Why Would They - Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts Message Board

JohnB · 02-03-2008, 04:53 AM

G'day All,
I was down the local Bunnings the other day and wasting time and wishing, browsing at the tools and etc.
One of their Scroll saws, a cheapy GMC brand had a laser line generator on it Huhhhhhhhhh.

Perhaps someone could explain the use of a laser line on a Scrollsaw. It's got me buggered.
Has anyone seen anything like this somewhere else???

They also have jigsaw with a simular thing, I actually bought the jigsaw a few years ago, not for the laser, but mine died and I needed a replacement lickity split and this was the only on in stock at the time. I used it for a week or 2 until I got a Dewalt and then gave it to my neighbour. For the life of me I couldn't come up with an advantage of having a laser line.

I reckon it's just a BS marketing ploy, but then again I have been known to be wrong.

bigEd_H · 02-03-2008, 05:25 AM

Errmmmm... I can see a laser line on a miter saw or a radial arm saw, but a scroll saw? I can even see a use for a laser line on a jigsaw since I used to install sunroofs in vehicles and that is what I used to cut out the hole in the roof. If I had had a laser line it would have been much easier.

I guess some people will buy anything if it has enough bells and whistles on it.

eendreno · 02-03-2008, 05:43 AM

hi john - it's just marketing, on this side of the pond it's getting so you can't buy a good quality commercial tool. i was tring to get a bunch of pad sanders. home depot had ryobi, dewalt, and their brand rigid. (ryobi with a orange rapper) i bought 4 rigid. they lasted about 40-60 hours each. they were almost double the cost of a ryobi. 47 vs 30. the rigid came with a plastic case. the ryobi came with a nylon sack. i brought back 3 of the dead orange pad sanders. the lifetime warranty is you send it to their factory repair outlet, pay for the postage both ways i bought 4 ryobi to replace them they lasted about the same. 8 pad sanders i have 1 remaining, thats cause it was dropped and the flimsy pad bent breaking the plastic hold down for the paper. it sat unused for a week, then i cannablized one of the other broken ones. i have a couple of milwaukee 1/2 sheet 5 amp sanders, one is metal the other was one of the first red plastic 30 years and several brushes and a few pads they still are working as is my portercable speed bloc. the tools were built to last. the tools now are designed for marketing and reliability and longevity takes a back seat to lasers, purses, water coolers, and other useless injection molded plastic garbage. keep the frills, i'll buy a metal box if i need one and make a good tool. my two cents doug

knothead · 02-03-2008, 01:37 PM

Don't have a clue John. I cant even come up with a stupid reason.

Tom

Lois from Mississauga · 02-03-2008, 01:44 PM

I am betting their design team have never used any of the tools before. Hey, if a laser made one tool sell better, then it must work for all of them.

Buzz · 02-04-2008, 05:17 AM

I have absolutely no idea why they would do that or what use it could possibly be. I bought a drill press (Craftsman) with a laser pointer and it is almost useless. The laser lines are too thick, They get you in the area, but any precision drilling still has to be done manually by eye. Would not spend the extra money to get the laser attachment.

Tor · 02-04-2008, 05:21 AM

Wouldn't bother with a laser on any tool. Haven't used one though, so maybe on some tools with proper setup they work for construction purposes. I imagine that for anyone who does the kind of precision work we do that they would be rather close to useless on most any tool. As for a scrollsaw, I cannot imagine any situation where that would be useful.

Tor

chris39 · 02-04-2008, 02:53 PM

Very Strange! As most of us know, a scrollsaw blade does not always track straight, and a lazer line would never track perfectly straight with a pattern line, not to mention curves, which is what scrolling is all about. Seems senseless, but a newbeee with extra cash might be enticed buy the marketing trick.

Chris

Wood Dog · 02-04-2008, 03:04 PM

Maybe just maybe it is funded by the wood people, so scrollers would screw up their cuts and buy more wood???????????

Ya know just like the anti-virus people who write those nasty viruses, so we have to by their software to eradicate the virus they put there in the first place........just my opinion!

Barefoot1 · 02-04-2008, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnB

I reckon it's just a BS marketing ploy, but then again I have been known to be wrong.

Bingo, it is just like fishing lures, most of them are designed to catch fishermen, not fish!

