New member needing advice on 1st scroll saw purchase!

[McCol]

Hi all.

First post and looking for advice on buying a scroll saw for my partner. She currently buys pre made shapes of boats, beach huts and various other things. She then decorates them and sells them on at fairs or to friends and family. Over the last few weeks she has looked at buying a scroll saw to make her own shapes. After some research I am asking here as I am a bit muddled by it all!!

She was given advice on buying a variable speed saw with a slow speed option of around 400, and the ability to easily change blades. We have a budget of around £200-300 and would rather buy new. The shapes she has been buying have a thickness of around 15-25mm and dont seem overly intricate. I've looked at a couple on amazon such as the Draper 22791 which retails for £130 and a Proxxon on Axminster that is 2 speed and is around £190.

Can someone point me in the right direction.

 

[mac1012]

if you can go another 100 hegner single speed will be the best for you money around 400 , why do you need a speed as low as 400 ? just curious as the woods you are cutting you wont need variable speed

mark

 

[McCol]

if you can go another 100 hegner single speed will be the best for you money around 400 , why do you need a speed as low as 400 ? just curious as the woods you are cutting you wont need variable speed

mark

Thanks for the reply.

Not sure really, was advice given to my partner at a craft fair where she had a stall. The chap who gave the advice is a wood turner, he adviced the variable speed with a slow setting of 400. He sells bigger pieces of driftwood carved/shaped into objects.
My partner didnt want to take just his advice as he is using his tools for different kinds of work but it is all new to her(and me!). Looked at the Hegner but may be just out of our budget.

 

[scrimper]

Why not look out on ebay for a second-hand Hegner? Far better than buying a new cheaper machine.

Some of the really cheap saws are more likely to put one off using a fretsaw/scrollsaw for good whereas a machine like the Hegner are an absolute joy to use, in fact when I first bought my Hegner I could not walk past it without having a 'go' on it, many years later I still really enjoy using it.

IMHO Variable speed is very useful especially when doing very intricate cuts on thinner woods I find it gives me more control. It is also good for people not used to using a scroll saw.

 

[Chippygeoff]

There is some very sound advice here. Whatever you do, please do not buy the draper scroll saw or one like it. They are terrible to work with and it is so frustrating, some will not take pinless blades and the noise they make is awful. A second hand Hegner will beat all those other saws with flying colours and they are a joy to work with. Variable speed is a nice addition to a saw but not the end of the world if you end up with a single speed.

 

[Bryan Bennett]

Hi Mcol welcome to the site that will give you very good advice on scroll saws.I am in full agreement with Geoff,if you can get a second hand Hegner it will be worth waiting for,I am the proud owner of the Multicut 1,it only has a single speed and you would be surprised the projects that can be achieved.

Bryan

 

[ChrisR]

Hi McCol.

As others have said above, try to stretch your budget, if you can to a Hegner, you will never regret buying it, and if you no longer had a use for it, reselling would not be a problem. Unlike the cheaper saws, which you would find difficult to even give away. (hammer)

Take care, welcome to the site, and have fun scrolling.

Chris R.

 

[M P Hales]

Hi and welcome

When I first started scrolling I started with a Scheppach decoflex scrollsaw which was an absolute pain to do internal cuts with and shook my bench like you wouldn't believe.
Within 4-5 weeks I upgraded to a Hegner and the difference is unbelievable
As has been said above if you can be patient and either save up for a new Hegner or get a second hand one it's worth the wait as the cheaper scrollsaws are a pain to use and are more likely to put you off than give any enjoyment or good results :!:

As I made the mistake of not heeding advise from the forum members and bought the cheaper machine then regretted it PLEASE don't make the same mistake.

BUY CHEAP BUY TWICE :!: :!:

M

 

[McCol]

Thanks for all the replies folks.

Going to keep an on fleabay for a Hegner or possibly buy a new one. I assume the multicut 1 model would be suffice for my partners needs?

 

[McCol]

My partner has been reading about Excalibur saws, any disadvantages to this compared to the hegner?

