Rick Berman

1995 Shopsmith 20 inch teal colored scroll saw questions. As a newbie in my search for a scroll saw a friend told me that he has one of the these saws he’s willing to part with. He said it works great and and the only thing he’s had to do was put a new belt on it. I really have only two questions about it. First, there is no footpedal with it. He says it is a variable speed and you turn it on and set the speed with I switch on the leg. Does anyone know if it’s possible to add a Foot pedal to the machine? Second question, any idea what this is worth in nice condition? He said it does have the caster set up on it where you step on the pedal and the machine rises so you can roll it. i’d sure appreciate any advice you could give me about these saws. Pros/cons or anything else to consider. Pros/cons or anything else to consider. Your help is really appreciated. Thanks, Rick

Thank you all for your very helpful replies. I am currently trying to buy the Hawk. Whether I get it or not it is dependent on transportation issues. With your advice, I have done a lot of research and would really love to have that Hawk. If I don’t get it I think I will seriously consider buying a new Seyco. Any advice on that? Thanks again.

Thank you kywoodmaster. I hope some of the knowledgeable Hawk folks will chime in. I found out that the serial number on the machine is in the very low 7100's. Is this a clue as to whether it has any problems such as the motor?

Hi, New here and new to scroll sawing. Retired and looking for stuff to do and thought scroll sawing with my grandsons might be fun and good bonding experience. They are too young to work with grandpa's power tools but I thought scroll might be ok. I've bought them Stanley kids work benches and junior size tools and they like putting stuff together with their Dad. I'm really concerned that they're no shop classes in school any more so if they don't learn at home they wont know any of the stuff we old guys did in the mandatory shop classes in school. So my question is, do I just buy a Wen 3922, plus foot pedal, about $150 w/o stand,, or do I spend over $300 for a RBI Hawk model 226 that looks like new and the seller says he's used it for years on serious scrolling as a hobby and it works great and has never needed a repair? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks