Ives

Hmm I've been looking at a second hand scroll saw made in 1997 and wondering if that's too old but you all don't seem to think it is!

I'm in the UK, they're probably British brands.

On Ebay, in my area, there is an Axminster scroll saw from 1997 (14 years old) starting about about £10, and from another person, a SIP band saw from the same year starting at £25. They say they're in good working order and the scroll saw comes with a whole bunch of blades. A woodworking friend of mine said he wouldn't pay more than £10 for something that old because you don't know how much longer they will last. What do you think?

Argh, you're right, I thought lower the tension was what I needed to do. Now we've returned the saw thinking it was bad. Well, out of 4, it turns out some of them were not and 2 were. It was the cheapest possible one, so I'm thinking maybe I should get a better one and get variable speed. On the last one, the blade was turned slightly and it went much faster than the other 3! I don't like that there's such a difference between 4 of the same exact model of tool! That one cost £59. SO, I think I could spend about £100 max, what should I get? I really can't spend more than that, and shouldn't even be spending that at all but I'm addicted to this and miss it now that it's been sent back! Nothing's coming up locally on Ebay. I checked Axminster and their cheapest is £177. Another question. I'm under the impression you need a band saw to cut wook 2.5 to 3 inches thick but someone on some forum somewhere is telling me you can use a scroll saw. I want to make these: http://shapeofaspoon.blogspot.com/search/label/tutorial It's the dollhouse puzzle halfway down the page and the rainbow after it.

Thanks everyone. And thanks Len, I was thinking maybe I should get a variable speed, so I can go more slowly!

I just got my first scroll saw, having no experience of power tools whatsoever! I live in the UK, is anyone else here? I got a Titan for £59 from Screwfix and are now on the fourth one before it's sort of right. But still, the bolt holding the safety guard on is too short so the guard is loosely on and the dust blower won't fit. Also I'm not sure if it's me or the tension or the scroll saw, but I can't just feed the wood through, I do have to push it and the blade gets pushed back. Is that bad? I tried lower tension and it doesn't really help. I really like this so far, so if I need to I will spend a little bit more on a bit better one, like £100 I think, but don't want to spend more if I don't need to. Screwfix says if I find a bolt in their catalog that looks right they can send me it....but should I just get a better saw? I don't know at this point if I need fancy features like variable speed etc.

I finally got a scroll saw to make wooden toys for my kids. I've been wanting to since last Christmas and this year I decided to just go for it. I love it! I've made a bunch of shapes, just need to sand them. But I have some questions about scroll saws because I'm not sure if I should get a more expensive one instead. Now to go ask my questions!