Can't See the Lines

[Rey Johnson]

Hi all,

I am a newbie on the block...first post.

I have a new Delta SS350, and have logged a total of about 3 hours of scroll time. I like the tool and look forward to the years to come with it.

However, the dust blower on the saw seems woefully inadequate. No matter how close I get the little snake-hose to the actual cut, dust still covers the line. I have tried the saw with various woods and also acrylic. The acrylic dust is blown almost not at all.

Are there any additional dust blowers that can be had for this purpose?

Thanks
Rey

[wwalker47]

welcome

Rey-
Welcome to the best scrollsaw forum.

Is this an old (used) saw? Can you feel the air coming out the nozzle? You might be having trouble with the diaphragm that generates the air. Here is the web site for Delta http://www.deltawoodworking.com/ . There you can find all parts and the Owners Manual. I'm sure someone will come along that has a SS350 and can help you more than I.

I've got a Delta SS250 (Yea, I know, I went cheep) but hopefilly my next saw will be a DeWalt 788.

When you need blades call upon Mike (3 M here on the fourm) for Flying Dutchman blades simply the best blades made. His website is http://www.mikesworkshop.com/ give him a shout and he might let loss of some samples.

-Bill

[Rey Johnson]

Hi there Bill,

Thanks for the reply. This is a brand new SS350 saw. I do feel the air coming out, but the flow of air is very weak.

To demonstrate the flow of air that I am getting, if you whistle and feel the air flow coming from your mouth, that is about the level of air flow that I am getting...and I don't mean the fingers-in-mouth construction site cat-call whistle.

This causes my line to quickly become hidden by the dust.

[SharonW0111]

Hi and welcome to our group -- I have a craftsman and it does the same thing sometimes -- but I figured out it is not just the type of wood you use but the speed you are using -slow speeds gives less air so I sit a small fan toward my saw work to help when I need it .and on cedar I have a long handled stiff paint brush - (one like the artist use ) to brush away the dust _ no more cut fingers for me --
Hope this gives you some help
Sharon

[Mick Walker]

Welcome Rey, sounds like the tubing may be blocked or have a kink in it or the diaphram may have a hole in it. Try blowing into the tube to see if something is blocking the air flow. There should be enough air blowing out of it to clear the sawdust. I would get in touch with Delta if you can't get it working right. I have the Delta P-20 and it easily keeps the sawdust blown away even at the slowest speed. Good luck, Mick

[Rey Johnson]

Thanks for the comments Sharon and Mick. I didn't think that the air flow that I am getting is right.

Sharon, you are correct in that the air flow does increase somewhat when I turn up the speed...though, still inadequate.

I think that I will will check with Delta today after I get home and check the tubing, as suggested by Mick.

Anyway, I got to test out the air capacity of my own lungs last night, as I had to constantly blow while I was practice cutting. But that got old and tiresome pretty quickly.

[Carter-Johnson]

Seems to me I heard a remedy for this a few years ago. Someone bought a blower designed for a fish tank and put it to use on a scroll saw.

Carter

[Rey Johnson]

Update:

I called Delta/Porter Cable and they told me that the saw just doesn't push out very much air.

It looks like I will need to look to add some sort of fan to my saw...especially for the acrylics.

[BobD (Archive)]

When I was doing a lot of cutting wiht a handheld saber saw, before they started putting blowers on them, I used an old hair dryer...if you have an air compresser, you could set up a hose with a valve to direct a small stream of air along the line...or set up a big box fan with a furnace filter on it next to your saw blowing away to suck the dust away...

Bob

[Rey Johnson]

Well, I do have a portable Husky compressor, and am considering trying it...would work out really well, if the compressor wasn't so loud.

The fish tank solution seems like it might be worth a shot as well.

I tried to get away with mounting my new scroll saw to an existing bench in my workshop instead of the 3-legged stand that came with with. I think that I will need to assemble the 3-legged stand this weekend on account of the vibration.

Scrolling seems like it will be really relaxing once I get everything setup the way that I like it. When I first started yesterday, I had a problem with the blades popping out every so often.

I think that I got that issue corrected...Delta puts a ton of oil everywhere, including the blade holder area. I removed the oil and made sure to tighten the clamps ultra tight. I was a little afraid to use the saw after the blade popped out a few times.

[jttheclockman]

Sorry to say this is one of those trade-offs with a lesser saw. But as suggested a great remedy is to get a fish tank pump. They are quiet and designed to run at long times. It will generate enough air to blow dust away. You can get some of those electrical tywraps and secure it to the side of the saw and then no matter what speed you saw at there will always be air to blow the dust away from you.

[Woodbutcher68]

I remember seeing an add-on blowoff for saws that didn't have them. Came with a bellows and tubing. If I find it I'll post it.
Also saw one made out of a tennis ball and tubing. Tennis ball was between the lower arm and frame.

[GrayBeard Phil]

Rey:

Welcome.

I have two very dumb comments, and I ask you not to be offended or anything because I don't mean to insult your intelligence.

1st, the small little air pump that is located in the back of your saw, works by the up and down motion of your saw. There should be a small depression on the arm, and a button on the air pump should be in that depression. If the air pump is out of position, you would have less air being moved by the pump.

2nd:
Make sure your blade teeth cuts on the down stroke. If you have installed the blade with the teeth cutting on the up stroke, you would be getting lots more saw dust on the top of your project than your air line could get rid of.

BTW: I noticed you said this is a new saw and you are new to the hobby. Just in passing I am going to warn you that Delta saws are somewhat known here as having poor lubrication from the factory on the Pivot bolt bearings; that is item #62 on
http://media.ptg-online.com/media/dm...4_SS11A%20.pdf . When you take off the bolt, make a note of the order of the two washers. One should be a wavy spring washer. Re-assemble in the correct order.

For the pivot bearing bolts, I suggest you use the BLUE label can of 3-in-1 oil (for electric motors,) or any SAE 20 or 30 wt non-detergent oil. Read the instructions that came with you saw about lubrication of these pivot bearings.

Phil

[Mick Walker]

Rey, I didn't read your original post close enough, didn't read that it was a new saw. I would take it back to the dealer and tell him that I wanted a saw that worked. I know others that have that same saw and the blower works just fine. See if you can use a saw at the store to see if it blows more air. I can't understand why Delta would tell you that they just don't blow very much air. Sounds like the person you talked to was blowing a lot of hot air.
Mick.

[Rey Johnson]

Rey:

Just in passing I am going to warn you that Delta saws are somewhat known here as having poor lubrication from the factory on the Pivot bolt bearings;

Phil

Phil, I must say, it is almost if you could see into future here . After I mounted the saw onto its stand and started it for a while, I began to hear some popping sounds. After a closer inspection, the popping sound is coming from just the area that you mentioned. Guess that I will be looking to lubricate soon.

As for the blower feature of the saw, I just think that my expectation for it was set a little too high. It seems to blow the fine wood dust ok, but the acrylic dust is another story .