New Scroll Saw - Porter Cable 375SS -- Opinion Needed

[Bob Griffith]

About two months ago I bought a Porter Cable 375SS at Lowes. Seemed like a reasonable choice given likely usage and budget. Initial use was to cut about 50 cardinals from 5/16" balsa - not a real tough assignment. The problem and question:

Seems to me that there is excessive lateral movement in the blade. On downstroke, blade shifts slightly to right; at beginning of upstroke it shifts left. It looks like it does this worse at low speed than high, but I can't really measure it. Took it to B&D service center and they seemed to think it was all normal.

Last night I videoed just what it's doing. https://www.hightail.com/download/dD...MVgrV3hBSXRVag


So, is what I am seeing "normal"? What if any problems am I going to encounter?

[John Seybold]

Hi, Bob,

No, that's not normal. There should be NO lateral movement of the blade. I've used older model PC scroll saws for marquetry, where you need a precise cut, and the blade tracks true laterally. If I remember correctly, there is significant front-to-back movement of the blade due to the way that the arm swings, but side-to-side it should track exactly straight. I can't tell what the problem is, but there's something wrong. Best case, if you use it like this, you'll get a lousy cut. Worst case you'll break a bunch of blades (which happens often enough anyway, especially with thin blades).

Good luck with this.

[Ben Rivel]

Just out of curiosity, how much did you get it for?

[Guy Belleman]

Not normal. Looks like blade is not tensioned properly. Check blade tensioning. Ensure install bottom of blade, pull up blade and bottom arm to snug up to top arm, tighten top, then tension.

[John Seybold]

You might be right, Guy. It's hard to tell, but when Bob plucked the blade at the start of the video it made a nice high note, so it seems like there is decent tension on the blade, but certainly a possibility. I'm guessing more something wrong with the arm(s). I would check the bushings and make sure all the bolts are tight, as a start.

[Brad Barnhart]

your tension is dead on. By lookin' at the blade in movement, you've got a vibration somewhere the faster the speed. Obvious, huh? Do ya have any excess movement(back & forth) in the lower arm? make sure all the bolts are tight. At the back of the saw, there is a small plate, maybe with two screws holding it in place. Under that is a wedge. Check to see if that wedge is in place, & lubed. You'll have to take the side of the saw apart to get to that wedge. With the side off, you'll be able to check things inside the saw. Check the threads on the tension adjuster, too. If that wedge is "sharp" on the bottom edge, take it out & file it to a smoother edge. Other than a bearing goin' bad, I don't know of anything else that would cause your issue. I'm a scroll sawyer myself. Have been for close to 25 years. I own 5 saws of my own, & have seen this issue before. I've never been around a pc, but by looking at the parts diagram, it's a simple machine. If I can help any further, pm me & I'll be glad to do what I can. Good luck, & God bless.

[Bob Griffith]

Thanks for everybody's comments. It's already had one fruitless trip to the Stanley / Black & Decker Repair Center in Columbus. Saw is brand new, so it shouldn't have any worn bearings, but who knows. I'll follow Brad's suggestion and try opening up the back and see what I find. Before taking it to B&D I had taken lower cover off the left side and hand-turned the drive. Looked like worst of the movement was coming from bottom, but I couldn't tell why. The blade holders have a lot of wiggle to them, but I don't think they're at fault.
Worst case, it's back to Lowes for a swap. But I'd like to have some confidence that this particular saw was just poorly made - not a fundamental design fault.

[rudy de haas]

I spent some time looking at scroll saws - including this one, on sale at lowes for about $189 - and decided against it so my suggestion is to take it back. Be aware, however, that I know next to nothing about scroll saws, ran a thread here asking for advice and had nearly everyone tell me to get the dewalt, and then bought a 16" shop fox for about the same price as your PC.

The shop fox, incidently, has a real cast iron table; a terribly sucky work light, and overall pretty good performance for what I am doing with it (which is not going to include extensive use of plain end blades - they're almost impossible to put on when the workpiece is in place.)

[Bob Griffith]

Sorry for the reply delay. Thought I had answered earlier. Got the saw for $198 + at Lowes.

[Jim Scott2]

Grasping at straws, but could it be that the set screw, opposite to the thumb screw, is not adjusted correctly? It seems to me that the bottom of the blade moves left and right but the top looks to be pretty stable. If you adjust the bottom set screw to move the bottom of the blade to the right, it might help.