Thread: info needed on sroll saw purchase

giday peter .you got it right when you said you get what you pay for , this is especially so with scrollsaws .ive used cheap ones and im now using a 20 inch delta which is in the top end and theres no comparison and unfortunatel for you i see theyve all just gone up a couple hundred bucks .the 21 inch excaliber is now 1200 and the hegners are top end stuff also thats prolly the best about now ,theres a 18 inch trupro for 800 and i dont know about the bottom end ,gmc ,ryobi etc . doesnt seem to be much in between .id bite the bullet myself .its not so much about hp but more about smoothnes and ease of bladechanging .the top end ones arent likely to fall to bits in 12 months either .most will cut up to 2 inch hardwood and 12 mill is a breeze .no 5 and no 7 pinless blades will do the job for you . hope this is of some help.

hello mongrel, many thanks for the advice and reply it was very much appreciated, i wiill go and have a look at the brands you said, you are very true when you said it is not all about hp, there is i presume like anything other factors you have to consider like the smoothness and ease of blade change so i will have a look for these features. i will let you know how i go, cheers peter

Hello Checkerflight

I have had 4 cheapies and now have a Tru Pro from Carrolls. It is a Hegna look alike which seems to be the top of all machines.

I am very happy with my Tru Pro but it does need Hegna clamps at the top. These are about $40 extra.

Carba Tec also sell the same saw under their own name.

The prices seem to have taken a jump just recently but a bit of shoping might yield a good price.

If you Buy from Carrols like I did you will not be disapointed with their service. I bought mine over the phone and it was delivered with out problem.

There doesn't seem to be any other medium priced saws on the market any more. Not in Australia any way

Red Gum

I have a fixed speed and tilting table many years and have wish-list.

A variable speed and tilting blade and deep thoat & with dust chute would be ideal.
I like the Triton design but look around first to see what is available out there.

hello redgum and ruel, many thanks for your reply it was very much appreciated, i will have a good look around and see what deals i can do, yes i will talk to the people at carrolls i have purchased one of there dusk masks of them before and i could not fault there service. i am going to the tweed heads libary and see if i can borrow books, also i am going to buy some dvds, but i think i will definately go for not nessesary the top range but up that way i think is the best way to go, i have only seen the scroll saw used once at the melbourne www&ts. i was facinated and i think it will be a big time saver in my business as well, which i might point out is in the pet industry and we produce about 80 different timber products. but i also want to use for private use and i want to get as many as my grandchildren interested as vwell.i am a fairly big novice at this woodworking but i could not think of anything better than to have some of my 14 grandchildren get into it, i am now 55yrs young and what a way to spend quality time with them. cheers guys and again a very big thank you. cheers grandad (peter)

Hello ,
have to put my 2 cents worth in here.
You mention wanting to get kids into scrolling.... love the idea.... I have had 6 year olds on it!
Now .... knowing that you will have takers for any scroll saw that might turn out not good enough for what you have in mind... ( I know the other guys will probably shoot me now) .... I wouldn't worry so much about getting the very best... for thick cuts and anything not intricate a regular good scroll saw will do fine. Even pin bladed ones.. they are great for kids to work on, they don't have as much trouble changing blades and since they are thicker they don't break them as much.
If on the other hand you already know you will want to cut very intricate designs where the blade has to be threaded through tiny holes, then you won't have a choice but to go for one of the expensive ones.

I have two Deltas and wish they would still sell them here......

Juvy

HELLO keju, or juvy i should say many thanks for the advice and i have been taking it all in and spending all of my time thinking about what i will buy, i have been on the net reading, weighing up all the pro / con to finaly arrive i think at either a delta or a excalibur, i am going to have a look at both but i feel the excalibur is a little out front, but only by a nose so if i feel for what i want to achive the delta is the one so be it if not the other one, cheers and regards GRANDAD (peter)

Awwwww Peter, I'm sorry.... I should have mentioned again that at the moment you can't buy the Delta in Australia, unless you find a used one.
Guess you could have one shipped from Britain, but that gets too expensive. So you don't have to make a choice anymore... looks like you'll get the Excalibur!


Two of our friends own one of them, so if you run into any trouble just ask

Juvy