dB noise level for scroll saws

[Deborah Sigel]

I'm looking to get a new scroll saw (to replace a 1980's Craftsman).  We've been replacing all our equipment with quieter systems, so I want to get something on the quieter side.  I'm looking at the Seyco, Pegas, and Dewalt...and maybe Excalibur.  Is there any data out there for dB level for these? Any owners want to use a phone noise level app and let me know what the approximate dB level is on your machine while cutting? 

 

Thanks!

[ScrollerGuy]

In my experience the loudest sound produced when scrolling is not from the machine itself, but from the blade cutting through the wood. Sounds aren't additive when measuring decibels. If you have 2 saws (not cutting) running at 80 decibels each, the measured sound would only be 83 decibels. So, unless your machine is extremely loud, it won't make a noticeable difference in the overall sound you hear when cutting. Making up numbers here, 100 decibels from cutting and 80 decibels from the machine itself wouldn't sound like 180 decibels, which is insanely loud and painful. 

The above statement is solely from my experience and the results of an internet search. Others with more knowledge on the subject may say otherwise. 

I wondered about this in the past and your post gave me the motivation to investigate the answer. Thanks.

Edited July 30 by ScrollerGuy

[Bill WIlson]

All of the saws you list are of a similar design, using a double parallel link drive system.  I don't think there would be much difference in the noise level among those saws.  They are fairly quiet when running, but as ScrollerGuy notes, the noise will increase when you actually start cutting.  That noise level will be determined by the material being cut and perhaps the blade being used, so there are variables in play, beyond the sound of the saw itself.  Just my opinion as I've not measured the dB levels.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

All scrollsaws are in the 70 to 90 dB range. To compare talking normally is about 60dB. Will a scrollsaw affect hearing loss? yes it could if you saw for long periods of time. best to use ear protection. Can you make a saw quieter? yes to some extent but not much. Solid base or rubber mat under the saw can take away some noise. As mentioned speed of the saw will affect noise as well as materials being cut. But to me the biggest noise producer is when people hook up shop vacs to them. that raises the noise level to dangerous levels even for small periods of time. hearing protection is definetly needed and should be used in a work shop anyway along with eye protection. 

[BadBob]

83db is two times as loud as 80db. It is a logarithmic scale.

Using the Android app opeNoise (recommended) positioned where my head would be when cutting, my old Taiwan-made EX-21 runs at 14dbA. Sitting in front of my computer doing nothing is 4dbA, and typing is about 10dbA.

I think that you would have a hard time finding a scroll saw that would be quieter than this.

It would be interesting to have others do this test and see what they get for their saw.

 

[kmmcrafts]

Oh Boy.. There would be way too many factors into this question I don't see it possible to get a accurate reading from a wide range of people.. First and foremost you'd have to start with the saw set-up and tuning. If I adjust my Excalibur to cut more aggressively it gets louder.. same saw different set-up.. not to mention whether or not the saws stand it planted firmly to the floor.. a slight vibration will create a louder noise from the saw.. I don't see any practical way to really measure the sound. Just my opinion.  

[Scrappile]

I would not worry about the sound of a scroll saw.  Probably the quietest electrical tool in the shop.  The problem is dust collection.  The only way I know to make that quiet is to have it in another room.

Welcome to the forum. 

[BadBob]

53 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

Oh Boy.. There would be way too many factors into this question I don't see it possible to get a accurate reading from a wide range of people.. First and foremost you'd have to start with the saw set-up and tuning. If I adjust my Excalibur to cut more aggressively it gets louder.. same saw different set-up.. not to mention whether or not the saws stand it planted firmly to the floor.. a slight vibration will create a louder noise from the saw.. I don't see any practical way to really measure the sound. Just my opinion.  

You are right; there are many variables. My saw is tuned to the least aggressive setting, and the speed is adjusted for the slightest vibration. I have owned four scroll saws, none of which made any appreciable noise unless something was wrong. AMT, RBI Hawk, EX-21, and Pegas. All of them were on metal stands with wheels.

If I were going to try to reduce noise, I would look at something else. I wear ear muffs when cutting—not for the saw but for the vacuum I use for dust collection.

This got me curious, and I made some measurements in my shop.

• Ambient Noise: 4dbA
• Drill press with Sanding Mop 35dbA
• Shopsmith Belt Sander on Power Stand 40dbA
• Delta 1-inch belt sander 40dbA
• 12-inch Hitachi Miter Saw 65dbA
• Shopsmith Bandsaw On Shopsmith 38dbA
• Harbor Freight Bauer Orbital Sander Mounted in a vise 55dbA
• Vacuum w/muffler and separator attached 44.5dbA
• Delta dust collector 40dbA
• Drill Press Grizzly With bit installed 28dbA
• Dremel In Drill press stand. 35dbA
• Bosh Battery Powered Drill 35dbA

The 14dbA generated by my scroll saw isn't loud enough to be a factor.

[OCtoolguy]

Of my 3 saws, the Hegner is the quietest. 

[hotshot]

On 7/28/2024 at 7:31 AM, Deborah Sigel said:

......dB level is on your machine while cutting? 

Both my EX and King are quiet like sewing machines, until that blade touches the wood, then it really depends on the speed and thickness of the material.  I suppose you could turn down the speed to reduce the noise levels.  For me personally, the sound doesn't bother me, it's part of the immersive experience of it all.  Compared to my table saw, planner, jointer, impact driver, drills, sawzall,and most other powered tools in my shop, the scroll saws are super quiet.

That said, we had a shaking dremel "motoshop" as a kid, the one with the thin metal table and round sander disk on the side.  That sucker was so loud you could not think.

 

 

Edited July 30 by hotshot

[Deborah Sigel]

5 hours ago, BadBob said:

You are right; there are many variables. My saw is tuned to the least aggressive setting, and the speed is adjusted for the slightest vibration. I have owned four scroll saws, none of which made any appreciable noise unless something was wrong. AMT, RBI Hawk, EX-21, and Pegas. All of them were on metal stands with wheels.

If I were going to try to reduce noise, I would look at something else. I wear ear muffs when cutting—not for the saw but for the vacuum I use for dust collection.

This got me curious, and I made some measurements in my shop.

• Ambient Noise: 4dbA
• Drill press with Sanding Mop 35dbA
• Shopsmith Belt Sander on Power Stand 40dbA
• Delta 1-inch belt sander 40dbA
• 12-inch Hitachi Miter Saw 65dbA
• Shopsmith Bandsaw On Shopsmith 38dbA
• Harbor Freight Bauer Orbital Sander Mounted in a vise 55dbA
• Vacuum w/muffler and separator attached 44.5dbA
• Delta dust collector 40dbA
• Drill Press Grizzly With bit installed 28dbA
• Dremel In Drill press stand. 35dbA
• Bosh Battery Powered Drill 35dbA

The 14dbA generated by my scroll saw isn't loud enough to be a factor.

Which scroll saw model did you measure at 14dBa?

Agreed on all the tuning to reduce vibration. 

Some background:  I'm a mechanical engineer, which is why I love data.  We're slowly replacing all our tools and appliances with quieter ones, in part to make them safer for kids (and adults).  We just switched our dust collection to a Harvey gyroair, which is (for some settings) quieter than our prior cyclonic system.  I wear hearing protection pretty much all the time in the shop, even when hand carving.

 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

1 minute ago, Deborah Sigel said:

Which scroll saw model did you measure at 14dBa?

Agreed on all the tuning to reduce vibration. 

Some background:  I'm a mechanical engineer, which is why I love data.  We're slowly replacing all our tools and appliances with quieter ones, in part to make them safer for kids (and adults).  We just switched our dust collection to a Harvey gyroair, which is (for some settings) quieter than our prior cyclonic system.  I wear hearing protection pretty much all the time in the shop, even when hand carving.

 

All well and good as long as the kids do not listen to their music with earbuds and turned way up. I see this all the time and not good because kids think they are invincible. 

[Deborah Sigel]

7 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

Oh Boy.. There would be way too many factors into this question I don't see it possible to get a accurate reading from a wide range of people.. First and foremost you'd have to start with the saw set-up and tuning. If I adjust my Excalibur to cut more aggressively it gets louder.. same saw different set-up.. not to mention whether or not the saws stand it planted firmly to the floor.. a slight vibration will create a louder noise from the saw.. I don't see any practical way to really measure the sound. Just my opinion.  

In a pinch I use an (uncalibrated) phone Ap called Decibel X.  Any dB measurement is also super sensitive to distance from the noise source.

[Deborah Sigel]

6 minutes ago, hotshot said:

Both my EX and King are quiet like sewing machines, until that blade touches the wood, then it really depends on the speed and thickness of the material.  I suppose you could. turn down the speed and reduce the noise levels.  For me personally, the sound doesn't bother me, it's part of the immersive experience of it all. 

That said, we had a shaking dremel "motoshop" as a kid, the one with the thin metal table and round sander disk on the side.  That sucker was so loud you could not think.

