# Novice with a saw problem? Craftsman 16" VS



## notsoslimjim (Jan 12, 2017)

Good afternoon,
I was given a Craftsman 16" variable speed scroll saw (M#113.236090) that was used twice and then put into storage and never left for a number of years, I believe over a decade.

I went about cleaning it up as it'd been covered in some kind of oil spatter at some point and had the requisite amount of sawdust and cobwebs, table rust, etc,. When I turned it on for the first time, the cutting arm wouldn't move, and the speed controller made no change in the tone of the motor. I ended up removing the blade as I was told it was probably not the right type for the saw, just in case that was causing an issue of some kind.

After a bit more experimenting, I was able to make the cutting arm work as intended but only if I took the tension knob and removed all tension (I believe this knob is for the blade tension, which was no longer installed). The speed controller works perfectly, also. The problem is, the more I turn the tension knob, the less movement of the cutting arm I can get. At some point, it just locks up solid and stops moving as it did before.

Is anybody familiar with this saw, or if this is kind of a generic issue, with scroll saws that can help guide me into figuring this out? I had hoped to use it to cut some Christmas ornaments out for my daughter to decorate for her first semi-aware Christmas (she's 17 months), but haven't been successful in figuring out what the problem is.

There is a bottom arm underneath the table that does not move, I'm assuming this shouldn't be frozen in place - though again, I only have half of a clue about this tool and what I'm looking at.

I would sincerely appreciate any advice, I have a .pdf of the manual for the machine which mentions the need for regular oil maintenance, but doesn't specify what type of oil to use (on a side note).

Thanks in advance.

Best,
James


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## runswithscissors (Nov 8, 2012)

Yes, that bottom arm definitely should move. You'll need to break it loose somehow before you'll be able to saw anything.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

> I would sincerely appreciate any advice, I have a .pdf of the manual for the machine which mentions the need for regular oil maintenance, but doesn't specify what type of oil to use (on a side note).
> - notsoslimjim


Sure it does… did you read page 23 (Maintenance)...
(At least it has it in this manual)

Cheers,
Brad


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