 

[ChrisR]

I think the Excalibur is a fairly substantial saw, I have not used one, but a friend of mine purchased one, after practising scrolling on my Hegner, he is pleased in general with it, but was disappointed with the blade clamps, as the clamping screw threads had failed. He is a busy GP, so have not seen him to see if the problem has been resolved.

The Excalibur is not inexpensive, I think there price is very close to the Hegner, and without being biased I don’t think they are in the same league, sorry to Excalibur owners, no offence intended . #-o

One big advantage, the Excalibur is distributed by Axminster Tools, whose customer service is second to none. =D>

Take care.

Chris R.

 

[ChrisR]

McCol.

If you were thinking of getting an Excalibur Scroll Saw, definitely have a look on Axminsters site.

As a regular customer of Axminster, I get Emails on their special offers, (along with many others, not just me), they are now offering three years warranty on a lot of equipment, including Excalibur scroll saw, I don’t know if it relates to all of the Excalibur models, but I would think it is well worth checking out.

I dare not go to their site, or I will end up purchasing something, very little will power, when it comes to tools/equipment. #-o

Take care.

Chris R.

 

[bugbear]

...buying a scroll saw for my partner. She currently buys pre made shapes of boats, beach huts and various other things. She then decorates them and sells them on at fairs or to friends and family. Over the last few weeks she has looked at buying a scroll saw to make her own shapes. ... The shapes she has been buying have a thickness of around 15-25mm and dont seem overly intricate.

The more detail you can provide the better the answers here will be - can you link to the kind of shapes she's currently buying, or upload some photos?

BugBear

 

[mac1012]

I wouldn't worry to much about what shapes its more about the thickness and what wood I have hegner multicut 1 had for three years and I make stuff to sell at craft fairs

I have cut between 4 and 40mm on the saw but I feel for the multicut one it is most comfortable with around 25mm = 30 mm thickness max I have cut thin ply with single speed and some fairly detailed scrolling I guess variable might come in handy if you where doing thin wood and very intricate patterns but you can cover most things with single speed as its all about correct blade and control.

if I had the money , well I have the money but I saving for other power tools I need I would have multicut 2 and maybe one day I will upgrade

have a look at this link which may answer some of your questions about variable speed

http://www.hegner.co.uk/Heg_Variable_Speed


I have heard good and bad about Excalibur you do seem to get a lot of bang for your buck but I think some of components are poor quality that let it down also to me it seems to have a lot of features but with more design there more chance for things to go wrong

the hegner is simple but engineered well and reliable

mark

 

[Chippygeoff]

I would not buy an excalibur. I had one and it lasted 3 months. The blade clamps are the worst design I have ever seen, you take pot luck where the blade is when you put it in the clamp, it dissapears in a dark void and you guess its in the right place. The tension lever will keep popping over as you saw. The wiring ischeap rubbish and the table coating last 2 minutes and then looks ugly. It is vastly over priced and uses the cheapest materials and on top of all that its made in China. The Hegner is the bees knees.

 

[McCol]

Here is a pic of the kind of things my partner has been buying pre made.


image by McCol1, on Flickr

As well as the Hegner also been looking at an Axminster machine that retails around £390, any thoughts on that model?

Thanks for the replies so far, have been very helpful.

 

[mac1012]

did you get my message about the scroll saw on here for sale ?

mark

 

[McCol]

did you get my message about the scroll saw on here for sale ?

mark

Yes I did Mark, thanks for the info but decided on a Hegner.

 

[McCol]

Well after all the great advice I have bought a Hegner Multicut 1 from ebay. Bit unsure if I've done the right thing though! It cost me £250 and postage on top but comes with a few extras but there is no blades with it, hoping it is straight forward to get going. My partner and me are totally new to this.

Here is the one I bought - http://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/e11050.m4 ... AGB%3A1123

 

[mac1012]

looks nice have you received it yet ?? it is the newer model not sure whats happening with the dust blower flexi pipe but they are cheap to get , good buy if it works ok as you got some good extras foot pedal , hold down clamp etc only thing that puzzles me is that the seller has relisted another one but it is exactly the same pic and description as yours ?

mark