Thread: Jigsaw table Vs Scroll Saw

If you want to fine(ish) scroll work, buy a scroll saw - even a cheap one will do a better job than a jigsaw upside down. For a start the blades are finer. Secondly, the blade is supported top and bottom, so it won't flex near as much.

If you want to do heavier work, buy a bandsaw - with a reasonable blade appropriate to the job you can slice through almost anything, and again the blad is supported top and bottom.

Jigsaws have their place - but that isn't in any sort of table IMHO (and yes, I've tried it ).

Thanks for your Humble Opinion DarrylF.

Iv'e taken your advice on board and will go out looking at prices today. I'm only doing small hobby stuff at the moment so should I go for a scroll saw or the bigger band saw, I know nothing about either saws ???

Anyone else want to offer an opinion ???

I don't have the luxury of a scroll saw, and am saving pennies for a decent band saw. I do use the Triton jigsaw 'table', and for what I do with it, find that it works pretty well, and it isn't too much of an inconvenience setting it up for the occasional use. If I was doing it daily however......

Have used it for cutting a few circles (pretty accurately), and will be using it shortly for making some MDF templates for the straight router bit w bearing.

Thought about it but couldnt bring myself to butcher the beast but...
There is room on the router table top to permanently screw/mount a jigsaw at the front running left-right. I have a B & D jigsaw that has quick release blade holder and works okay with their blades - that could be an option - just a thought - (shudder).

Sandy
across the ditch

Well I went and looked at the prices and spoke to the guys at Bunnings and they did not seem overly impressed with the scroll saws and bandsaws. One guy there has used all three options and said that for the money the Triton jigsaw set-up was more that a match for the other saws. He said that none of the saws available there would really be suited to cutting 19mm pine and the saws were really designed for thinner material. So I have decided to purchase the large GMC jigsaw and the triton jigsaw kit with the overhead stabalise and I'm going to look at fitting this in to a sheet of MDF and maybe mount it as a colapsable table off the side of my workbench (I saw this idea in a magazine and liked it)

It was also suggested that I use the router to cut the curve shapes out on the 19mm pine, I tried this and the workpiece flew straight trough the garage door, lucky it was open at the time, I'm not sure that I will try that again in a hurry anyway when I was walking half way across the yard to pick up the workpiece was when I decided that the jigsaw attachment might be the way to go.

Has any one got any advice they would like to offer to a beginner