Scroll Saw Blade Clamp Problem Resolved

Looks like a good solution for your saw. I’ve used several brands of scroll saw and the methods used to hold the blade under tension is varied… I’ve not seen a “great” system yet. Blade slippage is a common problem. For some reason, there is no correlation to spending more money and getting better engineering. I’m not familiar w/your saw, but as far as I can tell from your pic, what you have now is better than I’ve seen on Hegner, Hawk, and DeWalt saws.

Spence

-- Spence in Skokie, IL

I have the aforementioned Ryobi saw and have the same problem. I was hesitant to drill out the hole in the blade clamp itself but I think I will follow your lead and see how it goes.

Did you replace the spring in the clamp assembly with a larger spring or did the original fit on the larger bolt?

thanks!!

thank´s for sharing the tip :-)

Dennis

Bill, on my saw (Skil 3335) there is/was no spring in the clamp assembly. By the way, I’ve also modified the lower blade clamp in almost the same way, with a stainless steel screw with the nut tack-welded to the side of the clamp, and I use a #2 Robertson screwdriver for the lower clamp, keeping that screwdriver on my scroll saw table exclusively for that purpose.. works really well.

-- LIVE, LAUGH, CUT WOOD.

That looks like a good solution to a common problem. Also remember that many blade manufacturers package their blades with a greasy coating when they ship them so they won’t corrode during storage. I keep a small plastic container of mineral spirits near to clean them before I use them. I just dip the ends in the jar and wipe them dry with a paper towel. It also helps a great deal to prevent slipping of the blades. Every once in a while I also clean the blade holder with this too just to make sure that there is no oil of grease on it.

Thanks for the tip!

Sheila

-- Designer/Artist/Teacher. Owner of Sheila Landry Designs (http://www.sheilalandrydesigns.com) Scroll saw, wood working and painting patterns and surfaces. "Knowledge is Power"

Sheila, those are also good tips about cleaning the ends of the blades. So far this modification has been working well for me.. just hope it continues. Keep up your great work!

-- LIVE, LAUGH, CUT WOOD.