Any of You use a Scroll Saw?

[Larry Frank]

I have a Hegner Scroll saw and use it a lot. I have posted a couple of Intarsia projects and have made puzzles, ornaments, toys and other things. I enjoy doing this.

Scroll saw work is not discussed much on this forum.

[Carl Carew]

A strong second to Max's comment about 1/2 a page back, quality is a huge factor, I have had 3 scroll saws a cheap one that was useless, a dewalt which is a very big improvement, and finally a hegner which is great. There is a learning curve, but if you have a good saw its pretty simple. the right blade for the material and thickness, correct tension and then learning how to look just a little ahead of where you are cutting and feed the cut line to the blade. Of course many of the comments are relevant if you dont need to make this type of cut you don't need the tool. Since I upgraded my band saw to an 18 inch laguna I tend to leave the 3/4 inch resaw blade in most of the time, and turn to the scroll saw more often. I also use it a lot for cutting patterns to use with my router trim bits

[John Sincerbeaux]

I have a 20" agazzani band saw, SAC 24 widebelt, Kundig Uniq edge sander, new VB36 lathe, all purchased with income I produced with my Dewalt scrollsaw. Hands down the most lucrative tool/machine I own. I hope my lathe will out produce the scroll saw soon.
My website: sincerbeaux.com

[Kevin McCluney]

I've used my scroll saw for a number of projects including furniture (I have one in progress now - table skirts with a scroll sawed pattern). It's a little difficult to see in the picture, but the lower shelf of this nightstand has a flower and vine pattern cut using a scroll saw. This was one of a pair, so there were lots of holes to cut.
Girls' nightstands - finished 05.jpg

[Max Neu]

securedownload[1].jpgHere is a bar support I had to match out of Rustic Alder.The designer wanted that same look for a bar I made for one of her clients.Needless to say,I couldn't buy them anywhere like that out of rustic Alder.So i glued up the main chunks and cut them out with the bandsaw.Then did the fret work with the scroll saw on another piece.Then resawed the cutout piece that gave me 6 identical pieces 1/4'' thick to attach to the the pieces that were cutout on the bandsaw.They ended up matching very close to the original's,I could not have done that without a scroll saw.I went years without owning one,and probably could go until retirement (25+ years) without owning one,but when you have one,you can find all sorts of things to use it for that no other saw can do.

[Rich Riddle]

After seeing your posts it's beginning to become clear why there is no scroll saw in the garage. I lack the talent, patience, and time to use one to make such fine work. Your guys work is great. If I used one, folks would be getting strange looking ornaments for Christmas.

[Brian Henderson]

After seeing your posts it's beginning to become clear why there is no scroll saw in the garage. I lack the talent, patience, and time to use one to make such fine work. Your guys work is great. If I used one, folks would be getting strange looking ornaments for Christmas.

Nobody started out an expert, everyone has to learn. You can produce some gorgeous work with a scroll saw, it just takes time and practice. When I first started, I thought I could never make anything worthwhile, but I've managed to turn out some really nice presents for people that they enjoyed.

[Tom Giacomo]

tango 006.jpgI use mine for marquetry.

[David Falkner]

My scroll saw is a valuable piece of my 'arsenal' in the shop and I would hate to be without it.

I like to do things like this anniversary gift for my wife -
Anniversary 18.jpg
Here's the overall size -
Anniversary 08.jpg

And one of these is from the left over pieces of the anniversary gift -
Hammer, Bebo scrollwork.jpg

This is my 1944 Delta scroll saw I recently restored. I bought this about 30 years ago from the man who bought it new. This photo is before the restoration.
1 - Shipp, King carvings.jpg

This is one of the pieces I like to do; takes me about 25 hours to do this. Designed and drawn in CorelDraw and I usually make these out of Mahogany.
Shipp carving.jpg

[Jim Finn]

I get a lot of satisfaction of making things that others buy from me. I have done this all my life, doing construction work. I do not spend hours on doing one inlay. Most inlays I do take less than ten minutes to apply the pattern ,cut and assemble. Only one cut is required to cut both the inlaid image and the background wood. (Double bevel inlay)
Does not a CNC machine make a cut in the background wood and then another cut to make the inserted piece? I have not seen one work, as I suspect you have not seen inlay work done with a scroll saw using the double bevel inlay method.
I would much rather spend my time cutting wood than sitting at a computer and letting a computer direct the cutting for me.
Different strokes for different folks.

