Table saw or scroll saw ?
 

Hi,

I only make ARF(I've made one kit and that was my first and last kit) but there's time I need to cut some plywoods.
I need a small saw and I don't know if I should get a table saw or scroll saw.

Scroll saw has a disadvantage of disability to make holes.
Table saw has a disadvantage of disability to make smooth small rounds.
I'm a newbie and I don't know which one would be more useful down the road.
Your opinion please.

Thanks.

Jake.

RE: Table saw or scroll saw ?
 

Did you do a search for either Table saw or Scroll Saw. There is lots of information on this subject here from earlier this year or last year.

Lee

RE: Table saw or scroll saw ?
 

i think the better saw would be a band saw. best would be a 12 inch throat, or bigger- depends on how big your planes will be- if you aren't sure ad can afford it go bigger. look for one htat takes the narrow blades.

ed

RE: Table saw or scroll saw ?
 

I have a full wood shop and the two tools I use the most are my band saw and my sander. I use the scroll saw a lot too but only for fine detail stuff. If you need to make holes use the scroll saw. Drill a small hole and put the blade through the hole then reattach it to the saw. If I could only have one saw for cutting wood for arfs, it would probably be a scroll saw because of the finess it can achieve.

RE: Table saw or scroll saw ?
 

Yup, I third the vote for a band saw. I have been really fortunate being my wife used to work for a tool company in their executive office. I have just about every saw you can imagine: saber, table, band, scroll, circular, chop, miter, reciprocating (sp?). For this great hobby of ours, I mostly use the band saw. Good luck. :D

RE: Table saw or scroll saw ?
 

I have the Dremel jig saw set up with the sander and dremel tool attachements. This by far is the best of all worlds unless you are building a 1/4 scale plane from scratch. The whole thing costs less than $200.00. I saw them second hand for under $50.00. This would be my first investment, follwed by the drill press, and then a table saw.

RE: Table saw or scroll saw ?
 

Looked at a band saw today at Sears. $129. I have used the others. For all around use go band saw.
David

RE: Table saw or scroll saw ?
 

If it's strictly for hobby use get a scroll saw. Ryobi makes a decent $99 variable speed scroll saw available at Home Depot. With assorted blades you can cut light ply, plastics and aluminum with small details that a band saw will not allow. If it's for all around use the band saw is better because you can cut thicker material but for ARFing I'd say get the scoll saw.

RE: Table saw or scroll saw ?
 

If you have a Harbor Freight tools near by, pay them a visit, they might have a sale on what you can use. Dremels are great tools as well. Get a lot of work out of mine.

RE: Table saw or scroll saw ?
 

For pros and serious DIYer on cabinetry and general woodworking, the table saw is king. It is, however, practically useless for any sort of model airplane building. I have a contractor-grade table saw in my workshop, and I don't remember every once using it for any RC model work.

If it is your first power tool, after a power drill of course, for model building, it should be a jig saw. It won't do some cuts well (eg. straight-line cuts), but it will do all of them adequately. The second saw should then be the band saw, equipped with a fence. It's okay to start with the latter, but you will invariably find cuts it just won't do.

There are miniature table saw suitable for model making, but I think they are too limited in their uses to justify a place in all but the tiniest workshops.

RE: Table saw or scroll saw ?
 

OK, here's my .02

I have built a number of models and one scratch built model. I have a scroll, jig saw and belt sander. By far, my most used and favorite tools are my Microlux table saw and my dremel tool. The Microlux, though a little pricey, has been my best investment. Can't imagine building without it. I very seldom use my scroll, jog saw or sander.

RE: Table saw or scroll saw ?
 

I'm glad you brought this up. I too am in basically the same position you are in. I'm building a Douglas Seaplane kit now, and plan to build a couple more. I really want to build planes from scratch, so I figure building a few kits first would help. Anyway I was looking for a saw to purchase and came across this one. If anyone has one or used one, comments would be appreciated.
Its a MicroLux Multi Scroll saw. I found it at : [link=http://www.micromark.com]MicroMark[/link]
Thanks!
Joe

RE: Table saw or scroll saw ?
 

I have a MicroMark miniature table saw on my main bench, and use it just about every day during building season. Great for cutting balsa up to half inch thick, spruce & plywood up to 1/4" thick. Band saw in my woodworking shop comes in handy a lot. Never felt the need for a scroll saw.

RE: Table saw or scroll saw ?
 

I have had them all, and I'm down to two...band saw and multi belt/disc sander.

Mini table saw was cool, but did'nt get as much use as my band saw...so a buddy just "had to" have it...C-YA! sold, to the desperate guy with the wallet!

RE: Table saw or scroll saw ?
 

Joe,

If the scroll saw is anything like their table saw, you should be very happy. Their products are a little pricey but extremely well built and in my opinion, worth the money. Hope this helps.

Chuck

RE: Table saw or scroll saw ?
 

For an ARFer, the most frequently cut pieces are going to be firewalls and formers/ribs. Therefore, a Band saw or Scroll saw are the right equipment. Most other pieces are stock strips that are available at the hobby shop.
I've used my scroll saw an unGodly amount. Don't recall using my table saw at all.

RE: Table saw or scroll saw ?
 

Thanks Chuck. I think I'm gonna go for it. I order quite a bit from MicroMark and have never been dissapointed so far. Plus it seems more votes are going for a scroll saw. I have to wait till the middle of the month to get it. I get paid once a month (16th), which really stinks.
Joe