Harbor Freight 16" variable speed scroll saw

[Dr PR]

For my MSI project I need to cut out 21 bulkheads and the central keel piece from 1/8 inch (3.18 mm) and 1/16 inch (1.59 mm) plywood. I could do this with my hand held coping saw, but it would mean many hours of work and sore arms afterward. I looked around for powered coping saws or scroll saws and decided to buy the Harbor Freight model 71113.

 

 

I have no delusions about the "quality" of this machine - it is from Harbor Freight and is cheap Chinese junk. However, I only need it to work for a relatively few hours. It is definitely not good enough for someone who uses a scroll saw frequently! The main advantage for this product is the cost - $109.00. That isn't a huge expense for a modelling project. I am using $120 worth of scale rope and blocks on my Albatros project!

 

The cast metal work table is 10" diameter with a 16" clearance (almost all the parts of the machine are metal). The table can be tilted up to 45 degrees for angled cuts. It has a LED work light that can be positioned near the cutting area, and an air blower bellows to clear dust from the work area. There is a place to connect a vacuum hose to remove saw dust. Changing blades is pretty simple - one side opens and hinges down out of the way to allow easy access to the lower blade holder. It has a blade tensioner. It is surprisingly low noise when running without cutting anything, and there is little vibration. It has a speed control to vary from 550 strokes per minute (metals and plastics) to 1650 strokes per minute for wood. It came out of the box completely assembled - you just have to position the table and tighten the locking knob to complete the "setup."

 

 

A big advantage of this saw is that it uses standard 5" scroll saw blades made by many manufacturers. I looked at the Dremel scroll saw and the major disadvantage is that you can't find replacement 3" blades anywhere except the Dremel web site, you have to buy an assortment of blades and not just the one you want to use, and shipping costs are greater than blade costs (also, the Dremel saw is mostly plastic and just looks flimsy)! Harbor Freight has 5" blade packages in stock locally, although they are assortments of five different types, and they don't offer packages of just the type you need. Home Depot does offer quite a selection of 5" blade types and packages of several blades of a single type.

 

Most of the reviews on line are good. As usual there are people complaining that they break blades and it won't cut really thick pieces (>2 inch (5 cm) thick) without the blade wandering, etc. Basically these people don't know how to use the tool and are trying to use it beyond its capabilities. It is a cheap tool for use on light jobs. Many reviews say it cuts 1/2 inch (12 mm) wood, 1/4 inch (5 mm) plastic and thin soft metals (no steel).

 

I haven't used it for anything serious yet, but soon will give it a workout on my MSI project. I am posting this now to describe the tool, and I will follow up later with a report of how well it works and any difficulties I encounter.

 

Note: Home depot offers several varieties of this same scroll saw - same castings, same specs, etc., but with slightly different "accessories." For example, they have this same model but without the work light for about $10 less than the Harbor Freight model, and another model with the work light for about $10 more than the Harbor Freight version.

Edited October 18 by Dr PR

[Capt. Kelso]

I've used an older version of the Harbor Freight scroll saw to scratch build RC airplane frames, similar build concept to model ship building. After some practice I found it to be an excellent tool. 

[Dr PR]

I gave the Harbor Freight scroll saw its first test today.

 

 

I cut 21 bulkheads out of two 12 x 12 inch (305 x 305 mm) sheets of 6 ply basswood plywood (SIG Manufacturing). The largest of the pieces in the photo was about 6 inches (152 mm) wide.  I used the 10 tooth per inch blade and the highest motor speed. It took a little under two hours, advancing the part into the blade at a slow pace that didn't bend or twist the blade. I had no problems cutting the plywood - no broken blades and the blade did not tend to wander in this thin material.

 

I found two two minor problems with the saw. The first is the workpiece foot - the part that lowers to hold down the part being cut. As delivered it doesn't contact the work piece evenly. Consequently it presses harder in some places than others allowing the piece to "chatter" up and down more in the loosest fit areas. I lowered it to allow a loose fit while still holding the part down to the table. It needs some bending to adjust it to fit parallel to the table and contact the work piece evenly.

