A teaching scroll saw?

[Charvercarver]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone could advise me which scroll saw is the easiest/safest/quietest to use preferably with the least vibration. I'm about to start volenteering for a charity that helps people recovering from brain injury and they are interested in buying a scroll saw for simple projects.

Budget isn't too much of an issue neither is capacity or power (though both would be nice). I'm not sure if/how it applies but wheelchair friendliness would also be good.

btw if anyone knows of any good teaching resources that would be appreciated as well.

Cheers,

Jon

[julief]

Hi Jon.  The EX series of Excalibur is probably your best bet.  The vibration is minimal and these machines can stand up to constant use.  You can top feed and blade exchanges are easy.  The arm stays up on it's own so there is no need to block it.
As far as wheel chair friendly, you may want to build a base.  There are a few guys here on the forum that have made very creative stands for their saws to use in a seated position.  I'm a stander, so the base works for me. 

[tbolt]

The hawk has a stand that a chair fits under and it is avery good saw

[jim stiek]

there are some guys working with disabled vetrans dirk boelman can point you to them they are from iowa and they had some at the last show in richland center

[Jim Finn]

Hegner also has a wheel chair accessible saw stand.

[tvman44]

Any of the name brands, like EX, Hedgner, Dewalt.

[geneVG]

Hi Jon,
The Delta 40-695 is a very good saw, and the price is really good too.  The Delta is the same as the Dwalt but only the color is not yellow.

gene

[Charvercarver]

Thanks for all the replies:

julief:

I have been thinking about the Excaliburs but I have seen reports that some of the newer models (esp the 16") Have excessive vibration. This may be just in the UK though.

tbolt:

I have to say I've never heard of the Hawk, I shall check it out. Might be hard to get in the UK though.

jim stiek:

That sounds very useful, do you know how I can reach Dirk Boelman?

Jim Finn:

thanks for that, I'll check it out.

tvman44:

I realise that they are all quality saws, I was just wondering if any of them stood out in terms of quietness and lack of vibration.

geneVG:

I don't think we can get Deltas in the UK (or dewalts for that matter). I'll check them out though, cheers.

[Scroll Down]

I got this e.mail for dirk..

dirkdraws@centurytel.net

[king310]

There is a guide for setting up a shop for those who are physicaly disabled in one of the current issues of one of the woodworking magazines but I can not recall which one. I will post it Monday when I locate it. Also there is a site that might be helpfull it is called workshop solutions. It has some helpfull links.
http://www.workshopsolutions.com/

I hope this is what you are looking for.

[julief]

Jon, I have never used the 16" EX, so I can not attest to it's vibration.  I have used the EX21 and EX30 and can report vertually no vibration.  Many new owners have stood a nickel on end and it has stayed upright on high speeds.  Your best source of information is Ray Seymoure at Seyco.  He is the expert on this saw.  In my opinion, if there is vibration on any EX saw - there is something wrong with it.  Give Ray a call, he is very generous with his time and knowledge and can guide you in your decision making.

[Robert Phillips]

Hi Jon

You can get Dewalt 788's in the UK I am UK based and found one. Although they are rare I found mine on Ebay.

Rob

[Charvercarver]

Scroll Down:

Cheers for that, I'll look into it.

king310 :

Very interesting stuff! I'm sure the people at Headway will know what is needed in terms of access and saftey in a general sense, it is specifically information about setting up a scroll saw for wheelchair users I'm looking for. That article sounds ideal, hope you can find it

julief :

So far the EX21 seems to be the consenseous. I'm definitely leaning that way. I'm based in the UK so I'm not sure if Ray Seymoure can help me much, cheers anyway.

Robert Phillips :

I looked for one when I was getting my saw but could never find it. I think they would rather buy from a dealer in any event.

[Marcellarius]

There is a guide for setting up a shop for those who are physicaly disabled in one of the current issues of one of the woodworking magazines but I can not recall which one. I will post it Monday when I locate it. Also there is a site that might be helpfull it is called workshop solutions. It has some helpfull links.
http://www.workshopsolutions.com/

thanks for th URL, was good to see what people make to help others!


I hope this is what you are looking for.

[phantom scroller]

EXCALIBER EX-21 for me I can't fault it, love using it, can't say enough good things about it. I think I'll buy some shares. lol

Roly