Jump to content

Current scroll-saw advice - which one?


Recommended Posts

Toyed with getting one of these for a while, and since I'm embarking on my first build from a plan I am set on buying a scroll saw - for those fuselage formers etc. A bit reluctant to buy s/h on Ebay or elsewhere, but I don't want to spend a fortune, just need something that will handle plywood up to 5-6mm, and balsa of course. Proxxon make a neat little unit; Axminster Tools have their own branded scroll saws, Chinese manufactured of course, about which I've seen mixed reviews. Their cheapest is £130 - anyone have experience with the Axminster Craft AC405SS? Or maybe someone here has something for sale...

Don't see myself using it for all those wing ribs though! Too tedious by half, and my dexterity isn't what it used to be. I see on this site there are clever tips about cutting wing ribs roughly, fixing them together, then sanding them to shape in one go; nice idea, still a bit challenging for me - and I'd thought to use foam-board for economy anyway, not sure how well that sands...

rgds Tony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a cheap Workzone scroll saw I bought from Aldi which isn't perfect but it does all I need.  I think it was £60 but thy're only stocked occasionally.

 

The best way of making a set of wing ribs is to cut a pair with the scroll saw then bolt as many balsa pieces together as you need ribs with your cut ribs at each end and sand them all at the same time. Then cut the spar slots before separating them.  Result - a number of identical ribs.  You can do the same with tapered wings but all the ones I've done have been simple parallel chord.  It would be very difficult to use a scroll saw to cut each rib individually and get them accurate.  Another way is to cut a rib pattern from (say) aluminium and simply use as a guide to cut the ribs from sheet balsa with a scalpel.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tony. I've got one of those Axminster jobbies The saw is of reasonable quality certainly good enough to get the job done. Bit of an art to using and just needs  practice and some better blades than the ones supplied with the saw. If I'm cutting straight lines in ply up to 1/8" I use a Stanley knife though, not much good for straight lines, perfect for curvey shapes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, Geoff S said:

I have a cheap Workzone scroll saw I bought from Aldi which isn't perfect but it does all I need.  I think it was £60 but thy're only stocked occasionally.

 

The best way of making a set of wing ribs is to cut a pair with the scroll saw then bolt as many balsa pieces together as you need ribs with your cut ribs at each end and sand them all at the same time. Then cut the spar slots before separating them.  Result - a number of identical ribs.  You can do the same with tapered wings but all the ones I've done have been simple parallel chord.  It would be very difficult to use a scroll saw to cut each rib individually and get them accurate.  Another way is to cut a rib pattern from (say) aluminium and simply use as a guide to cut the ribs from sheet balsa with a scalpel.

 

 

Thanks Geoff. Your idea of an aluminium template is interesting - though making it might be a bit challenging - especially since I'm going to try and use foamboard, which cuts very nicely with a scalpel. The wings on my Cessna plan are indeed tapered, though the inboard section has half a dozen same-size ribs.

rgds Tony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Outrunner said:

Tony. I've got one of those Axminster jobbies The saw is of reasonable quality certainly good enough to get the job done. Bit of an art to using and just needs  practice and some better blades than the ones supplied with the saw. If I'm cutting straight lines in ply up to 1/8" I use a Stanley knife though, not much good for straight lines, perfect for curvey shapes.

OK, that's good advice. It's advertised as coming with Swiss-made Pegas blades, which I'd have hoped were good quality. For straight-line cutting of ply, I already have a small bandsaw, only a Clarke which I got on Ebay very cheaply but with care it's fine for light materials like thin ply, use it a lot.

rgds Tony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I find the easiest method is to rough cut the parts on a scroll saw (I cut heavier ply on a band saw but a scroll saw will cut 1/4 birch ply OK - just a bit slower) and then trim them to the finished shape on a bench sander.  More expense but a very useful tool to have - a cheap one will be fine for modelling purposes.

 

20191021_153438.thumb.jpg.75bfee6f19fc5851f32b59c90349593f.jpg

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a Record Power scroll saw, now about 10 years old. It cost just short of £100 at a tool show. Well made and runs smoothly. I would suggest when considering what to purchase would be to choose a saw which takes both pin ended and plain ended blades. Also look for one which has variable speed. As Don says we are unlikely to wear one out so second hand is a good bet.

I would avoid very cheap scroll saws which tend to vibrate badly making accurate wok very difficult. The Rolls Royce of scroll saws are the products made by Hegner, they command Rolls Royce prices too, even second hand.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re second hand. Twenty five years ago a friend treated himself to a nice new expensive bandsaw and offered his old one to me for nothing.

I still have it and use it regularly for modelling and other jobs - never been a problem and has always worked perfectly well. I often wonder why my friend chucked it out.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, Martin Harris - Moderator said:

I find the easiest method is to rough cut the parts on a scroll saw (I cut heavier ply on a band saw but a scroll saw will cut 1/4 birch ply OK - just a bit slower) and then trim them to the finished shape on a bench sander.  More expense but a very useful tool to have - a cheap one will be fine for modelling purposes.

 

 

Thanks Martin - I have the Lidl bench sander, very useful as you say, moderately priced and good value. A friend has the same model, very experienced modeller, and he agrees it's a good machine.

rgds Tony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Paul De Tourtoulon said:

I binned my dremel,,, and finding blades !

