Need Help Choosing a Scroll Saw

[SCROLLSAW703]

hello, & welcome to the forum. The one thing i didn't see mentioned in the discussion, & that's what are you going to do with the saw? Every saw is priced, imo, by brand name & color. 

 

If you have intentions of getting into this hobby, & staying with it, buy a saw that is comfortable to you. By that, I mean buy a saw that you can understand, & learn on to work your way up to a better saw. Don't start at the top & try to work down. Start at the bottom & work up. Read the reviews on the saw you are looking at. Research it, & ask questions about it. 

 

Whether you buy a DeWalt or a Hawk, make sure it's the saw you want. Research the producer of the saw. If you want to talk to the folks that build that particular saw, call them & ask your questions. If you're interested in fretwork, small design work, etc., might I recommend the Hawk Line. You can get a good used saw for a reasonable price, their tech support is outstanding, & they keep parts on hand for their equipment. They have a trade in program. The saw itself, imo, you won't find an easier machine to learn on. The blade release is right at your fingertips. They hold tension better than any saw I've owned. I own five scroll saws, & just traded up to the BM - 26 Hawk. I traded a VS223 in on it. I bought it used w/very few hours on it, & basically wore it out. So I traded up to a bigger saw. 

 

I've owned Craftsman, hatachi, Hawk, & an off breed saw I acquired. The Hatachi & the Hawk are the two best I've owned. It's your money & time. Choose carefully.

[BeerBrewer]

Well, I looked into purchasing one of the Excalibur clones that you folks pointed out above, but all had to be shipped internationally which made an expensive saw even more expensive.  Frankly being out of work as long as I am, I just couldn't justify the added expense.  That's why I was originally toying with buying the Delta 60-694.  It "seemed like" the same or very similar saw only it was $150 cheaper than the Dewalt.  Well now that I've seen Bob Brokaw's video on the 788 and I've read more posts on this site, I know better.  Now I'm not saying that the Delta is a bad saw, because I'm sure that it's a fine saw.  I'm only stating that I think the Dewalt is probably a better made saw and hopefully will last longer, hence the extra cost.  Sometimes its just cheaper to pay more!  There is also a ton of info out on there on the web on the 788 and I know lots of people use them.  Heck AMAZINGSCROLLER has 8 of them, so they must have a lot going for them.   So I made contact with the seller on CL about buying his 788 and oddly enough it was still available (a first!).  Then my wife talked me into the purchasing a new one with a warranty.  She thought that I'd be better off with a warranty and I had to agree.  So went to the Grizzly Tools web page and purchased the one with the stand and light for $523.94 that Pro Scoller pointed out above (So thanks Pro Scroller for the tip!).  I've purchased form Grizzly before, have one of their 14" band saws and love it. 

 

Thank you so much for your help on this!

 

Happy Holidays!

 

Bob 

[Sparkey]

Bob I have had my DW 788 for 3 or 4 years now. I have had no problems with it. I do not cut as much as some of the others here but I do use it quite a bit during the warmer months. It is no louder than my wife's sewing machine and runs very smooth. Hope this helps. Welcome to the Village.

[BeerBrewer]

Well my new Dewalt 788 (with stand and light) arrived under the tree Christmas morning and I could not happier with it!  The saw is fantastic, SO MUCH BETTER than my old 13" Dremel!  I have not made anything productive yet.  I've just practiced cutting straight lines, curved lines, loops, swirls etc with the saw.  I've tried it using different types of wood, thicknesses and blade types.  The saw is real quiet and has absolutely no vibration at all.  I'm impressed with the way it cuts through all types of wood.  Blade changing and tensioning is real easy too.  

 

I made one slight modification to the stand, I added three round feet pads to bottom of each leg.  They are bolted through the hole on the bottom of each leg.  This seemed to make the saw sit better on the concrete floor in my shop.  I wish the stand had a draw so I could store the blades close by.   

 

Thanks for all of your advice!

 

Bob

[heppnerguy]

About your blade storage...I saw a post awhile back where someone was using earth magnets to hold their blade storage on their saw..I  really do not remember exactly how they were doing this but perhaps the person that posted it might see this post and respond to you about how he or she did that 

 

Dick

heppnerguy

[Denny Knappen]

As for blade storage, I have an EX21 and there are slots for blade tubes, but I als use plastic craft boxes.  The blades fit perfectly in these boxes.

[JimErn]

The dollar store sells highlighters, buy a pack of them, you want the cheapest just a straight round tube pen.  Pliers and a little wiggling will pull off the tip and the felt strip that goes inside.
 
A scrap 2x4, and a 3/4 drill bit, drill the holes in a pattern partially though the 2x4, and voila a blade rack, I printed the size, brand, and drill size and taped that to the barrel.

[tonylumps]

if you buy a cheaper saw without a good blade  clamping system Be prepared to either use it as a backup saw or sell it to buy a saw with a good blade system.And if you decide to sell add the price of the loss from selling a used saw to the new one.From experience

[Rolf]

Beer Brewer "Bob" 

 

Good luck with your new saw.

 

We would be happy if you would consider looking into the Long island Scrollsaw Association. It is a SIG (special interest group) within the Lon Island Woodworkers club.

We meet the third Thursday of every month 7pm at the Brush barn in Smithtown.

I live in Bellport, feel free to contact me.

 

http://liwoodworkers.org/

[Rolf]

Jerry, that is a beautiful clock. Impressive work. But I do disagree with you regarding why we buy "expensive saws" when a more frugal one will do the job.

I do agree life priorities should come before a hobby, having said that my Hawk G4-26 has paid for every tool in my workshop.

 

I would imagine that very few of us that have top of the line saws bought them for bragging rights. I certainly did not. 

My most precious commodity is time, so when I do fret work I want to spend it cutting and not fiddling with blade clamps. 

I also wanted a minimal front to back motion and several other features that my Hawk gave me. The best clamps I ever used were on my old Delta SS350.

It was a $180 saw with stand (new) I now have those clamps on my Hawk.

 

One other thing to consider is, at least for myself, good quality tools are large part of my hobby I wish I had more room. 

They are like a new car to me, I love the feel and learning their quirks. 

Edited January 14, 2017 by Rolf

[Jim Finn]

I cut thicker woods also. 3/4" and thicker.  I do not do fretwork.  If you plan to cut thicker woods I recommend a saw with an induction motor. I have an old (1988) jet with an induction motor and use it almost every day.  I have s 2008 Hegner that I use just as much and it also has an induction motor.  I also have a 1986 Hegner , still running and parts for it are still available. 

      I have killed a De Walt  (with a brushed motor) in 20 months.  De Walt is a great saw for cutting thin wood  for fretwork but will not last long cutting thicker wood.  Induction motors cannot easily be speed controlled.  Not an issue once one gets used to it.