30 replies to this topic

[Don Weaver]

I was thinking about buying a band saw but got to wondering if a scroll saw might be better. Anyone have any thoughts?

Don Weaver

[JBriggsK9]

What is the main use of the saw for??

If you are making furniture and other big stuff then the Band saw is as nice tool to have.. You and do gentle curves and re saw with the band saw. And cut most any thickness of wood. (as well as fingers)
The Scroll saw is great for fine detailed work. and making sharp cuts and turns. but you are limited to the thickness you can cut and it cuts much slower than the band saw.

I have the scroll saw as I do a lot of fine line and Intarsa art work. ( can't figure out how to post pictures ) so here are some links to some of the work I do with the scroll saw..

http://i202.photobuc...sK9/liberty.jpg
http://i202.photobuc.../lighthouse.jpg
http://i202.photobuc...ggsK9/clock.jpg

With the light house and statue of liberty all the lines you see are all separate pieces of word and it is put together like a jig saw puzzle set on a backer board.

The scroll saw is the safest saw their is.. I have taught childern (mine and others)as young as 10 to use this saw and it is impossible to cut a finger off..

The only advantage I see to a band saw is when re sawing lumber. for curve cuts on my furniture project I just use the Jig saw to make the cuts.
If you go with the scroll saw get one with as least a 21" throat


hope this helps

Chris

[team burrito]

I like this one:

119 bucks at Home Depot. I bought one for work & it worked great. Cut through 1/32" brass with the right blade.

[Don Weaver]

We don't have a Home Depot here but Lowes has a Skil unit on sale for $99.00. Includes a laser light. Think this will be better than a scroll saw for retro work. What blade (#of teeth) do you use?

Don Weaver

[Alchemist]

I prefer a band saw because I cut a variety of metals and wood. It does the job. I don't know if there are scroll saw blades available to cut metals but I haven't researched.

Ernie

[backintheslot]

I have a small Craftsman scroll saw with a foot control. I can cut through up to 1/8 inch aluminum with it and have cut brass sheeting with it as well. . There are blades available(including diamond coated) to cut metal as well as plastic and wood. I have been thinking about dipping my hand in to scratch building although it is hard to find the time. I do have a little tip for both the scroll and the band saw. "Bees Wax" Keep a bar next to your saw and hit the blade with it before (and maybe as well as during) you make your cut. It helps the blade go through the metal like butter.

[911GT3]

When I feel a bit masochistic I'll use a 20+ year Dremel old scroll saw to cut brass. In my opinion, for brass buy a band saw. However, the scroll saw worked great for corian

[dc-65x]

I use this little band saw from Micro Mark for cutting pans, drop arms, etc:



It is very small and compact. The speed is variable with the turn of a knob.

[Marty Stanley]

My opinion is simple; if you want to make straight cuts, then the band saw is the only way to go.

The scroll saw has a blade so small, it is 'challenging' to make straight cuts.

[backintheslot]

A couple of quick clamps and a straight edge or a piece of metal stock will fix that.

[Marty Stanley]

John,

I've tried that, but the blade has so much flex in it, the cut is actually 'scalloped' when you look at it with a magnifier.

[JBriggsK9]

Marty is right...... the hardest cut to make on the scroll saw is a straight line cut.....

Chris

[backintheslot]

Marty, I understand, especially if you force the cut. The blade tension has to be tight. Thats where this little beauty comes into play.

Also great for rounding corners and edges.

Attached Images

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[MSwiss]

The Ryobi band saw Russ shown is probably your best "bang for your buck"
saw for scratchbuilding.

With the metal cutting blade,(about$12-$20) it cuts 1/16th brass
straight, with very little effort.

IIRC, the blade is 24 TPI.

[havlicek]

A couple of quick clamps and a straight edge or a piece of metal stock will fix that.

...yep, it's called a "fence". In any case, you never force a cut and the saw will "tell you" how fast you can feed. You'll do a sloppy job if you don't listen to it. If I had a nice shop, I'd have a band saw like Rick's and a nice scroll saw for finer/more intricate work. If budget and space were limited, I'm sure I could get by just fine with just a bandsaw and some patience and prep.

-john

[Mike Patterson]

I bought a scroll saw thinking it would be just the ticket for cutting brass. What I have found is that I can cut it faster and straighter with a cut-off disc in my Dremel. I then use a bench sander like in post #13 to square things up.

BTW, I've got a nice Hitachi scroll saw with stand for sale.