02-03-2008, 04:53 AM	#1
JohnB 1 Tin Soldier Rides Away Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Kalgoorlie, Western Australia Posts: 4,859	Why Would They G'day All, I was down the local Bunnings the other day and wasting time and wishing, browsing at the tools and etc. One of their Scroll saws, a cheapy GMC brand had a laser line generator on it Huhhhhhhhhh. Perhaps someone could explain the use of a laser line on a Scrollsaw. It's got me buggered. Has anyone seen anything like this somewhere else??? They also have jigsaw with a simular thing, I actually bought the jigsaw a few years ago, not for the laser, but mine died and I needed a replacement lickity split and this was the only on in stock at the time. I used it for a week or 2 until I got a Dewalt and then gave it to my neighbour. For the life of me I couldn't come up with an advantage of having a laser line. I reckon it's just a BS marketing ploy, but then again I have been known to be wrong. __________________ Regards John "The Golden Mile" I got holes in both of my shoes Well I'm a walking case of the blues Saw a dollar yesterday But the wind blew it away Some of my Stuff Retired Medically Unfit WA Police Officers

02-03-2008, 05:25 AM	#2
bigEd_H Makin' Sawdust Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Lakewood, WA USA Posts: 114	Errmmmm... I can see a laser line on a miter saw or a radial arm saw, but a scroll saw? I can even see a use for a laser line on a jigsaw since I used to install sunroofs in vehicles and that is what I used to cut out the hole in the roof. If I had had a laser line it would have been much easier. I guess some people will buy anything if it has enough bells and whistles on it. __________________ Ed http://edsscrollsawbits.blogspot.com/ http://woodcarvingnsuch.wordpress.com http://www.facebook.com/ed.hulett Twitter: yaesu

02-03-2008, 01:37 PM	#4
knothead Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: ARIZONA Posts: 720	Don't have a clue John. I cant even come up with a stupid reason. Tom __________________ Tom ___________________ America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. Abraham Lincoln

02-03-2008, 01:44 PM	#5
Lois from Mississauga Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Mississauga, ON Posts: 297	I am betting their design team have never used any of the tools before. Hey, if a laser made one tool sell better, then it must work for all of them. __________________ Lois ---What we learn to do, we learn by doing… Aristotle---

02-04-2008, 05:17 AM	#6
Buzz Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Racine, WI Posts: 314	Laser On Scroll Saw I have absolutely no idea why they would do that or what use it could possibly be. I bought a drill press (Craftsman) with a laser pointer and it is almost useless. The laser lines are too thick, They get you in the area, but any precision drilling still has to be done manually by eye. Would not spend the extra money to get the laser attachment. __________________ Buzz We Danes are very even tempered. We're always mad about something!

02-03-2008, 05:43 AM	#3
eendreno Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: long island ny Posts: 101	hi john - it's just marketing, on this side of the pond it's getting so you can't buy a good quality commercial tool. i was tring to get a bunch of pad sanders. home depot had ryobi, dewalt, and their brand rigid. (ryobi with a orange rapper) i bought 4 rigid. they lasted about 40-60 hours each. they were almost double the cost of a ryobi. 47 vs 30. the rigid came with a plastic case. the ryobi came with a nylon sack. i brought back 3 of the dead orange pad sanders. the lifetime warranty is you send it to their factory repair outlet, pay for the postage both ways i bought 4 ryobi to replace them they lasted about the same. 8 pad sanders i have 1 remaining, thats cause it was dropped and the flimsy pad bent breaking the plastic hold down for the paper. it sat unused for a week, then i cannablized one of the other broken ones. i have a couple of milwaukee 1/2 sheet 5 amp sanders, one is metal the other was one of the first red plastic 30 years and several brushes and a few pads they still are working as is my portercable speed bloc. the tools were built to last. the tools now are designed for marketing and reliability and longevity takes a back seat to lasers, purses, water coolers, and other useless injection molded plastic garbage. keep the frills, i'll buy a metal box if i need one and make a good tool. my two cents doug

02-04-2008, 05:21 AM	#7
Tor Mad Marqueteur Join Date: May 2007 Location: The "Green Side" in Hawaii Posts: 1,528	Wouldn't bother with a laser on any tool. Haven't used one though, so maybe on some tools with proper setup they work for construction purposes. I imagine that for anyone who does the kind of precision work we do that they would be rather close to useless on most any tool. As for a scrollsaw, I cannot imagine any situation where that would be useful. Tor __________________ I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it. - Thomas Jefferson Garden Island Marqueteur http://www.fineartmarquetry.com

02-04-2008, 02:53 PM	#8
chris39 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 156	Very Strange! As most of us know, a scrollsaw blade does not always track straight, and a lazer line would never track perfectly straight with a pattern line, not to mention curves, which is what scrolling is all about. Seems senseless, but a newbeee with extra cash might be enticed buy the marketing trick. Chris __________________ http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/...ewoodcreations www.latharthelp.blogspot.com

02-04-2008, 03:04 PM	#9
Wood Dog Senior member--Absolutely Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: MA USA Posts: 3,451	Maybe just maybe it is funded by the wood people, so scrollers would screw up their cuts and buy more wood??????????? Ya know just like the anti-virus people who write those nasty viruses, so we have to by their software to eradicate the virus they put there in the first place........just my opinion! __________________ WD Last edited by Wood Dog; 02-04-2008 at 03:06 PM.

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