Thread: New Hare and Forbes Scroll saw

I have just purchased a scroll,saw from Hare and Forbes a B 18V 18 inch for a few dollars short of $300. I have never owned a scroll saw before and my limited experience is with cheap and nasty ones many years ago. So having told you why my opinions are worthless here is my initial opinion.

It is the biggest, heaviest and most expensive scroll saw H&F sell. It has a cast iron table and a substantial cast iron base. In the little use I have so far given it, it runs quietly and vibration free. It weights a good deal more than some of the scroll saws you can get for under $200 and the 120w motor is on the larger side for scroll saws. It has seemed to me that with machinery cast iron and weight are good things.


Some of the castings are a bit rough but the general fit and finish is okay. It is what it is. You can pay a lot less for one and you can pay a whole lot more. I suppose somebody will be thinking "but a Hegner would be so much better" and if anyone wants to give me a whole bunch more $ I will be pleased to pass on some banking details to assist in the transfer of some cash. I just needed a basic saw for saw tool making, to use in adding some embellishments to cabinets and to cut out routing templates. I think, hope, that this basic machine will do that.

The blade change for pinned blades is fast and easy and the adapter for pin less is horrible. Apparently you can purchase kits which will fix this and that will be a job for next week.

Apart from the adapter for pin less blades my initial impressions are positive. In few weeks when I have given it more use I will update this.