me not to use any type of rubber mountings as this would not help at all.

When I bought my Hegner about 10years ago I spoke to the owner at the time and again he advised me to do the same as Mr Woodward and bolt the saw down to a secure cabinet or base, he also explained that a stand made out of metal was better than wood and that the reason was to do with the frequency of oscillation that a fret saw runs at, I don't remember all the technical details.

In conclusion I can say that both my saws are bolted to home made heavy stands and vibration is very low on the Diamond and negligible on the Hegner.


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## bugbear (26 Jul 2013)

wizard":1zno36vp said:


> The engine in my jeep is mounted on rubber mountings so would it run smooth without them!



The purpose of that is to stop your JEEP vibrating. The engine, on its rubber mountings, can vibrate away, and no one cares.

BugBear


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## wizard (26 Jul 2013)

Exactly my saw is bolted to the bench that is screwed to the floor and the shed vibrates


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## martinka (26 Jul 2013)

wizard":2o7kw4uj said:


> Exactly my saw is bolted to the bench that is screwed to the floor and the shed vibrates


 :mrgreen: 

I'm just about to go out on the motorbike for the day. The will be no vibration. Scroll saws should be made by Suzuki. 

Martin.


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## bugbear (26 Jul 2013)

I lucked into an original Multicut 2 (what is now called the Multicut 1) at a car boot.

it vibrates like a pig, despite the little counter weight on the flywheel.

BugBear


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## scrimper (26 Jul 2013)

I have to say that my Multicut 2s (bought in Dec 1999) runs beautifully quiet, I have it bolted to a home-made stand with casters so it can be moved easily.


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