Starting out

[grimesy]

Hi, I'm Dave in England. A friend of mine (in Australia) got me interested. I haven't even got a saw yet! Any tips? I was looking at the silverline 282593 on Amazon (about £50). My mate also suggested a dual blade holder set. In England there doesn't seem to be many wood/craft stores. Where is a good place to buy the basics (even the wood!)?

 

Many Thanks

[tyke]

Hi Dave, like you I am in England [Doncaster area] have just ordered saw SIP01373 from aktive tools.com £84.50 vat and pp inclusive takes pinned and straight blades.From what my research has found the £50 range machines are made in China and badged for differant stores also got bad reviews for doing serious work,although good for balsa or thin woods.Itoo am having trouble finding supplies but have only just started looking really.Should have delivery of saw tuesday/wednesday will then be able to give verdict but having nothing to compare it with don't know how much this is worth.Good luck in your search hope it takes less time than mine did.

[Travis]

We have a few members from the UK. Hopefully they'll be able to chime in and help you out. We should compile a list of UK suppliers. I think a list like that would be really helpful. Hrmmmm....

[countrycrafts]

Hi Guys I am in Hull started 18 months ago never looked back,If you can aford £270-00 Axminster is the best place to look. They do two I have the variable speed one, it is a clone of the hedgner, I find it great.You will hear about Baltic ply on the US forums and it drove me mad trying to find it, then I found out that the Latvian ply is the same as longe as it's birch through out.Apnald lavers Supply it.The name is Axminster Power Tools.Mal

By the way are they Jack Russels I have a Borderwhich I am trying to get ratting but not b een able to contact any one with experianced dogs

[blame]

hey guys and welcome to forum i havent been on the forums much lately but its good to be back been really busy trying to stay up with RL anyway i took the time to do a quick search for the basics in the uk area

 

Pinned blades

Pinless blades

 

wow you guys are kinda short on suppliers over there making blades expensive

 

source for ply of all kinds Here Edens

another source for hardwoods softwoods and ply Here Latham timber ltd

Online retailer Online timber sales UK

 

for other basic tools i like to have on hand is a bit of furniture grade wax, a 6" random orbital sander(ROS for short), assortment of 6" sanding disks from 32 to 600 grits, assortment of sanding mops, spray adhesive i get mine at walmart, elmers brand,contact paper works really good for applying patterns to, a small set of needle files, a small pick comes in handy to remove smaller pieces from your project

[grimesy]

Cheers for all the tips. It's good to know there are people to ask.

 

Tyke - please let me know how the SIP 01373 goes. It looks good - does it accept pinned and non-pinned?

 

Blame - out of interest what does RL stand for?

[tyke]

Hi Grimesy according to aktivetools.com the SIP takes both types of blade.After many hours of trawling web comparing and reading various reviews on many differant models this was the only one which actually did state this.Imailed several sites to ask which blades a particular saw used did not get one reply,so much for the recession,they are obviously making enough profit without having to deal with customers.Sorry to go on about this but in wy humble opinion size and type of blade used should be just as relevant as throat depth motor size etc.Even manufacturers cannot be bothered to put details on their specs.Right Iam going to get a glass of wine now and calm down.Will post what Ithink of the SIP when it arrives.

[blame]

Blame - out of interest what does RL stand for?

 

hi grimesy RL is short for Real Life

[Travis]

... size and type of blade used should be just as relevant as throat depth motor size etc...

 

This is absolutely true. In the States, however, most scroll saws take pinnless blades. If it only takes pinned blades, I'd look elsewhere as you won't be able to do much of the fine fretwork scroll saws are known fore. Also, 5 inch length blades seems to be the standard. I'd imagine its stated in metric in your neck of the woods. The US seems to have trouble with metric whereas the rest of the world does not . I also find it a standard practice of most companies not to reply to inquiries, which baffles me. Lucky for us, there are online communities there to answer some of the questions corporations feel there is no need for answering.

[amazingkevin]

wwelcome dave