Best scroll saw

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Hello guys, I have already long time thought to buy a new scroll saw. Now I have an old Delta 40-560 saw which I am not at all satisfied. Or perhaps I just cannot use it properly.
But what is the best and easiest to use scroll saw? I am sure you guys out there have a lot of experience about these machines.
 
Hello guys, I have already long time thought to buy a new scroll saw. Now I have an old Delta 40-560 saw which I am not at all satisfied. Or perhaps I just cannot use it properly.
But what is the best and easiest to use scroll saw? I am sure you guys out there have a lot of experience about these machines.
G'day Moxis
A scroll saw is a very useful item to have.
If you know how, it is very simple to master it.
The first thing you must do, is to make the saw blade tight. If you flock it with your thump and you get a low tone, it's too loose. It should have a high pitch, like flicking a wine glass.
Second, if your saw has a variable speed, turn it down to about 50 to 60% of the full speed.
Third, do not push the wood through? Do it like a knife going through butter.
Here a YouTube video that might help you.
Goodluck
 
The problem with these questions is its subject to each person's personal preference. So you responses will be as varied as there are scroll saw bands made. I have owned skill, craftsman, delta, a cheap harbor freight model and now a WEN I loved the delta I had, but it was very expensive. I chose the WEN because it had the features i wanted at a price that's very reasonable. The WEN has 16" throat variable speed quick blade change and it takes pinned or pinless blades it also has a light and a dust collection system that actually works. The only thing I dont like it the table insert didnt sit flush with the table surface this would cause the work to hang up on the lip edge I solved that problem with a replacement I made from aluminum but wood would also work and would be easier to make for it.
 
Hallo,
sorry to ask.....are you looking now help, how you should use your "old Delta" or you are planning to buy a new one and ask for tips which one would be the best?

In general my opinion:
if you want to work very precise and maybe also working longer sessions (f.e. a lot of frames for a POF-model) than look for the best models available.
They should be heavy in order to reduce vibrations, a bigger stable table (which should be possible to tilt) and a long enough arm. The saw blade have to be definitely 90° to the table!!!
Very good are saws with variable speed (related of the material to cut).

I have now a Proxxon DSH, but I am planing to buy a Hegner Multicut SE (or maybe a Pegas)

These quality machines will work for and and with you you easily 10 to 20 years - so an investment of only a quarter or dime per day!
 
Thanks guys for prompt answers. Uwek: I think I need both. Of course I would be glad if I could use my existing Delta in a way that I could get reasonable results. But after trying hard, checking that the blade is perpendicular to table, blade tension is correct and speed is reasonable, I still don't get results that I would be happy with. Also it looks that all professionals use saws like Hegner, Excalibur or Pegas, which are also the most expensive ones. So I think I must bite the bullet, save money and buy one of these three brands to have a saw that fullfills my needs.
 
I understand completely.

Do not misunderstand !!!! Every scroll saw is cutting and fulfilling the most needs, and execute the work of 95% of the situations in a good and acceptable way and result.
I had a cheap used Proxxon in the beginning - after some time a worked on a Proxxon DSH of a friend - Extreme differences in quality. So I bought a used DSH.
Some months ago I had the chance to work with a Hegner - once more a big difference in quality
=> So I decided that the next bigger investment will be a Hegner, which I will buy in the next months (and a thickener - psst, but do not ell this to my wife)

or
 
Wow I feel inadquit, wit the types you guys have, but living on a fixed income(SS) does not allow me expensive tools I by the best I CAN AFFORD, I have 2 scroll saws adaquite for my needs ONE IS AN OLD DREMELL HAD IT FOR AT LEAST 15 years, STILL WORKS GREAT I use it for thicker materials, the other one is a DREMELL MOTO-SAW which i use for thinner stock, if I have a job that neither one can handel I have a PERFORM MAX band saw that I can use, I normally overcut what i am cutting and finish up with a Dremall rotary tool with a sanding drum(WORKS FOR ME) as for a thickness sander I took Dave Stevens advice and purchased a item called LUTHERS BEST FRIEND, it was not cheap but cheaper then a regular thicness sander($220.00) it also serves as a spindel sander so I get 2 tools in one, waiting for my SON-IN-LAW to finish with my drill press and will show it and give a review soon. Don
 
I usually buy the best tools my budget will allow unfortunately the Chief Financial Advisor(WIFE) has the last word most of the time and she's a tight wad lol I have a ton of snap on tools for my work that are unfortunately broken and no snap on man in sight to get them replaced. This is the reason she bulks on expensive tooling I have replaced temporarily the broken snap on tools with Husky tools and not a single broken tool the Husky brand has been around a long time but they cost 1/4 of what I paid for snap on tools this is the reason the wife bulks when I bring up tools. So I try and buy middle of the road brands but I watch reviews on all so if it has good reviews even if its a cheap tool I will get it to at least try out so far I have the WEN scroll saw and spindle sander and other then the center plate issue its a pretty nice set of tools We will see how long they last and I have already been putting through paces.
 
