What scroll saw is the best for the money?

[Bill Wyko]

I found a Proxxon for around 150.00 but when I look for the dewalt, it's over 500.00 bucks. seems like a big swing for no more features. It there any other that you all would recommend that's affordable?

[Gary Muto]

Woodcraft had the Delta on sale less than a month ago for $350. Rockler had it for $400 in November. It's the same saw as the DeWalt and it comes with a stand and a light. you mised these sales but I suspect that there will be more. Since it is a DeWalt saw, maybe Delta is dumping them since they are a separate company now. the DeWalt saw, or Delta might be a best bang for the buck even at normal pricing.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I'm the farthest thing from an expert on scroll saws - but - from what I've gathered, the difference in cost is all about vibration.
The cheap ones do and the DeWalt doesn't.

[Jerome Hanby]

I've heard there are Dewalts and then there are Dewalts. The older Canadian ones are supposed to be great,m the newer ones (I assume Asian) are not. Not first hand experience, just what I read when I was researching. i found a Hegner Multimax on my local CL whose seller didn't know how to price it and snapped it up for less than i paid for the Craftsman i bought off their sales rack a few years ago.

[Montgomery Scott]

Depends on what you are intending to use the SS for. If you want one for intarsia or marquetry, then the DeWalt Type I (canadian made), a used Hegner or the Delta P-20 are the best for the money. I've heard mixed reviews of Hawk but I've never used one. They do seem to come up for sale fairly often, unlike hegner.

I bought a 1988 Hegner from a SMC member a couple years ago and it is a very good saw. I've put on dozens of hours of use since I bought it. Also, electronic variable speed isn't necessary, but it's very convenient.

[Cary Falk]

Sometimes Delta 40-440s come up on CL for cheap. I like mine.
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q297/caryincamas/DSC_0522-1.jpg

[Jeff Monson]

I had a opportunity to make some cuts with the new Delta at a recent WW expo. The sale was as Gary stated, had a free light and stand. The guy doing the promo was an awesome scrollsaw expert. He said the Delta and the Dewalt with the right blades were hard to tell apart, he did prefer the Delta for some of the little features it had. I cut 1/2" BB plywood with the Delta, it cut like butter and had NO vibration. I was very impressed to say the least. I have a 80's model Delta and it is a pile compared to the new model.

[Homer Faucett]

I have an RBI Hawk that was built in the '80's. They are excellent saws, and you can often find them on CL for around $150-$200. Almost no plastic found on them anywhere. I haven't used the new DW or Delta, but I don't have any desire to, either.

[Michael Moscicki]

Delta just came out with a new model 40-695 20-inch scroll saw and they're supposedly not making any more 40-690's. So once they're sold out there won't be any more new ones.

http://www.deltamachinery.com/products/scroll-saws/item/40-695?category_id=48

I myself have a DeWalt DW788 Type 1 and I love it so far. Has no vibration. Try and find a used one on craigslist. They usually go from $175 to $300.

[Ray Scheller]

I second the RBI Hawk.

[Mike Henderson]

Look on Craigslist. Scroll saws are not sought after tools and they tend to sell cheap. Take your time and you'll find a good saw at a very reasonable price.

The DeWalt is a very good scroll saw, as is the Hawk.

Mike

[glenn bradley]

Used ones do seem to go cheap. When I was shopping, the DeWalt was the only thing I found under $800 that had near true vertical blade path, low vibration, quick blade coupling, variable speed and a solid following of fans. I got mine, light, stand and all dropped at my doorstep from Grizzly for around $430-something on sale. I have tried a lot of $200 - $300 units and couldn't really use them for sawing the thicker stock I often use. The thicker the stock of higher the stack (if you stack-cut), the greater the impact of low power, inaccurate blade travel and vibration levels. Think about what you want to do and the accuracy required. If a lower level machine won't do, wait a bit and save you pennies. A machine that is a poor fit for your tasks will only waste3 your money, material and patience. - JMHO.

[Stan Mitchell]

I got mine, light, stand and all dropped at my doorstep from Grizzly for around $430-something on sale.

Same thing for me. It's a good saw - but catch it on sale or used if you can.