Greetings and Salutations.

On Thu, 24 Jul 2003 09:58:16 -0400, Thomas Mitchell
wrote:

My wife told me to go out and get a scroll saw. Why can't she tell me to
go out and buy a morticing machine?

Because the "honey-do" list does not include enough
things that involve mortise and tenon joinery?

I've read the archives on google and some of the stuff goes back to
1992. There's newer stuff, but I thought I'd post a new message anyway
as I had more questions than answers. The more recent threads mention
the Dewalt 788 as being a good choice. Normally I would jump on this
kind of a recommendation but I don't want to put a lot of money into
this tool as I am getting it to make things for the wife. She has this
notion that I'm going to cut patterns and she's going to paint the
parts. Not sure how long that idea will last so I don't want to put a
lot of money into a tool that I will use once in a while.

That being said, does anyone have a recommendation for a decent get what
you pay for scroll saw that's between $100-200 dollars? I've read some
stuff about variable speed, how important of a factor is it? Seems
vibration would be more important to me and possibly the quick change
feature.

One thing you might seriously consider is the used (or as I
like to say - the PreTested) market. Ebay often has large (24")
Delta cast-iron scroll saws for that range of cash. SHipping is a bit
of a consideration, of course, but, overall it is a great saw for
not too much money. Now...the older, cast-iron jobbies usually use
a spring to tension the blade. This is not really a "problem",
although it does take a bit more skill to use, as it is easier to
push too hard and cause the blade to deflect. The big benefit is
that they often are run with a pully drive that is nice and slow,
and, has a good, smooth cut, and, is easy to change speeds on.
I have to admit that I do lust after the higher end saws
(hegner, etc), although I have not been able to pry the $1200 or so
for one out of the wallet. They are going to be the "best" deal
in terms of smoothness of cut and ease of changing blades and such.

How often do you replace the blades on the scroll saw? Is it because the
blade breaks or just changing materials and thickness?

I replace the blade when I find that I have to start pushing
the wood through it. A good, sharp blade, fitted to the wood
thickness I am cutting, will slice through with almost NO effort.
As the teeth dull, though, the pressure needed increases. The
more pressure, the more likely the blade is to bow, and twist,
causing friction, heat, and failure.
Now...I find that when cutting thinner materials (1/2" or
thinner) I can lengthen the life of the blade quite a bit by putting
a spacer somewhat thicker than the stock under it and using the upper
section of the blade first. When I start feeling that cut getting
harder, I simply pull out the spacer, and, drop the stock down on
the table to continue cutting with sharp teeth.
Regards
Dave Mundt