fastest cutting saws ( and reliable )

[Puzzleguy]

Im curious about which saw will cut the fastest and the smoothest -

the time it takes to make something is important to making a profit.

But blades are always in my mind as well as to which will give me the fastest cut

and the smoothest cut - Ive been scrolling for a very long time , but basically

Im old school and need a few pointers - We all need a bit of education from time to time to

keep up with all this modern stuff . Also durability and parts availabilty

are important to me -waiting weeks for parts is a no-no -

Thanks ahead for the help !    Tony

 

[bcdennis]

With the saws I have used I would have to go with the Jet as the one with the best speed control.  The Ex was close but the jet just seemed to cut faster.  I did although replace the blade clamps with the Pegas and that is probably why I liked it better. 

Edited December 23, 2019 by bcdennis

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

That is a wide open question and the real answer is how the blade is presented to the wood. With all blades there are those that are made to cut faster, there are those made to cut cleaner, there are blades that react differently on different saws. Then there is how comfortable are you at sawing full open and how does the saw react to certain speeds. We can only give you suggestions with what saws we cut with. They will be met with opposition and agreement. Good luck in your quest and my advise is slow down. Life is too short and enjoy the hobby. 

[Bill WIlson]

Like John says, it isn't necessarily an A+B=C type of question.  Lots of other variables involved.  As far as the saw itself, I think it's a true statement that some are designed to cut more aggressively than others.  There was a thread here not too long ago about that subject.  Excalibur and those of derivative design (DeWalt/Delta, Seyco, Pegas, King, Jet, etc) all have similar cutting characteristics due to commonality in their design.  The Excalibur and some of it's clones can be adjusted to make them slightly more or less aggressive.  It's my understanding, just from reading posts by actual users here, that the Hawk is, by design, far less aggressive cutting.  I don't know about Hegner.  The factor that is most often responsible for how aggressive a saw cuts is the arcing motion of the blade during the up & down travel.  If I understand correctly, the Hawks cutting motion is much closer to straight up and down, while the EX can be adjusted to have a fair amount of forward and backward motion to the blade, as it cuts.  This, in and of itself, apart from what blade you use, will make one saw inherently faster cutting than another.  Smoothness of cut, I think is mostly a product of the blade used.  As long as one is using one of the several middle to upper tier brands of saw, I doubt one would be able to notice much difference in the quality of the cut itself, from one saw to another.  Some may run smoother, as in less vibration, but all of these saws in the $400+ price range, should be pretty much vibration free, for the most part.

I think when it's all said & done, the biggest factor in the quality and speed of the cut, is the blade.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Perfectly said Bill. 

[dgman]

Both John and Bill give great advise. The only advice I can add is it is a good idea to have two saws if you rely on it for your business. There is no perfect machine. Having a spare will save you if and when you have a breakdown.

[tomsteve]

On 12/23/2019 at 9:34 AM, Puzzleguy said:

 

the time it takes to make something is important to making a profit.

 

 

i may be a little different but thats not how it works for me. profit is determined by me pricing my work properly. hourly wage times amount of time to build/cut plus cost of materials plus overhead plus profit= cost of my work. 

Edited December 24, 2019 by tomsteve

[Puzzleguy]

thank you one and all -good advice . Ive been scrolling for a long time , but im a bit stuck in the

1990's -Us old farts sometimes get like that . The price of the saw isnt that important when your making a living with it

just trying to see whats out their and whats the smartest move . My Polymax is a great saw -but cant handle

the very fine blades , and the Eclipse ( thats another story ) thou it can use the pegas blades which can be very brittle

compared to other saws ( they break very easily ) so im looking for a durable fast cutting saw -

possibly the Pegas saw , Jet etc.  how is parts availability for say the Jet or Pegas saws ?

and curious about how you can modify the saws for more agressive cutting.-

Thanks so very much !

 

 

[Bill WIlson]

48 minutes ago, Puzzleguy said:

thank you one and all -good advice . Ive been scrolling for a long time , but im a bit stuck in the

1990's -Us old farts sometimes get like that . The price of the saw isnt that important when your making a living with it

just trying to see whats out their and whats the smartest move . My Polymax is a great saw -but cant handle

the very fine blades , and the Eclipse ( thats another story ) thou it can use the pegas blades which can be very brittle

compared to other saws ( they break very easily ) so im looking for a durable fast cutting saw -

possibly the Pegas saw , Jet etc.  how is parts availability for say the Jet or Pegas saws ?

and curious about how you can modify the saws for more agressive cutting.-

Thanks so very much !

 

 

The EX style saws are adjusted simply by loosening the bolts that hold the motor to the frame and rotate the motor slightly.  The motor mounting plate will have slots in it to facilitate this. There should be instructions in the manual.

[Scrappile]

If I were making a living with a scroll saw, I would have nothing less than a Hegner.  Longevity, dependability, parts availability, ease of maintenance, etc, would be what I would be looking for.  I use 2/0 size blades on mine,,, often with no problem.  How much smaller do you want to go?  I would put the Hawk in there also if they had a good reliable supplier, but that does not seem to be the case presently.  I really hope that improves, I'd hate to see the demise of that saw.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Now we are not the one spending your money so we can only give opinions and we all know the saying about opinions. But with that said I second exactly what Paul above me just said. Again with the aggressiveness thing and speed. You develop a speed comfortable to you no matter what saw you scroll on. You can make up speed the more you learn the saw such as changing blades, using the right speed range that the saw can handle along with what you can handle. Some saws yes have built in ways to adjust the aggressiveness but then you have to slow down to keep in line so no gain there. I would forget the aggressiveness thing and concentrate on value of saw. You can make up speed also with different blades and if you become good at using spirals you save the time from spinning a piece. There are other ways to increase speed but this is a hobby and if you choose to make it a business you will find many many many other things will slow you down and it will not be cutting on a scrollsaw. Good luck.

Edited December 26, 2019 by JTTHECLOCKMAN