scroll saw

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~~Dremel 1680~~

this is my scroll saw, the Dremel 1680, no longer in production by Dremel, but I have had this thing for at least 11 years and only had to replace the light bulbs in it!
The price at BORG was $179.00 . So if this thing ever croaks, I may end up going with the Dewalt 20", a bit more expensive, but i really like the versatility of it much better!
 
The Delta 40-690 scroll saw is the same as the DeWalt 788 but much cheaper (both owned by same company now). I have a reconditioned DeWalt that I bought some years back for $199 and its amazing. Aloha from Berkeley...
 
I have the delta 788 and the dremel scroll station ( only difference from pic show by seamus is it has a sanding disc on the side, that can be removed and a dremel attachment can be added) I prefer the dremel more and use it more than the delta.
 
I have had the DeWalt 788 20" for about a year and would recommend it to anyone. It has a variable cutting speed which is really nice if you are going to cut plastics or any other material that is heat sensitive.
 
The things to look for...no pin blades, you want pinless! Variable speed and tension control, those are the 3 features you must have. When it comes to pinless..if they say it's pin but there's an adaptor for pinless, that is unacceptable.
 
I have the Dewalt 788 and by far I would recomend it to anyone the Delta 40-690 is the exact same saw at a cheaper rate. I have used the delta and the only difference I came up with is the name and the color scheme If I didnt have my dewalt or needed a back up I would get the delta.
 
I have the dremel and my dad has the dewalt - used both and like both. The delta is smoother operation at higher speeds and I like the arm that moves up. Also it is mechanically different -the dremel is a what I believe they call a "C" arm and the dewalt has parallel arms which will give you a better cut and less vibration. I like them both and depending on what i was willing to spend either one is a good machine but if I were to buy another I would but the dewalt/delta.
 
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I have the DeWalt and am very happy with it, but if I had to do it over, I watch Craigslist. I've seen some real nice high end RBI Hawk saws for the price I paid for the DeWalt.
 
I picked up one from a pawn shop for $35. I don't remember the brand name but it has worked perfect (and all the features I wanted). They had a lot to chose from at the time. Good way to get into scroll work and decide if you like it or not.
 
Dewalt and Delta are no longer owned by the same company but they are essentially the same saw and the Deltas are still being serviced by Black & Decker (Aka Stanley/Dewalt/Porter Cable). There are a lot of issues with quality control on that saw and service all around from B&D over the past several years.

Your best bet may be to find one of the older reputable Delta models if you really want cheap. Other than that the 16" Excalibur by General International is the cheapest I would ever recommend... It's not much more expensive than a New Delta only it's a little smaller. They do make 21" and 30" models too.

You can find them at Woodcraft or at http://seyco.com . The owner of Seyco takes them out of the box and fine tunes them for optimal blade motion but I can help you to do that yourself if you got one elsewhere.

Here's a thread discussing recent Dewalt issues (one of many).
http://www.scrollsawer.com/forum/tools-and-blades/40750.htm


Here's a thread about writing to the president of Dewalt informing him of the quality control issues with the saw of late.
http://www.scrollsawer.com/forum/tools-and-blades/40771.htm

If you are lucky and you get a good one, it's still a somewhat decent saw, although the front-to-back blade motion at best make it quite aggressive and in worse cases make it unusable.
 
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