new scroll saw

[Brad Schroeder]

I am a mid level hobbyist who likes to own every type of tool for woodworking.  I never had a scroll saw but fascinated by your patterns and the chance to make them.  What type of scroll saw do you recommend?  I have seen reviews for C arm and parallel arms saws.  Do you recommend one over the other?  I would like to spend $ 250 or less.  Not impressed by the Harbor Freight Central Machinery saw but the Performax at Menards or the Skil or Ryobi looks good.  Any thoughts, would like to stay away from Delta and Dewalt due to price.

[julief]

Porter Cable makes the best saw at that level.  It is user friendly and seems to hold up well.

[dirtrider73068]

Go with the porter cable, if you can save some moeny and wait get a better one like a excalibur, don't get those cheap ones like the HF or craftsman ryboi and the likes, they won't hold up they may last a few weeks a few months or years. I had a craftsman when I first started was a great starter saw but in a year I worn out to junk, I now have a excalibur 16 inch and love it, smooth and cuts good. In the end I should have waited and got the ex from the begining.

Can google the difference in the arms, the C arms you talking about are like the cheap saws, craftsman ryboi, you have two arms that move and up and down, this motion does have some flaws, it has a sawing motion, meaning as the blade moves up and down it does slighty make the blade move front to back, this gives a bit less control and not real smooth, the higher end saws Excalibur and dewalt have the parallel arms, this setup gives the blade a better up down motion with very slight at all front to back movement, this type of saw gives better smooth control with the C arms that tend to want to so to say push the wood or make it jerk front to back, there is a article i read that expained the types of saws, this is the best I can explain it.

[Brad Schroeder]

purchased the Porter Cable which takes pin and pin less.  Is there a trick to installing the pin less blades.  I purchased very thin spiral blades from Lowe's (recommended by salesman) for intricate cuts.  Having a devil of a time installing the blades .  They are pulling out of the bottom lock or when I get them installed when I turn the thumbscrew , the blade ends turn at a 90 degree angle and snaps.  What am I doing wrong?

[julief]

Start by cleaning the ends of the blades with alcohol or mineral spirits.  Some people use a little sand paper.  There is a light oil residue on there that make the blades slip.  For future reference, the "best" blades at the box stores are really bad blades.  You will save a ton of money and frustration by ordering some good blades from Mikes Workshop.  He sells a variety pack so you can get a feel for different blades.

[scrollingboy2014]

Scheppach scroll saws are good for a begginer . i personally have a scheppach deco flex with a draper anti vibrations mat

[TheMelster]

http://youtu.be/nmdZZsEmxCg     video from youtube, might help ya.

Thought this was interesting......   http://youtu.be/RxHRYPCJtzQ

[Ben]

the cheaper (under $200) saws mostly have the same structure on the outside with a different colour scheme depending on brand. is there a difference in quality on the inside or are the all the same. made in the same factory.

[dirtrider73068]

the cheaper (under $200) saws mostly have the same structure on the outside with a different colour scheme depending on brand. is there a difference in quality on the inside or are the all the same. made in the same factory.

When I was shopping around looking those like craftsman, ryobi and such looked to be the same other than color scheme far as inside they could be slightly different but from what I found and seen don't look different think the parts are the same to me and might even interchange. The low end saws are a good cheap saw to see if you like the hobby and want to get into scrollsawing instead of dropping a few hundred on a saw then find out you don't like then trying to sell the saw to get your money back out, this is what i did bought the 130 dollar craftsman to try it out but started loving scrolling got more into it then thus wore out the craftsman, but the fault fell on me I didn't keep the arm bushings in my craftsman greased up thats where it failed on me. If i had I may still have the craftman, it ran and cut good other than for a slight blade movement front to back but found I could adjust the motor a tad and reduce the blade movement and it had some vibration to it.

[Ben]

Ok. I assume there is a difference in quality depending on price and brand names. but otherwise just wondering.

[Rapid Roger]

Ok. I assume there is a difference in quality depending on price and brand names. but otherwise just wondering.

Have you ever heard the expression "You get what you pay for."? In MOST cases that hold very true, some times things are over priced but for the most part, I hold firmly to that adage.
Another one of my favorites is "It is not the tool that makes the difference, it is the operator.". I've seen some very quality items come from  very "cheapie" saws with an experienced operator. Nothing makes as much difference as "experience" which comes from practice with the tools that you have.

Rog

[dirtrider73068]

I myself have some pretty cheap tools most of mine I go to harbor freight to get, as long as you use the tool for its intended uses they do great, some of my stuff is used stuff I have found on garage sales or even craiglist, like my tabel saw its a old 70's model 10 inch sears well used bought for 55 bucks! Got it home cleaned it up read up on adjustments got it greased up and setup right and it has served me very well. Even my small drill press was a HF bought, does me great even drilled metal and it does fine. You don't have great high end name brand tools to pull of great work, watch Steve Ramsey's videos he does not have high end tools and some of the stuff he build is great, even Mathis Wandel from Canada uses wood to make tools like his band saw or saw mill he is another great person to watch. Its the person that makes the work.

When I started out scrolling on my cheap craftsman I turned out good work that alot of people were proud of and loved.

[Ben]

I agree on the "its not the tool that makes the difference, its the operator. but I do believe in buying quality tools for everyday use, such as Makita cordless drills. however if its a tool that you use 3 times a year, I would buy the cheap one.
I always watch Steve Ramseys videos on youtube, and his old scroll saw is cool.