Need recommendations for a scroll saw......

[Ken Fitzgerald]

My wife is in Illinois visiting her 89 year old mother. Twice now my wife has called, saw some scroll saw work and suggested I get a scroll saw. The latest call she stated that I should get one as she is actually considering taking up the hobby.

I don't know a thing about scroll saws.

It would be preferable to buy once so I need recommendations on a good quality scroll saw.

Thanks!

[Sean Hughto]

I really like my Excalibur. Check out Seyco's website, they're great to deal with.

[Tom Hartranft]

Ken ... take a look at this linked 2010 review of entry-level, mid-level, and pro-level scroll saws plus it gives an overview of useful scroll saw features ... http://www.scribd.com/doc/33519964/Scroll-Saw-Buyer’s-Guide (http://www.scrollsawer.com/features/2010-scroll-saw-buyers-guide.html)


Tom

[Jerome Hanby]

I think you can hunt around and find a good deal, but I don't think you can buy a "cheap" scroll saw and be happy. My wife was about ready to kill me (probably with the saw if she could have got it to take another blade) over the Craftsman I picked up off their clearance rack a few years ago. I got it to run pretty well and managed to mount it so that the vibrations pretty much damped out, but the blade changing procedure was just awful. If you aren't breaking blades left and right then you are having to detach and reattach them to start cuts through a starting hole drilled in the material. Either way, having to fight the saw over the blades is no fun. I found her a HEGNER 22" Multimax and it is a much much better piece of machinery. The Dewalt is supposed to be a good machine, but once I started looking into those, I hit the same deal as with the Porter Cable Biscuit Joiners, certain dash numbers were great, others were crap, you can't really tell which is which without close personal inspection. I never ran across a bad word about Hegner other than wincing about the price.

[John Olson MA]

I use an older model Dewalt which I love...however, if I were to buy a new saw it would have to be the Excaliber. The biggest reason why is because the Excaliber has a tilting blade. The Dewalt's table tilts which makes doing bevels a little awkward. Hope this helps.



John

[Van Huskey]

A lot of people like the Dewalt but many only like the Type 1, which is out of production. As an FYI Woodcraft has the Delta, which is identical to the Dewalt, on sale for $349, the Delta comes with the stand and light and is about $250 cheaper than Grizzly sells the Dewalt with table and light and unless you catch it on sale Grizzly is the cheapest place to buy the Dewalt. Unless you want to spend $750 or above OR search for a used saw the Delta is the best deal going if you get the WC deal.

[Dave Lehnert]

I own and love the DeWalt. I do own the type 1. I think the only reason people knock the type 2 etc...DeWalts is because the Type one was made in Canada by Excaliber. The others are the same design but now made overseas. I would buy another without question.

[Anthony Whitesell]

I do hardly any scrollsaw work, but based on my father's experience and the general felling of "bang for the buck" I picked up a Dewalt from CL. IMO, the Dewalt or Delta look-like seem to me to be the best serious woodworker non-scroll-sawyer machine. If you want more then you're getting more serious. Check out the buyers guide linked in another post. It was well done (top tool by price range, 4-5 ranges IIRC).

P.S. the one thing I would watch out for in group 1 (the low end) is the aluminum tables. It's been my experience and my father's across many tools (Craftsman scroll saw, craftsman and bosch router tables, 4" delta jointer, craftsman tablesaw and bandsaw) the unanodized aluminum may rub off and leave (hard to remove) black streaks on the wood. It's never been a problem with the cast iron tops (Dewalt scrollsaw, laminated router table, craftsman table saw [yeah my father and I have a total of 3 craftsman TS], Grizzly jointer and bandsaw)

[Todd Bin]

I own an eclipse scroll saw. Which is awesome and one of the best you could get. But I will say that the lead time to buy one is excessive as the owner/maker builds each one to order and he has a backlog.

As has been stated the go-to entry level saw for years has been the DeWalt 788. But there are some differences between the original and the newer models. So gettiing an older 788 off e-bay would be a great option.

Most everyone who scroll saws will tell you to not buy a cheap (<500) scroll saw. You will just be frustrated by it.

Hegner makes nice saws and so does excaliber. BTW I believe DeWalt saw is basically an excaliber knock off.

[Mike Henderson]

The Dewalt type 1 is a very good saw - it has a 20" throat which is large enough for most work and it has very low vibration. It's variable speed and has most of the other modern features. Around here, they come available on Craigslist fairly often. And scroll saws are not tools in high demand so they sell at a decent discount.

I bought a RBI Hawk a while back but that's because I wanted a deep throat (26"). I've used the Dewalt, though, and like it.

Mike

[This isn't close to you but here's (http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/tls/2838578884.html)a Dewalt on craigslist local to me.]

[Rick Moyer]

Ken, one of our members here has a website regarding scroll saws (sorry I forget his name). I found it recently as I was searching scroll saws. I thought that maybe I shouldn't pass up the Woodcraft deal on the Delta, but I know about as much as you do about them:confused:. Anyway, if you search scroll saw man, I think, you'll find a lot of info.

[Myk Rian]

You can get a restored 24" vintage Delta for less than a new SS.

[ken masoumi]

Ken, one of our members here has a website regarding scroll saws (sorry I forget his name). I found it recently as I was searching scroll saws. I thought that maybe I shouldn't pass up the Woodcraft deal on the Delta, but I know about as much as you do about them:confused:. Anyway, if you search scroll saw man, I think, you'll find a lot of info.
Hi all ,my very post here,I'm not sure if this is the one you're talking about but it's a great site none the less:
http://www.scrollsaws.com/
Also:
http://www.scrollsawer.com/forum/
BTW,I have a Dewalt 788 type II and love it.

[Mike Henderson]

You can get a restored 24" vintage Delta for less than a new SS.
One issue with older scroll saws is that they're not constant tension. They usually have a spring at the top of the blade. The motor pulls the blade down and then the spring pulls the blade back up. Because of the spring, the tension on the blade changes continuously during the up and down motion. This can lead to more rapid blade breakage than on the modern, constant tension scroll saws.

Of course, a lot of good scroll saw work was done on those older scroll saws so the lack of constant tension is not a deal killer. But all the modern designs have gone away from the spring design.

Mike

[Another thing about older scroll saws is that they usually are not variable speed. At best, they may have multiple pulleys to change the speed, similar to a drill press. Variable speed is a very nice feature - it allows you to tune the speed to get the best performance, based on the material, thickness, design, etc. Like all tools, scroll saws have added improvements as time went by.

Finally, look at how the blade gets attached. Many of the modern SS have tool-less blade change - and that's really nice. Once you struggle with the old way of changing blades, you'll really appreciate the new, easy blade change feature.]

[Bill ThompsonNM]

IMHO. Best, in order, New Excalibur, old Excalibur, old DeWalt made by Excalibur, RBI Hawk or Hegner, new Dewalt or The newer Delta. Distant pack : All other scroll saws.

[Michael Moscicki]

I have a DeWalt DW788 Type 1(Made in Canada) and I love it. Works like it's supposed to. Picked it up on CL with light and stand for $250.

The Delta 40-690 is being replaced by the 40-695. But at $350 new it's a sweet deal.
http://www.deltamachinery.com/products/scroll-saws/item/40-695?category_id=48

If the money allows it then the Excalibur(made in Taiwan) is the way to go. Hegner(Made in Germany) and RBI(Made in USA) are good, but they need to catch up to the times. Eclipse(Made in USA) is expensive and at $1500 it's a rich man's tool.

[Rick Moyer]

Hi all ,my very post here,I'm not sure if this is the one you're talking about but it's a great site none the less:
http://www.scrollsaws.com/
Also:
http://www.scrollsawer.com/forum/
BTW,I have a Dewalt 788 type II and love it.


Yeah the first one. Thanks.

[Dave Lehnert]

What is different in the DeWalt saws after type one?

[Russ D Wood]

I have a couple of those other saws under my workbench. What I finally ended up with is a Hawk G4. The main reason is changing out blades. If you do a lot of scrolling you quickly get very annoyed at the blade hook and unhook mechanisims on those other saws. I love my Hawk. Russ

http://www.rbiwoodtools.com/ BTW thier website sucks but the product is very sound.

223451

[ken masoumi]

What is different in the DeWalt saws after type one?
The only thing I noticed in my type 2 was a very slight blade movement from front to back which was easily fixed,some owners of type 2 complained about a knocking noise after a couple of years of use.
As far as I know all the small problems with type 2 are easily fixable ,mine is a pleasure to use.
The link below is the fixes for the Dewalt 788 type 2:
http://www.scrollsaws.com/SawReviews/DewltTuneUp.htm

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Thanks folks!

