Performance is very smooth and the dust collection box is a nice addition to this Delta Scrollsaw! The lower blade clamp is difficult to use due to limited area available to move fingers around in...NOT recommended for anyone with arthritis! Dust blower needs major improvement in pressure but for the money, all in all, this is a good saw. The stand reduces vibration 100 fold and the On/Off lock switch is a great idea for anyone with youngsters around. Extended table is a great improvement for supporting large, delicate fretwork pieces and the tilt table is great for beveled wood working. This is a nice improvement from my last Delta Scrollsaw but Delta still needs to make changes to the increase "available work space" in the lower blade clamp area to make it more "user friendly" before I'd consider giving it a higher rating. I've been operating a scrollsaw for over 7 years to make my living and so far... so good with this model!

I have had this saw for a year. It has been very reliable and gets a lot of use. I have done a lot of assorted projects and am getting more serious about very detailed Fret work. This is where the limitations of the saw surface. There is about 1/8" front to back motion in the blade which makes very fine viening and internal cuts very difficult. All of the bearings seem a little sloppy to me. For the level of sawing that I want to achieve I will be buying a Hegner or a RBI Hawk ($1000. ) I will keep the saw for its portability (club meetings). It is an excellent saw in its price range and a much better saw than some offerings from Dremel and Craftsman. The blade clamps are supper. The bottom clamps are easy to access if you remove the dust collector.

This scroll saw came with an upper arm clamp that sat on a 5 degree angle. The mounting area for the clamp was finished off crudely on a belt sander. I also had to straighten the upper blade clamping lever. It was bent in so far that it could not clamp the blade. Even though Delta made good on this and sent a replacement arm within 5 days. This is the second Delta machine that I own. The other is the 12" diameter disk sander. I had problems with that one too. I believe that you can expect problems with Delta's made in China. They just haven't achieved good quality control as of yet.

I was a little skeptical of this product at first, as Delta's brand name seems to stand for less and less as the years go on. After it arrived I set it up and noticed that the upper clamping mechanism for the blade didn't unclamp. Try as me and my mechanical engineering friend could, we could not get the clamp to budge. Upset, I called Delta and sat on hold for nearly an hour, talked to someone in customer service who told me a tech guy would call me back, waited 2 hours for that call, gave up, called Delta again, and this time demanded to be directly connected.
br /
br /Once talking with the Tech guy, they determined that I had a faulty (surprise surprise) upper blade clamp, and mailed me a new one. Once it came, I installed the new one (which worked fine) and continued testing parts of the machine. It was at this point that the tension level for the blade tension broke as I was trying to pull it down (which is what the directions instruct you to do). Again on the phone with Delta, I was told that having two things not work was a sign the whole product was faulty, and I should return it to my nearest service center.
br /
br /My nearest service center, it turns out, was 100 miles away. I mentioned that I shouldn't have to pay for gas for that long a distance for something that was not my fault. Delta customer service had nothing left to say to me at that point, and suggested I call the dealer from which I purchased the unit. Gee, thanks Delta. So if I were rating this product on Delta customer service, they wouldn't even get a star.
br /
br /Amazon.com, on the other hand, was fantastic. I got right through to customer service, who told me to repack the unit and they would have UPS come pick it up immediately and give me a new one next day. I called on a Friday and UPS came on the Monday to pick up the old unit and Tuesday they dropped off my brand spankin new unit, which as of yet does not have any problems.
br /
br /If you ignore the faulty bits, this scroll saw is well made for the price. The stand is stable and easy to assemble. The dust collection system is adequate, and there is little to no vibration with the saw. There are a fair few plastic parts on the machine, but they again you're not paying top dollar for it anyway. I had to make a new circular plate insert, as the blade gap in mine was too large for the wood sizes I was cutting, but that wasn't a big deal.
br /
br /Overall, I'll buy from Delta again, but only through Amazon.com. This scroll saw is worth the money, but pray you get a functioning one on your first try.

Very disappointed with the product. Bottom blade clamp would not hold the blade - Delta sent a new one and it still didn't work. Returned the item and purchased a Dewalt. Well worth the extra money. No problem receiving credit from Amazon. Very pleased with other products I have purchased from Amazon.

I am enjoying my scroll saw very much.It is eay to operate. The only thing I found is that it takes awhile to change the blades and make them secure and taught.

