hi all im thinking about getting a scroll saw, but im not sure if its the best option for me. if a few people could give me their opinions it would help out a lot i want to cut out some lettering and other small designs from thin sheet aluminium (i will also probably want to cut some small detailed acrylic pieces and other little bits of things sometime down the line too).. for this i think a scroll saw would be the best tool to use. however im not sure if i can justify spending the money on it just for that. but, im planning a scratch-built case project soon too, and i will need to cut some 1.5mm aluminium to make the hdd racks and various other panels for the case. from what ive read a scroll saw with a hardened blade, designed for cutting metal, should be able to cut through it without it being too much of a problem but i will need to get some nice straight edges on it.. is it possible to clamp something with a straight edge, maybe a piece of wood or something, to the table and use that as i guide when feeding the metal through the scroll saw? or if not; is it easy to cut straight lines free-hand on a scroll saw? i know a bandsaw would be a better option for this but i cant afford both and i think overall i would get more use out of a scroll saw. this is the scroll saw im looking at: http://www.toolstop.co.uk/sealey-sm1302-variable-speed-scroll-saw-406mm-throat-240v-p7875 the speed controll should help with cutting plastics i think. and 406mm throat depth should be just about enough to get even the largest pieces of my case project through. i dont really want to use a demel to cut out all the aluminium for the case, cleaning up the edges to get them straight would take ages maybe i should use a jigsaw, but then i would still need a way to cut out the small lettering.. any advice you can give would be much appreciated thanks.
That looks almost like the exact scroll saw i bought in Italy and it was horrible.. but it could be completely different but who knows. Do lots of research before you get one. I have a simple craftsman one that I've had for about 10 years and I love the thing.. much more so than the more complicated saws. In terms of what you want to use it for, it is by far the best thing to cut out the lettering and such you want to do but cutting out panels for a scratch build might be slightly more difficult. You can use a piece of wood as a fence as you said but there are still size limitations and it still won't be completely accurate but with some practice, you might be able to get it "good enough." Either way, research to make sure you're getting a good one and it is definitely worth it.
I've got a scroll saw I bought for woodworking and it's pretty abysmal really. It's a Ferm model and it generally does not cut where you want it to! A waste of £35 really. No doubt if you opted for a DeWalt or something it would be OK, but very expensive.
Theres some more optionsHERE I have a lot of axminster ownbranded products, big machines though but i have to say ive been very happy with all of it, the jet stuffs not half bad either. I would say go for the best you can afford, but do plenty of research before you buy.
I've used a scroll saw for a couple of years now for doing fine woodworking cuts. There is no substitute for making fine detailed cuts like the letter cutouts you mention. For making straight line cuts however, a scroll saw is not the best thing to use as you really can't clamp to it well and get a straight cut. The blade is meant to flex a bit for cutting curves which causes problems if trying to clamp and make straight cuts. You can always use a portable jig saw to make straight cuts with as it is easy to clamp a straight edge next to it and cut straight. I can get a fairly straight cut freehanding with a scroll saw, but not perfectly straight.
Like Voights said, a scroll saw is great for curves, not so perfect for straight lines. There's always files, however. One other thing to look at when looking into scroll saws is the vibration. My table vibrates like crazy on the used Ryobi I picked up. Try to find some you can turn on and try out.
