Scale Soaring UK

I used to have a Dremel scroll saw, single speed, lightweight that I bought second hand, eventually it packed up. I bought a bigger heavier and cheaper scroll saw, it was ok but I missed the Dremel. A couple of years ago a friend was selling a Dremel scrollstation so I bought it thinking how good my little old saw was but this is a much different proposition with variable speed and so on. The only downsides of the scrollstation are size and weight, it is 24kg.
I have looked online for a smaller replacement but I am struggling to find what I want, I need something that will cut up to 1/4" ply easily, be light enough to lift with one hand, big enough to cut formers for 1/4 scale models and compact enough to fit easily on my bench while I have a wing or fuselage on the board.
Does anyone have any recommendations? I have looked at the Proxxon 230/E but I am not sure if it is man enough for what I want.

Hi Andrew

I've used/abused an Axminster saw for many years and its never missed a beat. It has a 16" throat and will easily cut 1/4" ply.

Looking at their website they have a similar item at £109. The reviews bemoan the fact that when using unpinned blades the cap screws hex. to secure the blade gets chewed up very quickly because they are soft and should be replaced.

In my experience the fitting of very fine unpinned blades to the machine is a bit of a faff and I've not used them for many years. All of my work uses pinned blades with either 18 or 24 tpi blades from Machine Mart. Changing the blade or removing it for internal cuts is straightforward, in fact if you slacken off the tension then the blade can be removed from the top arm while still attached to the bottom arm and threaded through the work piece pilot hole before replacing it and re-tensioning.

Hope this helps

Ian

Hi Ian,

Thanks for the info, it has helped thank you. I'd sort of decided that I want something smaller but there is nothing between the little Proxxon and the one you have so something a little larger than the Proxxon and smaller than the 16" models would be ideal but there is nothing that I can find.

To have the facility to use pinned blades is a must, I have fiddled with unpinned blades and have a dislike of them so right now I am coming down in favour of the Axminster model or something very similar.