I have an old Delta Scroll saw, well actually my pops has it now, the photo below is his shop where is resides now, but when I did have it, I played with it for awhile, and loved it. I remember when I posted on another forum about my experience, some of the scrollers told me I was wasting my time with it, the newer ones will blow it away. I was just curious is anyone had any opines on the advantages or disadvantages of the old scroll saws vs the newer ones. Here is a pic of my pride and joy, I took it down and repainted it. My first Old Woodworking Machinery restoration I guess you could say.

 

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

When I was stationed in North Carolina I knew and older gentleman that had a scroll saw just like yours and he produced some of the best fret work I've ever seen and he had in his shop a new scroll saw that was covered in dust and wasn't used much. His opinion was that his delta produced a cleaner cut than the newer one mainly because of the weight difference, the older one being heavier dampend out vibration. For production work I'd have to say the newer one but for the occasional user I'd go with the old delta. Besides the older tool just look cooler and I think are manufactured better.

The newer one are less maintenance. But the older ones, have the weight to keep things quiet and vibration free. The amount of power is about the same, as long as you compare apple to apples. I like the ones I have and bolting them down is a must which reduces the vibration quite a bit. I have done very fine fret work and that was not an issue with mine. That all depends on the blade and the person using the saw. I just wish I had an older machine to play with more. But I can say I am happy with the newer ones I have.

 

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Wayne Mahler
God bless and protect our troops that serve so we can be free.

Hi John,

I would have to say you don't have to guess where I stand on the old versus new,

But as most of my equipment is older than I am, and according to the quiz I'm older than dirt, what are my toys then?

Yes it takes some work getting the old toys fixed up, finding or making parts etc., but that's half the fun of owning them.

Old school is cool too! 

Just part of my Heavy Metal collection 

I have to get my bench done and find a couple more parts to get this one running.Then we'll be able to rock and roll!

Larry

WOW Larry that is one sweet looking scroll saw! Nice restoration that is industrial art at it's finest.

John,  when I was at school I had a Powermatic that looked just about exactly like yours.  I liked the saw ok, except for the upper chuck which was totally worn out.  The previous instructor had gotten parts and put it together, but it was always a little clumsy to use, tough to get the blade mounted in straight.  Once it was in I liked using it.  I got a DeWalt and was really happen with that, except that I had a tough time keeping the upper chuck tight until someone told me to oil the threads on the upper chuck, and that pretty much fixed my problem.  I found the DeWalt easier for the students to use.  I think they are both good machines, and I wouldn't mind having one of each.

I agree with you all, thanks for all the feedback, I loved this ol Scroller, and it can be used for more then scrolling! It's great to fire up and zip wood through it for a quick cut, it has the power for sure. It sounds like a sewing machine it runs so smooth. I just love it. My dad uses is daily at his place. But my reference point is narrow, I have never used a modern scroller, and I don't scroll, so it did not get used for it's intended purposes. Someday I will though.

 

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

My experience with older tools is much the same as everyone else's, with a little care they just keep on going. I inherited a 25+ year old Craftsman RAS and bandsaw that are still as good as when new. I've never used any older scroll saws so I can't say much about them, but would love to get my hands on one, especially one like John has pictured her. A good source of info on older saws, or any scroll saw for that matter is  http://www.scrollsaws.com/  Rick is known to have the most extensive collection of scroll saws in the country. 

 

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Greg
http://www.thesawdustfactory.net/

I have never owned an older scroll saw.  I agree, that the weight would be a huge plus.  Blades easy to change?  

 

SQ

 

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It it can't be fixed with glue and sawdust - it's not worth fixing.

Larry,

 

That is truly one fine looking machine - almost too pretty to use.  

 

SQ
Larry Buskirk said:

Hi John,

I would have to say you don't have to guess where I stand on the old versus new,

But as most of my equipment is older than I am, and according to the quiz I'm older than dirt, what are my toys then?

Yes it takes some work getting the old toys fixed up, finding or making parts etc., but that's half the fun of owning them.

Old school is cool too! 

Just part of my Heavy Metal collection 

I have to get my bench done and find a couple more parts to get this one running.Then we'll be able to rock and roll!

Larry

 

John

you know i am going to say older is better.LOL  The way i see it is the old machines where designed to cut ginger bread and other things that the new saw are to light to do. the chucks on old saws let you turn the table 90 and saw long peaces like the verge board on a Victorian house. Some came with verable speed and the arm  could come off and the use of jig saw blades for pracerced work was easy. the other thing to keep in mind is the old saws hold files and cut and work metal very well.

 

I restored a Powermatic as onr of my first OWWM's . its a gate way tool.

 

I put a VFD on it to give me   variable speed and so i do not have to change the belts

and soaped up the guides with tool-less faseners. I have cut a lot of brass plate on mine.

 I just can't find this in the new saws for the $50 i spent on the saw and the $125 i put in the rebuild for the bearings and vfd.

 

jack

English machines

 

I have a 20" Delta Bench Top model. It's only about 20 years old and not near as pretty as the restored ones you guys have shown. 

It's not a Hegner or Excaliber  by any means, but it's still a good machine. I cut some pucks out of 1" thick rubber mat and bolted through them into the top of a homemade tool stand that also holds a 10" band saw. It had very little vibration before and NONE now.

A toolless blade clamp system would be nice but I can live with this one. The dust blower never did a good job so I hooked it to my compressor. Now THAT works!

I've cut a lot of brass, copper, plastic and aluminum, as well as wood. Now it's used mostly for inlay/marquetry work. 

 

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Gene
'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

Thanks everyone for the kind comments.

John it's funny you should say sounds like a sewing machine, as the wife calls mine a "boys toys sewing machine".

Gene mines not a Hegner or Excaliber either, it's more of a model T thats dressed up for a parade. I've got less than $150.00 tied up in it. I'll have it running as soon as I get my new multiple machine  bench completed. (Butcher block top dining room table) That I rescued from a curbside. This table will have 4 or 5 machines ran from a line-shaft setup that I have.  A little more old school tech going back to work. I'm on the lookout now for a few  Delta 3/4" bore  pulleys for doing the line-shaft setup.

Larry