This saw works great for this price range. I had it up and running in about 45 minutes - the bulk of that time was in the assembly of the stand. The saw itself is easy to use once you become accustomed to the quick blade change system as there is a slight learning curve involved - getting the feel for the proper blade mounting/positioning and locking along with the proper tensioning. I have cut 3 bowl blanks/9 rings out of 3/4" aromatic cedar and three out of 3/4" white oak; in total I have gone through 3 blades - a minor cost in learning. I do not know what others were expecting but the blower works fine; I only wish Delta would have equiped this saw with an LED light similar to the Dremel 1800 saw. All in all I would recommend this saw to anyone.

Amazon delivered the SS350LS in record time.
br /I removed it from the box, put the stand together, cleaned the preservative oil from all parts, assembled the saw to the stand, adjusted the blade and cut my first piece. The saw worked great. Hardly any noise. Replaced the blade with one of mine and began cutting one of my projects and the top blade clamp snapped open. Tried to clamp it again and the blade clamp would not clamp again. The bottom clamp worked fine. However, without a usable top clamp the saw is USELESS!
br /I'll be contacting both Delta and Amazon. Delta to complain about the faulty equipment and Amazon to get a replacement saw.
br /
br /If the blade clamps work the saw should be a great improvement over my previous scroll saws which I've used for 15 to 20 years.

I bought this saw and stand for $200 about 3 years ago as my first woodworking tool. It's been a great scroll saw for the price. If I was devoted only to scroll sawing I might consider upgrading to the 20" DeWalt saw. The saw was pretty easy to set up. Oddly enough it came with an extra stand leg. The variable speed motor work nices and is useful when you're switching from detailed fretwork to fast "ripping". The blade changing system works nice too. There's a "macro" adjustment on both clamps and a lever to "lock" it in. It took me awhile to figure out how tight the clamps should be for different sized blades but like anything else, the more you use it the faster you get. Now it's no problem. I rarely bend or break blades and am sure it's operator error as opposed to the saw. The saw has some vibration which I could probably eliminate if I put a rubber mat under the table legs but it hasn't been enough of a problem to do that. The dust collection box is fine if you never do fretwork but you'll soon take it off (and leave it off) because you can't change the lower clamp with the box installed.
br /
br /All in all I would recommend this saw to anyone who wants a solid, well priced scroll saw for moderate use. Hope this helps your buying decision.

I recently purchased this unit and it has performed flawlessly. I did not have any of the fit or finish problems that plagued some of the other reviewers. Further, the saw is very quiet. Also, I found it very easy to change the blade and adjust the blade tension. All in all, this saw is an excellent value.

The saw packaging was top notch. It seems to have very good fit and finish, considering it was made in China, and was easy to clean up. The only problem is the variable speed function doesn't work. I am going to give it two stars for now. We will see if the replacement has the same problem....

It's not top of the line, but this scrollsaw is far superior to some of it's similarly priced peers, the price-range (with stand, mind you) far less than you might otherwise think. It's solid cast iron table gives it heft; it is solid, not a lightweight. The motor hums, unlike the Ryobi I owned before which sounded as though it had a chronic raspy cough and shook like a hypothermia victim when I turned it on. That was no fun. So far the Delta is fun. My only real criticism--the difficulty, perhaps my difficulty, adjusting the blades in the upper and lower chucks of the saw. The lower blade chuck provides little working space, particularly for those people with large hands, so adjusting the blade in the chucks takes a lot of time, certainly much longer than it takes with with pinned blades. Perhaps with experience my time will improve. Perhaps because the blade chucks are not quite equal to the more expensive models, adjusting them takes a bit more time. It's an aggravation. Nonetheless, this is a very reasonable price to pay for quality far better than I originally expected based on past scroll saw experiences. Overall I'm pleased.

put together the saw easily. cut some sample pieces. went to swtich out the blade in the quickset system. top clamp wouldn't clamp back down. worked on it for 3 hours trying to figure it out. took apart the chuck and didn't help. bottom clamp worked fine. looked like others had a similar problems. Don't buy this saw.

