Best Beginner Saw

[Dad of 4]

Im very new to woodworking in general.  I recently discovered my love for it while making a Birthday gift for my father.  I have made a few projects using the limited tools I have (hand held skill saw, small table saw, circ saw) But I am now really excited about getting into scrollsawing.  There is a lot of info and opinions out there as to which Scrollsaw is the best and I would like the opinion of some experienced scrollers.  My budget is not very large at this point so nothing over $200-250.  Thanks for any info. 

[The WoodArtist]

ok I've not used the more expensive saws like the dewalt or ex. I've been scrolling for almost 10 yrs along with other woodworking and the saws I've used is the craftsman and just recently started using the porter cable one. Both fall in your budget. My choice would have to be the Porter Cable one as it works great for me and have heard a lot of good things from others that have used it. Plus, Lowes has it with stand for under $200. The only thing I would suggest if you choose to get this saw is also pick up a fish bowl pump and alter the blower on the saw as the built in one sucks but have found that most do on any saw as they depend on the saw speed. That's the only alter I would do to it. Hope this helps.

[Mainewoods]

I also have the Porter-Cable saw.  It is a capable saw and I can recommend it as a starter saw.  It'll do the job nicely, although it isn't anywhere near as smooth as the mid and upper level saws.  Almost everything I cut requires inside cuts, and you do have to bottom feed with this saw, which gets to be a pain in short order, but you can make do.  I did a portrait for my folks for Christmas with 735 cuts in it.  That was a lot of bending over to look for my next hole, but I got through it!  If you can't afford a better saw, then I say go for the PC!

Good Luck!

P.S.  I had no problems with the blower, until the bellows went entirely about a month ago.  I did, however, remove the built in light, as at 15Watts, it wasn't even bright enough to read by, let alone trying to follow that tiny little blade along that tiny little line! 

[dgman]

Hey Dad, welcome to the forum. You have been given good advise so far, although I have never used the PC, It gets good reviews for its price range.
Please go over to the Introduction page and introduce yourself so we can welcome you better!

[Dad of 4]

Thanks for the info.  I have looked at the porter cable saw at Lowes a few times, just wasn't sure about the quality.  I think thats the direction I will go. Thanks again.