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This reminds me of a couple of churches my daddy pastored. I enjoyed cutting this pattern by @Whitley WoodWorks

I wanted a quick project to try out my Hegner so I whipped this out. From a Steve Good pattern. I asked him to include a palm tree for me to fit our "beach" decor. Sadly, the brand of tissue that Barb uses is an oddball size box. Who knew? Puffs is about 1/8" bigger in one direction. I'm still lacking in knowledge of staining. I wanted it darker. Oh well...maybe next time it will fit and be the right color.

Hi Aberdeen. First of all welcome to the Village. Lots of friendly folks to give you advice. I'd give you some myself but what the heck do I know. Oh well, I'll give it a try. Please do not limit yourself to puzzles. After a few puzzles you may find you want to try something else. Any scroll saw can cut puzzles, even the most basic saws. A good saw will open a huge horizon of possibilities for your enjoyment. You should get lots of opinions here.

I have a number of foot switches. Three were rehostat for speed controllers on my three watchmaker lathes. The motors had brushes and could be reversed. Those foot controllers drove me nuts. When consentrating on what I was doing my foot would get lazy and allow the rpms to drop. Very frustrating although the controllers were an industry standard for nearly ever. Perhaps it's just me bit I did not like it. I switched to HF router controllers and on/off foot switches.

Hi Aberdeen, welcome to the Village! This is one of those questions that always gets a lot of answers. Since your interest is in puzzles, just about any scroll saw will get the job done. However, if you are looking for a quality saw that gives you a quality cut and is durable, there are a lot of choices. I would stay away from the 16” saws that can use pinned and pin-less blades as they require adapters to mount pin-less blades, which is what you will want to use. Also, the quality and durability of these saws are not the best. On the high end, there is Hegner and Buston Hawk. Both of theses brands will last you a life time and provide a pleasant scrolling experience, but are not economic. In the middle, there are many saws that will serve you well. The Delta and DeWALT saws are very good saws. Both are user friendly and will serve you well. Unfortunately, both saws use inferior berings that need to be replaced after an extended period of use. If this is just a hobby, they will last many years without service. If you are looking to cut full time, I would consider the next class of saws. These include the Excalibur type of saws commonly referred to as EX type. These include Excalibur EX1, King, Pegas and Seyco. All these saws are made in the same factory in Taiwan except for the Excalibur EX1 which is made in China. I would stay away from this one as it dose not meet the Same quality standards as the Taiwan made saws. All the above saws except for the 16” saws have segmented air hoses which stay in place when cutting and usually provide enough air to blow the dust off of the cutting line. As far as lights staying in place, none of the recommended saws come with a light as lighting is always up to the user. Changing blades is always one of the most important features of a saw. As I said earlier, the 16” saws use adapters to use pin- end blades. In order to cut puzzles, you need to use a very small numbered blade. Pinned blade are very large. For puzzles you want to use a 2/0 or 3/0 blade. Pinned end blades don’t come in this small of a blade. All of the middle and above saws come with durable tables. now, what do I recommend? Remember, you are going to get a lot of recommendations. I used DeWALT saws for over twenty years. I went through three of them. If they were a more durable saw, I would stick with it as that’s what I have been used too. I purchased a Pegas saw at the beginning of the year, and I love it. As with all the EX type saws, the arm tilts rather than the table tilting. Comes with The Pegas blade clamps which are far superior than any of the other EX saws. While this is a relatively newer saw, the durability hasn’t been tested yet, but appears to be a very durable saw.

Some of the elders of this village told me to watch craigs lists for a good used one. I was watching for the 3 top brands, Hegner, RBI Hawk, Seyco. This was just 3 or 4 months ago. I ended up getting a RBI hawk for 400.00. This was to replace the entry level scroll saw i bought from lowes. I was getting frustrated with cheap saw that could not hold blades. It was good advice to get wait for a good brand. I won't grow out of. In the 4 months, maybe 5 months I purposely tried several projects... Intarsia (butterfly and humming birds, flower), bowls, and I did a couple of handles for can lid openers. I am working on a bowl type project right now. Bowls are fun.