I opened my SS350 in early Feb, 2005. The saw looks very heavy and well built. On my first one the upper arm quick clamp was loose so i tightened it. It should have been adjusted at the factory to control the front to rear movement of the blade. It blade jumped forward every down stroke 1/16 of an inch. I later adjusted this clamp and it helped the saw some. The SS350 requires lubrication every 20 hours, and it is very difficult to lub if you have health problems or are in a wheel chair. The saw begain to vibrate and by the end of April it was in the shop 33 days. It came back vibrating worse! So Amazon replaced it (Thank You Amazon, Delta refused to touch it again). The replacement saw's upper arm was twisted at the factory and they installed the quick clamp crooked so the blade would run at a slant. This could be a good medium priced saw if they were not made in China?. The quick clamps are great, the controls are easy to reach, and the motor seems very strong. But the required lubrication is a paine if you are arthritic and the quality control in China? is a joke. I have returned them both to Amazon.
br /Rev. Frank Goshert

I purchased it locally, got it home assembled the stand mounted it and turned it on, it ran smooth and quite, however I didn't have time to test it out right away. After less than 1hr of use it seemed louder and to vibrate a good deal more. As I tried to figure out if I was crazy or the saw was really getting worse I saw that the blade clamp was mounted at an angle and appeared that after a little use it was bending to compensate. At this point and at most speeds, the entire stand moved back and forth. Also it was making what sounded like bearing noise from the upper arm. I returned it. I gave it 2 stars because even with the defect it worked better then the old Ryobi I had.
br /
br / The reality today is most products are made with defects. The buyer has to decide if the product they purchase is worth the time takes to work with the manufacture and get the defective parts replaced. To me the Delta was not worth that time.
br /

Bought this as my first saw in Sept 04. After learning how to make adjustments and use the saw, I was very pleased. That is until the quick change chuck system broke. This model is no longer available at Lowe's so I was unable to exchange it for a new on. Therefore I contacted Delta customer service....I have been waiting 2 months for some "hex nut" to get off backorder. After several complaints, they agreed to send the entire chuck unit(3 day UPS) instead of waiting for the part. That was over a week ago and still have not received anything. The customer service made me feel as if I was being impatient, but 2 months is a long time to wait for parts. Finally, I decided to return the saw to Lowe's. They were very helpful. I was able to get a store credit for the saw, but now I am very confused as to what saw will be easy for me to use and have good customer service. I am very displeased with Delta customer service

I have nothing bad to say about this tool. The assembly took about 20 minutes. I am a novice woodworker, yet I was tracing and cutting patterns in minutes along with my wife. The machine, along with the base is very sturdy, and the variable speed comes in handy when cutting different materials. Dust collection is great!

for the money,you cant go wrong with this saw. the chuck blade holders are the fastest,eastiest way to change a blade. if you put the stand together right,there is almost zero viberations. im very impressed with this delta model,and i think you will be too..

I waited for two months to write a review of the SS350LS, as I hoped I would have a positive outcome to report. I purchased the Delta SS350LS scroll saw on January 30, 2008, despite reading several reviews written a couple of years ago about a weak air blower system. Since the reviews were written a while ago the problem must be fixed by now, right? When I set up the saw I got NO air from the blower. I called Delta on February 6th and was told, after some discussion of the problem, that they would send a part to fix the problem. As of March 30, 2008 I have neither received the part nor heard anything further from Delta.
br /
br /Removing the adjustable blower arm I found that the air-line from the billows has an outside diameter of 3/16 inch. The inside diameter of the blower arm is 1/4 inch, leaving a gap of 1/16 inch between the air-line and the adjustable arm. Since the air-line only extends about two inches into the blower arm, the air from the bellows goes out the top of the adjustable arm and not to and out the nozzle. What would Norm say?
br /
br / I own several other Porter-Cable and Delta products that perform well, so I am disappointed to find the lack of quality engineering in the blower system on this scroll saw. Be forewarned, the parts list for the SS350LS at the dewaltservicenet web-site, shows the saw's manufacture as Black Decker and the saw's status as Discontinued without replacement.
br /

Stand functions great. Includes dust collection and blower. Just a little difficult to change blades. Overall great value, great tool!

