Delta model SS350, 16" Variable speed scroll saw,

[Barefoot1]

Hey guys,

A friend of mine owns a Delta model SS350, 16" Variable speed scroll saw, and has been having blade holder problems but I know nothing about this saw. I tried searching but could not refine the search enough to find what I needed.
Are there alternative blade holders for this saw and where can he find them?

[gippslander]

giday barefoot ,i recently bought a 16 inch delta for a friend and strait away the nut holding the bottom blade broke , its only cast , so got a brass one made up and that fixed the problem which is apparently a common one . can you be more explicit about youre problem . tom

[scrolldog]

Yep, had about the same problem w/upper blade holder,the bolt was slightly bent ended up stripping out the threads.Replaced w/new bolt & nut,if I remember right it's a 4mm size,hope this helps.

[knothead]

Tell him about the ss350. (no don't). But you have to. (I said I wouldn't). It will kill me if I keep quiet. (OK here it goes). I ----------------------

Tom

[jim_mex]

Hi Thomas - I have a Delta 40-570 which I think is identical to the SS350- It uses the QuickClamps II system.

When I first started scrolling i found it difficult to feed blades into the holder and was also looking for an alternative set of clamps.
Now, after about 2 months of scrolling I've gotten used to it.

My suggestions for using the Quickclamps are:

a) make sure the blade holding area is oil free and slightly roughed up with a piece of fine emery to enable the clamp to grip the blade.

b) don't screw the adjustment nut too tightly before closing the clamping lever. To much force with probably result in you snapping the lever and its not necessary,

c) when fitting the blades make sure the clamping area is running parallel to the blade. By this I mean that the blade should be parallel to the vertical front edge of the clamp. If its not you will put a lot of strain on the blade and probably break it. This is fairly easy to do for the top blade holder as its clear to see what you are doing when feeding the blade. For the bottom holder its a bit trickier, I find that after opening the bottom clamp I put a finger of my left hand under its bottom edge and lift it up slightly so the bottom edge is at 90 degree to the blade position. I then feed the blade in with my right hand such that its bottom rests against my left hand finger under the clamp whilst I then use my right hand to close the clamping lever, taking care not to move the blade.

Like most things it takes practise. I also definitely suggest you use flat end blades and not spiral ends to begin with as these are a pig to fit!

Hope this helps

[SNAPPER]

I have a Delta 40-540, 10+yrs with no clamp issues. What issues is he having. I assume the blades are slipping out of the QuicksetII blade clamps. Getting the clamp pressure/blade tention correct is kind of a trial/error deal. Both upper/lower clamps pivot on a roll pin, I regularly put a drop of 3n1 oil to keep them moving freely. When the blade is tentioned it puts more friction on these metal to metal pivot points. Regular lubrication maintenance helps keep the saw operating properly.
Dean

[Barefoot1]

Yes, blade slippage and breakage. I may need to go and look at it, I just have not had time to do that.

[SNAPPER]

Slippage may be due to the clamps not being tight enough. Once and a while I will have a blade slip after I apply tention as I did not have the bottom clamp tight enough. I think the breakage issue is tention related, perfecting this is a trial/error learning curve. Twisting the blade when cutting can also cause breakage.
I would also make sure all of the pivot points are lubricated.
Keep us posted.
Dean

[ubgoofy2003]

Thomas, I have a model 40-650 Q3 Delta 18" variable & it has the clamp type blade holders. They are a pain. You have to get the screw set at just the right tightness to close the clamp on the blade. And you need to set your tention as light as you can, so the blade won't pop out of your holder. I had a problem with the bottom one. It takes a lot of patience & practice. My biggest problem was trying to use spiral blades until they came out with the flat end spirals. It is just a never ending battle, right !! Hope you get some good answers to your problem & good luck. Larry

[naveall]

we had two of these, and we had the same problem, the upper bolt would bend in the middle and then the blade would slip out or start breaking, we even put new bolts in from a hardware store and it still did that, i have talked with delta many times over this and there is no magic fix, the parts are very cheaply made and the saw is good for about 3 months, we have two here and the delta rep has got to the point he will not fix them anymore and will not replace them, he has done that twice already. both times within 3 months of getting the saw sent to us, all these where under warrenty the last one the rep replaced came with the lower arm bushing and bolt screwed in crooked a factory mistake and they still would not replace the saw anymore, we never got past putting the saw togather and attempting to true up the blade with the arms to make a straight cut, if i remember correctly, we had a very cocked cut on the one thing toni did try to cut, perfect on top and way crooked on the bottom, we bought a new dremel for her and have had not one problem with it and it hums like a baby so we now have two large boat anchors in our shop and we cannot not even give them away to anyone, partly because anyone who has researched these knows they are not made anymore and there is no parts through the delta web page. very frustrating to know they are made so poorly, and i have went rounds with our local rep about these and why they are so horrible and made so bad.

hope this helps, all this is true and sad, my 1991 saw still works as good as the day i bought it and has only been rebiult once in over 15 years

al toni and baby scroller