Help needed finding a scroll saw to cut metal with.

[hotshot]

8 hours ago, loftyhermes said:

My old Deltas (40-560 and 40-540) have a solid metal link bar at the back of the arms that keep them in position and will drive the arms whether a blade is fitted or not,

Oh, very interesting.  Pick up some 4/0 Jeweler blades, crank the speed, and see how it does.  I would be very interested to see how this works.

[Roberta Moreton]

You can get Flying Dutchman metal cutting blades. 

[Patrice Lemée]

Thanks again all for the additional info, much appreciated.

Hotshot, I got the quotes for the saws:

King KXL-16: 700$ (805$ including tax)

King XL-21/100: 1000$ (1150$ including tax)

The guys says that the pieces come from China and are assembled in the US. No idea how accurate that is.

I saw you video, thanks. But even if both work would you suggest the larger one still?

[Patrice Lemée]

https://www.kingcanada.com/en/products/woodworking/scroll-saws/

You can see both models here. The larger ones says Excelsior. Again not sure if this is just the pics for the website and if it means anything that the labeling is not the same for the smaller one.

[teachnlearn]

30 minutes ago, Patrice Lemée said:

Thanks again all for the additional info, much appreciated.

Hotshot, I got the quotes for the saws:

King KXL-16: 700$ (805$ including tax)

King XL-21/100: 1000$ (1150$ including tax)

The guys says that the pieces come from China and are assembled in the US. No idea how accurate that is.

I saw you video, thanks. But even if both work would you suggest the larger one still?

Think shop space, that that much each way, but some. Think is it possible you would ever go to larger projects.  The large one will cut small crafts, can't reverse it. If you have kept to small crafts for years and never intend to go larger projects, easy decision. My theory of tools and machines is to get the best and that largest I can afford to fit into the shop. I'm 62 and still work with tools that I bought when I was 16. I invest in lifetime tools. Getting harder to do, unless I shop industrial equipment  i always do a lot of research and think of what i will with the equipment now and in the future. I see you have done the research. Its one style of buying. I design and over build. Don't like cheap throw away equipment or anything. I would rather repair then throw out. From boards like this and other reviews, you can get an idea of scroll saw flaws and how long its lasted for scrolllers.  RJF.

Edited December 9, 2019 by teachnlearn

[hotshot]

1 hour ago, Patrice Lemée said:

https://www.kingcanada.com/en/products/woodworking/scroll-saws/

You can see both models here. The larger ones says Excelsior. Again not sure if this is just the pics for the website and if it means anything that the labeling is not the same for the smaller one.

Patrice, this is hard question and I don't know how meaningful that price difference will be for you.  I have both sizes and I prefer the larger because for the reason I gave prior, but I don't know if that irritation is worth the price difference for you.  If you go with the 16, you will settle into a "Rythm" of changing/tensioning the blades.  If you cut  a huge amount of volume, it might be worth it to go larger, and some day you might want to try to cut something large.

If the cost of either of these saws is going to "hurt", in your position I would probably look for a used DW788 to see if you are really going to want to do this.  The tensioning mechanism is adjustable, and found it trivial to set the correct tension, and faster than on the 16".  There are a lot of Dewalt users out there using Jeweler blades.  There are a few positives and negatives about the Dewalt, but I liked the one I had.  I sold it because I ran out of room . . . and had "Five" scrollsaws stealing my space.

[Patrice Lemée]

1 hour ago, teachnlearn said:

Think shop space, that that much each way, but some. Think is it possible you would ever go to larger projects.  The large one will cut small crafts, can't reverse it. If you have kept to small crafts for years and never intend to go larger projects, easy decision. My theory of tools and machines is to get the best and that largest I can afford to fit into the shop. I'm 62 and still work with tools that I bought when I was 16. I invest in lifetime tools. Getting harder to do, unless I shop industrial equipment  i always do a lot of research and think of what i will with the equipment now and in the future. I see you have done the research. Its one style of buying. I design and over build. Don't like cheap throw away equipment or anything. I would rather repair then throw out. From boards like this and other reviews, you can get an idea of scroll saw flaws and how long its lasted for scrolllers.  RJF.

