Jump to content
🎄 🎄 🎄 2024 Custom Ornament Business Kit - Now Available - SALE 50% Off Through Dec. 2nd ×
Ornaments For Charity eBook - Designers Wanted! ​​​​​​​🙏 ×

Best advice


olddust1

Recommended Posts

I will dis-agree on the expensive saw. First try an in-expensive one and see what features you really want and what you do not like!

 

Then purchase the better saw based on what fits your likes and needs!

 

I will add:

 

Make a comfortable nest (station) for you!  Lights, chair, music, seat pad, what ever makes it for you!

 

Cut what pleases the person that you see in the mirror!

 

Make it fun; not work!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Which scroll saw to buy first is really interesting.

 

There are quite a few people who buy an expensive one and then they find out that they really do not like scroll sawing. That was great for me as I found an almost new Hegner for a really good price.

 

Buying a cheap one could be very discouraging. So.....what do you buy first?

 

Maybe buy a good used one, find someone who will let you try one, buy a medium priced one?

 

I believe in buying the best tool you can afford but if you have never scrolled before it may be a bit different.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like the 'find someone who will let you try one first approach. 

 

In my case of a scroll saw I had used cheap ones at schools and friends on occasion for many years.  Then I took a scroll sawing course at Lee Valley tools and they were equipped with Dewalt saws (when they were still being made in Canada).  Those saws were quite good and I was going to buy one.  When I told this to the salesman at Welbeck Sawmill (near Durham Ontario) he suggested that I try an Excalibur EX30 and they had a demo model  That saw was even better than the smaller Dewalt, so I bought one. 

 

By the way most of my big tool purchases were of tools I had already tried.  For example my jointer/planer combo machine, both my band-saws, my table-saw, and my drill press.  I used the same three sources, that is: friends, schools, stores.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will dis-agree on the expensive saw. First try an in-expensive one and see what features you really want and what you do not like!

 

Then purchase the better saw based on what fits your likes and needs!

 

I will add:

 

Make a comfortable nest (station) for you!  Lights, chair, music, seat pad, what ever makes it for you!

 

 

 

Just out of curiosity, how do you listen to music with a saw going and some dust collector running too? Don't you wear hearing protection?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll just add don't buy any saw that you can't try one out first.   This applies to first,and even second or third time buyers.   Just because one scroll saw cost more than another doesn't necessarily mean it's the right saw for you.   I learned this lesson the hard way.    

Edited by stoney
Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing, that is not often mentioned at scroll saw forums, is that there are many different uses for a scroll saw other than doing fretwork.  I have played with making toys, compound cutting, bowl making, basket making, intarsia, segmentation, lettering and inlay.  If one is doing just fretwork, easy blade changes is important and durability in cutting thicker  (3/4"") wood not so much.  When doing any of the other listed project types easy blade changes is not as important but durability is.  This is why some people have cheaper saws  that last for years and years  others (like me) ware them out is less than two years. (I do not do fretwork) 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I started scrolling, many years ago, some of the best advice I received were;

1. Buy the best saw you can afford.

2. Cut SLOW, let the saw do the work.

3. Join an online scroll saw group.

 

I believe they all still apply.

 

What can you add?

 

John

 

Old Dust,

I had the time of my life for years with cheapy saw ,lighting and a foot pedal are a plus!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really can not think of much to add to the things mentioned. I first bought a cheap Ryobi saw and used it for about 2 years, i guess and I was able to do just abaout anything I wanted to on it and enjoyed the saw a lot. the worse thing about it was the parts wore out verily quickly and I replaced some of them several times. Good thing, they were cheap and easy to get. Bad thing, I finally got tired of buying parts and got a better saw. I really felt like I got my money's worth from the saw as i gained a lot of experience and learned to really enjoy scrolling and intarsia, so it was some of the best $100 I have ever spent. 

 

    I drive a Nissan Sentra and it gets me from point to point. It is not a BMW or a fancy car but it gets me where i need to go. I am not unhappy with my car but if I had the BMW it would make my driving experience a little nicer. That is how I feel about a scroll saw. One does not need a $1800 saw to enjoy scrolling,  and one does not need a BMW to get from Dallas to Fort Worth.. 

 

Dick

heppnerguy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

........    I drive a Nissan Sentra and it gets me from point to point. It is not a BMW or a fancy car but it gets me where i need to go. I am not unhappy with my car but if I had the BMW it would make my driving experience a little nicer. That is how I feel about a scroll saw. One does not need a $1800 saw to enjoy scrolling,  and one does not need a BMW to get from Dallas to Fort Worth".. 

 

Dick

heppnerguy

I surely agree with this.  I have a $2500 Hegner that I have set up to do inlay work and a $15 (Used) Jet made in 1988 I use to do all my other scroll saw work.  Both work great for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh by the way. I have finished making one of your inlay boxes that i made for my wife for Valentines Day. I wrapped it for her and forgot to take a photo of it first. I had to use WRC because that was what i had on hand. I will post it after she opens it. Thanks to you, I found myself able to accomplish this pretty well.

 

Dick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I disagree with buying a cheap saw. My first saw was a cheap saw, and it was so miserable to use that I almost gave up on scrolling. The saw was a gift, and I only kept it for two weeks. The only reason I stuck with it, is that I traded that first saw in for a Delta scroll saw. The little 16" Delta saw was a variable speed saw, with quick release levers for the blade changes. I excelled at cutting once I got the Delta, it was a nice little saw that did a lot of work. I still own it, it is my back-up saw. So, if I had stayed with the cheap after market saw, I have no doubt that I wouldn't be scrolling nowadays. The only thing that kept me scrolling, was a saw upgrade.

Len

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...