Jeremy/Bonnie Hellman on sat 9 jul 05
I am looking to buy a scroll saw, to be used for making extruder dies. (I'm
just not a manual hack saw user. )
My husband looked at a Dewalt DW788 20" Variable Speed Scroll Saw for
$441and I said that I thought he should be able to get a decent one for less
money. He said that reviews indicated that cheaper ones break or were not
good for intricate work.
I'm not looking to buy the cheapest one available, but I hadn't planned to
spend $441.
For those of you who own one, and have used it, I'd be interested to hear
your experience and advice.
TIA
Bonnie
Bonnie Hellman, enjoying the beautiful San Juan Mountains of Ouray,
Colorado, looking forward to Daryl Baird's extruder workshop, filling up
fast, but with a few spaces remaining Aug 12-14.
pdp1@EARTHLINK.NET on tue 12 jul 05
Hi Potterman,
"Dewalt DW788 20" Variable Speed Scroll Saw"
It was in Bonnie's question...but I had not reiterated it in my reply,
so...guess the model-mention got kinda lost...
I just went and checked mine to be sure...and mine too, is the "DW788"
model, but I bought mine I think in 1999...
( Eeeesh, 1999..! - seems unreal...)
Lol...
Phil
el ve
----- Original Message -----
From: "m.mshelomi"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2005 5:16 PM
Subject: Re: Scroll Saw purchase advice sought
> ----- Original Message -----
> From:
> To:
> Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2005 4:21 PM
> Subject: Re: Scroll Saw purchase advice sought
> ........... So, having little time, and needing to get the Job 'done', I
ran
> out and
> > bought one of these.
>
> Bought one of WHAT? No mention of brand or model... Help please...
>
> pottermim
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
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>
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melpots@pclink.com.
John Post on tue 12 jul 05
Hi Bonnie,
I have experience with both the Dewalt saw your husband is looking at
and a less expensive Delta saw. The Delta scroll saw that I have I
purchased for around $100 at Home Depot.
My dad who is a woodcarver has the Dewalt saw. It is larger and fairly
heavy. My dad purchased the optional stand for his. It is a dream to
use. It cuts smooth with less vibration than my Delta and all of the
components are just better quality and seem to work better. The air
nozzle that blows dust off as you saw really works well on the Dewalt too.
The reason I went with the $100 Delta saw was its size. It is not as
nice to use as the Dewalt, but I don't have to have a stand or a
dedicated space for it in my studio. I keep it on a storage shelf when
I am not using it. When I need it, I can set it on a worktable in my
studio. The air nozzle on the Delta was a pain and I just took it off
the saw.
I just blow on the piece occasionally when I need to remove dust. The
blades are easy to change on the Delta and it works great for making
extruder dies. I have probably made around 30 dies using mine. (The
first dies you make won't be that great, as it takes a while to get used
to getting the shapes you want.)
For me the main issue was size. The Dewalt is a great top notch
machine. It's one of the ones that the woodworkers use to do fancy
scroll work. The Delta is just smaller and easier to to store and
that's why I went with it. If I had unlimited floor space I would have
purchased the Dewalt (and unlimited funds too). Having said that, I am
very pleased with the way the Delta has worked out.
If I could recommend one additional tool for purchase it would be one of
the $100 dollar drill presses that they sell at Lowe's of Home Depot.
They make drilling the starting holes for the dies easy, but they are
really great for when you want to make a die that has several circles in
a row, like you seen in decorative beaded moldings. If you hold the die
down with a clamp on the drill press, the die material will not spin
when you go to drill holes next to each other. The die will try to spin
if you are holding it by hand.
A tip on scroll saws is that you need to work with the blade and the
direction that it cuts. The material that you are cutting often times
needs to be fed into the blade at an angle instead of straight on. Once
you learn to work with the way the blade cuts, it is a simple matter to
cut straight or curved lines.
I have found that my favorite material for dies is cutting board
plastic. After I cut the plastic, I attach it to a plywood sheet with
epoxy. When I have some time tomorrow I will post a picture of one of
my dies on a web page for you to see.
I hope this helps a bit,
John Post
Sterling Heights, Michigan
Bonnie Wrote-------->
My husband looked at a Dewalt DW788 20" Variable Speed Scroll Saw for
$441and I said that I thought he should be able to get a decent one for
less
money. He said that reviews indicated that cheaper ones break or were not
good for intricate work.
I'm not looking to buy the cheapest one available, but I hadn't planned to
spend $441.
pdp1@EARTHLINK.NET on tue 12 jul 05
Hi Bonnie,
(Oops, got lost in 'drafts' for a few daze...)
While almost everything I do own and use is old or quite old, I do happen to
own one of these because at one point I had a commission with a very close
deadline, and my pre-war, 'Walker Turner' 250 pound one in Cast Iron on it's
Cast Iron stand, had developed a problem from an old injury that I was not
going to have time to repair.
