Craftsman 11' magnetic scroll saw

What a great saw and it is still working

-- Norman

that’s pretty cool

-- Joel -- http://diversitywoodworks.wordpress.com

Very cool, and a good tool to teach safety and technique on.

-- Tristin King -- When in doubt, sand it.

I have one of these Craftsman scroll saws and everything you say I will back up! I bought the saw new in the early to mid 1950s to build model airplanes with and later on I used it to make all of the wing ribs on a full size homebuilt biplane. It still works just fine, but now I have a fancy motor-powered scroll saw so it just sits under a bench. I may give it to my grandson when he gets to be about eight. As you said, its perfect for a kid to get started on. Its a shame someone doesn’t make these again as they are so simple and work so well.

Planeman

-- Always remember: It is a mathematical certainty that half the people in this country are below average in intelligence!

How do these work? Is there a mechanism to turn the magnet on and off really fast, or is there a manual switch, or..?

-- My broker promised me he would treat my money as if it were his own. Trouble is, he did.

I’ll remember this one. Thanks.

Well here is the explanation as I know it!

Alternating current (common household 119 Volt) The term is for the direction changes — 60 cycle is common. It drops—reverses direction of current flow 60 times per second..

When the current drops/changes/GOES OFF- 60 times a second the magnet quits pulling! The spring steel in the upper arm and blade hook pull the blade up! When the current starts/changes direction—the magnet pulls the bottom spring steel plate down—BLADE along with it!

-- just rjR

and we talk about modern marvels ! LOL …I never heard of this until now …thanks for sharing with us : )

-- When did quiet and quite become the same word ? I'm guessing about the same time as your and you're did.

Did a lot of scrolling on one of those back in the day. I remember it as noisy. Wonder where it went?

-- DJ Peck, Lincoln Nebraska. I don't have a Shop. I think of it as a Tool Chase. Where the hell did I put that?

Added a “DOLLAR TREE” booklitght that just clamps on today! Needed that 55+ years ago!

Flexible tube to the head and a very small led light—-worth the “high price”.

-- just rjR

Ha, saw one of these on craigslist a while back and for the life of me could’‘t figure out how it worked with that u shaped arm thing, Thanks for enlightening me.

-- Ted

I think your explanation of the 60 Hz AC is correct except for one little detail you omitted. There is a diode in the circuit to convert the AC to DC. Electro magnets don’t work very well on AC power. Since the Diode only allows the current to flow in one direction, you wind up with pulsating DC which pulls the saw blade down 30 times a second.

This type of magnetic drive is used in industry all the time. Usually for vibration generation. Tatoo needles are driven by this process, as are hand held electric engravers.

-- Michael :-{| Diapers and politicians both need to be changed often; and for the same reason.

Based on my experience with engravers, the saw must have a real short stroke and not much power.

-- My broker promised me he would treat my money as if it were his own. Trouble is, he did.

Well it’s relative. Look at the size of the little magnet in a hand held engraver and then look at the big coil on the saw. Many times larger. I was just pointing out it’s the same principle. No rotating motor. Just an electro magnet pulling a tool and a spring pushing back.

And yes it would be a short stroke. I think someone earlier said it was only 1/8”. I’m not sure as I haven’t used one myself. That was what made it safe for kids to learn on.

-- Michael :-{| Diapers and politicians both need to be changed often; and for the same reason.

Dremel used to make a handheld version which they called the “motosaw.” Shaped like an old time coping saw. It was the first power tool I ever owned, and I used it on all sorts of projects. They are very safe, though if a tool won’t let you hurt yourself, I wonder how effective they are at teaching safety habits. They do teach patience, because, oh my, how slowly they cut. If you try to adjust more stroke into them to speed things up, they get out of phase and let you know it with very loud unpleasant noises. I’m assuming they don’t make this anymore; at least I didn’t see it on their website.