Looking for a scroll saw, what about the Rockwell Bladerunner??

[Duane Bledsoe]

I recently saw the Rockwell Bladerunner in Lowe's and wondered if it would be good for what I want. Looks like the way it's made it doesn't really restrict me to any depth of cut since there's no arm coming up from in the back for the wood to hit (it's on the side instead). But it also looks like it uses just standard jig saw blades too, and I've had trouble using a regular jig saw to cut treated 2x wood so I'm not sure this would be any beter. I figured it might be the blades themselves being the problem but it could just be a relatively weakly powered tool also (the jig saw that is). A jig saw cuts OK (and I use the term loosely) but it takes a good bit of time to do the cut, about twice as long as the scroll saw I was using did. I got new blades, some good ones that are for fast cutting, but it was still agonizingly slow, and I still got the diagonal cutting from the blade not tracking completely vertical while following the pattern. So, does anyone think the Rockwell Bladerunner would be any better, or should I just stick with a regular scroll saw??

[Gregg Ramer]

I don't believe the Bladerunner is intended to replace a scrollsaw; it is a hybrid jigsaw.

[Myk Rian]

Look on craigslist for a good one.

196215

[John McClanahan]

The Bladerunner is a Rockwell jig saw mounted in a cheap table with an overarm blade guard. I thought they looked interesting until I got to see and touch one. They look better suited for simple craft work.

John

[glenn bradley]

I agree the Bladerunner looks like a hobby tool and probably does OK for that. I would not expect to do any of the things I use a scrollsaw for with it; blade size mainly. I cut thicker material so the blade path needs to be as near vertical as possible. The arm design contributes here so even though there are nice older machines, don't go so old (or so cheap) that they lack design advancements. Things that were important to me, YMMV:


Smooth operation - details are lost to vibrating machines ;-)
Easy to reach and use controls - little things like tension adjustments in the rear of the tool become tedious almost immediately.
Variable speed - to tune the saw for different uses.
Pin-less blades - I do mostly fretwork.
Throat depth to match your needs - I do small details on larger panels.
Tool free blade changes - The blade is constantly freed and re-attached at one end when doing fretwork.
Will bevel to the left and right - eases work requiring beveled actions.


I wanted to keep the cost down and so went with the DeWalt DW788 although there are many fine saws out there.

[Matt Day]

I agree with the craigslist suggestions. I see good old ones on there daily for cheap and I'd get one if I needed one.

[Ken Moran]

I have a Blade Runner and though it will cut crooked lines and circles it will not cut tight corners like a scroll saw. Having said that it will work as a quasi scroll saw providing you don't try fretwork. Like someone said, it is a glorified upside down jig saw. The one advantage it has over a jig saw is the upper blade guide that keeps the blade straight unlike my jig saw that has a tendency to wander at times. I do like the Blade Runner for what I use it for such as building boxes, clocks and birdhouses. My wood thickness limit is 3/4" and using the correct blade it will cut about anything.

[Tony Zaffuto]

I had an immediate need for a scroll saw that wouldn't wait for Craigslist. I bought the Porter Cable from Lowes, that runs about $180 or so. It is a pretty lightweight duty saw, more than a little light for the job I am currently doing, but I have a work-around, in that I do the heavy cutting with my jig saw and the more intricate cuts with the scroll saw.