Thread: new saw

Paul, I reckon the Delta 40-540 is the go, quickset blade holder, var speed, good quality.

GMC saws are good to start with though if $ are v tight. Know about that May find you outgrow the GMC though.

Go back through the scrollers forum for more info.


Cheers..............Sean

Very limited to the type of saw you can get in Australia, if the Hegner is out of the price range (which is usually is for most) then the Delta is the only option left. The others arent really worth looking at.

One day there might be some decent choices in the mid-price saw range.

Delta, Makita, the GMC has improved somewhat but I would sooner spend the extra $$$, have a look around ebay for DeWalt, Excalibur (very expensive but you may get lucky).
Unfortunately there are a lot of no name cheapies on the market from these generic tool supply places, place emphasise on the massive throat size but forget to mention the crappy engineering, questionable blade holders, excessive vibration....never mind the quality, feel the width

thanks for the advice all.looks like it will be the delta when i get round to it.

Paul, when you're ready to buy do a search again on this scrollers forum for Delta 40-540 or so.

There has been problems with them being shipped with bugger all grease on the pivot points, would be good to nip this in the bud & lube them up properly rather that "play first swear later"


Cheers................Sean

Yep, the delta has a few birthing problems, but once you get over them it's a good workhorse. Several members in our club own Deltas and so far have managed to overcome any little problem.
The greasing is important, then I'd think having a spare set of the screws, nuts and springs for the blade holder is a good idea. In 18 months I broke two of the springs, 3 screws and one of the nuts broke. I do use it every day for several hours tho. They guys also replaced the build in airpump with an aquarium pump.... much better.... and added a flexible hose for it too.
In case this makes it sound like it's a bad saw... it's not... one of the guys who could easilly afford a Hegner said that he can't see the reason to spend so much when the Delta let's him do anything the other guys are doing with their Hegners.

Juvy

for what its worth I had a 40-540 and scrapped it pretty quickly, imho you shouldn't have to spend hours and $$ getting a saw to do what it should do off the shelf.

after looking at the hegners and dewalts I opted back to Delta and got a p20. only after seeing it in the flesh mind, I'll never buy a machine that I haven't seen in action again.

great saw cant fault it.

Of course anything one buys should work off the shelf, but llife should be fair and isn't......
I also agree that looking at anything in person is the way to go, however.....

We are a bit limited living in Australia. If you don't know someone who owns a Delta ( or belong to a club who does) the only way for me to actually see one would be to make a 4 hour trip... and that's one way.

Add to that limited funds and the little Delta workhorse comes out pretty good. Most of the woodies I know are a bit of fiddlers anyway and don't mind fixing their machines up to their liking.

Another consideration for me was that I can carry the little Delta with me, the more expensive the saws get the heavier they get.

Juvy

Picked up Issue 4 of The Australasian Toy-Maker today and it has a good review in there of all the scroll saws available in Australia. Seems to make a good comparison of all the saws out there.

The WMS one looks interesting, Hegner replica at a reduced price, whether it performs the same I dont know. They dont import the variable speed one anymore as the manufacturer increased the price too much, but there is a 2 speed model (700 & 1400RPM) I guess you could get away with those speeds to do most work.

darn.... was in newsagency today but didn't see that magazine yet.
Does it have other good stuff in it?
Would hate to have to do with just 2 speeds, but guess people used to have just one.... all what you're used to.

Shoot my dad told me in a german rehab clinic for knee/hip injuries they had a bicycle attached to a table with a scroll saw.... you could only scroll as fast as you could peddle! Can you imagine? I'd think the peddling motion would make it really hard to stay on the lines.

Juvy

Have two Deltas and a Hegner. One of the Deltas is broken and since getting the Hegner havn't touched the Delta.

In saying that the orginal Delta did some great work. The second one moved the blade sideways nearly as much as it moved up and down.

The Hegner is just wonderful to use and for the price it would want to.

Steve.

Steve... wish I lived up there ( not really... too hot) I'd come take that Delta off your hands
there are some extremly technically gifted guys in our club, they'd have it fixed up in no time. Again.... I understand it would be great if it didn't need fixing up to begin with, but compared with the Hegner price I still think the Delta is a good buy.

Juvy

Originally Posted by keju

darn.... was in newsagency today but didn't see that magazine yet.
Does it have other good stuff in it?
Would hate to have to do with just 2 speeds, but guess people used to have just one.... all what you're used to.

Its got some tractors, scrollsaw dolls furniture, civil war cannon, kids oven and sink and various other things

I ordered the WMS saw for a second saw (P20s bit of a hassle to cart about) the two speeds shouldnt be too much prob as they are about the only speeds I use on my P20 anyway. Will let you know how it goes once it arrives.

By the way ... very helpful and friendly guys at Woodworking Machinery Specialists in VIC too .. cheers to Stan.

Would love to know how you go with the WMS saw.
hope you get it soon so you can tell us about it