Newbie with SS350 & odd noise

[KJones]

Hello there!

Picked up a SS350 for cutting a bunch of Pinewood cars (great excuse, eh?). Think I got a decent deal at $70 as I bought it from a guy who does custom woodwork in new homes & it was never used. Runner up was a 10 year old well-used Craftsman for $40, but it only had a 1/10 HP motor although it was variable speed and tood both type blades.

Oiled all the joints through the access points indicated in the manual printed off Delta's web site but there is an odd random clicking sound from somewhere in the housing that comes and goes randomly. Any ideas on what this is, how to fix it, and if it is serious or normal?

Otherwise it seems to be working great. The top Quickset II clamp got to where it wouldn't stay closed, but I took it apart and wiped off a bunch of oil that the old owner must have put on it & that fixed that.

Hooked a vacuum to the port in the side of the sawdust bin but didn't notice much less dust with it turned off. I just read the newby tip about dust being nasty though, so I will hook it back up.

So, any tips to make this saw work better, last longer, or be easier to use? Probably will have many more questions as I start to play with it (and hopefully will find many of the answers in the formus here - great site!).

Thanks!

KJ

[Jim Rodman]

Welcome to the forum, there are a lot of knowledgeable people here. You will not go wrong with the advice given.
I have a SS350 I have had it two year a good machine. I assume you are talking about the SS and the noise. Because you said about a Craftsman machine.
With the ss the first thing to check is the linkage of the arms. Do all testing with the plug out. Remove the blade from , hold the bottom arm at the blade clamp with one hand. With the other hand hold the top clamp and lift it up and down. Do not let the bottom clamp move. You should not have much play in the linkages. [no more than say 1/8" to 1/4" play) If there is remove the side of the housing and check all the bushing points in the linkage and replace as needed. I next look at the linkage form the motor to the arms, you should not have any play with these pieces. When you have the side off look to see if any of the linkages are broken. Send me a PM on how you make out. One more thing when in by the linkage check all screws and nuts to see that they are tight. Look at the bellows that it is in good shape.
Good luck KJones

jim from Ontario
jimrodman@symaptico.ca

[Rolf]

KJ

I too have a SS350. It is now my going to club meeting saw. I took the sides off of mine and put white lithium grease on all of the linkage joints. I took the screws out to grease them. I am not convinced that oiling through the access holes actually gets to the joints. The saw was much smoother and quieter after that. The other thing I found was that the set screw in the counter balance was loose. I put a drop of locktite on it and snugged it up.
It now runs better than new, and for the money was a great saw.

[naveall]

this is what happen to the two ss350 saws we had/have

we had two of these and both had been factory messed up, they installed the lower arm bearing in crocked and over torqued it, end result the saw never cut straight and became a boat anchor, watch the top quick set clamps, there is a small alumium piece behind the tensioner that will break and fall out, the top arm will also wear causing you problems, and unless it has changed since we stopped using the two we have the ss350 is no longer made as of three years ago and parts are not available for it, this is according to our local repair shop.

[Croaker]

call delta and order extra parts as when they are gone they have told me they will not reoder from china I had a 350 and went through three of them in 3 months but I do alot of scrolling. Got the P-20 and lots of parts for it as it is in same boat as 350 not longer stocking parts.

[rmcordes]

Originally Posted by KJones

Hello there!

Picked up a SS350 for cutting a bunch of Pinewood cars (great excuse, eh?). Think I got a decent deal at $70 as I bought it from a guy who does custom woodwork in new homes & it was never used. Runner up was a 10 year old well-used Craftsman for $40, but it only had a 1/10 HP motor although it was variable speed and tood both type blades.

Oiled all the joints through the access points indicated in the manual printed off Delta's web site but there is an odd random clicking sound from somewhere in the housing that comes and goes randomly. Any ideas on what this is, how to fix it, and if it is serious or normal?

Otherwise it seems to be working great. The top Quickset II clamp got to where it wouldn't stay closed, but I took it apart and wiped off a bunch of oil that the old owner must have put on it & that fixed that.

Hooked a vacuum to the port in the side of the sawdust bin but didn't notice much less dust with it turned off. I just read the newby tip about dust being nasty though, so I will hook it back up.

So, any tips to make this saw work better, last longer, or be easier to use? Probably will have many more questions as I start to play with it (and hopefully will find many of the answers in the formus here - great site!).

Thanks!

KJ

Hi KJ. I, too, am a newbie and just picked up a used SS350. I can't address your concerns but you might be able to help me. You said you downloaded a manual for the SS350 off of the Delta web site. I went to the site and tried to find a manual for it but could not. Perhaps I was using a different URL, I don't know. Would you mind giving me the web link and any magic words to type in the search box. I tried SS350 and it said NOT AVAILABLE. Thanks for listening.