Having read the manual, the learning curve was made much shorter and I love ths saw. By removing the dust collector box (no tools required) there is lots of room to operate the lower blade clamp. The tightness of these clamps is adjustable and I have no trouble operating them even with arthritic fingers. This is the quietest and smoothest scroll saw I've used (and as a shop teacher I've used a lot). I urge all shoppers looking for a scroll saw to give this one a good hard look. Mine is perfect and I expect it to last forever (like all of my other Delta equipment). Just be sure to read the manual so you won't be frustrated.

br /I bought this saw about a year and a half ago and at that time the saw stand was extra, $50 - $60 extra. So this saw with the stand included is a great deal.
br /
br /I have been extremely happy with everything about this saw. It runs smoothly enough at all but the slowest speed to keep all but the fussiest users happy.
br /
br /For me the one feature that sets this saw head and shoulders above almost any other saw are the QuickSet II chucks. They make it super easy to change blades and change blade sizes. It is easiest just to pull out the dust collection box to operate the lower chuck mechanism.
br /
br /If you plan to make any inside cuts then this is the saw for you. The QuickSet II blade clamps make it snap to release and reattach the upper end of the blade to thread it through a pilot hole to make your inside cuts.
br /
br /I have also used a DeWalt scroll saw and the lack of a removable throat plate and hard to use blade clamps make changing blades and making inside cuts much more difficult. It is a very smooth running saw but a lot harder for me to use to do what I want to do
br /
br /The dust blower system is quite anemic. I replaced the bellows but it didn't help much so I rigged up a 2800 cc/min aquarium air pump(from WalMart)through the existing blower tube and have plenty of air to keep the cut line clean even at slow speeds.
br /
br /I use a 100 watt clamp-on light on a stand to illuminate the work area, it's a good solution.

The saw needs a better blower for the saw dust. The saw does not cut well when you turn the wood during the cut it does not always cut strait. There are much better scroll saws than delta. If you do buy a scroll saw it is much better to go to a store and try it out first then shop around!

The stand on this saw rates as the easiest stand I've ever assembled. Each assembly point uses a single bolt and nut, with three punched holes to aid alignment. It went smoothly and quickly. Other delta tool stands were substantially more difficult.
br /
br /The blade was already installed and appropriately tensioned. The only annoyance was removing the oily fingerprints from all over the stand. The bolts are shipped oil-coated. Similarly the deck was coating in oil and then covered in plastic. Curiously, the manual contains no actual instructions for how to go from that state to ready to use. I simply wiped it down with rags repeatedly, but I'm not confident that's the proper preparation.
br /
br /There's a handle on top of the saw that might be useful for positioning it on a benchtop, but it's not too useful for repositioning the saw on its stand in the shop. It's too high up to get a good handle on it. So the assembled saw on its stand is moderately difficult to move about.
br /
br /I was slightly surprised at the amount of time that it takes to start up at its lowest speed setting. I was beginning to think it wasn't working, but then it started moving very smoothly.
br /
br /I haven't started a project with this saw yet, so this review only covers my initial impressions with setup and assembly.

I was very pleased with this unit. Very ruggedly built...better than the usual stuff you get for this cheap price ($169). I'm looking forward to putting it to work.

Why is a $220 machine on sale for $160? Because it is low quality and frustrating to use. I bought one in Mar 2007 and have had problems ever since. The two main problems are: 1) Inordinate Vibration 2) Inadequate Clamping system.
br /1) The saw vibrates heavily at half power or more. It sounds as if the upper saw are is striking the housing at each stroke. This can't be the intended design. I fear each stroke brings the saw closer to cracking or tumbling. The rattling is severe and not the quiet hum one would expect from a properly balanced machined tool.
br /2) The Quickset clamping system is a poor design. Almost every other brand allows you to snap a blade with pins into place, or has some other reliable means of securing a blade into the machine. This saw has neither. You must negotiate a careful balancing act, on the top and the bottom (with little finger clearance), and if your blade alignment is too high or too low by a quarter-inch or more, the blade will shake loose upon startup. The squeeze clamping system is difficult to learn use. To say nothing of attempting to actually cut wood. It seems even the least bit of pressure against the blade with shift the alignment and cause the blade to fall out of the clamp or strike the blade guide.
br /
br /In summary, don't waste your money on such a poor scroll saw. There are several other manufacturers whose cheaper saw perform more reliably. No wonder the saw is not stocked by Home Depot or Sears, and that Lowe's recently stopped stocking the saw in favor of a better quality, cheaper import.

I took this scroll saw out of the box and set it up. I was so excited. Then I turned it on and nothing happened but a pathetic buzz. I turned it off, checked the instructions, checked the electrical plug, checked everything I could think of, then turned it on again. This time absolutely nothing happened. I couldn't believe it! I got a saw that was defective right out of the box! Thank goodness Amazon pays return shipping for defective goods.