scroll saw choice

[druxey]

Bandsaws are fine for straight and some curved cuts but, as Blue Ensign points out, cannot cut tight curved or intricate and thin pieces. Also, it's much easier and cheaper to replace a scroll saw blade!

[grsjax]

All depends on what you want to do with the saw.  As others have said a scroll saw is great for cutting tight curves but isn't very good for long straight cuts.  A bandsaw does a great job of ripping and cutting gentler curves and will handle much thicker material than a scroll saw.  Best thing is to have both but if you can only get one or the other it will depend on what you need it for most.  If most of your cutting is tight curves in thin material a scroll saw is the way to go.  BTW you can get 1/16" blades for a band saw that will cut some really tight curves.

Edited January 25, 2016 by grsjax

[CDW]

I want both, a good bandsaw and a good scroll saw. But what I really need first is a new out-building to keep those power tools inside. I don't like having my model building area in the same room as my power tools primarily because of all the dust they create. Right now, I have everything all jammed into one room/area, and that's not good.

[Burroak]

One of the main decisions for me in buying my scroll saw (Excalibur 16") was what projects i am working on now and in the future. I also do full size woodworking so I needed a larger saw. I do fret work cutting so I wanted a saw that would cut more straight up and down. Some model have a sort of lunge cut where either the top or the bottom is actually cut further in. I paid close to 600.00 dollars for mine. If you will only be making miniature projects then it would be overkill. I've looked at the Proxxon scroll saw and it looks like it would make a nice straight up and down cut. I'm sure there are others. I once had a Delta scroll saw but it had a bad lunge cut, which is not good for fret sawing. Lots of options out there. Main decision is knowing what you want it to be able to do.

 

 

Greg H.

[shiloh]

Just remembered that there was an old Scroll Saw floating around the shop, don't know where it came from. Knocked the crud off and took some photos, thought someone might be interested. Uses coping saw blades and has a two speed pulley setup. Hooking it up to a power supply and a new table should be all that is needed to put her back to work.

[robnbill]

I have a 16" Delta Bandsaw and a 16" Excalibur. If looking at my overall time in the shop mostly I use the band saw. I find it very easy and quick to cut on. However, when I need to do very exact cuts following inside curves, I would probably go to the Excalibur. However, that is me. When cutting frames, I tend to cut them on the band saw, leaving a little extra meat on them then using the disk sander and oscillating sander to remove the extra. I found that just works well for me. However when I was cutting very fine pieces for ship's boats, I used the Excalibur - hands down.

 

The band saw and the scroll saw are very good at what they excel in. So it really depends on you, your building style, and what you are trying to do.

[tkay11]

This may not be the place to say this, but I too have been contemplating a scroll saw for a future build. I have been interested to hear about the different values of scroll saws and band saws, so have followed this discussion with much interest. Clearly for my purposes I would tend to a scroll saw.

 

However, I have already a coping saw and a jeweller's piercing saw, but I was worried that these would be very hard work and possibly lead to inaccuracies. However, I thought it best to try it out before committing to spending such a large sum of money.

 

So I took the plans of La Jacinthe and reduced them to 1:64 (not wanting to waste some scrap plywood that the local wood merchant gave me for a pound) and cut out the fore-aft bulkhead as well as a couple of the rear bulkheads. I left a millimetre or less around the edges knowing that I was likely not to be able to have a perfectly vertical stroke.

 

Imagine my total surprise to find that it wasn't all that hard, and probably took as much time as it would have done to set up a scroll saw and cut to the same tolerance.

 

This has made me do a rapid rethink. Do I really need a scroll saw? Certainly if I were only to make plank on bulkhead models I would probably say no. However, when it comes to making all those small parts for a fully-framed plank-on-frame model, then I could imagine the whole thing would be made much less tiring and easier with a scroll saw.

 

In the end, I'll probably get a scroll saw, seeing that I want to do a cross-section and eventually a full plank-on-frame. However, that will be the future and I'm going to do a plank-on-bulkhead model with my coping saw and piercing saw -- partly to explore just how nicely it can be done, and partly just to say I did it!

 

Tony

[donrobinson]

Being from Canada watch the Canadian Tire flyer, they have a fairly good 18" with light and blower that retails for around $400 but they go on sale for $200, that is what I paid for mine last fall.

[hamilton]

I'm glad this thread has produced such a great and informative discussion!! Thanks all! 

hamilton

Edited February 6, 2016 by hamilton

[Jaager]

I support what Bill says about using a band saw instead of a scroll saw.  A bench top 9 inch saw can be had for under $150 US.

With an $80 upgrade by adding a Carter Products Blade Stabilizer,  an 1/8" blade will almost do a "wheely" as far as how tight a

curve you can cut.  The blades have set, so you must be mindful about how close you cut to the line.  The blade only cuts downward,

so there is no up/down vibration on the piece being cut.

I do POF, so there are no inside cuts - any such cuts for components - a hand fret saw will probably do.

A 9 inch band saw will not do saw mill duty and will be limited in how thick resawing stock can be.  It is not the tool to turn an Apple log into model scale stock.  But for the cost a Hegner, you can get a 9 inch band saw and a 1.5-2 HP floor model band saw  and also be a sawmill.

[miloman]

I find changing blades on my Hegner easy. I use the fast release fixture and it works well. Like most things it takes a bit of practice but then becomes easy. Milo

[Bill Tuttle]

Another option, which I don't think was mentioned in this thread, is the Sakura scroll saw, now I believe sold under the P & S Woods name.  These are sometimes found on E-Bay and excellent saws for the money.

 

I do however agree with previous posts recommending a band saw for this task.  I use a 14 inch Laguna Band Saw myself, but have the small Sakura when a scroll saw is needed.

 

Bill

[Clark Kent]

Excalibur saw always is the best. You can also choose other scroll saw with competitive price. Our review here, hope can help you

http://woodworkingtoolkit.com/scroll-saw-reviews/

[SGraham]

Here's a 1934 12" Craftsman-branded Walker Turner scrollie I just picked up last weekend for $20. It has the original stand and fretsaw blade vises and guides. Sometimes you can find oldies that still work well. Apart from being slathered in oil because of a leaky crankcase gasket, this saw is in great shape and runs smoothly. Switching blades is very easy.

 

Steve

 

 

[Keith Simmons]

     Not sure if you are still looking for a scroll saw, but I highly recommend The Wen 16 inch,  A very good saw for the money...

 

 

      Keith