SCROLL SAW----FEEDING FROM TOP OR BOTTOM?

[danny]

HI EVERYONE....  I JUST DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT FEEDING THE BLADE THRU THE TOP.

SEEMS WOULD BE HARD TO CONNECT THE BOTTOM OF THE BLADE TO THE HOLDER ALL THE TIME?

 

I AM INTO A POSITION OF WANTING ANOTHER SAW.  WHAT IS THE PROS AND CONS OF THIS PLEASE.  ??

 

THANKS FOR ANY INFORMATION ON THIS SUBJECT.               Danny  :+}

Edited February 12, 2016 by danny

[Falcon]

I feed the blade from the bottom. To me makes it easier to connect on top but I really think it is a matter of preference. Just my 2 cents worth. What saw are you looking to get?

[Scrappile]

I am a bottom feeder (a Carp).  It is not the connecting the blade to the to bottom clamp that is the problem for me it if feeding a 3/0 Spiral blade down through #78 hole going against the direction of the teeth, and finding the hole in the table top as you do it, that gives me great difficulty.  How ever if you do the type of scrolling that does not require that, top feeding may be easier.  I think like everything about scrolling, it is personal preference. 

[hotshot]

Top feeding didn't used to be an option for anyone, so a lot of the old timers have been bottom feeding for decades and feel very natural/comfortable with that approach.

 

I think you will find new scrollers typically top feed, but you really need a modern saw to do this cleanly.  Of those saws, the new Hawks, Dewalt and Excalibur are your best bet.  There is a way to cheat this on a Hegner and some other saws, but for the most part, folks refer to top feeding as releasing the bottom clamp, raising the arm (with blade) and lowering it back into the hole.  This is super quick, and you don't have to bend over to look under your work piece.

 

As far as connecting the bottom clamp "blind", you do it by feel, and it will become very natural, very quickly.

 

There really isn't a wrong way, but I would try it both ways, and give each approach ample time, then chose which method your are most comfortable with.  If you are not getting one of the saws I mentioned above, you won't have to worry about it.

 

------Randy

Edited February 12, 2016 by hotshot

[Lucky2]

Dan, I know of no pros or cons for either, to me, it's just a matter of preference. I usually top feed, but, at times I do feed up from the bottom and I don't notice to much difference when doing so.

Len

[Jim Finn]

I bottom feed but not nearly as much as those that do fretwork.  I have tried top feeding but I did not like having to bend over to see under the saw table to attach the blade on the bottom.

[Scrolling Steve]

Hi, my name is Steve, and I am a bottom feeder !   !

[Dave Monk]

I have a Dewalt which is new to me..........I feed from the top and works great for me. It is easy to hook it at the bottom by feel. Now that I am used to that it would be hard to feed from the bottom. dave

[crupiea]

bottom feeder here.  Its just something you figure out either way.  Once you do it thousands of times its just second nature.  matter of fact,m i have no idea what the bottom clamp even looks like as i have never looked at it.  i sure know what it feels like though.

[WayneMahler]

I am a top feeder. For years I had no choice, when I got me EX-21 I had the option. For me it is faster, setting blade into  the bottom holder is by feel and easy to do. As was stated above, it becomes a matter of personal choice. 

[Ron Johnson]

I've always fed the blade from the top. I started out with the Craftsman 16" (pin blade), Craftsman 20" (plain blade), and Ex30" (plain blade). Feeding from top just feels natural and fast, like walking. There's no right or wrong. Try both on what ever saw and go with the one that feels natural and comfortable for you.

[dgman]

Hey Danny, my name is Dan and I am a top feeder!! I started scrolling on a Dremel which was a bottom feeder. It used adapters to mount plain end blades. On average, it took three minutes to change form one hole to the next. I learned that the DeWalt saw had quick release clamps and a lifting arm that allows top feeding. Now, with the DeWalt saw, I can change from one hole to the next in ten to fifteen seconds! You don't have to lift the board off the table, you don't have to lean over to see the hole under the board. You don't have to see the clamp to tighten it, you do by feel. It's easy!

[Sparkey]

Another bottom feeder. I also use the FD new 3/0 spiral blades and the holes are tight. Too hard to feed through the top.

[lawson56]

Well I'm a Bottom Feeder

[danny]

Just LOVE being a part of this Scrolling Family....  Actually I have been Scrolling for lots of years.  Starting with LOWES

Cheap models and working up to the saw I use now....HEGNER 18"   Great saw.  Just started thinking about TOP FEEDING

as compared to the ONLY WAY I KNOW ..bottom feeding.. 

 

So the saw I have been looking at is 

Delta 40-694 Heavy-Duty 20" Variable-Speed Scroll Saw NEW

Need to INVESTIGATE the Pros to the Cons before deciding to buy.  DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THIS ONE IS..GREAT.. WITH TOP FEEDING??

 

Thanks for all your Advice and Help....  Danny  :+}

[Dan]

I top feed. If you can tie your shoes without looking you can top-feed.

[ike]

I bottom feed I can change holes in less than 30 seconds. but there is no hurry This is not a indie. 500 race. it's a hobby

Edited February 12, 2016 by ike

[NC Scroller]

Top feed 95% of the time.  I started as a bottom feeder but forced my self to switch and I am happy I did.  This is because I do a lot of fret work on larger pieces (up to 30") and it is next to impossible to find the tiny holes from the bottom when in the middle of the piece. There is really no right or wrong.  At the end of the day it boils down to what your saw is capable and what you are comfortable doing.

[GrampaJim]

Started with a $100 Craftsman that only bottom feed.  Changed to a Dewalt and continued to bottom feed until I started doing portrait type fretwork.  Forced myself to switch to top feeding because twisting over to find to hole I wanted got to be really tiring.  The first couple of days it seemed wrong, but after a while its just natural - and fast.  Now I would not buy a saw that did not top feed.  It is my number one requirement.

Jim

[LarryEA]

We've been thru this a few times...

Just like tying shoe laces, not all like doing it the same way.

[scrollerpete]

Bottom feeder here with my Excalibur

[TripleJScroller]

There was a post on here a few months back singing the praises of Top Feeding and so I gave it a try and found that I hated it.  It was just uncomfortable for me trying to fumble around under my saw  to get the blade in place and on top of that I bent a lot of blades trying to get them through the holes.  I really think its just a preference thing though, do what is comfortable for you.

[Doug]

I top feed. If you can tie your shoes without looking you can top-feed.

You can tie your shoes without looking?

 

[Chiloquinruss]

I have a Hawk and unless I lay on the floor I can't top feed!  Sooooo, bottom feeder I am!  LOL  Russ

[edward]

I always do bottom feed, been use to it for a while.  edward