So, having little time, and needing to get the Job 'done', I ran out and
bought one of these.
While I only used it for maybe twelve or fourteen hours or so, over perhaps
eight
occasions around that time, to get that initial commission 'done' and then,
soon after, to do several others of a similar kind, I will say it is well
thought out in it's way, has sensible, practical features, is easy to use,
functions well, and is smooth and user-friendly and likely to be durable
enough to use all the time for a long time.
I almost never buy contemporary Tools or Machines of any kind for lots of
'reasons', and when I bought this one, I did my market research in
the course of the fifteen minutes I spent ( in culture shock) looking at
the various models offered in the Store I went to - and this Model
seemed to offer the best combination of practical considerations.
Afterward I did some research on the internet, which seemed to indicate I
had made about the best choice possible.
I do not have a good opinion of contemporary DeWalt or Black and Decker or
hardly anyone's consumer-oriented Tool or Machine products generally, but it
seems that this
little machine represents their flagship and in practical, positive ways,
and
technically is
quite good in every way of function and technical design.
From what I gather since, this model is very well thought of by practioners
who use them and has not disappointed anyone in any way.
Some fast searches in the web, seem to verify that this is more or less the
premier model at this time of any make.
There is another company who makes very very good ones, which have a more
straightforward mechanical appearence, and I can not remember their name
now, and I DID try and get one of those but one must order them from far
away and I did not have time to do it with that commission deadline looming
as it was like them white cliffs of Dover to a limping B-17.
This would be a very convenient, elegant, practical and comfortable method
for making Dies for the Extruder.
Likely, really, almost any medium sized or larger Models of almost any make,
would 'do'...but not so nicely for comfort and ease of functions and
features, as this one...probably.
The little Saw Blades are inexpensive, and of course come in many kinds and
teeth kinds, and themselves are not proprietary for any machine in
particular, so there will never be any problems there, in getting the little
Saw
Blades.
While made of various die-cast and injection moulded plastic components, and
looking like some nightmare science-fiction robotoid-insectoid presence,
pausing in it's maybe innnocent enough and sundry grazeings or forrage...if
you can make your peace with all of that, you will be very happy with it.
I have not been able to make my peace with all of that...since it sticks out
like a sore thumb here ( and I gave away my Walker Turner, without my having
fixed it , to someone that had admired
it
a great deal, and got a 125 pound, not on a stand, Cast Iron, pre-war 'Delta
Milwaukee' for myself which needs a
tiny bit of
tee-ell-cee to be put to it's tasks,) Lol...
So I keep a old tarp over it...
You know, kinda like how subscribers to some subsets of the Catholic
Religion, used to have a
small, or suffiently sized anyway one must assume - hole...in a
sheet...usually embroided of course...with little designs of one kind or
another...radiating a local radius of floral or vegetative vignettes and so
on...
Then again, maybe it's not like that...
Since when I did have recourse to it's charms, I in fact removed the tarp
entirely...sundry holes and all...
Oh silly me...
Phil
al ve
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeremy/Bonnie Hellman"
> I am looking to buy a scroll saw, to be used for making extruder dies.
(I'm
> just not a manual hack saw user. )
>
> My husband looked at a Dewalt DW788 20" Variable Speed Scroll Saw for
> $441and I said that I thought he should be able to get a decent one for
less
> money. He said that reviews indicated that cheaper ones break or were not
> good for intricate work.
>
> I'm not looking to buy the cheapest one available, but I hadn't planned to
> spend $441.
>
> For those of you who own one, and have used it, I'd be interested to hear
> your experience and advice.
>
> TIA
> Bonnie
>
> Bonnie Hellman, enjoying the beautiful San Juan Mountains of Ouray,
> Colorado, looking forward to Daryl Baird's extruder workshop, filling up
> fast, but with a few spaces remaining Aug 12-14.
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
m.mshelomi on tue 12 jul 05
----- Original Message -----
From:
To:
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2005 4:21 PM
Subject: Re: Scroll Saw purchase advice sought
........... So, having little time, and needing to get the Job 'done', I ran
out and
> bought one of these.
Bought one of WHAT? No mention of brand or model... Help please...
pottermim
Vince Pitelka on tue 12 jul 05
Bonnie wrote -
"My husband looked at a Dewalt DW788 20" Variable Speed Scroll Saw for
$441and I said that I thought he should be able to get a decent one for less
money. He said that reviews indicated that cheaper ones break or were not
good for intricate work."
Bonnie -
Go to www.grizzlyindustrial.com and click on "scroll saws." Grizzly sells a
mix of domestic and imported, and that includes power tools imported from
East Asia. Unlike Harbor Freight, they maintain the highest standards of
quality, so even the ones imported from China or Taiwan are very good
equipment. And they stand by their products. Grizzly is an excellent
source for anyone wanting to economically set up a woodworking shop. For
the potter wanting to make their own tools, the scroll saws, bandsaws, strip
sanders, and disk sanders sold by Grizzly are especially nice.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/
John Rodgers on wed 13 jul 05
Grizzly Tools are excellent for those who don't mind foreign made goods.
They have good quality. So much so that a friend of my - a wood worker -
after doing a good bit of research - furnished his complete shop with
Grizzly machines - about 8 or 9 in all - all at one time, and one item
was a large floor model machinist lathe he wanted for wood turnings.
In Tennessee there is a company that specializes in jigsaw building.;
That is all they make. A single model jigsaw. It has a few attachments
to go with it. I saw this saw demonstrated at the how here in Birmingham
and I have never seen a saw run so smooth and so vibration free. If you
laid your hand on the saw table while it was running, but had your ears
plugged and eyes closed, you were barely able to decern that it was
running at all. This machine ran more like a Swiss watch that a saw.
Price was $1200. If you appreciate fine machinery, and your interests
run that way, and you don't choke on that price, it may be the thing for
you, especially if you keep tools and machines as long as I do ( never
get rid of anything. ) It truly is a onetime purchase item, but what a
machine.
If interested let me know and I will try and hunt down the literature I
have on it.
Regards,
John Rodgers
Chelsea, AL
John Post wrote:
> Hi Bonnie,
> I have experience with both the Dewalt saw your husband is looking at
> and a less expensive Delta saw. The Delta scroll saw that I have I
> purchased for around $100 at Home Depot.
>
> My dad who is a woodcarver has the Dewalt saw. It is larger and fairly
> heavy. My dad purchased the optional stand for his. It is a dream to
> use. It cuts smooth with less vibration than my Delta and all of the
> components are just better quality and seem to work better. The air
> nozzle that blows dust off as you saw really works well on the Dewalt
> too.
>
> The reason I went with the $100 Delta saw was its size. It is not as
> nice to use as the Dewalt, but I don't have to have a stand or a
> dedicated space for it in my studio. I keep it on a storage shelf when
> I am not using it. When I need it, I can set it on a worktable in my
> studio. The air nozzle on the Delta was a pain and I just took it off
> the saw.
> I just blow on the piece occasionally when I need to remove dust. The
> blades are easy to change on the Delta and it works great for making
> extruder dies. I have probably made around 30 dies using mine. (The
> first dies you make won't be that great, as it takes a while to get used
> to getting the shapes you want.)
>
> For me the main issue was size. The Dewalt is a great top notch
> machine. It's one of the ones that the woodworkers use to do fancy
> scroll work. The Delta is just smaller and easier to to store and
> that's why I went with it. If I had unlimited floor space I would have
> purchased the Dewalt (and unlimited funds too). Having said that, I am
> very pleased with the way the Delta has worked out.
>
> If I could recommend one additional tool for purchase it would be one of
> the $100 dollar drill presses that they sell at Lowe's of Home Depot.
> They make drilling the starting holes for the dies easy, but they are
> really great for when you want to make a die that has several circles in
> a row, like you seen in decorative beaded moldings. If you hold the die
> down with a clamp on the drill press, the die material will not spin
> when you go to drill holes next to each other. The die will try to spin
> if you are holding it by hand.
>
> A tip on scroll saws is that you need to work with the blade and the
> direction that it cuts. The material that you are cutting often times
> needs to be fed into the blade at an angle instead of straight on. Once
> you learn to work with the way the blade cuts, it is a simple matter to
> cut straight or curved lines.
>
> I have found that my favorite material for dies is cutting board
> plastic. After I cut the plastic, I attach it to a plywood sheet with
> epoxy. When I have some time tomorrow I will post a picture of one of
> my dies on a web page for you to see.
>
> I hope this helps a bit,
> John Post
> Sterling Heights, Michigan
>
>
> Bonnie Wrote-------->
> My husband looked at a Dewalt DW788 20" Variable Speed Scroll Saw for
> $441and I said that I thought he should be able to get a decent one for
> less
> money. He said that reviews indicated that cheaper ones break or were not
> good for intricate work.
>
> I'm not looking to buy the cheapest one available, but I hadn't
> planned to
> spend $441.
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
>
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
denny means on fri 22 jul 05
Bonnie,
A scroll saw will no doubt be a good tool to own. I've owned a Ryobi brand
for over ten years and have been well satisifed with it. Dewalt makes good
tools, but the prices are high, unless your use will be extensive, the
DeWalt may not be worth the premium. Several mid-priced saws would probably
work well for your intended use.
When looking at scroll saws, look at the blade holding device. How do you
remove the blade and change it, or insert a blade through the
wood/plastic/metal you will be sawing? A quick and easy blade change
feature will have more impact on your satisfaction than a big motor, or a
long throat on the arm.
Once you choose the saw, get high quality blades for it, again, good blades
will have a positive effect on your user experience.
Denny Means
http://home.earthlink.net/~crookedtreepots/
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