Scroll saw modification advice.

[Johnhunt]

Hi all,

I recently bought a scroll saw from screwfix (The 169.95 Titan one, I paid 69.95 in the sale!) I would post a link but I am new here and am not allowed just yet!

I have used it a little and am starting to get the feel for it. I paid £70 for it in the sale, which I thought was quite the bargain and the reviews on the screwfix site were pretty good all round so I thought why not treat myself. It came with a clamp on rotary tool too with a small table attached to the side of the saw for mounting it on, which considering I dont have a dremel or similar will hopefully come in handy once I start working on some proper projects rather than just practising.

Anyways, the main problem I have is this... I took the original one back to the shop as the manual that came with it stated that it could take either pinned or flat end blades but there was no way of attaching the flat ones to the arms. Because I presumed that there was obviously something missing I drove it back to the shop and got a replacement which they were very happy to sort for me. This is where it gets weird as when I opened the new one, it was exactly the same apart from 1 thing. The part of the manual that had previously stated that it took both types of blade now has a sticker over the top of that text with a revised statement saying that it took the pinned blades and had no mention of the flat end ones.

So to get to my actual question, there are threaded holes on the side of the blade mount, both top and bottom. If I bought the right size screw to go in the holes would that be sufficient to hold the flat blades in the clamps so I can start cutting more intricate patterns??

Any help or suggestions would be awesome and much appreciated

Thanks

John

 

[finneyb]

Do they look like this? http://www.axminster.co.uk/blade-clamp- ... fs-fretsaw

Brian

 

[martinka]

John, you've got 3 posts so you can post photos and links now.

 

[Chippygeoff]

Hi John. From what you say it sounds as if your saw will take pinless blades with the appropriate allen screws for the clamps. I know B and Q stock a wide range of allen screws, as I have needed them myself from time to time so it may be worth your while taking a clamp with you and getting the right ones. I am not familiar with you saw but Axminster sell clamps that will take pinless blades and these may well suit your saw. having said that there are better qualified people on the forum, especially Martin, who are very good with this sort of thing so do not despair, help will be on the way.

 

[Johnhunt]

Hey,

Thanks for the replies!

Finney - The clamps that are there at the moment only have a threaded hole on one side, and then obviously a groove for the pin to go in when using the pinned blades. (I am presuming the clamp on the link you posted has 2 holes as there are 2 screws in the pic). The one in the pic looks quite a bit fatter than what is on there now but is made from what looks like the same rough textured cast metal.

Martin - I am away from my workshop right now, but I will be there tomorrow daytime so will take some pics and post them up. Thanks for the info.

Geoff - There is a B&Q near mine so I will head there tomorrow to take a look. I haven't even looked if I can take the blade clamp off the arm yet, but will give it a blast tomorrow before I go. Thanks

Pics coming tomorrow so any further info you can give would be awesome, thanks again

 

[GarethT]

Hi John

How did you get on with resolving this?

Thanks

Gareth

 

[essexcowboy]

Do they look like this? http://www.axminster.co.uk/blade-clamp- ... fs-fretsaw

Brian

i purchased these clamps for my scrollsaw but found the blade was forever slipping out no matter how tight i did the screws. finally found a post that helped. if you cut the clamp on the narrow part 3/4 through with a hacksaw this really helps as the clamp now pinches the blade without having to over tighten the screw i personally have had no problems since i did this mod

 

[Bryan Bennett]

Hi John very warm welcome to the forum,I see that Martin has posted you.You are in very capable hands.Will catch you in the future and help in any way that I can. :roll:

Bryan

 

[Johnhunt]

Hi all,

Sorry it took me so long to get this picture on here.. in hindsight I should have taken another from the front too maybe.

Here is the pic. I dont know if you can tell but the hole is threaded and from what I can figure out takes either an m4 or m5 screw. The blade obviously slots in from the front and there is a good 8-10mm for the screw to get through before touching the blade. Once contact with the blade is made, the screw will force it up against the other side of the clamp, which has no hole. The other side of the clamp is about 4-5mm thick. From what I can see, the bottom clamp is the same.

Reckon it is worth trying?

Thanks again for all your help so far

 

[martinka]

I've seen this setup before, with a plastic knob and screw that works as you say. Definitely worth trying an allen screw, usual size seems to be 4mm, but there's nothing to say 5mm wasn't used in this case. File the end of the screw flat and smooth it with emery cloth before using it. Hard to tell how robust the clamp is from the angle in the photo, and it makes me wonder if there's problems in that area, hence the lack of knob for the clamp. Don't use anymore pressure than is needed, so work up to it. The blade will probably pull out a few times until you get the correct tension.

 

[Johnhunt]

Thanks Martin, yeah, I think thats what I will do. I really don't want to break the clamp, as I expect that getting spare parts would be a nightmare, and as it doesn't look like a standard fitting getting an alternative might not be too easy either. I will get another photo from the front tomorrow and get it posted to see what you think if thats cool?

 

[martinka]

Breaking the clamp wouldn't be the end of the world. It would be easy enough, with the right tools, to make another clamp. I made a pair of clamps for an old Draper a couple of years back.
I just noticed you're in Scarborough. I'm there pretty often when the weather's warm enough to get the bike out, to see a couple of pals that live there.

 

[Johnhunt]

Yeah, its a nice town when its warm.. So only 4 or 5 weeks of the year, ha. I see you are in Wakey. I had a night out there once, we were there for about an hour and decided to get a taxi to Leeds instead!!

So here are some better pics of the blade clamp,

Unfortunately, there has been a fault with the unit (the blade lock lever is made from plastic, plastic that broke under hardly any tension :/. I can still tighten up the blade without the plastic bit on there, but I want it replaced because I have only had it a short time, so it will be a drive to screwfix for me tomorrow, however, the up side to this is that because I will be getting a replacement, I dont mind so much about putting some pressure on the clamp to see how it performs. I managed to find the one screw I found before, that fit the thread (although loosely), and forced the top pin out of the blade I was almost done with, seated it in the clamp and screwed in the screw.

First time I tried it, it popped out pretty easily, but I didn't put much force on the screw when tightening it. The second time I put it in, I sanded the end of the screw flat first, as recommended, and gave it a bit more force when tightening it. There was no movement in the opposing side of the clamp and it tensioned up well with a nice high pitch ping when flicking the blade, so I ran a thin piece of pine through it... No problems at all, then ran an inch thick piece of hardwood through, again no problems. Then I ran the biggest piece I can fit though it. again, no problems as such. The only thing that was a bit concerning is that the cut on the thickest piece was way off 90 degrees in places. But I was using this piece to test the drill press I made so it was full of holes, I am guessing thats why the cut was bad with the blade wanting to follow the path of least resistance.

So it looks like I will be onto a winner once I get the replacement unit and either find somewhere local with the allen head screws that I need or order some online.

Hopefully the clamp wont break after repeated stress over time, I wouldn't know where to start in fixing it!

 

[martinka]

You should be able to buy allen screws in Screwfix - it's in the name. :lol: B&Q will probably sell them too.
I made one of these for one of my earlier saws. In fact, if yours is 4mm, you can have this one, though the screw will need shortening.

I actually live about 5 miles from Wakefield. I used to enjoy drinking in Wakefield when I was a pup, but in the 60's and early 70's you could get a good night out practically anywhere. I'm almost teetotal now, so no idea what it's like these days.