 

 

My basis of comparison is a Craftsman that liked to grab the wood and slap it repeatedly against the base plate while energetically walking itself off the table.  So glad to not have that anymore.

[Deborah Sigel]

7 hours ago, BadBob said:

83db is two times as loud as 80db. It is a logarithmic scale.

Using the Android app opeNoise (recommended) positioned where my head would be when cutting, my old Taiwan-made EX-21 runs at 14dbA. Sitting in front of my computer doing nothing is 4dbA, and typing is about 10dbA.

I think that you would have a hard time finding a scroll saw that would be quieter than this.

It would be interesting to have others do this test and see what they get for their saw.

 

Thanks!

[kmmcrafts]

2 hours ago, Deborah Sigel said:

In a pinch I use an (uncalibrated) phone Ap called Decibel X.  Any dB measurement is also super sensitive to distance from the noise source.

I totally understand the app as I have used it in the past to find what vacuum dust collection system would work best for my needs that was affordable.. You see there comes a point and time where rather than buy the most quite can get way overpriced when comparing it to say... a set of noise canceling headphones or something along those lines.

My whole point of my last reply was not to do with the app.. but more to do with the fact that everyone's saw and stand set up is going to be different and asking what the quietest one is is going to be subjective to their set up.. Like I said.. I have a Excalibur that depending on my saw set up can run very loud or very quest same saw different set-up... so my point was.. you may find many different answers on the subject from people all with the same saw... the only "real way" I can see you get this info is to buy several saws and then set them up how you like to cut and run the test.. because asking everyone here is going to net a wide variety of answers because not everyone sets up their saws the same way.. and has been mentioned.. the material you're cutting and the blade choice used is likely going to be louder than the saw itself.. at least of the 8-10 different saws I've had and used over the years this would be the case.. all the saws I've had are very quiet like a sewing machine until you start cutting. Not to mention that many saws start out new very quiet and as they get older and start to wear out they get pretty darn noisey when the grease in the bearings start to dissipate and you end up with knocking sounds and whatnot. 

Of all the saws I have had my 3 Hawks and Hegner are the quietest. The Hawks air puffer ( bellows ) blowing air is louder than the rest of the saw.. you can hear the air puffing out the hose more than the motor or mechanics of the saw.. so my Hegner is also that way.. The Excalibur is pretty darn quiet but not that quiet.. again.. the actual cutting is what is noisey.. and no two blades sound the same against various materials.. and even same wood materials as wood grain and moisture content also plays a role in the sound.. hard and soft spots in the wood as you cut make louder or softer sounds.. 

If you're worried about protecting kids ears then I suggest investing in some earplugs or something along those lines.. and worry more about that fine sawdust that the saw creates while cutting that goes airborne.  

 

[OCtoolguy]

2 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

All well and good as long as the kids do not listen to their music with earbuds and turned way up. I see this all the time and not good because kids think they are invincible. 

As did I when I was a hot-rodding teen and loved to listen to the loud engines. I recall Art Arfons and his jet dragster. I loved how that thing would rattle my eardrums. I sold tools in noisy garages and body shops for almost 40 years too. I now wear hearing aids but so does everybody I know. Except my wife who claims to have "immaculate conception" grade hearing. Except when I speak to her. LOL.

[BadBob]

12 hours ago, Deborah Sigel said:

Which scroll saw model did you measure at 14dBa?

The EX-21 was 14dbA. It is an older black scroll saw made in Taiwan that I bought used several years ago. It has been completely rebuilt with Seyco parts.

[BadBob]

12 hours ago, Deborah Sigel said:

Any dB measurement is also super sensitive to distance from the noise source.

There is an inverse square law. In short, double the distance will reduce the sound level by half. That is why I tried to make my measurements where my head would be when using the tool.

[rash_powder]

My dust collector uses a draft inducer fan from a furnace for a vacuum source.  They are quite quiet, as you don't want something terribly loud in your furnace.  It sits about 3 feet from my Hegner.  The fan is louder than my saw is.

If sound is really important to you, as it sounds, some simple sound deflectors and shields can be made to block or redirect the sound.  In my case, I could quite easily stand/lean a piece of 1/4" plywood between me and my 'vac' and it would effectively block a lot of that sound.  

As mentioned before, though, you will likely find that the blade moving through the wood is the main noise source.  I quite often cut poplar that 'sings' or shrieks horribly.  Maybe swapping the table for a piece of HDPE would help with that sound, but really the easiest I have found is noise canceling ear buds (mine are JLB, not extremely expensive either) under ear muffs.