i am in need of a scroll saw mainly for a pc and desk build i am planing with the kids so it needs to be capable of cutting shapes into wood and alu and perhaps at some point steel for some bits i am planing for my motorcycle down the road. main things i am looking for is less vibrations the better and it has to be compact as we dont have much room so has to be stored away when not in use.
There's a Dremel scroll saw type thing that's quite small. I think proxxon do a couple of smaller ones that should be decent given their rep. Really you need to think of the project you're doing and what the biggest piece you'll be doing on it, as that will determine its size. There are some "hand held scroll saws" that are like a cross between a jigsaw and multi-tool. Vibrations can be mitigated with some rubber and/or foam under it.
The best you can get, apparently, is an Hegner Multicut S2 or Polycut MV18-V, which despite their somewhat old, Heath-Robinson-esque appearance have a good reputation, but they are very expensive, even used on eBay. Axminster does a decent replica, the AT460SS. Excalibur also makes excellent scroll saws, the EX-16, EX-21 and EX-30: which Axminster also sells as a rebadged version. They come in three sizes: AT406SS, AT533SS or AT762SS (Excalibur EX-16, EX-21 and EX-30): Manual here: 101771_101773_manual.pdf (axminstertools.com) You probably want the smallest one; they are solid, BIG tools --the smallest the size of a sewing machine-- (I own the AT762SS, which I picked up second hand on eBay, and it is HUGE). The largest is not made anymore but can still occasionally be found second-hand on eBay. They are not cheap, so again I'd go to eBay first --Excaliburs are still widely in circulation. The DEWALT DW788 is also considered good but I know less about it:
