Looking to upgrade

[rod1229]

So I am looking to upgrade my scroll saw and have been doing some research but still not sure on which saw to buy. I looked on you tube for suggestions and I have also looked on the internet itself. I am looking at the Dewalt 788 and Delta 694. Any suggestions?

[meflick]

First, why don't you tell us a bit more.  What saw do you presently have?  What do you like about it - don't like about it? How old is the one you have, did you get it new or was it used?  Is Budget the most important thing in the purchase decision or do you have other factors that you consider more important? How much time do you spend on the saw or do you hope to spend on it?  Daily, weekly, monthly?  What type of work do you use the saw for primarily?  Do you want to get into other areas of use beyond what you do now?  Are you a top feeder or a bottom feeder or does it matter - you can adapt to either? Answering those questions will let you better figure out what you want/need for your particular needs and help others in helping you in discussing what might best fit your needs.

[SCROLLSAW703]

Zen hit on the head! What are your future plans with this new saw? What size of projects do you intend to produce? my advice is to take all these things into perspective, & then think about the wood you have in mind for use of all this. Are you of a mind to use nothing but hardwoods? 1/4" baltic birch? If you don't have plans of workin' the saw overly hard, & on a constant basis, a light duty saw will suffice. If you're looking at more production type cutting, a heavier, more hp saw would be to your benefit. 

Look at the Hawk line of saws. You can look on cl & find pretty good deals, & then move up as you get better. There are other breeds, too, but, I recommend the Hawk.

[rod1229]

I am currently using a craftsman 16" scroll saw. I like it because blades aren't that hard to change. But the cons out way everything else. There is a loud squeak when running, consistency isn't very good but vibration is the thing that is major problem.

I am looking to try to get into craft shows, and make some money from it. I have always enjoyed working with wood. I am also into wood burning as a side project. I am looking at doing different sized projects. I was looking at spending around $500.

[scrollerpete]

I would recommend Excalibur or equivalent,very reliable and blades easy to change.

[JOE_M]

3 hours ago, scrollerpete said:

I would recommend Excalibur or equivalent,very reliable and blades easy to change.

He's budgeted $500, which may be why he's narrowed it down to the Dewalt or the Delta.

I've got the Dewalt. I like it a bajillion times more than the entry level saws I had before it. It was a bit agressive at first but I adjusted it so the blade is more square (back/front) to the table and now use it to make jigsaw puzzles in 1/4". I do think it's louder than when I got it and that bothers me because I've had it a few years but haven't really put a lot of hours into it. At that price point I think it's still a good saw.

[amazingkevin]

7 hours ago, JOE_M said:

He's budgeted $500, which may be why he's narrowed it down to the Dewalt or the Delta.

I've got the Dewalt. I like it a bajillion times more than the entry level saws I had before it. It was a bit agressive at first but I adjusted it so the blade is more square (back/front) to the table and now use it to make jigsaw puzzles in 1/4". I do think it's louder than when I got it and that bothers me because I've had it a few years but haven't really put a lot of hours into it. At that price point I think it's still a good saw.

Most of the time i was able to find the problems on my Dewalts from looking around on it and tighten this or that

[WayneMahler]

There is a section here at the village for scroll saw reviews. My last upgrade was to an EX-21 and love it. Out of the price range your looking for. Craigslist may have some nice deals, but you have to be very careful and know what to look for when buying used. My understanding is the Dewalt and the Delta are basically the same machines. I also understand that Delta Machinery went out of business. I personally have not confirmed this though. I have some friends that will swear by the Dewalt they own. 

[rod1229]

Thanks everyone for the input. I am planning on going to the wood carvers guild in Wilmington, Ohio in October and doing some research on what some of them are using. Very helpful to have a site with a lot of scroll saw veterans to get advise from. Thanks.

 

Edited August 27, 2017 by rod1229

[Scrappile]

On 8/24/2017 at 8:04 PM, WayneMahler said:

There is a section here at the village for scroll saw reviews. My last upgrade was to an EX-21 and love it. Out of the price range your looking for. Craigslist may have some nice deals, but you have to be very careful and know what to look for when buying used. My understanding is the Dewalt and the Delta are basically the same machines. I also understand that Delta Machinery went out of business. I personally have not confirmed this though I have some .friends that will swear by the Dewalt they own. 

I know some DeWalt owners that swear at their DeWalts  >>>>>>  Sorry could not resist.

Edited August 27, 2017 by Scrappile

[Woodmaster1]

I have the delta 40-694 and it has been great. Delta machinery is not out of business you can still get repair parts if needed. I order extra blade holder bolts got them in 4 days.

[hawkeye10]

My first saw was a DW788 and I took it back and got the Excaliber 16 and love it.

[WayneMahler]

2 hours ago, hawkeye10 said:

My first saw was a DW788 and I took it back and got the Excaliber 16 and love it.

I absolutely love me EX-21. Having a bearing issue but I'm sure it will be worked out soon. My saw runs 8 to 12 hours a day. 

[Roberta Moreton]

I had a Dewalt type 1. LOVED IT

[OCtoolguy]

On 8/24/2017 at 0:06 PM, JOE_M said:

He's budgeted $500, which may be why he's narrowed it down to the Dewalt or the Delta.

I've got the Dewalt. I like it a bajillion times more than the entry level saws I had before it. It was a bit agressive at first but I adjusted it so the blade is more square (back/front) to the table and now use it to make jigsaw puzzles in 1/4". I do think it's louder than when I got it and that bothers me because I've had it a few years but haven't really put a lot of hours into it. At that price point I think it's still a good saw.

I don't want to hijack the thread but to answer your noise problem, go to Rick's Scrollsaw site: http://www.scrollsaws.com/          or here:  

 

[JOE_M]

Yea, watched all those videos months ago, took the saw apart and wasted many an hour playing with it. It's still loud.

