Hi Folks,
there are Ryobi & GMC scroll saws on Fleabay from time to time in the $225 +/- $30 range...

Are they any good, or cheap & nasty?

Thanks for any opinions.

Stewey,
Depends if you are goung to give it a lot of use or just the odd small job from time to time.I got a Ryobi as I only do little bits and pieces. So far It has been ok for what I need. I would be shy of the GMC as they were aimed at the bottom of the heap. I only paid 200ish for mine at Gasweld about 4 years back so unless the ones on the bay are new and with warranty I would be looking around a bit more.
Regards
John

G'Day Stewey,
My wife got me a Ryobi on Christmas special for well under $200.00.
It has a fair amount of vibration, even mounted on two [2] H/D carpet tiles which are sandwiched between two pieces of 16mm ply and clamped off to the bench.
I'd encourage you to shop around a little more.
Cheers, Crowie

Thanks, Folks.

I'm not about to go and buy one in the close future, but have just started thinking...
I saw a Chinese one for $209 in a shop today- but the shop owner said that really he was fresh out of stock of the 'best' whiuch was about a $900 model, in which the whole blade & arms tilted, while the bed stayed horizontal.

That Chinese one has not much more than about 1.5" capacity in thickness, I'd guess, and maybe that's being generous. It was a sandy yellow, not blue or green.

We already have an antique bandsaw (27" throat) with a great history-it used to belong to Broughtons, a coachbuilding firm in Ipswich at the turn of 1900. It's an oldie but a good one. Sometimes something tinier would be nice-that's all I was thinking.

I was actually surprised when I did a search here, that no scrollsaws had been reviewed or 'opinionated' yet, that's why I asked!

G'day Stewey,
I think the Brisbane wood show is on this weekend;
If you're free it'd be worth the trip as forum members get some sort of special entry offer.
have a look throughout the forum of the past 3 weeks.
Cheers, crowie

I bought a GMC about 6 or 7 years ago for $49.00
I use it to cut gaskets and sometimes I cut wood with it.
It runs smoothly and I have no complaints, although it gets little use.
Given the price I paid, I think $200.00 ish seems a bit expensive for a low end scrollsaw.

__________________

Regards
Bradford

Saw a JET one at the T&WW show today for $199. Looked alright but did not see it running. Also saw the Carbatec low end one for $139. My father in-law lent us his Carbatec unit for a small job and it has a lot of vibration. It also packed it in half through the job and appears to be the V/speed unit. Considering that he bought it second hand for $40, him nor I can justify repairing it. We will buy another one when the need arises. Looking forward to other replies here.

Bought a Makita scroll saw on special a couple of months ago at Mitre 10 for $230....manager said that Makita were selling them off as they hardly ever sold one.
Truth or not I know not, but it was a lot cheaper than the rrp. Its had a fair bit of use since I've had it, making kids toys, puzzles etc and quite a bit using 19mm pinus crapiatus, no trouble except blades don't last very long in heavier meat.

Vibration is quite noticeable, but bolt the thing down and it's fine.

I recently bought a Carba-Tec 16" variable speed scroll saw, and I think it's good value for money.

I know that the web site says that it's only good for pinned blades but they take both pinned and pinless blades! When I opened the box I thought that it looked like it could take them so I read the manual and it says that it can take pinless blades!

However it does vibrate a bit, next job is to bolt it down in a way that doesn't limit it's use.

G'Day KurtP,
As mentioned above my wife got me a Ryobi on Christmas special 18mths ago for well under $200.00.
It still has some amount of vibration, even mounted on two [2] H/D carpet tiles which are sandwiched between two pieces of 16mm ply BUT clamped off to the bench surely helps.
Enjoy your new toy.
Cheers, Crowie

I saw a 20" throat Delta brand scroll saw the other day.
It had a soft-start, variable speed, air blast that you could direct at the blade, and the base and head were inclinable. It was really nice-just lovely.
It was a $900 machine a long time ago.

Sadly it was not for sale!

Hegners are hard to beat!

The Delta is one of the best around people got no idea just how good they are and they do hold their value. I remember Carba- tec over a 12 years ago used to sell a belt driven one which would of been a pain in the backside for some and it was just under a grand. I regret selling my 16" delta because I bought the new 30" excalibur. The machine is great except for the slow blade release. It's that damn spring they put in it which really does slow you down unlike the deltawhere the blade just slips and your off cutting again. I wonder if this can be modified though.