# Scroll Saw Purchase happening today - would like input



## JagerShot84 (Jun 28, 2017)

*Dewalt 20-inch DW788* OR J*et 18-inch JWSS-18B* ?

With stand included, the Saws are only a $30.00 USD difference at my local woodshop

*Backstory*
I bought a craigslist special: Delta 40-570 with stand in 2014 for $100 and have made so many projects with it. It didn't take me long to realize something was really off with the saw and It looked like it was tipped over or dropped from a few feet onto the upper arm at some point in its life. It has never cut straight but I was able to manage for a while and have produced some decent projects with the wonky little saw. After a 3 year break from woodworking (son born 2016 and daughter 7 months ago) I'm returning thanks to COVID-19. After attempting some more intricate work I've reached the limitations of the saw and was pretty frustrated. With the wife's blessing, I've received the official go-ahead to get a new saw today. I've thoroughly researched both and either seems like a great choice, but the Dewalt scroll saw looks to have a big following and Jet has had a pretty good reputation with tool quality over the years. I'm fairly certain I'd be pleased with the improvement and quality of either option over my current busted saw, but would like to hear from any others who have personal experience. My local woodworking supplier also provides all service to either in store which is a huge plus.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

To me, that jet looks almost identical to the old Excalibur machines, complete with tilting body instead of table; and the old Excalibur was an exceptional machine. Unfortunately, they have not been out there for very long, so there isn't a lot of feedback about them. The Older (Type 1) DeWalts get great reviews… the newer (Type 2) not so much. Tough choice if those are your only two options.

Cheers,
Brad


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## JagerShot84 (Jun 28, 2017)

> To me, that jet looks almost identical to the old Excalibur machines, complete with tilting body instead of table; and the old Excalibur was an exceptional machine. Unfortunately, they have not been out there for very long, so there isn t a lot of feedback about them. The Older (Type 1) DeWalts get great reviews… the newer (Type 2) not so much. Tough choice if those are your only two options.
> 
> Cheers,
> Brad
> ...


I appreciate the reply Brad, I did go with the DeWalt 788 and it runs like a dream compared to my old Delta. I can't believe I waited so long to get one. It cuts with a precision I'm not used to and it makes me want to start over completely on a project I have a good 20 hours in where I had to correct so many issues with cuts with my belt/disc sander. I see many enjoyable hours ahead.

Thanks,
Paul


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## Davevand (Feb 10, 2016)

There are a lot of Dewalt scroll saws out there, I would look for a good used one before I would buy a new one. That said, just be sure the blade cuts vertical, Dewalt had a know issue with a lot of their saws not cutting correctly. Not sure about the 18" Jet, but the 22" saw has an issue using reverse blades, the table is too high and the reverse teeth at the bottom of the blade will not cut anything. You can get around this by using something like the Fly Dutchman Ultra reverse blades that have reverse teeth along the entire blade, but normal reverse blades that have 4-5 reverse teeth at the bottom of the blade will not cut correctly.


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

> There are a lot of Dewalt scroll saws out there, I would look for a good used one before I would buy a new one. That said, just be sure the blade cuts vertical, Dewalt had a know issue with a lot of their saws not cutting correctly. Not sure about the 18" Jet, but the 22" saw has an issue using reverse blades, the table is too high and the reverse teeth at the bottom of the blade will not cut anything. You can get around this by using something like the Fly Dutchman Ultra reverse blades that have reverse teeth along the entire blade, but normal reverse blades that have 4-5 reverse teeth at the bottom of the blade will not cut correctly.
> 
> - Davevand


Several years ago I picked the Dewalt up for $75 dollars on Craigslist. True story. And it wasn't hot and had little use.

I blogged about it here.


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## JagerShot84 (Jun 28, 2017)

The only small complaint I have is that the saw doesn't seem to be cutting straight in-line with the rear of the throat. Meaning, If I'm sitting dead center of the saw and want to push stock into the blade to split it into two equal sections, the blade cuts towards 5 o'clock position when I would expect it to cut at 6 o'clock. I tried different blades and tension settings with no change.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

> The only small complaint I have is that the saw doesn t seem to be cutting straight in-line with the rear of the throat. Meaning, If I m sitting dead center of the saw and want to push stock into the blade to split it into two equal sections, the blade cuts towards 5 o clock position when I would expect it to cut at 6 o clock. I tried different blades and tension settings with no change.
> - JagerShot84


That is perfectly normal for stamped blades (most of them). The process leaves a burr on one side that causes it to pull to the right (drift). Some are worse than others, and you just have to get a feel for how your blades perform and compensate for it.

Cheers,
Brad


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## JagerShot84 (Jun 28, 2017)

> The only small complaint I have is that the saw doesn t seem to be cutting straight in-line with the rear of the throat. Meaning, If I m sitting dead center of the saw and want to push stock into the blade to split it into two equal sections, the blade cuts towards 5 o clock position when I would expect it to cut at 6 o clock. I tried different blades and tension settings with no change.
> - JagerShot84
> 
> That is perfectly normal for stamped blades (most of them). The process leaves a burr on one side that causes it to pull to the right (drift). Some are worse than others, and you just have to get a feel for how your blades perform and compensate for it.
> ...


Thanks for the quick reply Brad, this puts my mind at ease. I've always used Olson blades as that's why my local wood shop supplier carries. I prefer the Skip Tooth Blade set (usually lasts me a few projects. I've heard great things about Flying Dutchman and I plan on ordering some soon. Any suggestions on blade made or what to look for to help with that tracking line?

Thanks,
Paul


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

Kind of depends on what you are doing… I do mostly portraits, and used to use nothing but Olson (reverse tooth) blades until I tried the Flying Dutchmans. Now I pretty much just use the Flying Dutchman ultra reverse blades. Both the Olson and FD's will drift to the right though. I've heard that the machined blades, like the Olson PGT (precision ground tooth) eliminates most, if not all of the drift, but have never tried them. They are considerably more expensive than normal blades, and the drift to me is not really an issue. YMMV.

Cheers,
Brad


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## JagerShot84 (Jun 28, 2017)

> Kind of depends on what you are doing… I do mostly portraits, and used to use nothing but Olson (reverse tooth) blades until I tried the Flying Dutchmans. Now I pretty much just use the Flying Dutchman ultra reverse blades. Both the Olson and FD s will drift to the right though. I ve heard that the machined blades, like the Olson PGT (precision ground tooth) eliminates most, if not all of the drift, but have never tried them. They are considerably more expensive than normal blades, and the drift to me is not really an issue. YMMV.
> 
> Cheers,
> Brad
> ...


Thanks again Brad. On my Delta I used to use the reverse tooth blades occasionally and I did use the foot to help keep the work piece from bouncing. I found it pretty easy to use but the foot on the DeWalt doesn't feel as stable so I just did away with it and just go freehand now that I have a saw that can cut accurately. The reverse-T blades really gave me a hard time with the DeWalt tonight so I decided to just go back to the skip tooth for the time being. I will give it another shot after getting acclimated to "Free Pour" scrolling.


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