scroll saw for metal

dave gibson

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So I' m realizing I need more than a jewelers saw to cut out a lot of the irregular shapes I want to engrave for bracelets and yes I'm going to attempt belt buckles. I've looked at a lot of scroll saws on line, Is there anything special I need for cutting nickel or stainless? Will Harbor Freight do as well as Sears?.

I just had my first experience with a jewelers saw yesterday, it was actually better than I expected. Broke lots of blades, got a lot of file work to clean it up. I have a lot to learn about cutting metal. There's supposed to be 6 different size blades but they all look the same to me.

Would a scroll saw be good for straight cuts too or should I have another type of saw?
 

Dad of 3

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Dave I sure wish a scroll saw would work. I have tried and have had no luck in the past. They could be made to work buy making an adjustment system to put tension on the blade and use the correct tooth count jewelers saw blade in it and slow the machine down with a rheostat then just go slow (which is a ton faster than a jewelers saw). I have not done this but I just know it would work.
What will work much better is a metal cutting bandsaw with a 1/4" blade installed instead of the common 1/2". One of the old Craftsman wood bandsaw with a seperate drive motor can be slowed down a ton and made to work fine for cutting metal with pulley changes. In my old shop this is what I used and it worked great. Now I just get out the old jewelers saw and hit it. I do cut all my steel with my old Henrob torch. http://www.cutlikeplasma.com/
 

bronc

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Theoretically it would work, but it's not easy. I've seen reps for both Hegner and Hawk, which are two of the best scroll saws on the market put on demos where they cut all kinds of intricate stuff out of thin metal and made it look easy. I got a Hawk saw and spent a couple years figuring out it's not that easy. I finally gave up and traded off the saw. A few years later I and several fellows I know had the opportunity to try out one of the Knew Concepts Precision Power Saws. On paper, it sounded like it cured all of the problems that a regular scroll saw has. Well, none of us could get the hang of it. I know there are people out there who have mastered running it...I tip my hat to them cause it ain't easy. I know it can be done because I've seen it done, but I'll stick to running a jewelers saw with hand power.

Stewart
 

Sandy

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I bought one from harbor freight that came with adapters that hold jewelers blades. Works good. It is on sale for $70.
Sandy
 

monk

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I'M ABOUT TO BUY ONE FROM MICRO-MARK. specs say it will stroke as little as 50 spm up to regular speed. i bought a proxxon. very well made, very poorly engineered. sent it back 4 days ago. the only assembly to do is insert the upper frame into a recess in the base. very difficult to get the 2 bolts to go into their threaded holes. the frame is in the way when trying to do this.
as if that wasn't enough, the recess has an open area about 3/8" by 2". guess where one of the bolts went-- that's right, it fell into the hole. no way to retrieve it. so, i actually don't know how it would have worked on the copper i have to cut. btw- the proxxon came from "prox-tech inc., not micro mark. will let all know how smoothly the return went.
 

mfennessy

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Wildly expensive (to me) but built to do exactly that and from what I hear, it does it really, really well.

http://knewconcepts.com/power.php

Other than that one:
I've heard that the older scroll saws work better for this because they were simpler and only have an up and down movement instead of a 'fancier' rocking movement that some new scroll saws have. You have to make sure that they take pinless blades, some have adapters available.

I did a lot of research a little while ago and decided not to get an old scroll saw cause they only use a small part of the blade (unlike the Knew Concepts saw) and I didn't want to make space for another piece of equipment. Also I figured I could use the jewelers saw practice.

I did get a 32TPI (I think, I can't find the email right now, maybe 24TPI) blade for my Harbor Freight 4x6 bandsaw and that worked great for thin brass and 416 stainless. I ruined it pretty quick trying to cut thin titanium but I was just trying to find out what it was capable of. I cut titanium all the time with bimetal blades, which this isn't, but I thought I'd give it a shot.

My plan now, knowing that it will work, is to look into mounting a portable bandsaw to my bench and get the 32TPI blades made to fit, or buy rolls of it and braze up the size I need.

Just need to decide if I want to spend the money on a Milwaukee/Dewalt or risk it with the HF. Till then, I get to keep practicing with the jewelers saw, which isn't a terrible thing.

I keep my blades in straws with one end melted shut and a label with TPI, saw number (0/2, 0/3 etc), what gauge it's good for, and what sized drill makes the smallest hole that that size blade will fit through. Then all the straws go into a bigger tube.
 

monk

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I bought one from harbor freight that came with adapters that hold jewelers blades. Works good. It is on sale for $70.
Sandy

sandy: you may have gotten lucky. all the reviews i read on this model--the adaptor either worked poorly, or not at all
 

monk

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Wildly expensive (to me) but built to do exactly that and from what I hear, it does it really, really well.

http://knewconcepts.com/power.php

Other than that one:
I've heard that the older scroll saws work better for this because they were simpler and only have an up and down movement instead of a 'fancier' rocking movement that some new scroll saws have. You have to make sure that they take pinless blades, some have adapters available.

I did a lot of research a little while ago and decided not to get an old scroll saw cause they only use a small part of the blade (unlike the Knew Concepts saw) and I didn't want to make space for another piece of equipment. Also I figured I could use the jewelers saw practice.

