sideoftheroad

My Feedback: (2)

Which do you prefer to use for building and any recommendations?

R8893

My Feedback: (20)

Band saw. Had a scroll saw, but sold it. Changing the blade for internal cuts was a pain. For the rare occasion I need to do an internal cut I use a hand coping saw. I have a bench top Craftman and it does everything I need.
Chuck

acerc

My band saw sees the most use of any of my tools. The scroll saw is great for inside cuts but that is it, to slow and too much control needed for the majority of our work. As for recommendations, the best one you can afford.

j.duncker

My Feedback: (2)

A scroll saw works for me. I had a Dremel with the flex drive to begin with but sold it when I went sailing for a while. On my return I bought the cheapest scroll saw and a battery powered hand held Dremel clone called a Ryobi. Both worked well for many years.

dbacque

My Feedback: (3)

They are different tools. What do you want to use it for?

Mostly external cuts? Definitely get a band saw.

Mostly internal cuts? Definitely get a scroll saw.

Want a compromise? Probably a scroll saw, but it'll be a pain at times. Or as Chuck said, a band saw and a coping saw for the fewer internal cuts

Best of both worlds? Plan on eventually getting both.

All said, I use my large band saw at least twenty times as much as I use my scroll saw. But each is indispensable.

Dave

foodstick

And don't forget to buy one of those new Dremel perma grit sanding barrels ! Dang if that isn't the best tool I have bought in years...

invertmast

My Feedback: (23)

Both!

along with a benchtop belt/ disc sander and a mini table saw

thailazer

I used to have a band saw and a Dremel scroll saw. Most of my modeling work of cutting ribs and parts was on the small scroll saw so at my new place I do not have a band saw. The band saw was handy for trimming long parts like spars. Problem with the band saw is that it will always end up having the wrong width blade on it for what you want to do. I agree with the invertmast on the bench top belt sander/disk sander as a vital tool.

OldScaleGuy

My Feedback: (2)

Personally i have both. The scroll gets the work though. Whatever you can do with a band saw you can do with a scroll saw. Between the scroll saw and the disc sander, they are the most used power tools in my shop.

CafeenMan

Band saws can cut thicker wood than a scroll saw. Other than that a scroll saw can do everything a band saw does and things that a band saw can't do. If you have to choose one or the other then go with the scroll saw. I have been building for over 30 years. I got my first band saw in January this year. I've used it twice.

The suggestion was made to make internal cuts with a coping saw. When you're cutting out the middle of plywood formers or soft balsa, a coping saw isn't any fun. It's hard to control in soft balsa and requires a lot of practice if you want your cuts to have a craftsmanship quality to them. Takes a long time to cut plywood unless you use a blade that may cause a lot of splinting if you aren't careful.

dasintex

My Feedback: (10)

I use both; like many have said Scroll saw for inside cuts Bandsaw for outside cuts; I have a Dremel Scroll Saw and a Ryobi Benchtop Band Saw, both work great; additionally I have a Benchtop Combo Belt/Disk Sander from Harbor Freight, and I have to say I use all three regularily.

rgburrill

Twice I've had a setup where I could mount my scroll saw to a table top from the bottom. You get the stability of a band saw but capable of doing inside cuts. I could also mount my router and use the wood guide and miter gauge. Ryobi makes (made?) the precision woodcutting system that Sears also sell under the Craftsman brand.

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

For what its worth a scroll saw can be used as a sit down tool and most band saws even the twelve inch or three wheel bench types cannot. They almost invariably require you to stand up to operate, something I cannot do.

I love my little Ryobi that sits perfect wheelchair height on a special little roll around table that I can use anywhere in the shop. Some one mentioned what a pain it is to take the blade off to do inside cuts with a scroll saw and it is. But the whole point is that you can do that and you cannot do that with a band saw. That's the bottom line.

Hmm all this talk of vibrating saws done got me all shook up Back in the early fifties when I was a young whippersnapper and all my buddys were getting for Christmas either Lone Ranger or Hoppilong Cassidy outfits, Santa Klaus got me an electric copping saw, man was I in heaven. I think it may have been Dremel but not sure and it looked like an ordinary copping saw but had a deeper throat and used a vibrator in the handle to operate just like a very portable scroll saw. I used that thing to death, sure would love to have one today.

