Foot... can I take it off?

[Lee J]

It's a pain in the rear end taking the blade off to thread it through a hole every time because this blooming foot/guide thingy is in the way. Is there a reason it's there or can I remove it?

would make life easier

 

[Gill]

I don't know why all scroll saws are fitted with guards - perhaps it's some sort of safety regulation. Thank goodness they're usually very easy to remove!

So the short answer is, "Yes, take the dratted thing off", and be like the vast majority of us.

 

[Lee J]

and why is that air blower thing next to useless?

 

[Chippygeoff]

Hi Lee.The saw you have is one of the cheaper ones sold by Record but made in the far east. The hold down foot is a useless piece of kit that comes with most scroll saws and its not needed, just take it off and put in a drawer and forget about it. The air blower sounds as if there is a problem, you need to follow the hose to the bellows and check for any air leaks or blockage. If you fail to sort the problem an aquarium air pump will do the job of keeping the line on a pattern clear of saw dust.

 

[Roy Clarke]

Don;t waste valuable drawer space, put it in the bin.

Rather than blow dust, suck it. Rig up a bracket to hold a vacuum pipe near the blade, and use a HEPA filter. Wood dust is bad news, just watch someone die from wood dust induced emphysema.

 

[scroller frank]

Have to agree with Roy about the dust , vacuum it up and thow it away =D>
I have a vac tube on top of the table and another one under , and no dust .!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-----------------Frank-----------------

 

[Lee J]

yeah I removed the foot and it got earmarked for the bin.

can you put a photo of your vacuum setup for your scroll saw? give me some ideas

 

[RogerP]

yeah I removed the foot and it got earmarked for the bin.

People who throw bits like this away never accumulate a box of bits and bobs for mending/making stuff. I've boxes of "useful" stuff that'll come in handy one day.

 

[Lee J]

that's why it's only been earmarked for the bin. It's in my 'pending' box which I save all little odds and sods in with the view to a clear out one day.

 

[martinka]

I just bought a version of this saw, Jet JSS-16, my first scroll saw, and the first thing I did was bin the guard and the foot. For the air blower, I got a piece of brake pipe a couple of inches longer than the original air blower nozzle, and bent it so that it was blowing the dust back and to the right. The bellows are small and weak, but with the brake pipe attached, it does work much better as you can get it nearer.

One thing I noticed about this saw is that it is difficult to get the blade back in exactly the same place every time you release the top clamp to pass the blade through a hole, requiring it to be retensioned every time. Maybe it's something I would get used to, but I am thinking of either making two new clamps that will allow me to easily locate the blade, or adapt the originals. I have an idea that might work to do the latter, when it's warm enough for me to get into the garage again. I'll also make new screws with handles to do away with the allen key to tighten the clamp.