I did get a 32TPI (I think, I can't find the email right now, maybe 24TPI) blade for my Harbor Freight 4x6 bandsaw and that worked great for thin brass and 416 stainless. I ruined it pretty quick trying to cut thin titanium but I was just trying to find out what it was capable of. I cut titanium all the time with bimetal blades, which this isn't, but I thought I'd give it a shot.

My plan now, knowing that it will work, is to look into mounting a portable bandsaw to my bench and get the 32TPI blades made to fit, or buy rolls of it and braze up the size I need.

Just need to decide if I want to spend the money on a Milwaukee/Dewalt or risk it with the HF. Till then, I get to keep practicing with the jewelers saw, which isn't a terrible thing.

I keep my blades in straws with one end melted shut and a label with TPI, saw number (0/2, 0/3 etc), what gauge it's good for, and what sized drill makes the smallest hole that that size blade will fit through. Then all the straws go into a bigger tube.

i bought their hand saw. a few months ago. pricey for sure, but i'm happy with it. having said that, the amount of stuff i have to cut, doing it even with the "knew concepts" saw is just too much time. fortunately, the customer has seen the light of "reality", and is/has been willing to wait and see.
 

Brian Marshall

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Dave,


There is a Knew Concept in the upstairs apprentice's shop... I'm sure I've shown it to you over the years?

Yes, it is expensive and yes it takes some time to ge to "know" it well enough to get consistent results.


It's not for the "right now!" - McDonalds kinda mentality... takes a while and some patience to master.


In the end, mastering the jewelers hand saw is the absolute best solution for what you are after.

That, too, however - is gonna take some long hours of practice...


Brian
 
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dogcatcher

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So far I think I may be looking for the wrong tool or a tool that doesn't exist. So either a jewelers saw or an adjustable speed band saw that will take a 1/4' blade for metal?

Something like this... http://www.micromark.com/saws.html
How close can you get to finished cuts using the Milwaukee portable bandsaw? I have seen some that the knifemakers have converted to a bench model bandsaw. Not sure on the blade sizes available, but I pretty sure I have seen 1/2" blades, but nothing smaller. Grizzly Tools also sells one, that is the one I would buy. https://www.grizzly.com/products/G8692
 

SamW

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I used one of the Micro Mark saws to cut out all the piercing on the 1/16" aluminum scroll overlay on this steering wheel for my Model A. Mind you, the reciprocating saw will only use a small portion of the blade.

I bought and used this because I was having a hard time keeping the hand saw cuts vertical and this approach did help cut down on the needle file work required.
 

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dlilazteca

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How close can you get to finished cuts using the Milwaukee portable bandsaw? I have seen some that the knifemakers have converted to a bench model bandsaw. Not sure on the blade sizes available, but I pretty sure I have seen 1/2" blades, but nothing smaller. Grizzly Tools also sells one, that is the one I would buy. https://www.grizzly.com/products/G8692
I have this set up to cut blades, you would still need to work on the edges, of course i have a larger blade. I dont think it would work for cut outs theres no way to take the blade apart and place through a hole for a cutout.

Here is a video i made for monk.

Watch "portable Band Saw and swag table" on YouTube
portable Band Saw and swag table: https://youtu.be/VAESwwL5Kyc

Saludos,
Carlos
 

DKanger

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Would a scroll saw be good for straight cuts too or should I have another type of saw?
Dave,
Do you ever watch any of the custom car shows on TV? They use body saws to cut out sheet metal for trimming and fitting. It's basically an air powered hacksaw. They would work pretty good for your straight cuts or gentle curves and you can work them into tight areas by making progressive angle cuts to remove lots of material. I expect Harbor Freight would carry them for around $25. Then, if it works out for you, you could buy a good one from Matco or Snap On tools. You do need a big enough compressor to run them though.

I had one years ago until it mysteriously disappeared from my tool box.
 

Dad of 3

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The set up Carlos has is very nice for quick rough cuts of a basic shape in steel. With enough notches a person can do a decent outside curve on it.
 

Dad of 3

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I used one of the Micro Mark saws to cut out all the piercing on the 1/16" aluminum scroll overlay on this steering wheel for my Model A. Mind you, the reciprocating saw will only use a small portion of the blade.

I bought and used this because I was having a hard time keeping the hand saw cuts vertical and this approach did help cut down on the needle file work required.

Which saw did you use? Very nice wheel!
 

monk

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So far I think I may be looking for the wrong tool or a tool that doesn't exist. So either a jewelers saw or an adjustable speed band saw that will take a 1/4' blade for metal?

Something like this... http://www.micromark.com/saws.html
dave: micro mark sells a bandsaw, i think around 300 bucks. maybe a bit less. this saw will even accept diamond blades to cut glass, ceramic, and similar stuff. not sure what all blades it will take, but i'll be checking it out maybe later today.
 

monk

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How close can you get to finished cuts using the Milwaukee portable bandsaw? I have seen some that the knifemakers have converted to a bench model bandsaw. Not sure on the blade sizes available, but I pretty sure I have seen 1/2" blades, but nothing smaller. Grizzly Tools also sells one, that is the one I would buy. https://www.grizzly.com/products/G8692
carlos showed me a video of a portable bandsaw he uses. a company sells a specialty table the saw fits right onto. they range from 50 -around 150 bucks. i was very interested in this, but it could never be used to do any intricate stuff. i believe carlos uses his to cut blade stock.
 

McAhron

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I use a Milwaukee portable band saw for knife making and cutting metals but it will not do piercing work like Dave needs.
 

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