Thread: Delta 16" scroll saw

Not being familiar with scroll saws, I would first disconnect the motor from the mechanism and see which part is not working - the motor or the mechanicals

Rick

interestingly, I have a 21" General and it vibrated more than Id care for since the day I bought it.

As it was unpleasant to use it sat on the shelf... until last night.

I opened it up, in a fit of enthusiasm, and looked at all the nuts, bolts, mechanisms and whatnot. Considering each piece carefully and thinking about what each does and interacts showed it to be a fairly complex little beastie!

BUT! the mechanism of activation, the motor, is the "weak spot". It relies on an offset cam attached to the motors spindle. It uses a bearing, as do a few other places.

For your problem, I'd open the side of the saw opposite the motor (if it has an access port) and have a good look, using a strong light, at all the parts. Poke each to see if it moves, or wobbles, or is seized.

The fact the motor isn't humming is interesting. They do burn out. Take the motor out of the saw (on mine its 3 bolts on the outside and a nut on the shaft).... or just detach the spindle to let the motor free-wheel.. See if it turns on!

If no go, then motor stuffed. If it turns, then the various linkages are on the fritz. Luckily the linkages are simple to repair, as they are just metal and bearings. It might look messy and intense while taking it apart, but there are significant resources/diagram online showing an explosion chart.

Hope this helps. Post pictures and your results to share your findings for posterity!

I have no experience with this saw but was just wondering if it has a variable speed controller & if so it may be your problem.

I approached 3 different shops with this issue. Everywhere I received pretty much the same verdict. They were very busy and and they propose to bring and leave my saw for a week or two. They all predicted that it was the problem with the motor and it would cost me a few hundreds of dollars at the very best. It was hard to find the same motor as Carbatec doesn't sell Delta anymore.

I returned home and opened the cover again. I tried to find any object inside the motor or around it which could block the moving parts but everything was fine. Then I decided to remove the electronic panel. It wasn't easy but I managed somehow. The panel was around 150 x 80 mm and it had probably 40-50 tiny diodes, triods and other resistors. I investigated them all and I felt that probably one of them was faulty. Suddenly I found that one tiny item was attached to the panel with just one leg and the other one came off. I took a small soldering iron and reconnected it back to its spot.
Putting everything together was much harder then taking apart !? I switched it on and the miracle has happened ! As I expected before it had nothing to do with the motor at all. The saw works as new and I am very happy that my 20 year old friend is alive.
Thanks for your support.