The wife flew into Spokane last night after spending 3 weeks with her Mom in Illinois. I drove there from our home 110 miles away. We spent the night in a hotel. I had an appointment with my implant audiologist today.

After words, we went to WoodCraft to pick up the Woodpecker drill press table I'd ordered. We walked out with a new Escalibur EX-21, stand and footpedal after one of the owners offered us a deal we couldn't refuse.

My wife bought her first power tool today.

[Van Huskey]

Great Ken! That is an excellent SS. Hope your wife likes it and enjoys the "new" hobby. There is a lot of uses for a SS when you explore its capabilities.

[Steve Campbell]

Congrats on the new scroll saw. I have a delta P-20 and love it, but they don't make them any longer. One word of caution. A scroll saw is almost as addictive as a wood lathe. Good luck with that.

Steve

[David Winer]

I recently took advantage of the Woodcraft sale of the Delta (DeWalt clone) scroll saw. I read somewhere that Delta is coming out with a slightly improved model--which is why Woodcraft offers such a good sale price (can't confirm this). This saw (and DeWalt) offer many modern features. Did quite a bit of "research" first because I have never gotten into scroll work and wanted this to be the only one I would ever need. Putting the base together by myself was a challenge, needing more tools than the manual mentioned, and a lot of patience. The saw itself seems to work very well, based on a few practice cuts. Now it's time to read some books (on order) and to learn how to operate the tool.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

David......the Delta was a good value at WoodCraft but unforturnately when I started looking they were all sold out.

Since my wife is the person who wanted the scroll saw and will be the primary user, I elected to get the Excalibur EX-21 with the tilting head. For her to operate it with the table remaining horizontal and the saw head tilting was just safer IMHO. She has used my lathe once to turn two pens with me standing there and that is the limit of her wood working power tool experience. I had her sign up for a day long beginners scroll saw class at WoodCraft one week from now.

[Steve Campbell]

David just grab a few blades and a chunk of cheap pine or aspen. draw a few squiggly lines and have at it. You can read all the books you want but until you start cutting they won't mean much to you. I would start with about a number 5 blade.
Have fun.

Steve

[David Winer]

"...just grab a few blades and a chunk of cheap pine or aspen. draw a few squiggly lines and have at it."
______________________________________
Yes, that sounds like good advice. I have an advanced project in mind that includes a lot of unknown factors that include the saw, blades, materials, use of patterns, and probably some other factors. There's much to learn quickly by practicing on some dummy projects first, so that will be my approach. Then go for the birthday gift that should have been presented today! Maybe it will turn out to be a Christmas present.

[Dave Lehnert]

Ken,

One recommendation. I like using Flying Dutchman scroll saw blades. They are very, very sharp and come in an endless assortment of types. I get them from Mikes workshop dot com. If you e-mail him he will send out some samples.

[Kevin Gregoire]

Ken,
Excalibur also sells an EX-16 which is a much better all around size if your wife knows she isnt making anything larger then thirty inches,
which is a pretty good sized item. and you wont find better customer service then Ray @ Seyco. he truly is the best and will bend over
backwards to help out Excalibur owners!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Too late Kevin. The EX-21 and stand are in the shop, set up and have been test driven. Next week she and I are both attending a day long scroll saw class. Thanks for the advice though!

[Myk Rian]

One issue with older scroll saws is that they're not constant tension.
If the spring is good, there is no problem.


[Another thing about older scroll saws is that they usually are not variable speed.
Many of them have a Reeves type drive, for infinite speed settings. Others have a multi-sheave pulley system.


Finally, look at how the blade gets attached. Many of the modern SS have tool-less blade change - and that's really nice. Once you struggle with the old way of changing blades, you'll really appreciate the new, easy blade change feature.]
My Delta has a thumb screw. Unless you consider thumbs to be tools.

But if you have $500 or more to throw into a scroll saw, by all means get it. I prefer to buy for $50, put less than $100 into it, and have a $500 tool.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I spent over 40 years repairing equipment professionally. I prefer to buy new and not repair it.

[Mike Henderson]

But if you have $500 or more to throw into a scroll saw, by all means get it. I prefer to buy for $50, put less than $100 into it, and have a $500 tool.
If you can get $500 for a restored older scroll saw that you paid $50 for and put $100 into, you should go into business restoring them.

Mike

[Kevin Gregoire]

Ken, your gonna love that saw and i will pm you a few links to some great scrolling forums