Ranking Scroll Saws

[Travis]

I'm thinking about putting together a resource for ranking scroll saws so a buyer can have an informed choice.  We'd have a list of features that are important when considering a new scroll saw.  Current owners of that saw can rank those features on a scale of 1-5 and see how they stack up.  For example.  My Craftsman Saw is moderately loud.  So I'd rank it with a 3 in the Noise category.  Vibration is kinda bad, I'd rank it a 2.  But price is really good, so I'd mark it as a 5.

 

Here are some of the categories I can think of.  What else am I missing?

 

• Price
• Vibration
• Noise
• Blade Changing Ease

 

[amazingkevin]

Creature comforts ,wide table,good light  comes with foot switch,easy to angle the table ,easy to repair,self lubeing,single arm or like dewalt .

[Scrappile]

speed control, tensioning, dust collection, dust blowing, customer service, availability of parts.

[Dan]

Speed control, belt drive vs. direct drive, tensioning, depth of table, refrigerator.

[Bendita]

I think all scroll saws should come with a heated table to keep your hands warm in the winter See I'm think of you guy's comfort.

[Sparkey]

Great idea Travis, can't wait to see some results.

[ike]

Dust blower. Light,

[LarryEA]

• Price
• Vibration
• Noise
• Blade Changing Ease
• Durability
• Table Tilt Guage accuracy
• Variable Speed
• Table length/width
• Warrenty

1. All scroll saws should have * Blowers, * Blade tensioning

Delta 20-690 Type 1       

• Price                                     4.5             $350 in 2010 w/table light  ... $399 no table/light 2014
• Vibration                               5.0             On pad not bolted down, no vibs
• Noise                                    4.0             Moderately quite, no ear plugs needed
• Blade Changing Ease           5.0              I think it is easy. Only experienced w/Delta & Dremel
• Durability                               3.0            Something will break with in three years
• Table Tilt Guage accuracy   3.0             Guage markers too wide, U can be off by 1 or 2 degrees using it.
• Variable Speed                     3.0            Good variable speed. Bad because if it goes you have to buy mother board
• Table length/width                 5.0            Nice wide table
• Warrenty                               3.0            Warrenty is poor because if you want past 90 days you have to buy it.

My thoughts Travis. Thank you for starting this.

[dgman]

The only thing left is the happiness factor. How happy are you with the saw? One other thing, Country of Manufacture.

[browders]

I have a type 2 DeWalt. I've read plenty of trash talk about it, and where it was built. I bought mine in January of 2012 and have used it without any problems since that time. I'm guessing if I had an Excalibur, Hawk, or Hegner, I'd say the same thing. The DeWalt is probably the least expensive of the professional class of scroll saws.

 

Good luck.

 

Jim

[Sparkey]

DeWalt Type 2

 

Price                                    4.0          $500 isn't bad but still a good chunk.

Vibration                              4.5          no vibration until you get close to max speed then it's still not much.

Noise                                    4.8          very quiet, about the same as my wifes high dollar sewing machine.

Blade change ease              4.5          very easy to change blades top or bottom feed.

Durability                              4.0          I have only had it one year and it runs like the day I first used it.

Table tilt gauge accuracy     ?.?          have not used it yet.

Variable speed                     3.0          has 6 preset speeds. Would be nice if it was like a rheostat.

Table width/length                4.0          nice size table, 20 inches deep.

Warranty                              4.0           3 years, better than a lot of other things we buy.

[Doug]

I think all scroll saws should come with a heated table to keep your hands warm in the winter See I'm think of you guy's comfort.

Give me a break Hans - what is the coldest it ever gets where you live?  How many hours below 50 degrees in any calendar year?

 

I know, I know - you are just thinking of us who live further North.

[Jim Finn]

Durability when cutting wood over 3/4" thickness:  DeWalt fails at this. Mine lasted just out of warranty before it died.  There is a lot more to scroll sawing than just fretwork.  I run my saws a lot doing inlay, Intarsia, compound cutting, lettering, and toy making. All cutting 3/4" or thicker woods. I am in my shop 35 hours a week year round.  Mostly I use my 1988 Jet saw.  So to me, durabilty is of prime importance.

[Bendita]

Give me a break Hans - what is the coldest it ever gets where you live?  How many hours below 50 degrees in any calendar year?

 

I know, I know - you are just thinking of us who live further North.

Actually were in a cold snap right now and it got to 59 this morning that is the coldest I've seen it here in over 6 years BRRRR i think I'll put my jeans on today.

[oldhudson]

I certainly admire your courage to take on a task like this and I think it would be very worthwhile!  Still, IMHO, the process will have a lot of 'chuck-holes' to negotiate.

 

1. Vibration - someone who has Saw "A" on a stand may experience much different vibration from someone who mounted the same saw to a bench. And doesn't the type of stock cut and type of blade influence this?

 

2. Price - to some extent price is pretty subjective. $150 is pocket change to some and a large portion of someone else's SS check.

