Blade plumb

[Skipcurt]

Hi everyone! First official post here. I'm brand new to the scroll saw world so I will probably have lots of questions in the near future. This one will be about the vertical straightness (plumb or square) of the scroll saw blade. I just purchased a new Dewalt 788 and haven't done anything important with it yet but the other night I checked the blade with a mini square and it was dead on from the side but it was off from front to back. The top of the blade was more forward than the rear.
Is there a way to adjust that? Does it matter? I know it won't really matter much for thin material but it definitely should for thicker.

Skip

[DWSudekum]

Skip this is a common thing on scroll saws.  There is a very very good site that has a good section on tuning up the 788.  Here is the link to it.  http://www.scrollsaws.com/SawReviews/DewltTuneUp.htm.  There are a bunch of very knowledgeable folks here so do not be afraid to ask questions

DW

[Skipcurt]

Thanks DW! I've bookmarked that site for reference. It's not totally clear to me what I'm reading just yet but is the section "Setting up the saw for stack sawing" the correct info for front/back or top/bottom adjustment? It is aligned if I check the side of the blade but not from the back.

Skip

[DWSudekum]

The main thing Skip is that what ever the movement is that it is consistent.  If it is minor then as long as you are not stack cutting much over 1 inch or so there should be no issue.  Assuming of course that you have the side to side taken care of and that the blade is plumb to the table.

DW

[sawdust703]

First of all, allow me to welcome you to the world of scrolling, my friend! You've stepped into a world of endless creations, constant learning, & the friendliest world of wood workers there is. Trust me.

They call me sawdust703, unless I'm in trouble. I'm a self taught scroller, & like you, had questions like no other. I did lots of research, lots of studyin' on different saws.

As far as your blade bein' plumb, ya should have adjustment screws on your blade clamps that will move your blade back & forth. w/out much knowledge of the DeWalt, I ain't able to guide you thru the adjustment. but it doesn't take alot of movement of each screw to change the setting. It should be square up & down.

You may have to make adjustments to your blade from time to time. keep it in check. with more experience, you'll be able to tell when blade adjustment is needed. good luck to you! start makin' some saw dust! God bless!

[Bill Wilson]

The important thing is that the blade is square, through its entire range of motion, not just when it is sitting still.  The DeWalt, as well as most other saws, cuts with a slight oscillating action.  It's only a few thousands of an inch, but it means that most of the time, when the saw is not running, the blade will be slightly out of square, front to back.

To check if your saw is cutting evenly, with no over or under cut; take a thick piece of wood, the thicker the better and just kiss it with the running blade to make a shallow kerf in one edge.  Examine the kerf to see if it is deeper on the top or the bottom.  If it is, then there may be some adjustment that needs made.  I believe that Rick Hutcheson's website has info on some of the methods people have used to minimize the variance.  Under normal circumstances, the saw should make an even kerf and no adjustment should be necessary.