This is going to be just a general information blog about scroll saws, so anyone interested in buying one or choosing a new saw, can be armed with some knowledge.

Saws are generally divided into two categories : top feeders or bottom feeders. On top feeders the upper arm lifts up to allow the blade to be fed into the hole for the cut. These are great for people who do a lot of fretwork. On bottom feeders the upper arm stays in place which requires you to feed the blade into a fret hole from the bottom. Saws such as the Excalibur, Dewalt, and the two new Delta saws are top feeders.

Saws range in price anywhere from as low as $80.00 to $2500.00. The mid range ($500-900) saws will fit the needs of most scrollers, even some of the lower price range saws are very capable of doing everything the average scroller needs. Personally I have a $180.00 Hitachi saw, which has served me well since '08, and has well over 200 hours on it, Hitachi is no longer producing this saw. Lowe's does carry a Porter Cable saw which is the same body as the Hitachi, the biggest difference is the Hitachi has a cast iron table, the Porter Cable an aluminum one, which adds to the vibration quite a bit, I had the opportunity to use the P C for a week or so a couple months ago and the is substantially more vibration in it than the Hitachi.

Basic saw features to look for. Having all the controls, ie: on/off switch speed control, blade tensioning, up front and easily accessed is nice, most of the saws on the market now are this way. Tool free blade changes are definitely a must for someone doing a lot of cutting, again most newer saws have this feature. A good air blower mounted in a convenient location is nice to have, however they are operated off a bellows mounted under the upper arm, so some are not that strong, so a lot of people, myself included choose to hook up an aquarium pump for increased air flow, I have a pump rated for up to a 50 gl. Tank on mine. I removed the plastic tubing from the bellows that goes into the the flexible blower tube and ran the tubing from the pump into it. It makes a big difference. Most saws come with a hold down foot to keep the work piece from jumping up, most people will remove these as they tend to get in the way to much. Blade tensioning, saws such as the Dewalt and newer Delta's have the tension control at the front, other saws such as the RBI Hawks and Excalibers and most of the lower priced saws have the blade tension knobs at the back of the saw, however saws such as the Excaliber have a tension release lever up front which makes it a lot easier to release tension for blade changes. Some saws will have a light included with them, my experience is that most of these lights are not that big of a help. The Excaliber has an optional magnifying light which is supposed to to a good job, I haven't used one but those that I have talked to like it. All the saws on the market have tilting tables, which most of us don't use that often, but when you need it for an inlay project or self framing type project it is nice. Most saws have a knob under the table to release tension and adjust the angle of the table. However the Excaliber has a unique feature in that the upper arm tilts rather than the table, so that you are always cutting on a flat surface, this is one of the reasons I am leaning towards the Ex for my next saw.

Table size and material are other key features that I will discuss. Saws are anywhere from 14” to 30” in size, this refers to the throat depth, not table size, and this will directly relate to the size of projects that you can handle. Tables will be shape differently too some being teardrop shape and some being rectangular or a combination of these shapes, I prefer a rectangular shape myself. Most saws have cast iron tables, which greatly helps reduce vibration, some of the lower priced saws will have aluminum tables. A couple of points to think about when choosing a size as far as size goes is to try and plan ahead and think of how big of projects you will be making, and how much space you have available. Some saws will come with stands too, the one that came with mine was pretty poor, I have since made a 3 legged wooden stand, if anyone wants the plans let me know. The Dewalt and Deltas have a good stand from what I understand, the RBI's and Hegner's come with stands also and as expensive as those saws are I would imagine the stands are really good.

Speed control, I mention earlier about the location of the speed control, but really didn't touch on the fact that saws come in single, 2 speed and variable speed. As with any other tool variable speed is a definite plus.

As with any other item we buy you get what you pay for, so my advice is to take you time choosing a saw and buy the best that your budget allows. I have some links below to the major saws for you to check out if you want to. 

I think I have covered all the main features and items to look for in a saw. If I left anything out please feel free to add your comments or ask questions.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  

Greg

http://www.seyco.com/saws.html

http://www.rbiwoodtools.com/

http://www.advmachinery.com/c-3-scroll-saws.aspx

http://www.pswood.com/home.php?cat=19

http://www.portercable.com/Products/CategoryOverview.aspx?catPath=4...

http://www.dewalt.com/tools/machinery-scroll-saws-dw788.aspx

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2081366/31143/Delta-20-Heavy-Duty-...