Jumpy wood

[Ramjet]

I have an old 20" sears craftsmans scroll saw and when I turn it on it has a momentary hesitation before it starts .My Dewalt starts immediately . Try turning the switch / knob back and forth . The contacts may just need cleaning . Roger

[Jim Rodman]

Hi Rev Redmond
The trouble with the wood has been covered. My thought on the saw needed a push start. It may be that there has a dead spot in the motor. I had a motor on my table saw and the capacitor was bad, so I had to spin the blade to get it to start. (not a good thing to do) I do not think a Variable speed would have that?
If you do have the machine serviced have the tec. test the motor for dead spots.
jim form Ontario

[Toolman56]

Hi, i too have 16" craftman scrollsaw , never had a problem with the arm, or motor, my problem is when i want to go slow speeds , it vib back to off, won't stay in middel of the range, so pop'ed on a small vise grip and flipped it over to full throttle, now here's a neet trick, i learn'ed from grandma, i wacth her many time's sew on the treadle sewing machine , the way she moved , she would get that rocking motion going with whole boby, using both hand's to guide her work, so i applyed that same thing to my scrolling , using both hand's , let the work feed it self, be totaly relaxed like she was and allow plenty time for scrolling, never hurry in scrolling,and just enjoy it,

[Toolman56]

Just anthor thought, we do not know were or how old your place is ,your plugging your saw into , dont ever use a drop cord, it cause a problem like this, or if your garage is old and has the old screw in type fuses , its just cacthing up to saw,the power , hence the lasp in startup.Make sure you have a dectaid 15 amp fuse or breaker for just the saw at lest.

[Ginnyo]

I also had the same problem last night -- the wood chattering and seeming to be jumping up and down. I thought it might be because the wood seemed to be slightly warped and not laying flat. And just maybe because I'm not used to holding it down properly. Was wondering if tension had anything to do with this problem?
Thanks!

[lucky788scroller]

Ginny brings up a very valid point as well as the others. If your wood is warped, it tends to bind a lot as your cutting and turning.

[greatdane2]

Also cutting for Intarsia if the wood is cupped when you cut the piece out and the wood sits by itself the cut will not be at right angles to the table. If I notice in time I run it on a 6x48"belt sander to get it to sit flat.
Alan.