New to s crolling, need advise

[s4s]

Hello to all. I am a furniture maker with a well equiped shop, but have been asked to bid on a project which involves making Victorian roof and wall brackets. These have tight curves (for a bandsaw guy, anyway), and many fully interior cuts. This is not my usual cup of tea, but thought I would bid it as the woodwork is not difficult, and it might buy me a new tool, which is always a good thing.

These brackets will be laminated of both solid wood and marine grade ply (which I will get a sign off on as I don't agree with this), and 2" thick.

The issue is which scroll saw I should plan to buy should my bid prevail. I don't buy tools that I need to rebuy later. I see from having read a bit of this board that both the Hegner and the RBI are well regarded. Is one better than the other in terms of handling thicker stock? Speed of cut? Will both be good for working on thinner stock, such as instarsia, veneer, fretwork, etc?

Should I decide to go used, which I will if I can, then what features are necessary?
Bottom feed for interior cuts?
Full variable speed?
Blower?
Light (or is this an aftermarket item regardless?)
Foor control (again -- aftermarket?)
Things I have not thought of or mentioned?

One more question -- I would plan to use either Unibond 800 (a urea resin glue) or resourcinal glue as these brackets are for exterior installation. Will these glues present any special problems in terms of fouling the blades? They both dry quite rigid.

Thanks in advance for the guidance.

Alan

[Rivari]

Oh nooo, I ain't even going to touch the which saw is best issue again.

However if you want to know which truck is best give me a holler.

Actually, there is a similiar topic on the boards right now, I would read it and gather your own opinion on which saw to purchase, happy reading.

[Grizz]

I would say the two top dawgs would be RBI & Hegner. You might want to contact both of these two companies and let them have a 'go' at you. I own a RBI - G4 and love it. But I cannot compare it to Hegner...I've not seen or used one.

Sorry, but that's the best I can do for you. There's a saying out there in the golf equipment world; "Demo, Demo, Demo"... if you can. I'd say if you can... demo the saws.

[3_M]

The top of the line is this saw: http://eclipsesaw.com/ If you like a good price on the Hegner don't call AMI, email me and I will help to get the show price.

Mike M

[jttheclockman]

I would have suggested the Dewalt 788 but your quote about cutting 2" thiick material is an issue. The Dewalt limit is 2" The Hegner RBI and Excalliber or Eclippse is 2 & 5/8" so this is a factor. It is not easy cutting pieces that thick with a scrollsaw. The blade will have a tendency to bend and if you are not accustomed to it will leave burning marks. Don't let this scare you away from it but just giving you a heads up. Also you will go through alot of blades because the glue will dull them quickly. Talk to Mike at www.mikesworksop.com and he will set you up with a good blade to use probably a precision ground blade.


Are these that ellaborate that a jigsaw wouldn't work?? Unless you are looking to add a tool to the well equiped shop. ( I wish I could say that )

[Neal Moore]

Gotta agree with JT. 2" stock is a handfull for a scroll saw especially if you're going to be cutting a lot of it which I suspect you are. At 2" you're starting to approach the limit of even the best of the saws and I think it's going to be tedious frustrating work being as it's on a production basis.

[suzie71400]

Which saw to buy??

Hello to all. I am a furniture maker with a well equiped shop, but have been asked to bid on a project which involves making Victorian roof and wall brackets. These have tight curves (for a bandsaw guy, anyway), and many fully interior cuts. This is not my usual cup of tea, but thought I would bid it as the woodwork is not difficult, and it might buy me a new tool, which is always a good thing.

These brackets will be laminated of both solid wood and marine grade ply (which I will get a sign off on as I don't agree with this), and 2" thick.

The issue is which scroll saw I should plan to buy should my bid prevail. I don't buy tools that I need to rebuy later. I see from having read a bit of this board that both the Hegner and the RBI are well regarded. Is one better than the other in terms of handling thicker stock? Speed of cut? Will both be good for working on thinner stock, such as instarsia, veneer, fretwork, etc?

Should I decide to go used, which I will if I can, then what features are necessary?
Bottom feed for interior cuts?
Full variable speed?
Blower?
Light (or is this an aftermarket item regardless?)
Foor control (again -- aftermarket?)
Things I have not thought of or mentioned?

One more question -- I would plan to use either Unibond 800 (a urea resin glue) or resourcinal glue as these brackets are for exterior installation. Will these glues present any special problems in terms of fouling the blades? They both dry quite rigid.

Thanks in advance for the guidance.

Alan

A couple of things that I would look for first of all would be the ability to be able to cut that thickness of wood. I personally can not give you advise on that one because I don't cut wood that thick on mine. However, I think having a blower is GREAT!! Also, the ease of removing and changing blades is a big plus with me. Depending on the size of the pieces you plan on cutting, you might also consider the throat length of the saw itself. I know the next one I get will be longer.

[sheltiecarver]

Hi s4s,
I have a relatively new rbi hawk, and the thick cutting ability is a very important one for me. I use it to double cut (from 2 sides also called compound cutting) blanks for carving. I cut a lot of them because I am involved with the teaching programs of 2 carving clubs. I even replaced the T-bolt on the blade holder with an ordinary 1/4" coarse machine screw, to get that last bit of clearance. Of course, I removed and discarded the hold-down first thing. If I use #9 precision ground blades and remember not to go faster than the saw can handle (pretty slow, compared with any other saw), the results are top notch. Not having tried the Hegner, I can't say whether it is equally great, but I'd bet somebody here has pushed it to the max too, and can tell you about it. I think you will enjoy having a scroll saw in your arsenal. Opens up a lot of possibilities, Good Luck!
Sandy