[Chris Corwin]

Nice work! I have several CnC routers and have done what you are doing with the cut outs. I don't do it anymore because I found out that a 1/8" bit does a pretty good job of cutting the smaller cutouts. Since I got my laser engravers, I don't even use the 1/8" bit, the laser does all the cutting!

Here are some Picts done using the 1/8" bit

[Calvin Arterberry]

Hello folks. I'm new to sawmill. I am also new to woodworking. I have been reading some of the blogs on sawmill, and the threads are very interesting. Enjoying them.
I have done metal fabrication and welding all my life. I got married 13 years ago and my wife talked me into learning how to deal Blackjack. I had never even seen the game played, let alone deal it. Low and behold...I am now a Blackjack pit boss. I have been doing this for almost 10yrs now. BUT...I still have that itch to draw and read prints and build stuff. Ever since mid-September I have been buying woodworking equipment to do woodworking as a hobby. I have got everything that I think that I need to start. I'm going to start scrolling this coming up week. First time ever to use a scroll saw, planer, router...etc. I do feel like I have a good enough background in fabrication to do pretty good at this. Practice! Right?
Any thoughts? Opinions? Tips? Or maybe you might just wanna tell me I'm crazy for buying all brand new equipment for something that I know very little about.

[Rich Riddle]

Hello folks. I'm new to sawmill. I am also new to woodworking. I have been reading some of the blogs on sawmill, and the threads are very interesting. Enjoying them.
I have done metal fabrication and welding all my life. I got married 13 years ago and my wife talked me into learning how to deal Blackjack. I had never even seen the game played, let alone deal it. Low and behold...I am now a Blackjack pit boss. I have been doing this for almost 10yrs now. BUT...I still have that itch to draw and read prints and build stuff. Ever since mid-September I have been buying woodworking equipment to do woodworking as a hobby. I have got everything that I think that I need to start. I'm going to start scrolling this coming up week. First time ever to use a scroll saw, planer, router...etc. I do feel like I have a good enough background in fabrication to do pretty good at this. Practice! Right?
Any thoughts? Opinions? Tips? Or maybe you might just wanna tell me I'm crazy for buying all brand new equipment for something that I know very little about.

Welcome to SMC. The Creekers have plenty of thoughts, opinions, and even a few tips. The hobby is like many others. You start out with your startup tools and then quickly migrate toward different ones, better one, more advanced ones, etc. Don't go to the Neander room if you don't have a budget like the casino that employs you. Those tools get ridiculous in price. Try to enjoy the hobby, learn from your mistakes, and don't let all the differences of opinions bother you. Most folks here act like decent folks.

[Calvin Arterberry]

Rich.
Thank you for your reply. From what I have been reading on SMC for the last couple weeks, everybody seems to be down to earth, truthful and honest. These folks do not seem to beat around the bush. I like that. They seem to love the art of woodworking and have some very helpful tips and opinions. As of right now, I have spent the last 2-3 weeks building some good sturdy work benches for my machines. I have found that just a few hours in a shop cutting wood creates a ton of dust. I am making a trip to Plano, Tx. tomorrow to a woodcraft store to buy a dust collection system. I have read a lot of articles and watched a bunch of video reviews. I read the thread on SMC about dust collection and the Oneida dust deputy system. This is the one that I believe I am gonna buy. Everybody seems to like this system.
My wife does screen printing on the side. She likes to do local craft shows and small town festivals to sell her products. I'm thinking that I'll start making some projects to put in her booth when she sets up at these shows to see if it will catch a few eyes. I agree with the ole boy that said that there's satisfaction in knowing that a person will spend money on something that you have hand-crafted from a vision in your mind. I have programmed and operated CNC machines. You zero out the material on the table, calibrate the machine, punch in a program, press start, sit down with a cup o coffee and watch it run. Ok. Where's the satisfaction? Where's the hand crafting?
Me personally. I would rather operate a 40-ton manual metal press, where you have to actually look at prints and bend sheet metal to specific angles and dimensions to meet specs. I love machine shop work. Lathes and mills. To me, that's satisfaction. I am hoping that I can take my knowledge of metal fabrication and put it into wood working.

[Jim Finn]

Welcome. I am a retired sheet metal worker. Construction. Yes a lot of the skills acquired in fabricating metal,can help with working with wood. I make small artsy crafty stuff that I sell at street fairs and festivals and my wife sells her crocheted items with me occasionally. I sell a lot of Cedar boxes within images inlaid into the hinged lids. They sell well here in and around Lubbock. Using a little of my metal working skill, I made the wyes I needed to install my six inch metal dust collection system.