What saws do you own

[lucky788scroller]

You sound as if the ryobi is a disappointment to you. Its a decent saw, not the best, but its far better then no saw! It doesnt matter what saw you have, make the best of it, and learn the hobby, and you will know better what things to look for once you DO upgrade. Dale

[PeteB]

I got my first saw today, a used Hawk, and it was an uncharacteristic luxury. I have six kids and some other strains. I won't look at a "new" car less than five years old, am a bargain shopper every step of the way, and don't care at all about brands. Look for me at Aldi's.

My goal is to put several hours per day into scrolling, though, so I wanted a good saw. If I were buying new, it would be a Delta P-20 or a DW788, both excellent from everything I've heard. This saw was about the same cost.

If I were buying like I buy most of my tools, for occasional use, a Craftsman, Ryobi, Makita, Dremel, etc., would be better than I would normally buy (cue Chinese music). This saw, though, I put as much care into buying as I did building the computer I use every day for my business.

Pete

[cowboywayne]

I use a Craftsman 18" variable speed model 21609 and it works great for me, and I basically stole it from Sears as I found it on a closeout for 89 dollars and it is normally priced at 199....so for the price I couldn't go wrong and it is really a very good saw for me, it takes both plain and pinned blades and has a blower and a light built into the blower tube so the light is directed along with the air, it also has a foot control, so I Would saw for 89 dollars I got a pretty full featured saw. My only complaint is it does tend to vibrate a little more then I like. One day I will upgrade to a more expensive and less vabrating saw but I am very comfortable with this one for now.

Wayne

[The Woodman]

A bit about the saws I own.....
I started with a 16" Delta and I've bought a few more since as I wear them out but they are great saws ! My 2 current Delta's I converted to a longer stroke length of 1.1/4" which greatly improves the cutting speed but makes a more aggressive cut.

I bought a Diamond AF 24 a year ago and the precision engineering of this British made machine is fantastic.A very versatile machine all round.

I got a second hand NuTools 20" saw which is extremely similar in design to the older Hawks. It works ok but nothing special to stand out from the crowd.A good heavy duty workhorse.

My most recent purchase is a DeWalt 788 and I am impressed with the minimal vibration level and ease of cutting. I say ease of cutting because it is an ideal saw for beginners as well as old hands ! It is not as aggressive (read fast cutting) as the Delta or Diamond but a great saw for fine work.

[woodbutcher1]

I started with the saw I could afford. As it turns out, its still the only one I can afford. It has its short commings, but it allows me to do something I greatly love, and it's short commings give me plenty of challenges to hone my skills and talent. I have no doubt that I could turn out better pieces and probably faster if I had a better saw. But untill I can master , or at least hone my skills to warrent a better saw, I will stay with this one. I have a Craftsman 18". What it can do depends on how well I learn to use it. Sorry I haven't been back on to chat, but life has been a little hectic. I have made several new projects, but sold them so quickly I neglected to take pictures. I currently have about four projects in the making, and if I can keep them long enough to take pics, I'' try to post them. hope to participate more often , Don

[Jimpask]

Like many of you folks I started out with an inexpensive Makita desk top scroll saw. It is an excellant saw, but does present a challange when it comes to changing blades. After attending the Minnesota State Fair, I saw the RBI Hawk demo and was sold. No longer having a wife to need to justify the expenditure, I bougth the Hawk 220 and enjoy it very much.

Needless to say the blade changing is much easier than the makita...

[Minnesota scroller]

I started out with a used Skil I found online. I believe I paid about $65 including shipping. I had already spent a few days reading the posts on this forum and was very envious. I didn't want to spend much in case I wasn't capable or didn't think I would enjoy it. I started by setting the saw on a desk, and that thing tried to walk right off. I then bolted it to a hastily made work bench with carpet padding. It still vibrated like crazy. It was also one speed, 1750 strokes per minute. Blade changes were a pain in the butt too. Anybody who has followed my progress will see my first 2 projects with this monster were a fairly simple loon and hummingbird cut out of 3/4" pine. They had some inside cuts but hardly what many would classify as fretwork. They actually turned out quite well and my wife even liked them. And she is 1 tough cookie to please. I did sell the loon, which didn't please her. I was hooked. I then went to Amazon.com and ordered the Dewalt. I felt guilty about spending this much money but I knew I would never be able to keep up with some of you guys with the Skil. Late that day a friend of mine told me he had bought a Dremel 1680 about a year ago and it was still in the box. I asked him how much and he said $110. I replied "sold". I then canceled my Dewalt order. The Dremel has been a good saw and I don't believe I would actually do any better work with the Dewalt. I'm sure it would make things easier and faster but the money is more important to me at this time. The only thing I have against the Dremel is that anything over about 1/2 speed and the vibration starts blurring the blade. I guess as long as I continue to use this saw I will always be a slow scroller. Once I have this saw and blades, bits, pattern CD's, tape, adhesive spray, files, wood etc. paid for with my sales, I will start saving for the Dewalt.

[Charlie_1]

I started out with mine because of price and believe me that was the only reason for this one lol I guess its like a car in some ways , as long as it works and gets you to where you want to go ,your doing good . This one is a single speed ace hardware brand saw and I paid like $89 for it , which its definetly paid for itself ,considering the projects ive done with it and sold are at about $200 right now and another $125 coming soon , so its definetly paid for itself .
Its had its fair share of problems to go with it as well , including really bad vibrations , broken blade clamps ( which were almost the same price as the saw ) , having to use an allen wrench to change blades . Now only being able to use pinned blades I dont have to worry about that lol I made a big mistake on my part by not looking around and comparing saws and only looked at the ones in town and never really bothered to go looking at all the details and specifications for them and bought this one just for price and didnt really know exactly what I was looking for either , just a scroll saw . Granted it definetly has paid for it self and then some , and Ill get a better one soon ,now that I know what Im looking for exactly lol just one last thing ,if your starting out with this get what you can afford and dont worry about it being cheap, think of it as a learning experience , practice as much as your able to , and then later on when your ready and have enough money for it then get you a really good one and keep on practicing and learning , I know because I havent stopped practicing or learning since I first got my saw and I dont think I will ever stop learning and practicing . and by all means have fun with and enjoy it . ok thats enough blabbering for me lol

[workin for wood]

I started with a sears that my father gave me, it is from 1945, and reminds me of a boat anchor...kinda cuts wood like a boat anchor too. I still have it for the memories, i keep it running and rust free, but the only actual use it gets now is to set junk on.

[stickers]

When I first started I had a small dremel scroll saw. Can't tell you what model it was but my first project took me three hours to cut (had the blade in backwords) and the vibration was most annoying (after I put the blade in correctly). So I ended up only using it when I needed to do any inside cuts or tight radius cuts. Most of the time I used my bandsaw. Then after a few years of whinning about wanting a better saw my sister and I went in half for an RBI 220 Hawk. I was in heaven for several years. Then the tension rod became weak and started to bend. And I found that there weren't any places that I could go to to get it fixed. That's when I bought a DeWalt 788. Much less expensive and easier to use in a lot of ways. But because of circumstances I no longer have my saw. I want another DeWalt but money is also a factor for me now. I went looking for a more affordable saw a week ago but decided that I'll just wait until I can afford the saw I want. So until I can get my saw, I'll just create the patterns of what I want to do when I do get it. DeWalt 788 all the way!!!!
Linda E. aka Stickers