I've heard of it from somewhere but never actually seen any or any reviews.. I can see it being a problem when a good song come on the radio though

My favorites are the DeWalt and the EX 21 sold by Seyco some years back. The DeWalt has excellent blade tension, critical for puzzles. A tight blade and a credit card can be used to square the blade to the table. The EX 21 has a tilt head and good tension on the blade, and is slightly more adjustable for cut aggression. Both these saws would be in the Used market. Both can be repaired or rebuilt as required, and both are sturdy enough to hold up for many years. There are others in the new market, and some better liked then the older saws. Have fum.

This was my first band saw box. I made it for my Mom. I asked her what she wanted for Christmas one year,, she said "not a thing". So in the drawer of the box I wrote on a little card, "Not A Thing". She's been gone now for 3 years.... The Good ol' days.

This is a fairly new cut,, but my Dad in the pic has been gone for 8 years,,,,, Good ol' day's.

And with Jello, you have to cut real fast in hot weather. Larry

Time for a landscape scroll project. My sister reminded me that back in ’68 that the family visited Lichtenstein castle for my parent’s 25th anniversary. It’s located south of Stuttgart and is still privately owned. It has some elements that are similar to Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria and would make an interesting project. My wife and I had just finished a 1K piece puzzle of this castle. The puzzle was square and included lots of vegetation and didn’t add to the design so I decided to try something I hadn’t done before. I wanted to do an oval picture and frame. I've made an ellipsograph and looped string method but MS 3D paint has an option to use a 2D circle tool on the pattern that can be stretched to make an ellipse. That was the easy part. I found a very good video on Youtube to make an oval frame. It involved using lots of tools in the shop. I used a 6’ ¾” x 6” piece of poplar and cut into 4 segments and mitered at 45 degrees. I needed to make a template on the scroll saw (#7 blade ) I also used my router to make assorted detail edge cuts. The attached video was very helpful. The plaque was 1/8 BBPW with ¼” black acrylic paint. Finish was semi-gloss lacquer. https://www.castlesworld.com/castles/lichtenstein-castle.php https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6WkzRH-Up8&t=31s

I thought I would try this pattern.

Finished this one today, 1/2" sanded ply.....wedding gift....thanks for looking

I do run much slower saw speed these days for two reasons.. The saws top speed is 250 -350 spm. slower than the old DW saws are.. and the second reason is the Pegas blades just work much better for me.. I like sawing at a faster rate if I can and the FD blades are slower cutting so I find myself "pushing" the blade through.. even at higher saw speeds. For me staying on the lines and making nice smooth cuts work best at higher saw speeds and nice sharp blades. I find slower saw speeds makes for turning sharp 90's etc. hard to do.. Some of the fast saw speed comfort level for me might have to do with my first saw being a single speed at 1700 spm. so that is how I learned to cut and control the blade at higher speeds.. didn't have a choice, LOL Ran that old Delta for 2-3 years too.. LOL A good sharp blade, a tuned saw, and feed rate are more important than the saws speed.. you can burn cherry very easily with a dull blade at 200-400 spm.. if you're trying to force the wood through.. so more important than saw speed is a nice sharp blade and correct feed rate. Since going to Pegas MG blades I never have any burning issue.

If I did it I would brag about it,,,, but omit telling that I didn't measure the box first.... Looks very nice..

I see you live in Kansas. We have a few members from Kansas but if you could connect with Scrollsaw703 (Brad) he is a master scroller specializing in Native American art. He uses a Hawk saw and is very knowledgeable. My sage words of advice will include to watch the Craigslist & Marketplace ads for a used saw. As for which one, the list that I would look at would include Dewalt 788, Delta (the Dewalt clone), certain Excalibur's, certain Hawks, Seyco, Jet (?), and Hegner. There are things to know about each of these saws that require you asking us about if you find one that you are interested in. In my case, I have not bought any new saws but I have 3 of the best saws ever made with a very small investment. I'm a "wheeler-dealer". I love to buy & sell. You have come to the right place for advice & information because we have members from all walks of life and from all over the world. Virtually every brand & model of saw is being used by someone on this forum so you will get your questions answered and in a timely manner. Best of luck.

Its on Hegners website. But here is a video WWW.HEGNER.COM It is not in USA.