[backintheslot]

...yep, it's called a "fence". In any case, you never force a cut and the saw will "tell you" how fast you can feed. You'll do a sloppy job if you don't listen to it. If I had a nice shop, I'd have a band saw like Rick's and a nice scroll saw for finer/more intricate work. If budget and space were limited, I'm sure I could get by just fine with just a bandsaw and some patience and prep.

-john

John, I can not agree with you more. Always listen to your power tools. Let them do the work and dont force it.

Did I mention the bee's wax?

[Duffy]

A good bandsaw is a great investment if you're buying another tool, and have shop space but my Dremel does it all and clips under my table when it's not getting used. Oh yah, I don't need a drill press either.

Now, that's really unnecessarily snotty, but just factor those things in when you consider this stuff. Sometimes we get sidetracked when we start thinking about how to make something and what we really need, and our hobby becomes making this new doohickey work rather than using the doohickey for our hobby. You choose.

Most important part of a bandsaw, after usable speed range, is the upper and lower blade guides: they need to be rigid and easily adjustable, and one would hope the guide bits are hardened--if you're investing, check them! the guide should not allow a surreptitiously-applied knife edge to dig in, otherwise it's dead-soft steel and worthless. Your guides should be dead-flat and set with zero slop on the blade, and also brought up to the blade in tension so that there's no pulling the blade out of line by the guides.

Properly-set guides will do far more for accurate cuts than a fence will, since a bad blade can be pulled off-line by the unyielding fence. A fence is good in a production run, but often more trouble to set up than just freehanding a one-off.

A metal-cutting blade even finer than 24p is a good idea (we say we require one and a half teeth in the work, minimum, but we're not gonna get that!), and don't run it fast: under 200fpm is good, especially with thin stuff.

Brass will round-off the teeth of a Bi-Metal blade in seconds, just by rubbing rather than cutting, so expect a learning curve in how to feed the stock in.

Look for waxy tool-dressing sticks, better & less messy than oil: just touch to the blade every few seconds.

Another very important thing about cutting metal: the stresses imparted by the cut will be transferred to the metal and distort it, sometimes to a disturbing extent. To see this, try cutting a quarter-inch strip if 1/16" off a plate and look at how it curves! Plan your cuts accordingly, and leave stock to clean up with file or whatever. I'm a big fan of bench filing myself, it takes up less room in my under-the-loftbed cubby than a Bridgeport mill.

Duffy

[idare2bdul]

All this tool talk really made me appreciate Flexi cars.

Looks like they might be handy for some RC airplane projects though.

[Phil Hackett]

Much better for all saw needs:

[Rick]

Much better for all saw needs:

Phil, now tell them how much a blade costs. LMAO

That is exactly the same saw used where I worked last, except ours also had a power feed. Nice Saw............

[Duffy]

Phil, now tell them how much a blade costs.

Twenny-eight bucks. What?

I don't think the DoAll Metalmaster bandsaw has changed its basic casting patterns in forty years; they just crisp 'em up now and then. A really lovely instrument.

Duf

[slotbaker]

I spent many apprentice hours on the same DoAll, and welded hundreds of blades.
Great machine.

[Phil Hackett]

Phil, now tell them how much a blade costs. LMAO

That is exactly the same saw used where I worked last, except ours also had a power feed. Nice Saw............

That's not mine. It's a picture I snagged off the net. Sonic doesn't have a band saw.... we should but there's no room. Recently there was a 60" DoAll on Ebay. A 5 foot throat!! I think it sold for under $3k.... the one in the picture is a 20".

I believe if you're gonna do it, do it! Buy the best you can afford and take care of it. It'll last a lifetime and you won't regret it in the long run. One of my Dad's lessons for me.


If you're good and know your stuff, this is a good Ebay seller. I have brought a number of things from them (they're local so I can inspect) including a CNC lathe. But, as always, read the descriptions carefully and ask questions. The CNC lathe needed some work but the price I paid was very fair. Sometimes small tools and lathes show up (like Levin or small milling machines).

http://stores.ebay.c...able-Tool-Store

[Howmet TX]

I'm lucky enough to have a scroll saw and a bandsaw in the workshop. I only use the scroll saw for cutting holes, in drop arms etc. The issue I have with cutting thin metal on it is that the reciprocating action easily snags the workpiece and lifts it, so you have to use a holdfast, which gets in the way of small pieces, or hard pressure with the fingertips. No such problems with the bandsaw. Tight radiuses get nibbled out with the saw and finished with a file.
Or maybe my scroll saw technique is lacking?