John

Jim Branaum

My Feedback: (3)

I have both and use the band saw for a multitude of other things than the hobby. Being unskilled labor, I still have to learn the effective way to use the scroll saw.

acdii

I have both, and find the scroll saw great for balsa, and the bandsaw great for Plywood. Both are craftsman, the scroll saw much better quality than the bandsaw. Right now I have an imbalance on one of the wheels and it shakes like a crack addict. It also has that digital readout. Dont ever get one with a digital readout unless it also has mechanical readouts. The digital went out and I have no idea what the angles are.

Steve Percifield

My Feedback: (14)

John, have you seen Dremels' newest saw?? http://www.amazon.com/Dremel-MS20-01...eywords=dremel

toolmaker7341

I use to put my saber saw upside down in my vise and it worked great(younger poorer days) Now I have both 2 band saws(1 lg./ welder &1 sm. bench) 1 scroll saw I bought the small band saw (Craftsman)& scroll saw(23" Craftsman) at a garage sale for $25.00 ea. with tables. I cut rib blanks stack them all up use the scroll saw for spar slot and holes then belt sand the rib shape to my traced outline even from square blanks

aspeed

I have both. Doubles of the scroll saw. (saw one cheap at a garage sale that was better than the new one I bought.) I just use the band saw now. For inside work, a hand held type jig saw works great mounted under a table or stand. You don't need to disassemble the scroll saw blade and readjust the blade. A router mounted upside down on a stand is ok too. You can see what is happening from the top. A belt sander is good too, as is an angle grinder with an aggressive 4 & 1/2" circular saw type blade for really hogging out wood. (watch your fingers) They are similar to the type used for biscuit joiners. Toolmaker- I see you wrote at the same time as me. I guess you have a lathe and mill too. They are also something not to be without.

acdii

I have a Sherline lathe and a computer controlled milled, have yet to use either one, missing the parallel cable for the control box. They do look good sitting on my bench though!

toolmaker7341

Looks pretty cheap probabily made in China. For $100.00 you can buy a cast iron scroll saw from Harbor Freight and cheaper when on sale.

vertical grimmace

My Feedback: (1)

If I could only have one.....A band saw. The main reason is they cut straight lines a lot easier. They are just more efficient and do a better job for the majority of the work required for model aircraft building. I have both, but rarely use my Scroll. I have a pretty nice Delta 16" Bandsaw, and it has a rip fence and miter gauge as well, which add even more versatility.

toolmaker7341

. Toolmaker- I see you wrote at the same time as me. I guess you have a lathe and mill too. They are also something not to be without.[/QUOTE]

I never could master welding the small bench top band saw blades and tried to use the thicke .025 blades but they didn't like the small wheels and would crack all over untill the broke. Ya I have a whole machine shop that's my business. Check out my web site www.mandmprecision.com

Rodney

I have both and the bandsaw is by far the most useful. I rarely every use the scroll saw as I can do 90% of the cutting for all size model building on the band saw much faster and more precise than on the scroll saw. Just make sure that the bandsaw is a two wheel and at least a 12 inch throat and you can get by nicely without the scroll saw. Of coarse both are nice if you can afford one of each.

rczippy

I just bought a Rockwell Blade Runner and am happy with the product. If you are cutting 3/4" hardwood all the time I would not recommend it but for the 1/8 and 1/4" ply to mention balsa that we work with most of the time it works perfect. So far i have used it for cutting formers and firewall boxes. It has a rip fence/miter gauge which makes straight cuts easy. The table top is a bit cheap but the miter/rip fence was worth it to me as a trade off since i don't have a table saw. If i had a table saw for the straight stuff i would have purchased a higher quality scroll saw.

Top_Gunn

My Feedback: (6)

Like a lot of other people here, I have both and use the band saw a lot more, because it cuts straight, cuts hardwood, cuts aluminum, and doesn't need to be fussed with as much. Scroll saw is nice for inside cuts, but that's about it and you can always do those by hand anyhow.