Scroll saw needed...

[Wax Man]

Guy's I'm looking for a scroll saw. Been looking at a $99.00 Ryobi from Home Depot. Any thought's?? Should I really need to spend any more than that?

Thanks

[clemmy]

Wax,

what tasks are you planning on using it for? What lips and what wood? how thick? It matters b4 we can help ya.

Clemmy

[Wax Man]

Wax,

what tasks are you planning on using it for? What lips and what wood? how thick? It matters b4 we can help ya.

Clemmy

I will be cutting Balsa, Paulownia and Ceder.

Thanks

[clemmy]

Wax Man,

It should be fine. By spending moreyou get a little more accuracy and control, but it's more needed in decorative stuff like fretwork. Don't try to do TOO thick on the cedar and you should be fine. If you are wanting to do Musky or saltwater plugs you may want to consider a band saw tho.

Regaardless, get quality blades such as olson or flying dutchman, and use according to mfg.'s suggestions regaarding tpi, skip, etc. Spiral blades are nice for roughing out but make it hard to do a straight line. Make sure yo square the blades with the table. Also, scroll saws tend to want to go to one side or the other a bit when doing a straight line, but if you practice a few cuts it becomes second nature to compensate. Let the blade do the work. A foot pedal is really nice if you can find one cheap.

You can also use a scroll saw to cut out lips. The biggest problem is the blade tends to heat up and reweld the sides back together. I've found that if, while letting the blade run you use a fine file or hone to knock off the sharp back corners of the blade a bit, along with using a blade lubricant (commercial, or candle works too) it'll help.

Wear safety glasses and mind your fingers!

Clemmy