Stay away from anything that uses pin end blades. Why? Because blade selection will be very limited. My first saw had pined blades, but it only took me a few weeks before I upgraded to use pinless blades. I used this saw for years until I picked up a use RBI Hawk for $100 that needed a little TLC. I make a lot of toys with this saw. Cutting fretwork was a challenge because the blade changes took so long. I think it cut as good or better than both of my current saws. With the right blade and hardwood, I could get smooth glass cuts. I only got rid of it after I picked up a used Excalibur EX21 because I stumbled across a video describing how easy it was to do interior cuts. Fast blade change was a game-changer for me. I had recently started selling some of my creations, and time is money. I gave the AMT saw to a friend, and it is still in use today. The only problem I ever had with it was the blower that came with it was junk, but an aquarium pump quickly took care of that. It is the only new saw I ever purchased. I think a used scroll saw the way to go if they are available. Used scroll saws are rare in my area, but I keep searches running all the time on Crags List and Facebook Market Place just in case something interesting pops up nearby. I some areas, used saws are for sale all the time. Test it as best you can before you buy, and be prepared to spend a little on the saw after you get it. An older scroll saw that has been sitting for a while might need a little TLC. I spent about $100 on upgrades and replacement parts for my RBI Hawk. If you can't work on the, saw yourself is the only reason I can think of not buying used. Paying someone to upgrade or repair your saw would negate any savings you get from buying used.

Welcome to the Village. Many have given you the basics on the primary saws to consider.As Ray, Octoolguy, noted to help you zero in on the best saw for your budget, we would need to know what the budget is. What one person can afford to spend on a saw, versus another can vary greatly. Also, as also pointed out, how frequently and how much daily you think you are going to use it can also impact recommendations. Many of us are hobiest and don't cut everyday, or don't cut for hours and hours on end. Others do cut everyday and for hours at a time. The saw that works for each of those may not be the same. Finally, since you mention you want to get one to start to cut "puzzles" there are some key things you need to learn to do to make sure you are cutting a puzzle that can be put back together. Couple of keys is that you want to use a blade that doesn't remove too much kerf as Dan pointed out. This means the thinner and smaller the blade the better. However, you also need to make sure you are cutting square which means among other things, you are not "pushing" the wood into the blade, but letting the blade cut the wood. You will also want to make sure that you are properly tensioning the blade. Any flex to the blade and you will not be able to cut the pieces square. Being square is extremely important in cutting puzzles because if you are not, you will find you cannot take the puzzle apart and/or put it back together. Pieces will not fit and slide back in forth in both directions. The puzzles you indicated you are looking to cut, you said almost solely jigsaw puzzles under 1/2" thick - but you didn't say exactly what type of puzzles beyond that. There are lots of different types of puzzles cut with a scroll saw. Some are true, thin picture style puzzles that lay flat and have a few or many pieces while others are thicker "object" puzzles like animal puzzles like @Iguanadon Iggy (Scott) cuts and sells. Knowing what type of puzzles you are wanting to cut can also help people give you the bst help and advise.

Hi Aberdeen and welcome. For you first post, you've chosen a big one. There is probably as many reasons to chose a particular saw as there are members on this forum. Each member has his own reasons for the saw they like. I've only been scrolling for a couple months. I started with an entry level WEN 3922. I wanted to find out if this would enjoy the hobby. This saw only has a 16 inch throat and the upper arm is stationary. (Just a note, this is a pin or pinless saw) If I would have waited a few months the WEN LL2156 scroll saw hit the market and I would have purchased it. This saw has a 21 inch throat, the upper arm lifts and the table is much larger. My little WEN is very stable since I've made and mounted it on a solid stand. I can't say anything about the Delta, DeWalt, King, Excalibur or any other saws but again, many members here have their reason for liking them, or disliking them. I have been looking to upgrade and I've narrowed it down to three saws. The Seyco, the Pegas and the Jet. The Seyco has a nice large table with an optional protective cover and the stand is an integrated part of the saw. The Pegas is well know for its superior blade clamps but the stand is an option. The table on the Pegas is smaller than the Seyco but they do have a larger table that is optional. The Jet has a unique blade clamp that clamps and tensions the blade in the same movement. The bottom clamping system on the Jet makes this pretty much a bottom feed only saw. All three of these saws are in the neighborhood of $800 to $1,000 depending on the accessories you buy. To say saw "X" is the saw for you is impossible. You have to figure what would work best for you. With me, it was a saw where the upper arm will lift to make it easier to feed blades through the project, a deeper throat, a larger table, excellent customer service and a good warranty. The Seyco and Pegas saws have a 2 year warranty whereas the Jet has a 5 year warranty. Hope my rant was helpful. I can only suggest is to take everyone's advice and decide what would work best for you. And as one member mentioned in his post, don't limit yourself to thinking you will only cut puzzles. The scroll saw is a pretty versatile machine and can create beautiful projects and art. Check out some of the work members have posted on this forum. I think you'll be very impressed.

