Jig saw or Rotary cutter?

Chip, the cool thing about a rotary cutter is that you can put all kinds of different attachments in it and use it for sanding and cutting and routing … but if you’re going to cut a hole through wood more than a few 16ths of an inch thick, the rotary cutter is going to be slow going. A jigsaw will be a lot better at cutting holes, but cutting is all it does.

Have you looked on Craigslist for scroll saws? I see quite a few of them there.

-- http://www.north40custom.com -- http://north40studios.etsy.com --

There are a lot of accessories available for the rotary saw. I’ve not tried mine on solid wood. I have not been happy with it on plywood. That may be from the glue making it hard to cut and dulling the bit. Then when you hit a void; it jumps off line. Jigsaws seem, to me, easier to control and the blades last longer. But you are limited on the radius you can cut.

-- Father of two sons. Both Eagle Scouts.

well I have a Dremel and it has been inCREDible… knowing what I know now about it I’d have paid 3 times as much as I did. I was under the impression that a rotary cutter is geared with enough power to actually do cutting… I guess perhaps I’m wrong. I was leaning toward the jig saw… but it’s limitations were its drawback. As far as the scroll saw, money isn’t near as limited as space. I rent the bottom floor of a house, so my table saw looks like a grill when I’m not using it. I nice grill cover covers it, and everything else (which is a surprising amount of tools) fits in a cabinet on the porch. So… for now… the scroll saw is out. :(

Thanks for your feedback fellas. All other feedback is welcome…

-- Chip, Massachusetts

What rotary cutter are you looking at? I’ve tried a ZipSaw, but they are really intended for sheetrock and panelling. There might be something tougher out there. You might also think about a trim router.

-- http://www.north40custom.com -- http://north40studios.etsy.com --

I have a RotoZip with a couple of attachments, but most of the time I reach for my Dremel tool.

-- The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. -- Vincent T. Lombardi

Wish you were closer, I’d loan you my RotoZip to use so you could see for yourself what you think of it. I bought the big setup with all the attachments….almost never use it. It somehow just isn’t right for anything I do. That’s just me…..

-- Gary, DeKalb Texas

Hey Chip
I know others like these tools but I don’t find much use for them. as far as you clock face goes you can buy a set of hole saws from HF for less the $10 that go up to 5”.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon