Thread: Scroll saw for occasional use.

Hi,
Basically if you are cutting penetrations you only need a 1mm hole to thread a pinless blade through but need about 4mm for a pined one. I have a Triton scroll saw which was supposed to have an adaptor for pinless blades but the company went belly up before I took delivery of the adaptor and have bought a number of other brands, none of which work on this saw. What I do now is cut all the small holes with a hand fret saw and the ones that are big enough to take a 4mm hole in the waste, on the scroll saw. Most pined blades are changed without a tool some pinless ones have a type of cam arrangement so you do not have to use an Alan key or screw driver to change blades.
Hope this helps
Regards

Thank you very much for the prompt response. You've given me some questions to ask the suppliers when I go to have a look.

Another scroll saw I've just noticed is the Hare & Forbes Record Power at 198.00. It comes with a 5Year warranty. It claims to have low vibration, takes pinned and plain blades, and while the manual doesn't describe how the blades are changed, it says:

Importantly, the blade can be quickly and easily changed to minimize interruptions to work flow, particularly when cutting intricate pieces.

Does anyone have any experience with this scroll saw?

Does anyone have any experience with the Dremel scroll saw? I know it won't be as robust as the other models but for cutting small pieces of inlay would it suffice? Masters has it on sale for 96.00.

The list of brands to avoid is growing so I'd really appreciate some positive recommendations. Thanks, Jen

Had a friend looking at cheap scroll saws, suggested the jet and he is more than happy. It is being used to fabricate model aeroplane bits that bust when they fall out of the sky. It will get used less when his flying gets better.

Thanks, wrongway (?). That helps, so now I have mentally narrowed the chase down to the Record Power and Jet. Shall look at them both and compare blade-changing capability. (I think I read somewhere that the Jet is a copy of the Hegner.) CarbaTec won't be selling any junk, I like to think.

Edit: Just came across this article:

http://www.seafax.co.uk/index.php?id...oll-saw-review

Originally Posted by Cleokitty

Thanks, wrongway (?). That helps, so now I have mentally narrowed the chase down to the Record Power and Jet. Shall look at them both and compare blade-changing capability. (I think I read somewhere that the Jet is a copy of the Hegner.) CarbaTec won't be selling any junk, I like to think.

Edit: Just came across this article:

http://www.seafax.co.uk/index.php?id...oll-saw-review

I think you will find that the carbatec 18'' scroll saw is the Hegner lookalike,I have the carbatec saw and am very happy with it although it may be out of your price range around the $700 mark,if the blades slip out of the holders i rub the ends with a piece of sandpaper this removes any oil used in the manufacturing process,I also purchased a quick change blade clamp from Helen Harris so I do not have to use the allen key. Cant say I have any experience with the saws you mentioned but from what I have read I would not touch the Ryobi, the Jet sounds as if it could be a good lower end saw but it all boils down to what you can afford,I would like to buy an exculiber (General) but can't afford that either at the moment. Cheers Peter.

FWIW: I bought a Ryobi a few years ago to have a play with. While the blades it came with were ok-ish for rough stuff, I switched to a variety of Flying Dragon blades and it performs like a screaming beauty. A cheapy machine that has had a bit of setup attention paid to it, with high quality blades (and maybe a little mod for a decent throat plate) is an excellent choice for intermittent use.

It takes pinned and pinless blades and has a little built in jig on the top arm to help put a pinless blade in...it's still a little fiddly and sometimes takes a bit of foul language to get it right, but for <$200 I have been VERY pleased with the results.

Just my $0.02...rounded down

Thank you, Peter and RedShirt Guy, more to consider. Expedition to the big green shed today for something else so will look at the Ryobi and check out the Jet next week. I'll be asking for a blade-changing demo (will take my earplugs in case they have the swear-assisted option).

I'm not keen on doing any modifications except for the Quick-Change blade clamp and better quality blades. Anything that's out of alignment or where components don't fit properly will go back. Not reading any praise for the Power Record yet (except from their promo material). It sounds as though the blade clamps and good blades will even the playing field a lot.

I really appreciate the input and will explore the blade clamp info and the Flying Dragon blades when I return from the big green shed. I won't buy anything today but will wait till I've looked at the Jet, too. Thanks again, Jen

Inspected the Ryobi at the big green shed and was not impressed with the plastic throat plate which was not flush with the bed so didn't bother exploring the blade change. The Orzito sitting next to it had a smooth fit between the throat plate and the bed. I'll look at the Jet this week and found a comment in an old post saying it had quick change clamps already installed (?).

There's a Hegner on eBay right now, starting at 395.00, (can't post the link).
Apparently it's single speed, is in Victoria and the seller will post.

I think I need a variable speed M/C until I acquire some skills.

Ahh yes, sorry about that. I should have mentioned that I fixed mine with a little wax on the leafs in the plate insert area and a trickle of hot glue around the underside of the throat plate. Pressed it in with a flat bit of timber and it's stayed perfectly flush for years.
But yeh...ya gotta fiddle with it

Ck,
When looking around don't forget to look at the blade tensioning system. When I started with a scroll-saw (Carbatec 16 inch) getting the correct tension for the bade was my bugbear. A machine with an auto tension system is the best way to go, if within your budget.
Also, use good quality blades and avoid the reverse tooth blades until you are comfortable with your machine and skills. Flying Dutchman from Helen Harris are superb!
Happy hunting.

Double oops...not Flying Dragon blades...sheesh...

But yeh, Helen Harris is the blade go-to

TinyTool, Thanks for that input. So far I haven't seen a saw claiming to have auto tension, unless I missed that in the description. Do you have a recommended brand with that feature? So far I've narrowed the list down to Jet 16" from CarbaTec. Can you comment on the post I referred to earlier, that the CarbaTec 16" Jet already has the quick release clamps in place?

I do plan to contact Helen Harris once I have the new saw, whatever it is, in my possession, re blades and clamps, if needed. All the comments I've read to date have been good.

RedShirtGuy, thanks for that, too, but I don't want to modify anything. If it doesn't perform reasonably as expected, out of the box, I'll take it back. Modifying the blade clamps is as far as I'm comfortable with as I don't want to void any warranty. Thanks again, Jen

Ck, The Jet 16" seems to have the quick release tension system (its the red flip lever at the back / top of the machine). I have an Excalliber 21" now but it would be a bit expensive for a starter / first timer to scrolling.
The Jet 16" doesn't appear to have the quick release blade camps fitted but strongly recommend them as an aftermarket purchase. Jim Carroll in Melbourne sells them, so far as I am aware.
Seems to me that the Jet 16" (plus aftermarket blade clamps) is the way for you to go!
Geoff

Just returned from CarbaTec. What an expensive and time-consuming trip as I got lost in the underground warren of poorly-signed toll tunnels under Brisbane and ended up crossing and recrossing under the river. I naively expected to see signage underground similar to that on the approach to the warren, i.e. Northern Suburbs, but no, just lots of exits with street names I didn't recognize.

Oh yeah....brought home the CarbaTec 18" scroll saw, too. The sales person kindly demonstrated the blade change method to me. He was really polite. I know I wanted to swear, just watching, but I'll look into the quick release system if the built-in system is too tedious.

The CarbaTec saws both have the quick release tensioning system, but not auto-tension. I looked at the Excalibur, TinyTool, nice beast, a bit like a big black and chrome Hummer besides the other tools but I think the 18" will do anything I'm capable of asking it to do.

Thank you for the info about sanding the ends of the blades if they slip out, Peter, and your endorsement of the CT 18". That helped me to make up my mind.

Thank you all for the excellent advice. I hope I can post a picture of something soon. Jen