What saws do you own

[Jan]

Hi, My name is Jan D and I'm a scrollaholic! No thanks to the saw I bought, however. I started scrolling using a DeWalt 788 in the woodshop in the RV park where I live. Because I wanted to spend more time scrolling than was available in the shop, I purchased a 16" Craftsman that was on sale. What a mistake! The blades are very difficult to change unless you are adept with an Allen wrench, have 3 hands and are not averse to standing on your head while tightening the lower clamp. Other than that little problem, the tension adjustment mechanism is very sloppy, the blade seems to wander off on it's own and I find it difficult to follow even the simplest of patterns. I am now trying to make up my mind about another saw. It's coming down to a coin toss between the DeWalt 788 and the Excaliber 21.

Jan

[Clifford_Parker]

Hi, Cliff here. First post on this board.

I have used my 16" Craftsman for a lot of woodworking over the years but just decided to try fretwork and more detailed scrolling. Since I have learned so much on the WCI board I decided to look here first for info and ideas.

My shop contains;
Craftsman 10" Tablesaw with lots of attachments/jigs
Craftsman Router table
Craftsman 10" Bandsaw
Craftsman 16" Scroll saw
Delta 12" Drill press
and a large assortment of B&D, Craftsman, and Delta jigsaws, routers, hand planers, drills, sanders, and other goodies.

[TheKingOfApathy]

I use a 16" 1.2amp Skil scroll saw.
I bought it at Lowes for $114.00 It has worked great since i bought it. It does all i need it to do. I don't know how others feel about Skil products but I love em. I would recommend picking one up but then again I'm a novice wood worker

Not to be a knockoff of Clifford,
My workshop consists of:

1.) 16" 1.2 amp skil scroll saw.
2.) Black and decker rotary tool (Love it but i clogs up alot!)
3.) a Skil 2.0A 1/4 Sheet Palm Sander. (I love this thing! It has a built in vacume and smart hepafilter and a pressure control light setup to let you know if ur giving an even amount of pressure.)

It's not much but I just started so i'm trying to go cheap and durable

[tony coleman]

hi all,
this is the saw i use,its my first ever scrollsaw i have,used a hand frame for a long time.it may lok strange too our US scrollers.this is a scheepach delta tronic.it takes pinned and pinless blades.i have replaced the original blade clamps.i cant find any faults with it.cost me around 200 euro.

[Pat Carroll]

Like many others, cost and would I do a lot of scroll sawing were my main things to consider. I bought a Sears 18' throat model, so far I am happy with it. It was on sale for $125.00 Since I am into intarsia now, I also bought the disc sander and belt sander combination, at the same time, which happened to be on sale ,also. Needless to say, I am happy with both,and really glad I got back into woodworking, especially intarsia. What an addiction!!

Have a good one
Pat Carroll

[jhamiltonhhi]

Hello everyone! This is my first post (if I'm even doing this right). I just received today a Dewalt DW788 with the stand and light! It is assembled and ready to go. I have turned it on and made a couple of simple cuts and am anxious to get started. I have been a remodeling contractor for many years, and as age 60 quickly approaches (the end of December) I am starting to think about slowing down a bit and focusing on building more furniture. I was disappointed that the saw came with only two blades, and figure those won't hold a beginner for very long. Any guidance on blades I should have on hand would be appreciated. Initially, I will be cutting splats for some corner chairs I build, and puzzles for my first grandson, born in May. Any suggestions, please fire away!

John

[tony coleman]

ask mike at mikes workshop.he supplies flying dutchman blades .
he will be able too put you right.welcome to the forum john.

[justforpun]

Hello Everyone,
I am new to scroll sawing and purchased a Sears 18 inch about a month ago.
I heard a lot about the Dewalt saw but was unable to spend the 500+ for the saw.
I guess the Sears saw is OK for now but there are a few things that are bothersome.
The flexible dust blower and light are barley adequate and there is quite a bit of vibration at 1600 spm.
The hold down takes some jiggling to adjust properly.
I have used a Dremal (once or twice) at work and even though it not bolted down, there is very little vibration.
All of the controls are up front which is good.
Changing the blades does not appear to be a problem. The tool less clamping system works well.
Right now I am experimenting with different woods and blades.
I like the thinner blades which work well with the softer woods but burn the harder woods like Maple. The larger Blades work better with hard woods but I don't care for the larger curfs.
So far the saw appears to be working OK for now.

[ubgoofy2003]

John, nice to have you with us. I would second Tony's suggestion about mikesworkshop.com for Flying Dutchmen blades. They are very good blades & he can give you a sample pack to get you started. He has a Superior Puzzle blade that you may be interested in too. As you practice cutting, you will find that different blades work for different woods. I might add too, that I found after I bought my DeWalt 788, I didn't need a hold down at all. A lot of things enter into it, though. Like blades, wood, & practice. Hope you enjoy the forum & maybe learn from it too. Good Luck. -- Perk

[FutureTXScroller]

First post to this forum (sorry for length)...
I was given a Craftsman 15" with 3" pin-end blades on 1/4/2010. First cut ever with a scroll saw was on that day.
With that saw, I've made some of the standing puzzles from book patterns (bunny with babies, shark, tree frog, penguin, pig, and a 3D jonah in the whale) and 2 personal design puzzles (bat, duck). Made 2 of the frogs in aromatic cedar with lemon oil and sold one (first sale) for $18. ($2 per piece, but maybe I should've considered the feet 2 pieces each due to the toes and raised the price to $26??)

Just bought an Excalibur EX II for $100; 1980s vintage, I think. (not sure yet whether it was a dud purchase, or just needs tuning). It's very nice to have the 5" blades, blower, stand, and foot switch. But something isn't smooth yet. I'm not sure if it's the saw, or my inexperience with it at this point. I'm slowly cleaning it up and tuning up where I can. I'm looking forward to May or June when I can take it to the local scroll saw club meeting or annual picnic. (Dallas Ft.Worth Scrollers Saw Scrolling www.dfwscrolling.com Dallas,TX). I wouldn't know yet what to ask help with at this point, but maybe soon.

In progress with the Excalibur: my first jigsaw puzzle. A copy of my Dad's painting of Nebuchadnezzar's tree (Daniel 4), glued to 3/8" birch ply. (handy from the garage), and a 19 inch 3D lizard from 1 1/2 inch oak (scrap from a neighbor; pattern from book).