Thanks RJF, I agree with you on buying quality. Like you say, harder and harder to do nowadays unless you go into the industrial aka big$ which is where I am at having most of the more basic stuff. Shop space is at a premium too (wait till you see my shop) but I think that the different in size here is not that meaningful. Since the quality is also most likely the same I was asking solely based on performance based design.

7 minutes ago, hotshot said:

Patrice, this is hard question and I don't know how meaningful that price difference will be for you.  I have both sizes and I prefer the larger because for the reason I gave prior, but I don't know if that irritation is worth the price difference for you.  If you go with the 16, you will settle into a "Rythm" of changing/tensioning the blades.  If you cut  a huge amount of volume, it might be worth it to go larger, and some day you might want to try to cut something large.

If the cost of either of these saws is going to "hurt", in your position I would probably look for a used DW788 to see if you are really going to want to do this.  The tensioning mechanism is adjustable, and found it trivial to set the correct tension, and faster than on the 16".  There are a lot of Dewalt users out there using Jeweler blades.  There are a few positives and negatives about the Dewalt, but I liked the one I had.  I sold it because I ran out of room . . . and had "Five" scrollsaws stealing my space.

Thanks Hotshop. Even if play money is not unlimited, purchasing either of these is something I can do (just have to wait a little longer after for the next purchase). I won't be cutting a huge amount but still snapping additional blades (cause I'll snap a bunch in regular use for sure) would be an irritant that I would like to avoid. But then again like I said with the amount I cut if the actual cutting is no different is it worth it? sigh Analysis paralysis...lol.

[loftyhermes]

On 12/7/2019 at 4:03 PM, hotshot said:

Oh, very interesting.  Pick up some 4/0 Jeweler blades, crank the speed, and see how it does.  I would be very interested to see how this works.

When I get some blades I will give it a go. The main problem with turning up the speed when cutting metal will be the heat generated destroying the blades so the speed might have to be kept low but I'll certainly give it a go sometime.

[kmmcrafts]

You might also check for the newer model Delta saw... very much the same set-up as a DeWalt but lower priced..

[Patrice Lemée]

Thanks KMM

On a side note I posted a few more pics in an introduction post for those who asked.

[teachnlearn]

22 hours ago, Patrice Lemée said:

Thanks RJF, I agree with you on buying quality. Like you say, harder and harder to do nowadays unless you go into the industrial aka big$ which is where I am at having most of the more basic stuff. Shop space is at a premium too (wait till you see my shop) but I think that the different in size here is not that meaningful. Since the quality is also most likely the same I was asking solely based on performance based design.

Thanks Hotshop. Even if play money is not unlimited, purchasing either of these is something I can do (just have to wait a little longer after for the next purchase). I won't be cutting a huge amount but still snapping additional blades (cause I'll snap a bunch in regular use for sure) would be an irritant that I would like to avoid. But then again like I said with the amount I cut if the actual cutting is no different is it worth it? sigh Analysis paralysis...lol.

If you haven't seen the design before, look at rotating or flip tables. They are design to have a machine on both sides. One on top and another stored underneath. Then flip to the other machine when needed. Helps on shop space. Also seen a lazy susan setup that had 4 machines on a plywood circle against a wall. Each machine was rotated to the front. Heavy duty shop cart wheel frames that go under heavy machines, they can be dropped down or raised on the wheels to move out of the way. RJF

[kmmcrafts]

3 hours ago, Patrice Lemée said:

Thanks KMM

On a side note I posted a few more pics in an introduction post for those who asked.

Thanks for letting me know.. I'll check it out.. I've been so busy lately I haven't been keeping up with the messages..