ss250 broke

[wwalker47]

Bill-

Thanks, that is exactly what was happening. Before the break it was real hard to push the leaver back to put tension on the blade and I couldn't figure out why. I shall be more careful in the future.

Thanks to all for the great advice.

-Bill

[Little flower]

Very interesting and HELPFUL to read this thread. Thanks for sharing you problem. As a result I checked my machine as the tension lever was getting very hard to move back. I found the grommett had been sheared and have of it was hanging out. So I got in touch with other users and they had similar problems. It seems even our supplier here hadn't heard of this problem. I now have a replacement grommet in my machine and the supplier has ordered in a big stock of them.

I have always maintained the pivot bolts #149 and last time my husband put some anti-rust grease on them. However another user had not greased his so when deciding to do a check he got more than just a surprise to see the wear and tear - amazing! - the washers were soooooooo buckled - and one bolt snapped off leaving the end of it seized in the machine. (Mine will be getting another check this evening - I need help with these things)

The model number on our machines is 40-540 whereas yours is SS250 yet when I checked on the website they look the same. Does anyone know which is they newer model and what differences there are?

[GrayBeard Phil]

Teresa:

Please, go to the Delta woodworking web site, and email the tech support to verify what I am going to write.

You should not be using grease of any kind on the pivot bolts, #149. You should be using light machine oil instead. SAE 20 wt non-detergent motor oil. If you need to, use SAE 30 non-detergent oil.

There is a brand name light oil, called 3-in-1. Don't use the red can, but use the blue labeled can, which is for electric motors (SAE 20.) The red can will leave extra 'gunk'.

You need to clean the bolts and the fitting in the arms, very meticulously, to remove all the 'gunk'. Remove even the hardened stuff. And then lightly oil the bolts. This needs to be done about every 20 hours of operating your saw.

On occations, remove the arms, and clean and lube the interface between the arms and the cast iron housing. There is a friction point interface, which is difficult to get at.

This is just my opinion, but if you let your saw sit for a few weeks, it wouldn't hurt to re-lube the pivot bolts before cutting.

By the By: On some of the Delta scroll saws, there are two washers on the pivot bolts. One of them is a wavy spring washer which acts as a lock washer. Pay close attention to the parts drawing so you know where it goes when you re-assemble the bolt to the saw. Don't switch out that spring washer with any lock or star washer.

Also, don't tighten down that pivot bolt too far. It is not strong enough to be torque to any standard. The cast iron threaded hole is also too soft. Just enough to prevent the bolt from coming loose. (I have never gotten a good answer as to what that means in foot-lb.) For the first few hundred hours of operation, you may see the small metal particle in the waste oil, don't be alarmed.

but please, ask your question, by email, to Delta.

Phil

[Little flower]

Thanks heaps for the advice, will do.

[Little flower]

Back again after having Trevor do a full check of the machine. He is an engineer by trade and found the pivot bolts looking as good as new.

GrayBeard Phil

You need to clean the bolts and the fitting in the arms, very meticulously, to remove all the 'gunk'. Remove even the hardened stuff. And then lightly oil the bolts.

Found no gunk to speak of and certainly no hardened stuff. They have had a thourough clean..... and dare it.... a re-greasing.

When he done them just after I got the machine (had done about 20 hours work) they were extremely dry. He oiled them that time and the next couple of times and always found them quite dry so the last time he done them he decided to use the copper anti-seize grease (not anti-rust as I said earlier). When we think about it that was some time ago (about 12mths) - he was confident it would work so I just trusted his experience and just got on with the cutting and forgot about it.

However he does understand that companies do sometimes give different advice and if people do decide to do differently they do need to understand what they are doing and why they are doing it and be prepared to stand by their own decisions (which he is always prepared to do) without holding the company at fault if things go wrong.

After this experience our little group is plannng a machine maintence day as we are all using Delta 16" machines.

Thanks all for the help given.

[bronco]

I too had problems with metal shavings in the lower arm and pivot bolt
on my ss-250. I had a hard time pulling out the bottom arm pivot bolt #149.
I cleaned up everything and put white lit.grease in the sleeve and bolt. I put
3-1 machine oil on the pivot point links#135. After @ 15 hrs. of use of the saw I checked the arm and pivot bolts and found no abuse on the top or bottom arm.
The top arm still had pleanty of white grease on it.The bottom arm had some gray color,but the pivot bolts were still greased and easy to pull out unlike before when I had to use pliers, also I found no metal shavings.When I
bought my saw I found it had no grease on any of the pivot points or the upper and lower pivot bolts. I had been reading on this forum that some of the delta
saws came this way, otherwise I may have ruined my saw very quickly.
Bill

[Little flower]

Bronco wrote

I cleaned up everything and put white lit.grease in the sleeve and bolt.

Glad you haven't had any problems since Bronco. However Trevor says you do have to be careful about what grease you use and he wouldn't use anything but 'copper anti-seize'.

[DAdams]

Hi I'm new to this site and are also a newbie at scroll sawing. I just bought a reconditioned Delta SS250 scroll saw. I have been reading about the grommets problem and pivet arm trouble. Is there anything else I should watch out for trouble with my scroll saw? And how often should this be checked and how often should I lube the areas

[Little flower]

I don't know of any problems other than those discussed encountered by the many users over here. By reading the thread you will know that we are all now using the anti-sieze copper grease (NOT ordinary grease) and I won't need to check my machine again for another six months. Based on the past I expect to find the bolts still well lubed and in good condition. I use my saw EVERY day. Happy scrolling on a great little machine.

[GrayBeard Phil]

DAdams:

Unless you truly have a good access to someone whom YOU trust as a mechanical engineer, go by what the manufacture of your saw has recommended.

As Far As I know, Delta Woodworking Machines, still recommends light machine oil for your saw's pivoit bolts, and have never officially endorsed or recommended any grease. However, the saw belongs to you, and you can do as you want with your property. This is your judgement call.

That being said, I emphatically suggest you use the blue can of 3-in-1 oil, which is SAE 20 non-detergent oil. Clean and re-lub per Delta's recommendation which is I believe is every 20 hours of actual run time. This is because I feel most hobbiest who live in North America should be able to find a small can of 3-in-1 very easily.

The other problems that you might come across are rare, and machine specific. For example high blade breakage. Normally this is caused by operator in-experience. On a few occasions it can be caused by the saw. Keep reading this site and these problems will crop up, and you can choose to compare your own experience with those posted.

Phil