Welcome to the Village!!

It might help to know your budget. Oh, and welcome to the Village.

Hello everyone, I am new to this site and am reaching out to you all with experience. Which brand of scroll saw to purchase? Any advice for me? I will be using it almost solely for wooden jigsaw puzzle cutting, under ½ inch thick. I want quality but can’t be too out of budget. A machine I can learn on but wont grow out of in a year. I’ve read complaints from others on the internet about random things like: table sturdiness, tilt ability, lights that don’t stay put from vibration, air blowers that hardly blow, speed, noise, blade change features etc. You name it. I just want to know what you all think; especially you puzzle makers out there! Cheers!

Hello from AZ !! I have been scrolling off and on for probably 30 years and got into wood carving about 15 years ago. Now because of some arthritis issues I have decided to just scroll saw. I have an interest in doing portraits , and just finished my first pattern of my grandson when he was a baby. I have a DeWalt DW788 version 1, and also an old Dremel that I mainly use for straight cuts. I look forward to meeting all of you.

The family tree is roughly 20x12 inches. It's made from 1/4" cherry, with 5mm ply backer. It uses the same ply painted black for the strips that hold it all together. Sheila Landry design. The dragon is 9x5.5 inches, from 1/4" curly maple, with a 5mm ply backer. Both were cut with Olson #2/0R blades.

Steve Good pattern, I believe. Not a difficult cut, just time consuming...and we've got one of our daughter's friends staying with us for the week, so instead of one moody 12-year-old, now there's two giggly 12-year-olds with no volume control. LOL Pattern called for 1/4" bbply, I used a piece of 1x8 I had left over from building the tortoise enclosure. Used 2 Pegas MG #3 blades, stained Minwax Honey.

Thanks first go to Granpa for making the pattern for me.. But here is the finished thing. Was a quick cut. Just used a store bought frame, because I didn't feel like breaking out the router and stuff to make a frame today. Pic of the finished project, and of little Kevin who it's for.. He's only 16 grams, but look at that cute nose. He's an Axanthic Western Hognose snake.

My Pegas sits on the Steel Pegas stand at the top of the adjusments in the back and one hole lower in the front. I sit on a stool that I had to modify the legs to get the right sitting position for me to work comfortably. When I sit on the stool my short legs do not reach the floor. So, I rest my left foot on the front horizontal cross brace of the stand. I use the HF foot switch, but needed to raise it upon some wood blocks so my right foot can reach it comfortably. The switch is mounted on a piece of 4 X4 (total 3 1/2" high) that sits on a 8" diameter disk of double thickness of 3/4" ply so the total height is 5" to the bottom of the switch. I added a piece of the rubber non-slip shelf liner on the bottom, but it is still easily moved around some such that I have to reposition it occasdionally during a cutting session. My foot does not get tired but as others mentioned, occasionally the leg/ankle will unintentioally relax, releasing the switch and the saw will stop cutting. Generally I do not need to "PUSH" down hard, I mostly just let the weight of my foot keep the pedal pressed down allowing a quick stop by just a slight lift of my foot. If a variable saw speed contol was used, the saw would have to be set at full high speed to accomodate the full range of the control. I'm affraid there would be tendancy to cut at much higher speed than is prudent. Holding a constant speed somewhere in the middle of the speed range would most likely prove difficult.

Interesting... I know the lazy foot thing... I sometimes let my saw stop because of it... I always thought it was because I was concentrating so hard on my work that I forgot to push down...... but I would still like to try the speed control with the foot switch thing... Just because... well works on a sewing machine..

See, I told you you did great! You've got start listening to uncle Les!

Looks great

An oops... but I would just get her a different brand that fit. Looks good!

Very neatly done. I eve like the tree!

OK, that sounds familiar. Thanks for the clarification. All I could remember with any degree of certainty was that VS foot pedals and scroll saw motors don't necessarily play well together.

