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A friend of mine is a huge Dolly fan and got to meet her a few years ago. I got this picture off of her FB page to make her a souvenir.

This is my last couple of weeks project. Super awesome pattern. The frame is my favorite. It’s made from some old roof decking. Seemed to fit the piece well.

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.

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.

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.

Of my 3 saws, the Hegner is the quietest.

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.

I've not been around to see one of these in person.. but have seen photos of them, unfortunately all the photos never show a good view of the saws motor and how it is mounted. I've always wondered if they have this adjustment like most of the other short link arm saws except DeWalt and Delta. Most these saws the motor is mounted with a ring around it and the bolts go through some slots.. In order to adjust the front to back movement on most of these is to loosen those three bolts just enough to move the motor and then rotate what I do is put the saw on the lowest speed and with the square behind the blade I run the saw and rotate the motor in those slots.. until I get it with the least amount of movement. I don't know if the WEN has this style system or not.. I'm guessing it's price point and build is to compete more with the DeWalt so it probably doesn't have this option.. Some of the first type 2 Dewalts had a terrible issue with this after they moved production to another location and they got a bad name for the type 2 saws because of this. There were guys doing modifications as JT said... IF the saw is under warranty you might want to just take it back, could be a flaw in it that is making this cut more aggressively than you like. For precise cutting I would not own one of these saws that could not be adjusted for the blade aggression. I believe the two cheapest saws that can adjust the motor is going to be Excalibur or the newer Grizzly otherwise you're looking at the expensive Jet,Pegas and Seyco etc..

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.

Went back to some fretwork. Steve Good pattern. 1/4" bbply. Failed experiment with scrapbook paper for colour. The glue caused it to wrinkle. Finished with one coat of varathane.

I sandwiched a piece of beech between walnut.... Still rusty!

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.

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.

Very nice, RJ

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.

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.

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.

Hmm, Are you saying if you cut a straight line and want to back up slightly you can't because the blade front to back is out of alignment? This shouldn't cause you not to back up.. Now, if the blade was out of whack side to side yes.. Is the blade when clamped in in the center of each clamp? I could see that causing this especially if they are way out off center.. such as the top one all the way to one side and the bottom one all the way on the opposite side and depending on the position of the stroke could put the blade in a bind.. This is also a problem with the blade heating up and slightly expanding the metal of the blade thus pinching it in the kerf even more. Would think the blades wouldn't last as long too.

Thanks for the reply's. I don't thank it is a warranty problem as I don't or haven't had that problem with the smaller blades! I do notice that I cannot back the blade into the cut to continue because of the blade not being square front to back. The blades I use are fd ultra reverse all sizes and they are flat on the back. They do not show any signs of being twisted or bent once I loosen them to go to another entry hole or to change blades. Erv

awesome job

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.

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.

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.

I love it. your work is beautiful

I haven’t been very active lately due to a few issues but here is my latest trial run. Made from recycled Rimu and an old drawer bottom. Back in the old days they sure were not shy about making ply with character grain.

Need to answer a few questions first that may help. First are the blades flat on the back side?. Sometimes blades have a bow to them and even when you put tension on them it is not enough to take the bow out. Next are any of the blades from either pack #7 or #9 able to square up in the holders? Most those type scrollsaws have set screws on the sides of the holders that help center the blade so it is 90 degrees side to side. I always found that if I set one side setscrew just about flat with one side of the clamp and use the other screw to tighten the blade it keeps the blade from twisting in the clamp. I do this on both sides of the clamps top and bottom. If you have screws sticking too far out it is possible for the blade ends to bend out of shape. So next question is, are the ends of the blades bent in anyway after you release them from tension? If you do not hold the blade to the back of the clamp it can have a tendency to creep forward and add that bend I am talking about and this causes more rocking of the blade. Finally those saws actually cut in a rocking manner so no matter where you set the arm and place the square it will show daylight either on top or bottom. You are looking for a consistent rocking motion from top of blade to bottom of blade as it travels in the cutting motion. If you could find the exact center of the arm travel and then set the square against that you should see equal light distant both top and bottom of blade. You could also just move the arm up and down and watch the movement and by eye see if there is equal distance. I know on the Dewalt saws especially the type #1 saws there was a trick that everyone did to take out alot of that rocking motion and get it more parallel up and down stroke and that was to lift the back of the table ever so slightly. I will show you a photo of what I did with mine. So a few questions that can help others help you.

Lovely. Well done. Marg

Been a pretty busy summer with not much shop time. Here are 2 projects that I have manages to eek out. The God Boxes are for some of my wifes family The bowl is Poplar and Walnut. One of the best I have done so far. Hope all you guys and gals are doing okay.

I like your background color as it is not too dark and it brings our your cutting very nicely. Love it Dick heppnerguy

That might make a pretty interesting small box. Used for the sides, you could miter the corners and keep the pieces in order such that the grain will flow the whole way around the box. Or use pieces for lids, and a different, contrasting species of wood for the sides, so that the grain of the lids really pops. Sometimes you can accentuate the defects in wood and get some pretty cool results.

Hi Barb: I say better to have tried and failed then never have tried at all Now you know Looks great btw Fab4

pdI have been at this hobby since 2005 and have owned 7 different saws and have never had a problem with this until I received the newest Wen 22 inch saw. The saw is good for me as I can use just about any saw and not have any issues. What I need to know now is the blade holders on the upper and lower arms adjustable to square the blade 90 degrees front to back? I have found that it is more pronounced with # 7 to #9 blades that I use for cutting the 3d ornaments and not getting square ornaments! I have been using a small 90 degree machinist tool to get the blade set for the front to back 90 degree to the table! The normal side of the blade is dead on 90 degree, no problem there! The blade holders are or look the same as the ones on Dewalt, Delta and numerous other saws, so just wondering if there is an adjustment that I don't know about as there isn't any thing about that is the manual! I noticed this as I have always put the blade in the bottom holder to the back and the same with the top holder. Any help much appreciated! Erv

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!