Titan TTB54SSW 457mm Scroll Saw

[jonluv]

My Delta has seen better days and I can't afford an Excalibur, saw this Titan advertised and it looks better than I would expect.
I like the cast iron and length of the table

Anyone know about it ?
Thanks

 

[boysie39]

Welcome Jonluv in case I hadn't said it before .I am not getting the link to the saw not that I would be much help to you but ??

 

[jonluv]

Thanks Eugene
Using IPad and don't know how to post link but the saw is being sold by one of the chains

John

 

[RogerP]

http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb54ss ... 230v/10393

 

[Bryan Bennett]

Hi John a very warm welcome to the site,I am afraid I can't help you with the saw.Someone hopefully will be able to help you.Screwfix is a decent company,who I am sure would not sell a inferior machines knowingly.It certainly a minefield out there trying to make a right choice,good luck.

Bryan

 

[martinka]

I never saw this one before. From a quick search, it looks to be sold exclusively by Screwfix. Cast iron base and table sounds good for damping vibration. Pivoted blade clamps is a good idea, but it doesn't look easy to change blades. Top clamp could have a knob fitted, but without seeing more detail, I'd say it's not so easy getting to the bottom clamp. I could be wrong of course. 457mm=18" so bigger than the usual budget saw.

It doesn't look like any of the other clones, so if it's a new saw on the market, I think I'd want someone else to be the first to try it. Unless you can take someone knowledgable about scroll saws to look at one. I don't know if Screwfix would allow anyone to give one a try out.

 

[scrimper]

I think Martin is right, you would not want to be the first one to spend £150 to try out this saw, often these machines are fine for someone who just wants to play around a little then shove it in the cupboard and forget it, if you are into regular fretwork and especially if you want to do internal cuts it will probably become a frustrating experience removing and reattaching the blade.

The main thing that puts me off is that it uses a universal or carbon brush motor which are often harsh and noisy, induction motors are not only quieter and smoother they are in most cases completely trouble free! Lol I like the way Screwfix quotes as a feature "replaceable carbon brushes" as if it is some benefit to the user! Often by the time the brushes have worn down the armature has too.

Like others I have no experience of this saw but personally I would not go for it, I know it has been said before but why not look out for a decent second-hand saw, they do come up quite often, just last week a jolly top quality decent Kity saw (you can read about it here this-has-to-have-been-made-by-hegner-surely-t77119.html )
It was bought by Midge a member here and by all accounts was a brilliant buy at just £75!

On the other hand if you bought it I imagine Screwfix would take it back if it was not up to the standard you want.

 

[jonluv]

Many thanks to all
I'll leave replacing the Delta till it finally dies then perhaps go for the Axminster clone

Thanks

John

 

[ChrisR]

I would second what Scrimper has said, especially the comments regarding the motor.
A brush motor on a scroll saw :shock: , no way would this last very long, if you intend doing some serious work with this saw. :roll:

Welcome to the site.

Take care.

Chris R.

 

[zodiac]

Old thread bump alert! Found this thread while googling for reviews as the wife just ordered one of these for me, Screwfix have them down from 169.99 to 69.99. My Ferm saw is a right pain to use so this should be better than that plus I don't get to use my toys, I mean tools, as much as I'd like so it should be a while before anything burns out. Fingers crossed it's decent enough for bargain money!

 

[jonluv]

Would love to know how you get on with it--- the only reason I didn't buy one is because I was lucky to get a 26 Ultra Hawk at a good price

John

 

[ardenwoodcraft]

Just had the new Axminster catalogue and they have a similar model in there.

They describe it as an intermediate model in between hobby and trade models.

If you are going to buy anything from Axminster better get in quick because there are substantial price rises on nearly all the machinery for 2015!!!!

 

[gilljc]

Looks pretty good for the money, my first scroll saw was a titan basic model, and was a bit fiddly but an excellent first saw. I only moved on because it used pinned blades and I really wanted to do a lot of fine fretwork., and I didn't know you can get adaptors for plain blades.
Screwfix are a reputable company and back up all their products, anything I have bought from them has been good enough

 

[pcb1962]

Screwfix have them down from 169.99 to 69.99

I picked up one of these on Saturday for my daughter. It's a lot of machine for the money, unfortunately I can't say much more about it as the first time I switced it on it tripped the mains RCD, and the second time, so it's going back this evening.

