Scroll saws - anyone here got one?

[Neil2]

I'm thinking of getting a scroll saw, probably not very high up the list of boat DIY tools but someone on the forum must have one or have some experience.  Any recommendations or advice welcome.  

[MtB]

8 minutes ago, Neil2 said:

I'm thinking of getting a scroll saw, probably not very high up the list of boat DIY tools but someone on the forum must have one or have some experience.  Any recommendations or advice welcome.  

 

The bench saw previously known as a wobble saw or a bench jig saw? 

 

I bought one many years ago thinking how useful it would be to have in the workshop. Don't think I even used it once for a real task. 

 

Bench grinder and pillar drill are FAR more useful to have around. Next, I need a bandsaw. Now that really WILL be useful! 

[Neil2]

10 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

The bench saw previously known as a wobble saw or a bench jig saw? 

 

I bought one many years ago thinking how useful it would be to have in the workshop. Don't think I even used it once for a real task. 

 

Bench grinder and pillar drill are FAR more useful to have around. Next, I need a bandsaw. Now that really WILL be useful! 

 

Don't know if scroll saws have even been known as anything else..?  

 

It's not really a boat related thing, I'm just thinking of having a go at some fine detail woodwork projects that demand the use of one.  Long winter evenings and all that.   My brother in law has one he got for about £500 but they start at around a ton, so I'm wondering what you get for your money, what's important to have etc.  

 

I've got a grinder, a bench drill and a bandsaw, the drill is more useful than I ever imagined, the band saw would be except it's a fairly cheap thing.  This is all handed down stuff BTW.   I was once told by a joiner that of all workshop tools the band saw is the one you spend as much as you can possibly afford, he was dead right.  You can do all manner of things with a band saw provided it's up to the job. 

 

The tool that I use most though is the home made saw bench... It doesn't do my tinnitus any good but I wish I had got one of these years ago.

 

Anyway - back to scroll saws...

[David Schweizer]

In more than 60 years of working wood, I have never owned a Scroll saw. I have only used one once, when I borrowed one from a friend to cut out more than a hundred Plywood hearts to decorate my Daughter's wedding venue. Normally I would have used a standard fret saw if I only needed to cut a few. I have always felt that they always came into the catagaory of power tools that you really do not need, unless you are into mass production.

[frangar]

I Brought one from Aldi a couple of years ago as I needed to make some corner infills for my windows....it was about £45 and is a rebadged Scheppach saw that machine mart sold for about twice the price. Ive used it for a few jobs since and been happy with it...there are probably better out there but it was fine for my needs...I did find that getting some decent blades was a good idea....and I did need to take the first one I had back as the motor controller died on the second use but as ever aldi still had stock and it was a painless swap....the current one has been fine.

[ditchcrawler]

Is that another name for a powered fretsaw ?

[frangar]

Just now, ditchcrawler said:

Is that another name for a powered fretsaw ?

Yes

[matty40s]

16 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Is that another name for a powered fretsaw ?

I thought that was Yngwie Malmsteens pet name.

[Neil2]

20 minutes ago, matty40s said:

I thought that was Yngwie Malmsteens pet name.

 

That's right, - when he was guesting with the Carpenters.  

 

 

Coat time methinks..

[Hudds Lad]

37 minutes ago, matty40s said:

I thought that was Yngwie Malmsteens pet name.

Have to say, thats a name i never thought i’d see on this board.

[BilgePump]

Not the most frequently used machine in my workroom but definitely handy. Only have a cheapo Nutool one that's really my dad's, it's about 20 years old but does the job. My sister recently bought a perfectly reasonable one for just over a ton. It comes into its own when even a small bandsaw can't deal with the curves in a bit of thin work. (Even the old treadle powered Hobbies saws will be adequate though and working ones can be found cheap on fleabay, but they do take up floorspace, hence why I got rid of mine). The bandsaw definitely gets a lot more use though.  Again only a cheap table one but incredibly useful. Made myself some nice new cleats on the bandsaw recently, out of inch thick afromosia. The other day I needed 50 or so one inch rough squares of 6mm ply. They took two minutes on the bandsaw. You can do quite detailed work on a small and cheap bandsaw if you use multiple cuts from different angles to complete some of the more complicated bits. Of course, some things will be too fiddly for anything other than a fretsaw/scroll saw. My most frequently used bench tool is probably the compound mitre / chop saw. Someone above mentioned Aldi stuff. Always worth keeping an eye on the centre aisle. Like their item, my Aldi bench sander is a rebadged Scheppach, in Toolstation was £140, Aldi originally £90, red label markdown £40. Bargain! Before anyone says that you get what you pay for, I have no delusions that  Aldi and other budget brands are great tools but De Walt, Makita etc are simply way out of my reach price wise. Aldi had a cordless drill in last week for £25, picked one up for my dad. It seems adequate for a bit of light work.

[Cheshire cat]

The Aldi Router is good too. I wouldn't use it for churning out fancy profiles on strip wood where total accuracy is needed but its light enough to be able to handle and control freehand which means it gets used much more than my heavier one.

 

I've also got a biscuit jointer I bought from Aldi but in five years it's yet to be called in to service 🙄

[BilgePump]

17 minutes ago, Cheshire cat said:

The Aldi Router is good too. I wouldn't use it for churning out fancy profiles on strip wood where total accuracy is needed but its light enough to be able to handle and control freehand which means it gets used much more than my heavier one.