 

The other problem was pretty high friction between the plywood and the table surface. The table has a fairly coarsely brushed surface and that created noticeable friction against the plywood. I had to push the wood with significant force to move it over the table and rotate it. However, this drag may add a bit better control for moving the work piece. This must be a common problem because the instructions say to apply a light coat of paste wax to the table and buff it to allow the material to move smoothly.

 

I didn't have the vacuum connected most of the time but just used it occasionally. There was some dust accumulation inside the machine. Not so much on the table surface. The fitting is on the front of the machine and the hose protruded out far enough to get in the way. This is a design defect in my opinion. Maybe I can add an elbow ("L" shaped) piece of PVC pipe so the hose runs off to the side.

Edited October 19 by Dr PR

[mtaylor]

A couple of things to try.  I have a different brand saw but similar.    First, apply and buff out well using some car wax to the bed surface.   Then remove the foot.   I removed mine pretty quick and running at way less than full speed, I usually hold down even smallest of pieces to be cut.  Just have to stay alert and watch where the fingers are in relation to the blade.   I've found that a slower blade speed gives me more control of the cut and if the blade snags the wood and tries to whip it up and down, less problems occur.  

 

Oh...... I make my own inserts for the saw bed.  A apiece of wood with appropriate thickness and then drill a small hole just slightly larger than blade size.  This also helps prevent things running amok.

[Dr PR]

Mark,

 

Thanks. I was wondering what kind of wax to use.

 

I do hold the pieces down when cutting. I think the foot is just a safety measure in case the blade jams in the work piece

[Dr PR]

I should also add that I bought the Harbor Freight foot switch - rated for 15 AMPs. It works, but the base is molded plastic and not metal.

 

The foot switch is definitely worth the money. It allows you to turn off the power immediately if the blade jams, or if you just want to reposition the work piece without the blade moving. I wouldn't want to work with the saw without it.

[mtaylor]

On 10/19/2024 at 11:15 PM, Dr PR said:

Mark,

 

Thanks. I was wondering what kind of wax to use.

 

I do hold the pieces down when cutting. I think the foot is just a safety measure in case the blade jams in the work piece

I find car wax works well.   Some also seem to use Pledge. I guess I'm just stuck in my ways.

[Dr PR]

I used the saw yesterday to cut some 1/16 inch (1.6 mm) 3 ply plywood. I succeeded in making the cuts I wanted, but not without problems. I expected cutting thinner material might have some problems - all the ads for these scroll saws say they will cut 1/8 inch (3.2 mm) to 1 1/2 inch (38 mm) or more wood. Why not thinner materials?

 

The thinner material flexes more and tends to raise more with the motion of the saw blade. This made it necessary to hold it down more firmly that was necessary with the thicker plywood. And when the blade did raise the plywood the "foot" on the saw that is supposed to hold the material down and prevent if from rising with the blade turned out to be nearly worthless. It is attached to the rod that sets the height of the foot with a single screw, and it doesn't fasten tight enough. When the blade pulled the plywood up the foot just rotated around the screw. I tightened it as much as I could without stripping the screw head, but the foot still rotated. I just raised the foot out of the way and held the work piece down with my fingers. The whole arrangement is poorly designed!

 

Another problem came up. The plastic insert into the table (see arrow) is a bit too thin, and sits a bit recessed into the table. I measure the top of the plastic to be about 0.011 inch (0.27 mm) below the top of the table.

 

Time and again as I tried to feed the wood into the blade an edge of the work piece caught on the edge of the metal and stopped the cut. I had to raise the wood off the table to continue to feed it into the blade!

 

THIS IS A MAJOR DESIGN FLAW!

 

I guess this is an example of why Harbor Freight has the reputation it has.

 

I can fix this, but a more respected brand scroll saw likely won't have this problem.

 

 

I used the 15 tooth per inch blade to cut the thinner material. At first I set the speed to the slowest setting (550 strokes per minute) and that caused the thin plywood to bounce and grab the blade. Then I set the speed at the highest setting (1650 strokes per minute) and it cut much better. There was not as much bounce or hanging on the blade. It looks like the recommendation to use the highest speed for wood was good advice. We are supposed to use the lowest speed for metals, but thin soft metals will probably flex more than the thin plywood!

[mtaylor]

I think you need to change your tooth count for the thinner woods.   I;m posting al link for the Byrne's saw and it has a section for tooth counts.  I've found that these are applicable to a scroll saw.