Rockwell Delta 24 inch Scroll saw question

Rob Keeble

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GTA Ontario Canada
Well today i finished the refurbishment of the old scroll saw. Although it ran when i got it, i discovered whoever had owned it had put the wrong oil in and it needed new gaskets.
Then upon taking it apart i discovered the head that drives it up and down had a cast pair of guide blades (best i can describe them) that were broken leading to the lower head potentially rotating on its axis.

I picked one up from Weber Woodworking very nice guy and has ebay store as well but his price was very reasonable by comparison to Delta. Also purchased some link belt and got the whole schebang all put back together.

Started it up and it runs well but here comes the question.

This machine vibrates and seems to make quiet a racket.

Found a You tube video of a guy cutting on one but it has music in the background however despite that you can hear the machine noise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqNNFnZ7wRM


Now is there anyone here that has one or has worked on one of these machines themselves.

I am merely looking for affirmation that the noise heard is normal for this old geyser of a machine and that it does vibrate.

Tried cutting with it and it cut ok but initially it was little scary. Snapped the first blade i put in :)doh::eek:) totally my fault. Next time read instructions first. ;)

So anyone have first hand experience with one of the old Delta 24 inch scroll saws. ???


Love to hear from you as to what you thought of the sound.


My main concern is if something else is worn that cause the guide fins to break in the first place i would like to try and sort it out before i get a repeat of what the machine was like when i first got it.

Thanks
 
I don't have a Rockwell, I have a 16" makita. but vibration is inherent in a scroll saw with the blade going up and down that fast. Make sure you have the tension foot (don't know if that's the correct word) down firmly on the work piece.
 
Thanks guys. Bob you toggled the good old gray matter there, i think there could be quiet some room for improvement there.
Even though i have a link belt i think i may have misalignment to an extent. Will check it out.
Dan thats just the kind of thing i wanted to hear thank you.

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I have a 1958 24" Delta. I do not find it noisy, in fact quieter than a 1995 Delta I had.
I do not use the hold down foot. If you feed gently/smoothly the workpiece does not jump.
Feed too fast and it jumps all over - this tells you when are not doing it right.
Phil
 
Thanks guys. Bob you toggled the good old gray matter there, i think there could be quiet some room for improvement there.
Even though i have a link belt i think i may have misalignment to an extent. Will check it out.
Dan thats just the kind of thing i wanted to hear thank you.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

Even though some belt and couplings are designed to work with a degree of misalignment, they don't help reduce the vibrational forces from misalignment at all. Over tension of the belt could also cause a problem, and I'd check the runout on the pulleys too.
 
That old machine in the video runs pretty quiet actually with the cutting adding some noise. A good quality machine running smoothly should allow you to stand a nickel on edge while it is running. Even my "worthless" DeWalt 788 almost lets me do that. I'd recommend posting over at http://www.scrollsawer.com/forum/tools-and-blades/ about your machine. That is a scrollsaw specific forum and, with over 24,000 members, you will have a better chance of finding someone with your saw there than here at FWW.

Take a look at Rick's Scrollsaw as well http://scrollsaws.com/. Shoot him an email as he is a wealth of knowledge!
 
The saw in the video easily cuts as quiet as my newer DW788 (or as noisy if you like). There is a sweet-spot for every blade/material/cutting speed. Try different speeds with the same material/blade and I think you will hit on something that is better than the others. Regardless of what I read, it wasn't until I watched a video of a blade being tensioned that I got comfortable with that. Those that know seem to REALLY make those puppies tight. I started doing the same and my accuracy went way up. Also, blades are wear parts; any blade that is even questionable goes in the dumper and I grab a new one. Flying Dutchman sample pack from Mike's Workshop is a great way to figure out what you like without breaking the bank (don't know about smuggling them across the border though).
 
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I had one of those several years ago and it was a noisy thing for sure. I got lucky and found it for little $ and it even ran when I got it home. I don't use a scroll saw much but found it handy for some things. I sold it several years ago to another fellow who uses it all the time and it's still in good shape. best part is I made a great profit. It was noisy and did vibrate quite a bit but was a great machine.
 
I have the same machine. Came out of the local high school after they stopped the Industrial Arts program. I believe I gave about 60 bucks for it at the auction. Mine makes exactly the same noise as the video however my music is mostly in the Celtic area.:D Seems like the more you tension the blade the better it works. Some vibration but not anything outrageous. I don't use it much but it is handy when the situation comes up. I started building a wooden gear clock some time back and it is really indispensable for that application. Someday I might even finish the darn thing. :dunno:
 
if you can find one they make an attachment fo the smaller blades. I consists of new blade holderss (top and bottom) and a tube that has a fine cut in the end to guide the blade. This saw is verry hard on the smaller bladesd due to the tensioning process. TYhe blade tension is constantly changing as the spring is compressed. This say is very good for marquerty as it can be turned by hand for the smallo turns.
 
Thank you Jim....thats ideally what i have been looking for but its coming up with the right name for the item that makes finding them hard. If anyone knows of an available source please let me know. There is no way as it stands right now i am gonna use this machine to do scrolling where one is constantly loosening the blade and putting it through a small drilled hole and tightening it again. That would be insanity with the current set up. :)

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I've got one of those old Delta 24" scrollies. Mine runs really smooth and quiet. I'd go over to www.owwm.org and either post your question there or search the archives for "Delta scroll saw vibration" and see what comes up. I do remember this topic coming up over there. I believe there's tuning information for that saw at www.vintagemachinery.org as well.

Basically, it's a known issue with a solution. I just don't know what it is because my saw runs sweetly.

Good luck with it - nice saw.

paulh
 
One other thought - I've installed my blade wrong before which caused the blade chuck to hit other parts when going up and down. You might want to take a look at the travel of the chucks when turning the pulley by hand just to make sure they're not touching anything else as they move up and down. Sounds obvious enough. I know i did a dope slap when i figured it out. The fix was to adjust the position of the blade in the lower chuck.
paulh
 
Thank you Paul for the advice and info. I been thinking about the blade chuck part and i am simply going to fashion my own quick release block for the upper blade holder for them thin blades.

I think its long overdue i register on Vintage Machinery and see what they can advise. :thumb:
 
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