 

I've also got a biscuit jointer I bought from Aldi but in five years it's yet to be called in to service 🙄

Bought one of their universal router tables on a markdown at £13 from £30, then found out it wasn't universal enough to fit my dad's chunky old 1980s Stanley router. Needed to make a plywood spacer for it. Bandsaw to the rescue. Don't feel bad about the unused biscuit jointer. I know a neighbour whose garage looks like a warehouse of boxed Aldi branded tools, most never having seen the light of day. I've also got a few that I never really found a use for despite being convinced at the time of purchase that I'd use them all the time, like the little cordless Dremel type thing. I've been using a little Aldi detail sander a lot this past week as my Black&Decker orbital sander broke. Detail sander hadn't had much use in the previous two years but did okay as a stopgap and was less than £15 full price.

[ditchcrawler]

17 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

Is that another name for a powered fretsaw ?

This would save your batteries 

[BilgePump]

4 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

This would save your batteries 

They do work okay and can be picked up cheap enough, still now. I sold my Hobbies saw earlier this year for £30, in a lot better condition than that. Was bought by the craft teacher at a school for kids with complex needs, it's ideal for making simple jigsaws. I liked the fact that you could slow or stop it whilst keeping both hands on a piece of work. Downside is that it takes up a bit of room and you need a stool/chair to sit at it. The only reason I flogged it was to free up the space.

[Neil2]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

This would save your batteries 

 

......As seen on "The Repair Shop".   They restored one of these and it worked astonishingly well.

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, BilgePump said:

They do work okay and can be picked up cheap enough, still now. I sold my Hobbies saw earlier this year for £30, in a lot better condition than that. Was bought by the craft teacher at a school for kids with complex needs, it's ideal for making simple jigsaws. I liked the fact that you could slow or stop it whilst keeping both hands on a piece of work. Downside is that it takes up a bit of room and you need a stool/chair to sit at it. The only reason I flogged it was to free up the space.

£35 looks the going rate

 

[Paul HD]

I have a Hegner scroll saw and they are a fantastic tool to have. I got mine secondhand a few years ago and it was built in 1998 and had little use. They are very expensive, but if you can find a secondhand one going cheap then you should snap it up. 

 

If you do buy a scroll saw make sure it takes pin less blades. 

 

Scroll sawing is a great hobby. 👍🏻

 

 

[Neil2]

14 minutes ago, Paul HD said:

I have a Hegner scroll saw and they are a fantastic tool to have. I got mine secondhand a few years ago and it was built in 1998 and had little use. They are very expensive, but if you can find a secondhand one going cheap then you should snap it up. 

 

If you do buy a scroll saw make sure it takes pin less blades. 

 

Scroll sawing is a great hobby. 👍🏻

 

 

 

Thanks Paul I'll keep an eye out - what's the deal with "pin less" blades?

[Paul HD]

1 hour ago, Neil2 said:

 

Thanks Paul I'll keep an eye out - what's the deal with "pin less" blades?

Pinned or pin less are the two ways of attaching the blade to the machine. With a pinned blade similar to a hacksaw blade you would need to pilot drill a hole a bit bigger for clearance so the small pin can go through the piece of wood.

 

If you are just doing outside cuts then this would not be a problem. If you are wanting to do fine interior cuts you can drill much smaller holes to take the pin less blade.

 

I am sure there are better explanations on the web.😃

[Neil2]

1 hour ago, Paul HD said:

Pinned or pin less are the two ways of attaching the blade to the machine. With a pinned blade similar to a hacksaw blade you would need to pilot drill a hole a bit bigger for clearance so the small pin can go through the piece of wood.

 

If you are just doing outside cuts then this would not be a problem. If you are wanting to do fine interior cuts you can drill much smaller holes to take the pin less blade.

 

I am sure there are better explanations on the web.😃

 

No, I understand completely, thanks.!

 

 

[BilgePump]

12 hours ago, Paul HD said:

I have a Hegner scroll saw and they are a fantastic tool to have. I got mine secondhand a few years ago and it was built in 1998 and had little use. They are very expensive, but if you can find a secondhand one going cheap then you should snap it up. 

 

If you do buy a scroll saw make sure it takes pin less blades. 

 

Scroll sawing is a great hobby. 👍🏻

A lot of patience (i don't have) making those licence holders in your video. They look great. 

[Paul HD]

12 hours ago, BilgePump said:

A lot of patience (i don't have) making those licence holders in your video. They look great. 

Cheers BP. 👍🏻  I was going to make a set out of Oak, but I got rid of the boat and don't need a license holder now.😃

 

The boat that I had at the time had sliding windows and the holders sat nicely on the tracks. When I revisited the boat a few weeks later the ply wood had acted like a sponge and soaked up all the condensation that collected in the tracks and the paper licence was just a blur of ink😂😜

 

All the best,

Paul.

 

 

[Bee]

I have a cheap Nutool bandsaw and it gets a lot of use. it works really well but you must get the little blade guides right, they are the little black plastic things like electric motor brushes that bear on the sides of the blade and also a thingy that bears on the back. Mine wore out so I had to make some more from hard nylon stuff. Cut 'em on the bandsaw of course. If you don't get them right the blade will wander all over the place.