I have a Hegner Multicut SEV with a foot pedal to start and stop the motor. https://www.hegner.co.uk/hegner-multicut-se-scrollsaw-variable-speed-230v-100w.html
The blades I use are mostly NIQUA Pebeco blades in sizes 2/0, 2, 5S, and 9, for metal cutting I have Glardon Vallorbe Granit blades in sizes 1, 4 and 8. Also Golden Eye blades are good for metal: brass and stainless. I buy my blades by gross from a guy running a firm SC-Macc & Lingua Oy, myynti@sc-macc.fi very helpful guy. I do not like pinned blades, spirals, double tooth blades, skipped tooth blades, reverse tooth blades etc fancy stuff, straight ordinary hook-tooth Pebeco's cut perfectly all I can feed thru, from 1 mm ply to 38mm birch plank. Even 6 mm aluminum cuts nicely with a little candle-wax in the blade. Those blades fit also to my jeweler's fretsaws bows nicely. Have to choose the right blade for the job tho...
 
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Hint for those who are about to buy a new scroll saw: look very careful how the tensioned blade moves during the down stroke: it should move towards the cut slightly, about 0.5 mm in each stroke. Some saws have the beam bearings located so that the blade moves back off from the cut during down stroke, and that's a bad feature in a scroll saw. Do not believe any marketing BS about the significance of this issue, think yourself how the movement effects to the cutting ability of the blade and judge accordingly. I have used several brands during my years and I know this issue, that's why I now have a Hegner.
And finally the most important hint: Lubricate regularly those beam bearings with a top quality high pressure lubricant if you want to keep those bearings slop-free!!! Lack of maintenance ruins even the finest tools.
 
Lucky guy!
Do you mean the Hegner or the Foot Pedal ?
Joke aside - I can definitely advice to buy such a foot pedal - makes live mach easier - I have on several machines such device - f.e also all my Proxxon hand drills
 
My first thought is to get the biggest and heaviest scroll saw you can find. I had an ancient Dremel from the 1950's which had to be clamped to a table to keep it from jumping around. I moved on to a used inexpensive Chinese cast iron rocking arm saw from the 1990's- imported into the US by Grizzly Imports. If you are at all mechanical, don't be scared off by older European machinery. Usually replacing bearings and bushings will bring them back to life easily. A dust blower and a light are very good things, and can be added to a machine that does not have them. I took a peek at Tori.fi and just saw a few light duty saws. I'd keep looking.
 
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My first thought is to get the biggest and heaviest scroll saw you can find. I had an ancient Dremel from the 1950's which had to be clamped to a table to keep it from jumping around.
My Hegner is bolted permanently on the table, and all other power tools: bandsaw, sander, drillpress, grinder, vices are each mounted on a piece of thick plywood from where I can clamp those tools on the table edge with a pair of gluing clamps. Those modelling sized tools are so light that they do not stay put with rubber feet alone when you feed the workpiece to the blade during operation.
 
Proxxon 37088 Scroll Saw DS 115/E
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Is anyone using the Proxxon 37088 Scroll Saw DS 115/E? It's actually priced in my budget at Model Expo Online. My needs are all mainly small work for ship modeling--cutting POF frames/bulkheads is about the largest work as I can imagine. This would seem to fit the bill for me for now, but I wanted to check on quality and durability. I would appreciate any feedback on that model.
 
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I have the PROXXON DS scroll saw and I am not happy with it at all. Whatever I am doing the workpiece jumps up and down with the blade and I can't change it. I tried different types of blades, different height settings of the press-down head but to no avail. I don't know what am I doing wrong here. I practically gave up using the DS at all. I would have lots to use this saw for (first of all carving blanks) but now I have to do it by hand or as much as possible by the PROXXON band saw.
Janos
 
I think the biggest "problem" of this scroll saw is really the own weight of the saw.....because she has no weight at all.
This saw has only 2kg weight - the next size at Proxxon is the DSH with 17kg.
With this small counterweight, the saw will be not stabile and will vibrate during the use - so definitely you have to fix it - but really fix it at the table. So I guess fix it at a wooden board with screws - and than you have to fix it temporary with bar-clamps on the table.
The table of the saw is with 16cm to 16cm relatively small, the smallest on the market, so you have to decide if this will be enough for your tasks.
also the maximum length, defined and limited by the arm (blue marks), is relatively short -> so if you cut out elements of a POF-frames it could come soon to the limit, because the timber board on which you are working is often longer - but this can be be managed.
As I know, Proxxon advises the user to adjust the height of this counter element to the thickness of the material you want to cut (red arrow) - also an additional working step.
So I think, that this small machine is for some smaller cuts enough. The complete framing of a POF frigate - I am not sure, if she can do it in the necessary quality.
BTW @janos : Did you check if the angle between the table and the blade is exactly 90° rectangle - very often your problem happens if the angle is not correct!

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