Scroll Saw or band saw... help me pick the right one.

[Jaager]

13 hours ago, Jorge Hedges said:

Any pics you can share related to your bench/vise setup?  I would like to see if I can apply your concept, even if having to use a variation of it.

Jorge,

 

Here is the type of vise:

The top of a work surface intended to be clamped by the vise:

The bottom of the work surface with the tongue that fits into the vise:

A mechanics vise bolted to a piece of 2x12 and clamped by the bench vise:

The specific tools for my 9" bandsaw, placed to be at hand:

The 6" steel ruler - I have several and they seem to hide if I do not detail them to a tool.  The bandsaw is heavy enough not to need clamping so I removed the tongue.

[Jorge Hedges]

13 hours ago, Jaager said:

Jorge,

 

Here is the type of vise:

The top of a work surface intended to be clamped by the vise:

The bottom of the work surface with the tongue that fits into the vise:

A mechanics vise bolted to a piece of 2x12 and clamped by the bench vise:

The specific tools for my 9" bandsaw, placed to be at hand:

The 6" steel ruler - I have several and they seem to hide if I do not detail them to a tool.  The bandsaw is heavy enough not to need clamping so I removed the tongue.

Gotcha; thank you tons!  The difference is the vise installed on the table.  Thanks again!

 

Jorge

[M.R.Field]

I have tried scroll saws, my son has several as he did scroll saw work as a hobby for a while, but I couldn't bring myself to be as harsh with it as he is. I just didn't like them. I have a second hand band saw which cost me just £12 at a Sunday Market. I then got a packet of assorted blades from ebay for £13 and am still on the first one three years later!  It has cut brass, aluminium and every kind of wood and is also used for Ureol (patternmaker's  wood)  .  I recently cut the covering boards (margin planks) of my 4 foot Vanity Victorian cutter on a bandsaw and just did a tiny amount of clean-up with a large file, making the very varying, smooth curves on both sides of the planks.  I have an Abest saw to replace my dear old Minicraft one and my wife has just ordered me a disc sander from ebay, which claims to be a German make and is identical with the Proxxon of nearly 4 times the price!  But if you get good with a bandsaw, you can cut a huge variety of wood and other materials and do the fiddly stuff with a jewellers' saw.B lade choice and a decent means to hold the work will ensure a clean, fast cut. with no machine at all.

 

Martin

[mtaylor]

The only downside to a bandsaw is that it won't do inside cuts.  For some, that's not a problem, for others, it might be.

[M.R.Field]

Well they are likely to be small, so a single hole and a piercing saw can be used quickly.

OR, you take one cut through to the inside bits, then simply close that cut with a good fitting piece well glued in. It wouldn't even show.

 

Martin

 

[Richard in Missouri]

My experience the bandsaw has almost no vibration and the blade stays cooler. The motion of the blade is always down so it won't try to pick up the wood. My bandsaw, jet 10" can handle thicker wood than my scroll saw old Delta 14". The scroll saw cuts slower, but can cut much tighter curves. The scroll saw blade can be threaded into wood to cut inside cuts. Max thickness wood can cut on a scroll saw is going to be about 3 to 3.5 inches. The scroll saw is safer to use. Bandsaws can cut off fingers easy if you are not paying attention.

[stuglo]

I've had a Dremel scroll saw for 20 years. I bought a scroll saw 4 months ago. For accuracy and ease of use, the scroll is infinitely better. For scratch building I think it is essential. Needs careful setting up (u-tube) and care with use.Very small pieces need careful handling or temporarily attaching to a holding piece. It does make huge amounts of fine dust, which proves its precision, but vacuum and mask (remember covid19) will overcome that. 

[vaddoc]

Well, just to mention that I have been doing all my model work with the Dremel moto saw bought new 6 years ago for £67. Still going strong, cut 8 mm pear sheet with relative ease- had to take it slow cross grain. Can't go wrong with the combination of a scroll saw and most importantly a large (at least 200 mm, better 300) disc sander.

[stuglo]

On 8/31/2020 at 2:28 PM, stuglo said:

I've had a Dremel scroll saw for 20 years. I bought a scroll saw 4 months ago. For accuracy and ease of use, the scroll is infinitely better. For scratch building I think it is essential. Needs careful setting up (u-tube) and care with use.Very small pieces need careful handling or temporarily attaching to a holding piece. It does make huge amounts of fine dust, which proves its precision, but vacuum and mask (remember covid19) will overcome that. 

To prove my point, my band saw blade broke this morning and I cannot proceed without it. Didn't get around to buy spare.None readily available locally, ordered pack of 5 but will take a week. Luckily I don't believe in the Evil Eye ( just Murphy's law) 

[bartley]

On 4/24/2020 at 4:13 AM, Bob Cleek said:

 

My Sakura scroll saw, on a similar stand, has a double parallel link arm and practically no vibration whatsoever. The difference is about five or six hundred bucks between an "entry level" Craftsman and a top of the line "professional" machine. I got the Sakura near-new-used for less than the "entry level" saws cost. Used tools in good shape are often amazingly inexpensive compared to new-retail prices. It pays to keep an eye on the online classifieds. You won't see as many on eBay because the shipping makes them too expensive to sell with the shipping costs. What you are paying for in the high-end scroll saws, basically, is minimal vibration that permits easier accurate cutting and minimal fatigue in use. 

 

You may find this site on scroll saws helpful :  https://scrollsawhero.com/the-ultimate-getting-started-guide-to-scroll-saws/#Arm_Type

 

This is indeed the issue - double parallel arms.  The way to think about this is to consider what you do with your Jeweler's saw or coping saw.  You get the best result if you move your saw vertically up and down. This is what a double parallel arm scroll saw does.  It has two moving arms - one above the table and one below and the blade is mounted between them.  These arms move up and down parallel to each other.  The cheaper saws only have one moving arm and the blade fits into a fixed holder below the table.  To understand the action of this variation think again of your jeweler's saw. The action is like rocking your saw backwards (away from you) on the upstroke and then rotating it forward on the down stroke.  This is clearly not as precise and on the scroll saw tends to produce more vibration.  It also produces a bit of undercut but  this is not really important as you will cut outside the line and sand it back to the line.

 

John