virgin scroller heeeelp

[REIDY]

Hi all I'm looking for some help
Iv been looking at scroll saws and have bought a clarke one(should have read the reviews)
It's not what I imagend it whould be and feel very disappointed
Not sure if it's me of the very cheap made machine

It's very loud and is banging its difficult to use the tensioning knob don't seem to do anything and quickly wonders
the blade isn't plumb I have adjusted the blade holders to no real affect
I have not been able to do much with it as I don't think it works
I have cut 2 rabbit shapes out of 32mm ply and 1"pipe both very rough and have had better results with the jig saw
its going back 2morra to machine mart for a refund

I want to make simple shapes and some compound stuff
I'm a joiner by trade so understand the basics of tools but not scroll saws

Is it me or the saw

Please help as I don't want to just give up but im felling like ill not be able to do what I want
Thanks

 

[Chippygeoff]

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you have bought just about the worst scroll saw ever made. It's certainly not you that is the problem and it's no wonder you are disappointed. If you had the saw bolted down, and if you had a decent blade and if you had thinner material other than 32 mm you might just be able to make some shapes.

I really feel for you. It's a mistake than many people make and I hope that it has not put you off scroll sawing. It's all very well asking after the horse has bolted but if you had asked on the forum before you parted with your hard earned cash you would have received some sound advice from the many members. You will never produce good work on a Clarke scroll saw. If you lived nearer to you would be more than welcome to come and spend a couple of hours in my workshop and have a go on decent saws. I hope you are able to get a refund and when you find something that you feel may do the business ask here first before parting with your money.

 

[REIDY]

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you have bought just about the worst scroll saw ever made. It's certainly not you that is the problem and it's no wonder you are disappointed. If you had the saw bolted down, and if you had a decent blade and if you had thinner material other than 32 mm you might just be able to make some shapes.

I really feel for you. It's a mistake than many people make and I hope that it has not put you off scroll sawing. It's all very well asking after the horse has bolted but if you had asked on the forum before you parted with your hard earned cash you would have received some sound advice from the many members. You will never produce good work on a Clarke scroll saw. If you lived nearer to you would be more than welcome to come and spend a couple of hours in my workshop and have a go on decent saws. I hope you are able to get a refund and when you find something that you feel may do the business ask here first before parting with your money.

worst thing is I new I was buying a pice of crap but couldn't wait
I'm pritty confident ill get the refund as u bought the display model as they were out of stock I was told it was unused but on opening the side panel to have a look it was covered in sawdust so that's my angle and also It's faulty.
what whould you recommend then for a newbie with a limited budget

 

[Bryan Bennett]

Hi REIDY a very warm welcome to the Forum,I to suffer from impatience and hopefully you get your money back.I did not have the forum for advice when I bought mine,and was very fortunate to have bought the single speed Hegner Multicut 1.
Only when I found this forum did I realize that others were available,some like the one that you have bought.Geoff has more experience than most on here,and is asked for advice quite often.
Sorry that I cannot help with advice on which one to purchase,someone will be along shortly to help. :roll:


Bryan

 

[Chippygeoff]

Hi Reidy. Sadly there are many people like you who are on a tight budget and in this day and age it can be difficult to save up enough for a decent saw. Unfortunately there are not many decent saws available here in the UK. A lot of the members here have the Jet scroll saw and I have seen some decent work produced on them. It's not a brilliant saw but with some TLC it can be made to work quite well. With most of the cheaper saws you will want to change the clamps as many do not accept pinless blades, also you will need to change the top clamp for a quick release clamp. You are only looking at a few pounds to make the changes.

To get the best from the saw you will need a solid bench or stand with a thick top. You will then need to bolt the saw down to reduce vibration. It is not advisable to use the blades that come with the machine as they tend to be rubbish. Niqua blades are good and available from Hobbies or Hegner or you can get Flying Dutchman blades from Mike's workshop in America as many of us do. As you are a beginner I would start off with cutting things in thin plywood, it will cut quite fast and you will need lots of practice following lines.

Another alternative for you would be to look for a second hand saw on the likes of E-bay, Gumtree and Preloved, they are coming up all the time and you can get a real bargain. If you do find one then ideally you will want to see it running and have a go on it before you part with any money. Lots of saws become available as people upgrade to a better saw. As I said before, if you see something then ask on here and we will tell you if it is a decent saw. Scroll sawing is a wonderful hobby and will give you hours of pleasure and I wish you well for the future.

 

[stevebuk]

Welcome to the forum, I must say that although the machine you bought is total pants you didn't help yourself cutting ply at 32 mm straight away, the machine and definitely the blade would have struggled.

If you are going to use wood that thick you need a good blade and a better machine, you want to have fast speed and a slow feed rate. Hope that helps a bit..

 

[REIDY]

Thanks for the replys it was 3mm ply my phone auto corrected it lol
And 1"pine I was cutting
Going to the shop to day with it for a refund hopfuly

 

[Chippygeoff]

Before I took my excalibur back for a refund I spoke to trading standards and they gave me all the information I needed. The supplier tried to say I was not entitled to a refund and tried to fob me off with a replacement. When I quoted the law to him I got my refund. I added a bit more and bought my Hegner. Don't be fobbed off, you will be entitled to a full refund and then you can set your sights on something better.

 

[REIDY]

Been in and got a full refund the fella looked a bit red faced as it was him who sold it to me stating it's a great piece of kit lol
No probs at all in and out in 10 mins

 

[ChrisR]

Reidy, welcome to the forum, you have received good sound advice from others so no need to add any further.

Good to see you had a refund without any problem, must add that I have received good customer service from Machine-Mart in the past.

Hope you get sorted with a serviceable saw soon, and you can start enjoying the world of scroll sawing, warning it can become addictive.

Take care.

Chris R.

 

[REIDY]

Thanks ill be looking round for a good saw this time lol
Iv just got myself a band saw for the time being lol
Gunna try my hand with some boxes