Does anyone have any suggestions for dampening the vibrations of a scroll saw? Due to space limitations, I have to use an existing table top for my saw. I thought I had the vibration under control, but a bottle of pigment on the other end of the table told me otherwise.
I seem to recall a place that sold isolating rubber pads that you mounted under the saw, but now I can't find any reference to anything like this.
Try standing it on some router mat - double layer if necessary. Probably won't need any fixing - weight and friction should hold it in place, with perhaps a piece of two of double-sided carpet tape. If you feel the need to bolt the saw to the bench (and most seem to work better that way), use appropriate grommets to make sure that vibration hasn't a 'hard' (i.e. to say, easy) path to follow. If your actual work isn't being affected, then simply clear the bench before you start - I long ago found that a scrollsaw bench and small easily-lost parts weren't good neighbours. My own 2-speed Delta is bolted to the bench (via both grommets and a layer of router mat) with butterfly-nuts so it can be brought out and put away very quickly.
And check out the saw itself. A scroll-saw's natural action does of course tend to produce vibration - but sometimes the problem is in whatever cam or lever arrangement connects the motor to the arms. I've seen some saws that pay little more than lip service to balancing at that point. And that kind of vibration doesn't do the saw itself much good.
John
I have a piece of 1/4" Insertion rubber under mine. No vibration transferred to the bench (Not noticeable anyway) and also quietens it down quite a bit. regards John
As he puffs his chest out and struts about the room - Roy replys:
I really don't know! I've never had that problem with my Hagner. It must be the type of scroll saw you have.
I'm sorry I had to do that. But the problem you are having is the only reason it took me 50 years to buy a scroll saw. My dad had one that vibrated more then it cut wood. And loud!! I was a kid and decided I'd never have one of these things.
Enter wood shows and Hagner. Ah, the dreams of a kid re-ignited.
Maybe I can help you. . . . save for a Hagner!
Roy
Isn't that spelled Hegner??
When I had a Crapsman, and it wasn't a cheap one either, it vibrated and was loud. I found it was best to bolt it tight to the bench, no grommets, no padding. The bench sucked up most of the vibration and made the saw a lot more usable.
Now I have a Dewalt. No vibration. Can leave small parts, like 3D ornaments, on the scroll saw table while cutting more out and they don't vibrate off. Quiet too, can listen to the radio while sawing now.
Any of the better saws, Dewalt, Hegner, Excaliber, etc., are miles ahead of the $200 type saws I've tried.
The kind that pull against a spring and then release can never be tamed. That's why all the good ones have parallel arms now. If they're built right, you should be able to mount them to a board which clamps to a bench and work with no vibration. Doesn't take a lot of money to get a pretty good saw any more, either. When I got mine they were 500 bucks.
Letting it bounce against rubber isn't my idea of how things should go. Adjust the speed of saw or feed if required, and watch blade suitability. Make sure the hold-down shoe or your fingers are doing their job.
Yes. Sorry that is an inside joke between my wife and I. Don't let her see this.
Roy
I'm fairly sure that my saw (a delta SS350LS) is the parallel arm type.
I actually have the saw bolted to a piece of 3/4 inch melamine particle board with about 1/8 inch of foam between the two. The cutting surface of the saw seems acceptably vibration free. When I get about half speed, however, I seem to hit some sort of harmonic on the table the entire thing is resting on. The next thing I know, things 6 feet away are starting to walk to the edge and fall off.
I'd guess that the isolation is what I need to work on. I have the saw bolted to a board with some foam separating the two, but it acts like the vibration is traveling down the bolts to the board. Everything works nice and smooth until I hit a certain speed, then something in the setup hits a resonance frequency.
ISTR that some sort of device for isolating vibration was, or is, sold by Hi-Fi dealers.
add mass to the saw.
Try putting a small but heavy piece of paving stone between saw and bench (with or without router mat, etc, in various combinations) - might damp the resonance a bit.
John
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