 

[zodiac]

I haven't had chance to properly test the scroll saw however I have noticed that the yellow insert in the centre of the surface (table / bed ? in work sorry, can't think today lol) is sunken not flush, so the workpiece catches on the edge. Looking at the photo I attached of the saw it does look flush. I think mine isn't supposed to be sunken! (pretty obvious I suppose, I'm a scroll sawing newbie though so I just unboxed it then placed it on the bench where it will live).

 

[Claymore]

Its quite a common thing for the table inserts to be too thin even on expensive stuff but easily sorted either by shimming up (stick something on the back to raise it flush with the table top) or making a new one out of plywood etc..... you could even make a full table cover like some of the guys on here have and just leave a small hole to pass your blade through.
It will be interesting to see how it performs (make sure you use some decent pinless blades like Pegas/Olsen etc as the standard blades are usually pretty rubbish)
Cheers
Brian
Ps be brave and switch it on! lol

 

[pcb1962]

I haven't had chance to properly test the scroll saw however I have noticed that the yellow insert in the centre of the surface (table / bed ? in work sorry, can't think today lol) is sunken not flush, so the workpiece catches on the edge. Looking at the photo I attached of the saw it does look flush. I think mine isn't supposed to be sunken! (pretty obvious I suppose, I'm a scroll sawing newbie though so I just unboxed it then placed it on the bench where it will live).

Mine is about 0.5mm below the metal, hadn't noticed as we've only used it to cut out large pieces so far, it would obviously be better shimmed up to be flush with the table.

 

[Churchieboy]

Hi all, just joined up and saw this topic relating to the Titan Scroll Saw. Hopefully I can answer one or two of the points raised as I have been using it now for about 4 months.

I was lucky to pick it up for £69.99 as it compared quite nicely to some of the more expensive machines and I guess I took the plunge hoping that it would be ok.

The first one worked great!! I ran into a bit of bother when I began to use the rotary attachment though. I'm still not quite sure how but the insert (the bit that makes it spin) somehow got stuck on one end and it ended up twisting itself until it snapped. I contacted Screwfix via email and at my convenience a courier was arranged to collect the whole unit and two further days later a new one arrived. If I'm honest, that did annoy me as the unit was running brilliantly, all I needed was a new insert.

The second one.....well......within seconds of turning it on it was clear something was very wrong. The whole unit was shaking quite badly (I set it up and did everything as I did with the first) and when I began to cut it was obvious the bottom and top arms were out of line. On closer inspection the bottom bar appeared bent and no doubt was causing it to shudder and shake about. I reckon about 15 minutes into using it the whole thing came to a stop and yes I was back onto Screwfix. They were trying to offer me a similar model, (Scheppach I think) but because I only paid £69.99 and this was about £130.00, I would have had to find the difference. They did offer £10 off!!!!

I decided to take the unit back to the local store (having checked they had another in stock first) and without any trouble whatsoever, they brought me my third (and what was going to be my final) Titan Scroll Saw.

Without hesitation, I decided to strip it down. I removed the plastic safety cover (just got on my nerves), the wood chatter thingy, the cover under the table to get easy access to the bottom blade insert.......and I think that was it. No, I also removed the screws from the centre circle so I could take it out whenever I wanted. Unscrewing it to see what I was doing below would have been a pain without doing this.

Finally (sorry this post/answer was so long) I did have a further problem, this time with the plastic lever at the rear which loosens/tightens the blade. It snapped off!! Not sure if I was overzealous, tightened it too much or was just unlucky again but I managed to make another lever from hardwood which (fingers crossed) is working a treat. In fact it looks much better than the original!!! I have a template ready and waiting should this one break.

In a nutshell, a working unbroken machine is fantastic. It looks good, feels good and cuts great. Rather than going on and on (even more) if anyone has any questions it might be better I wait for them before babbling on even further. If you got this far, thanks for showing an interest. Regards, Gary

 

[ChrisR]

Gary.

Welcome to the forum.

Sorry to read about your trials and tribulations with Titan saw, but it does show good customer service from Screwfix.

I am sure you will be inundated with questions about the saw.

Take care.

Chris R.

 

[lanemaux]

Hi Gary and welcome. As a first post goes , I think it was a dandy. Good info on a subject that you have personal experience with is a can't go wrong combo. I'm on my 500th post and don't think I've managed any better than that. You're gonna fit in well here. Don't forget to pop into the Hand Tools ward as that is a very amusing and informative spot as well, be seeing you.