Best tool for the job?

[aprayinbear]

Which would you choose?

I'm considering trying some curved segment pattern blanks. Problem is I do not own a scroll saw or a band saw. I will be cutting both straight and curved segments for the designs I am thinking about. Whatever tool I use, it needs to be accurate and capable of smooth cuts that don't need a lot of clean up.

I live on a very tight budget, so cost is a big issue. I was considering the Proxxon Scroll saw DSH/E, Model 37090 or maybe a small bandsaw. I could also use the bandsaw for a variety of other tasks like cutting blanks squarely to length.

Thoughts.... suggestions?:question:

Happy Turning!:biggrin:

 

[Dale Lynch]

Do you frequent auctions?14" ones come along from time to time and can be got pretty cheap usually.After a tune-up its all the saw one needs for that kind of work.

 

[plantman]

What to buy???? Tight budjet !!!! To get the most bang for your buck, I would buy a table top band saw. It's not so much the brand you buy, old, or new, it's the blades you use and how the saw is tuned up to start with. If you are going to do pens, a HF table top saw will do what you want to do for a good entry price. And as Spanx said, watch for auctions and a good price on a better and bigger saw. If you can afford it, keep both saws. I have my small saw mounted on the end of my lathe so I can easly cut blanks and my 14 inch mounted on one end of my Shop Smith. Once I set up a jig for segmenting on my biger saw I don't want to remove it to cut blanks to length. As your skills grow and your spare income increases, you can move up the saw chain. A band saw will give you a much broader number of uses for the money spent. I do all my segmenting on my band saws and I use my scroll saws for inlays. Jim S

 

[aprayinbear]

Thanks Guys!

I was getting frustrated when looking at scroll saws as everyone said the cheap ones weren't worth having. Honestly I think there is a lot of snobbery when it comes to brands, etc. I just want to get the job done!

Many thanks:cowboy:

 

[wouldentu2?]

Two types of people.

Ones that pay more and tell you how satisfied they are with it, and those that pay less and tell you how much they saved.

 

[kovalcik]

IK had a cheap bandsaw for many years. It got the job done, BUT.....

You have to tune it up everytime you cut. (I upgraded to Cool-blocks for the guide blocks.
Even with the tune up and good blades, it never cut straight.
Mine was definitely under powered. Could not handle cutting bowl blanks from logs.
It had some vibration which I could not get rid of which at best was annoying and at worst may have affected the smoothness of the cut.

Those are things you can work around with a little patience and a familiarity of the shorcomings of the tool. That said, I upgraded to a Powermatic 2 years ago and have not regretted it.

I also picked up a Craftsman benchtop saw on Craigslist for $25. Its only use is to carry around to Girl scout meetings to cut out pine wood derby cars. It cuts straight with the stock Craftsman blades and works really well even though some parts of the guide are missing, so go figure. I have cut out a few hundred cars with it and every girl was very happy.

Summary: buy the best you can afford that will do the job you want it to do and make it work. Good tools are a pleasure to work with, but not necessary to turn out quality work.

 

[GaryMGg]

If you own a router and some scrap wood, you could make your own curved segmented blanks with highly repeatable accuracy.
In fact, I'd argue the accuracy and repeatability will be much higher because you have to make a pattern to follow.

Bear in mind, an inexpensive tool likely has lower-quality blades--be they band-saw or scroll-saw--and those are often the biggest problem associated with a bad tool.
For example, I was using my neighbor's 12" Craftsman bandsaw; I couldn't get a straight slice off a white pine stud.
I bought him a new blade and went through oak without a problem.
Went thru the pine too :biggrin:

 

[kovalcik]

If you own a router and some scrap wood, you could make your own curved segmented blanks with highly repeatable accuracy.

There was a good article in Fine Woodworking a couple issues ago on using a router with a pattern bit to cut curved segmented cutting boards. (Sorry, don't have the issue on hand.) You might be able to scale it down to pen blanks.

 

[mikespenturningz]

I have never had good luck with a scroll saw but have never owned a decent one either. I use my band saw for every pen that I make including all of my segmenting work. I agree with plantman about good tuning, there are several great youtube videos about this. I could not do much of what I do without my band saw. Good luck with your choice.