 

3. Some saws that are more popular e.g., the DeWalt. And thus a few dozen users may weigh-in and rate a model. Other saws because of price, or some other factor, may only be in the hands of a couple users. It's clear that a larger number of raters will provide a more realistic view. (I know that when I'm at Amazon looking at reviews of products and I see a 5 Star rating, it's a lot different if there are 155 reviewers vs a single reviewer.)

 

4. Finally, those who have only owned and used one machine won't have any basis for comparison for some things like vibration or noise. I fall into this group.

 

I'll be happy to participate and rate my Delta 40-540.

 

 

[Doug]

Actually were in a cold snap right now and it got to 59 this morning that is the coldest I've seen it here in over 6 years BRRRR i think I'll put my jeans on today.

And I have my flannel lined slacks on and just wondered this morning whether I should also wear the insulated underwear.

[ike]

There should be different ratings mine would be on Fretwork others would be on heavy use. I use my saw about 900 hours a year. Some

use there's maybe a few hours a week. and they might have a machine rater at a 4 or 5 because of the amount of time they use it .

Mine will have a lot more use and will be worn and probably have a lower rating.

[heppnerguy]

I have the DeWalt and I have found that it has served me well, overall. I do not believe you can beat this saw for the price. the more I used my saw, the more I become to enjoy it. it gets a little vibration happy at high speeds but I usually do not run it up there. I was fortunate and got mine new on line about 7 years ago for $359 with free shipping. I am sure there are better saws out there but price is a factor I  need to consider. It is like buying a Buick or a Lexus. Both will probably serve you well, if not abused but the Lexus has more comforts and bells and whistles. Not everyone can have 'the best of everything', and I have lived that way all my life. I like my saw and I am happy with it. It has done me quite well so far. The strength I find in my saw are the ease of maneuvering my my blades between cuts. The durability of the saw to perform to me needs. the nice size of the table. the handy controls for easy operation. On the downside, I would have to say would be the inability of the upper arm to stay up without some kind of support, for which I use a short 2 X 4 piece of wood and I do not even notice that I am using it, most of the time. it is an easy saw to work on, if I needed to replace anything and parts are readily available . I do not see this saw leaving the market, any time soon. My belief is this saw it the best saw for the money and is a good choice for some who want a good saw without having to pay a price that many of us could not justify. If one starts with a cheap saw and replaces it with a cheap saw, he or she could have purchased the DeWalt for about the same price.

On a 1 to 5 grading (5 being the best ) I would give this saw an overall grade of 4 based on performance, price,ease of use and user friendly ability to be able to make my own repairs.

 

Dick

heppnerguy

[Travis]

Lots of great ideas so far.  I have a rough idea on how I want to put this project together, so this helps a lot.

 

The ranking is rather subjective.  But it's kinda like Amazon; they depend on lots of data before it's useful information.  Let's say we get 100+ people to rank each category for the Dewalt 788, the average number is pretty good data.  If we only has a couple people rating the Craftsman 16", it's not as much to go on.  You'll be able to see how many people voted and the distribution of votes per category.

 

Plus, after the writeup, owners of the saw can write in their reviews, tips, and extra tidbits.  That's the idea, anyway.  

[heppnerguy]

It is apparent that some people like the saw they own, a lot and I would hope that would be the case for every scroller, but we all know that is not the case. and sometimes one may like their saw until all of a sudden things seem to fall apart or the saw has a breakdown that is more than the owner wants to deal with again. Clayton is a good example of what I am talking about. The main value to this effort seems to be for a scroller that has a low end saw and finally feels justified to invest in a setup saw. This effort of Travis's should be a handy resource for those people or someone that is interested in starting the hobby and wants to start with a good machine. 

Thanks Travis for once more, making an effort to keep The Village the best scroll saw site on the net

 

Dick

heppnerguy

[Travis]

Phase 1 for this "little" project is complete.  I've updated the Scroll Saw Manufacturer's guide.  This lists the manufacturers and their models.  It only has the basic info at this point.  The part that says "Coming Soon" will be a link to the details for the saw, which also includes ranking of some key elements and owner feedback/advice.  

 

You can find that here.

 

If I missed a scroll saw, post a comment in that thread with a link to the saw.  Also, if you know any of the "unknown" information or if I have misinformation, let me know.

[Travis]

OK.  I'm slowely rolling out the User Reviews and rankings.  The first one I chose was the DW788.  You can find that here:  http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/topic/12210-dewalt-dw788-saw-details-user-reviews

 

Be sure to add your vote to the rankable features.  Also, if you see any missing or misinformation in the saw details, let me know in the comments.

 

I'll slowly start adding more and more until I've done 1 thread for each of the saws.  Hopefully this will be a useful section for those looking to buy a new saw.

[Scrappile]

I went out and looked at it and my suggestion on the cost is but values in (maybe your are intending to).  Like $50 - $150, $150 - $450, $450 - $1000, and over $1000.  something on that order. 

[Travis]

I went out and looked at it and my suggestion on the cost is but values in (maybe your are intending to).  Like $50 - $150, $150 - $450, $450 - $1000, and over $1000.  something on that order. 

  

 

I wanted that section to be in comparison to other scroll saws in the market.  The saw details list the cost of the scroll saw for a more specific answer.

[Scrappile]

Gotcha sounds good