 Now a 180€ one with electronic speeds it's 10 times better than my old Dremel.

Hello Paul - I wonder what that is, and whether you bought it locally or mail order? Haven't really looked for any tool shops in Alès. Dremel make some good kit, but as you seem to suggest, their stuff can be non-standard. I have an occasionally very useful tool called the Dremel Trio, but it takes an unusual one-off size of cutting/drilling piece.

Hope to see you at St Jean in 2022.

rgds Tony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought mine in 1989 in a model shop in Montpellier, it cost me an arm and a leg, it had a disc sander on the right hand side and took short saw blades, and wouldn't cut butter, the chassis was pressed tin halves held together with self tapping screws, and not one ball bearing in it !

 

 Hi Tony did you arrive with David ?.

Edited by Paul De Tourtoulon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, Paul De Tourtoulon said:

I bought mine in 1989 in a model shop in Montpellier, it cost me an arm and a leg, it had a disc sander on the right hand side and took short saw blades, and wouldn't cut butter, the chassis was pressed tin halves held together with self tapping screws, and not one ball bearing in it !

 

 Hi Tony did you arrive with David ?.

I've been in and out of Montpellier a lot, starting over 30 years ago (we used to use my late mother in law's apartment at Carnon, before getting the house near Alès) but don't recall coming across a model shop! Will probably buy a cheap-ish scroll saw from Axminster Tools, not too far from me in Devon.

Yes, you've seen me at the field a couple of times in the company of David - he's given me an old magazine plan for a Cessna Bird Dog which I intend to build. In 2022 must get around to actually joining AMCC.

rgds Tony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Many of these scroll saws are very similar, my Axminster one has been going since about 1993 and is somewhat similar to the current Titan one.    If I bought one today I would look for quick release blade tension as a big time saver on internal cuts where you have to undo the blade to thread thro - currently only the Scheppach SD 1600V seems to have this.  Also has a worklight which would be very handy, but you could arrange one on any machine.  The SD1600V is cheaper at Toolstop ( not Toolstation ) than Screwfix.

But it's all in the skill of the user - needs practice.

I strongly recommend that before you buy one just to cut simple formers you first buy a piercing saw ( 6 pound from Axminster ) which is a small hand fretsaw and extremely useful for loads of jobs even if you have a powered scrollsaw.  A piercing saw also called a jewellers saw weighs a couple of ounces, hangs on a nail in the workshop unlike a scrollsaw which weighs 12 kilos and cannot easily be moved around.    Either will cut formers in ply with ease up to 1/8th and even 1/4 with a little more effort with the piercing saw.   The piercing saw is best used with a  V  cutout in ply on a block ( see Tools you Can Make )   just like a fretsaw but much easier to use as it's smaller.    That and a Permagrit block would cut and sand any formers for model aircraft.

Edited by kc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Tony Harrison 2 said:

Thanks Martin - I have the Lidl bench sander, very useful as you say, moderately priced and good value. A friend has the same model, very experienced modeller, and he agrees it's a good machine.

rgds Tony

You might have noticed that the picture in my last post showed a balsa former - I use this technique for both balsa and ply (thinner balsa rough cut with a scalpel) and it has the advantage that edges are precisely at right angles which isn’t always the case when cutting balsa or thinner ply with a blade. 
 

I have an Axminster scroll saw which is quite solidly built - not top quality but more than adequate for most modelling purposes. 
 

P.S. I bought mine second hand and it was almost impossible to hold the desired line - I was regretting letting go of my cheap ‘n cheerful B&Q own make one…until I changed the blade, which had a small twist in it when I looked carefully!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

46 minutes ago, kc said:

A scrollsaw won't cut straight lines easily -  straight parts of ply formers etc can be cut better with a Gents saw ( small fine bladed tenon saw ) or a japanese pull saw.  Use with a traditional bench hook or the improved version.

Thanks kc for your posts, but I've never been able to use any kind of hand saw in a straight line! I have a small cheap bandsaw, Clarke brand, which with careful adjustment and a gentle touch is great for accurate cuts in light material.

rgds Tony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The advantage to hand tools is that they are safer than power tools - when you feel the pain YOU stop the power tool does not!   Scroll saws are much safer than bandsaws etc due to the small stroke, it's not easy to cut yourself but just possible.  Not so with a band saw which can do real injury.

If you cannot cut straight with a handsaw then buy a Nobex magnetic saw guide for DIY use.   Used with a handsaw it can cut 1/16th slices off a 2 by 4 inch without any skill!  

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My original one in 2001 came from B&Q. It had a heavy cast iron table and was brilliant until it started breaking expensive blades so I gave it away and bought an Axminster Jet for £100. With the Pegas 24 TPI blades it is great, if a little lightweight in comparison. Most of my wing ribs are tapered and need cutting individually. I always use the saw on any balsa over 3/32nd" to get a vertical cut. Wish I had waited a while because on the later model you can rotate the blade 90 deg which would be great for sawing 36" balsa since the normal throat is only 16". If they still do these or similar I can highly recommend one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Martin,  Axminster are a nice firm to deal with and it's likely if you ask them about the modified part on later models they will supply you with the parts for yours.  Worth a phone call.    Probably the same part on all machines.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...