[Scrappile]

Well, maybe you didn't succeed in fixing it, but it helps you learn the saw more and that is a good thing.  I took one apart once and actually got it back together so it worked fine.  I felt good, and my fear of working on one was gone.

[Oldmansbike]

There is a 2 year old Excaliber on the Cedar Rapids Iowa craigslist for $500. It's been on there for 2 months. If I remember right it was in Donahue Iowa.

[Oldmansbike]

I just went back and looked at the ad. It's now $400 2 years old comes with stand and foot pedal and its in Donahue Iowa.

[OCtoolguy]

5 hours ago, JOE_M said:

Yea, watched all those videos months ago, took the saw apart and wasted many an hour playing with it. It's still loud.

Loud in what way? Mine is very quiet. I've got a type 1 that I bought used. It had a loud hammering noise when I got it but I found it to be the main drive crank nut was loose. After tightening that it quieted down immensely. But, I still did the bearing service and that helped a lot too. I haven't replaced any of the parts yet. That will come in the future. I'm in the process of acquiring all the necessary pieces and parts. Anyway..................

 

Ray

 

[JOE_M]

Loud as in it rattles/shakes at different speeds. I took it apart to check the nut that everyone seemed to be blaming it on, but there was nothing loose about it and nothing else seemed out of place.

Yes, I know all the cool kids are just pulling their saws apart and oiling things or replacing bearings on a monthly basis, but I'm not one of them. I still like the saw, it's just not as quiet as when I bought it. I'll use it until I can't and then I'll find one that's better made.

 

[OCtoolguy]

6 hours ago, JOE_M said:

Loud as in it rattles/shakes at different speeds. I took it apart to check the nut that everyone seemed to be blaming it on, but there was nothing loose about it and nothing else seemed out of place.

Yes, I know all the cool kids are just pulling their saws apart and oiling things or replacing bearings on a monthly basis, but I'm not one of them. I still like the saw, it's just not as quiet as when I bought it. I'll use it until I can't and then I'll find one that's better made.

 

Well, I guess I'm one of the cool kids then. I don't like things that don't work as they should. I DO enjoy fixing stuff too. If we lived closer to each other, I'd loan you my saw so that I could bring yours home and fix it. Nothing in my world is beyond repair.

 

Ray

 

[JOE_M]

It's not a question of fixing it, it's a question of why it needs fixing after just 2-3 years of hobby use. I just sold a 70 year old metal lathe with spindle bearings as smooth as the day it was made. My 20 year old lathe is still good. I just replaced the bearings on an 11 year old bandsaw because they were starting to get noisy. The bearings on a scrollsaw have zero load compared to a bandsaw, there's no reason for them to wear out that quick, and there's no reason the operator should have to dig it apart to do that level of repair after two years. I guess I'm just a grumpy old man, but I also think it's asinine that I'm expected to tear apart a machine to oil certain parts that should be properly lubed and preloaded at the factory. And I'm certainly not throwing money at it to replace parts that wear out that early. A properly installed sealed bearing in a scrollsaw should outlast me and not be considered a disposable item. 

 

[OCtoolguy]

56 minutes ago, JOE_M said:

It's not a question of fixing it, it's a question of why it needs fixing after just 2-3 years of hobby use. I just sold a 70 year old metal lathe with spindle bearings as smooth as the day it was made. My 20 year old lathe is still good. I just replaced the bearings on an 11 year old bandsaw because they were starting to get noisy. The bearings on a scrollsaw have zero load compared to a bandsaw, there's no reason for them to wear out that quick, and there's no reason the operator should have to dig it apart to do that level of repair after two years. I guess I'm just a grumpy old man, but I also think it's asinine that I'm expected to tear apart a machine to oil certain parts that should be properly lubed and preloaded at the factory. And I'm certainly not throwing money at it to replace parts that wear out that early. A properly installed sealed bearing in a scrollsaw should outlast me and not be considered a disposable item. 

 

Well, there are many ways to answer what you just wrote. The bottom line is though, nothing is made the way it used to be done. And, there are so many joints in a scroll saw as opposed to a bandsaw that there is no comparison. When you buy a piece of equipment today, you must plan on bringing it home and fixing what they didn't. Those Chinese are working their little fingers to the bone to turn out the crap that we are buying. Just as soon as we stop buying their crap, things might improve. Like I have said, I bought a used type 1 that was U.S. made. No problems at all with the exception of the main drive bolt coming loose after I don't know how much use. I used to have a shop full of good U.S. made equipment but when we sold out to go full time RV living, it all got sold. Now, my shop consists of mostly Harbor Freight stuff. I know in my mind when I buy it that i"m buying cheap. So, I'm not disappointed when I get it home and have to fix stuff. My bandsaw is a Chinese Delta. It can't compare to the old one I had but it is still not bad. I guess what it comes down to is this....if you have enough gold in your gold mine, then buy the best you can buy. Otherwise, you just put up with the occasional repair tasks. If your DW788 was as well built as you had hoped, it would not have been a $500 saw.

Ray

 

[hotshot]

On 9/5/2017 at 6:55 PM, Oldmansbike said:

I just went back and looked at the ad. It's now $400 2 years old comes with stand and foot pedal and its in Donahue Iowa.

$400, wow.  If you are close to that location, I think I might be camped out at their door.  Usually you can get an idea of the amount of use of a EX by the scratches on the table, but the table on that one looks untouched . . . . but by the pics, that might be because it has an aux table.  Call the guy, ask him how the saw is running/why he is selling it. He might even take $350.  Anyway, any modern black EX without issues is easily worth that.

------Randy

Edited September 7, 2017 by hotshot