Variable speed has more to do with the type of motor than voltage. Universal motors like those in routers can be used with speed controllers. Induction motors cannot be controlled this way. Digital motors are easy to control speed but require a specialized controller, aka computer.

I vaguely recall past comments about VS foot pedals not being compatible with motors wired for US voltages. I can't remember the technical specifics, but I do recall that folks were warned not to put a sewing machine type foot pedal on a scroll saw as it will damage the motor. Perhaps someone with a better understanding of the electronics involved, or maybe a better memory, will chime in and clarify.

Great job,thanks for showing us the end result.....Paul

It Is 3/4 Poplar. I use a lot of 3/4 stock.

What?? I have a pedal from Hegner... does not do this... do you have a site where I can read about it... I am not in Europe.. maybe that is why I don't know about it..

Actually, it is a thing. 4-5 years ago Hegner came out with what they call in english the electronic foot pedal. The dial is not available and all the speed control is done by the pedal and you can set it and forget it if you wish. The speed will remain until you push the pedal back to an open contact. Pegas a few years ago came out with it as well. Its only in europe.

I agree!

Blue tape is like $4 a roll. no way am I using that to cover anything. I use it as sparingly as I can. Just spray a thin coat of glue,. wait a few minutes until barely tacky and put it on the wood. Practice with it. If its too tacky, it will be a nightmare to get off. If you waited another 2 minutes it would stay in place and peel right off when done. Just a feel thing. I would rather practice this method than spend money of blue tape to be honest. I am pretty thrifty that way.

I have a cheapo harbor freight one I have had for years. Works fine. It it usually al wrapped up in a bunch of twisty cords so i just make room for my foot on it. Injured my foot not too long ago and had to use it with the other foot, that was harder than I thought to control. I wish i could find one that had a variable speed thing, like a sewing machine pedal, push lighter and it goes slower. hards, goes faster. i dont think this is a thing though.

Haven’t made anything in a while but just managed to get this one finished,H Botas pattern of one of the best actors in my opinion made using 1/4 in BB A4 plywood sheet with black mount board using a #2/0 spiral blade then made an oak frame for it thanks for looking

I was going to mention this in my post but forgot to add it. I'm sure shelf liner and other things may have a different mix of silicon depending upon the product needs. I work mostly with cherry.. only time I ever had a problem is when I trace with a pencil the outline of a base or something and use no tape or anything on it. I also find that FD-UR blade that used to be my go to blade burns the cherry much more easily than does the Pegas MG blades. Maybe the blade design makes for a cooler running blade as maybe it's clearing the sawdust better. I can cut Cherry without anything on it with no burning with a Pegas blade.. not so with ANY of the blades offered by FD ( I've tried them all over the years ). Might be the way I feed the wood to the blade or the speed I cut at.. either case Pegas is pretty much my go to blade partly for this reason. I'm not certain if it's 100% the blade changing to Pegas.. But in either case the shelf liner and or the shipping label creates the same lubricant properties as the packing tape.. at least in my experience. But could be a mix of the Pegas blades and the liner / label as I switched all about the same time to all of these.

Don't really have to put it on top of the pattern, it can go on the bottom side of the pattern, Also if you are one to use shelf liner.. OR shipping labels, most any self adhesive products have the chemical in it to lube the blade.. at least that is my understanding of it.. I happen to use both shelf liner and shipping labels.

Tried the blue tape thing once, really didn't care for it, I use clear shelf liner and glue the pattern to that, haven't had any problems since. I gotta say I really don't understand how the adhesive lubricates the blade, I just can't wrap my head around that. Seems to me like it would increase the friction the blade creates. Chris

I used to be blue, glue, pattern and packing tape on everything. Recently, I got some slightly distressed rolls of shelf liner and now use it on larger projects, saving the expensive blue stuff for smaller projects. Still use packing tape as a backup in case the 3M77 didn't get a good grab on the pattern. I did not use packing tape on 2 14 inch pieces I did recently, but I made sure there was plenty of spray glue on the liner.

I only put painters tape down, then spray the pattern with Super 77.. I have used packing tape when taping larger multi page patterns together, and I find that when I start cutting through the packing tape the sawdust stays in the cut more and seems to obscure the lines.