I’ve got an opportunity to pick up a pre-owned, well cared for Dewalt scroll saw (DW 788 I think). The current owner wants more room in his shop for old motorcycles. I have a few questions:
1) Opinions on the DW788 from users with experience?
2) Did Dewalt have other models of scroll saw or is the 788 the only one?
3) Is a scroll saw a good add to a workshop? I am a hobbyist who makes small stuff like boxes and toys for the kids.
Thanks in advance.
Replies
I have one.. love it as it's the same design as the Excalibur from Canada and was once made by Excalibur for them but now made off-shore. Not a great add for most hobbyiest doing carcasss work but.. it would be for you IMO if you do a lot of boxes and toys as you stated.
If the price is right... good luck!
Sarge..
Woodworkers' Guild of Georgia
Thanks Sarge
The price is TBD - the owner is giving me a stack of walnut taking up space in his garage that will soon be filled by another Harley (#4 I think). He offered me the saw too, but told me to make a donation to his daughter's college fund, so I need to come up with something fair.
Jonathan
I got mine factory re-conditioned from a freind who is a DeWalt rep at the Factory Service Center here in Atlanta. He ordered it in his name re-conditioned and paid his price of $225 which he sold it to me for when it arrived. So.. look at new.. check some used on E-bay and CL and you know what a DW rep two years ago paid for it so.... you can hopefully draw a conclussion of what is fair.
Good luck.. off to the shop I go...
Sarge..
Woodworkers' Guild of Georgia
He offered me the saw too, but told me to make a donation to his daughter's college fund, so I need to come up with something fair.
THAT IS A HARD ONE to judge! I put four through college and now living on pasta!
Much to my great sadness, it was a Delta instead of the Dewalt but in good shape and the price was right. The nice stack of 50+ yr old walnut, the 6/4 pine with nice tight growth rings, the 12"wide oak were icing on the cake. He also gave me bunch of extra stuff that I already found homes for (benchtop jointer, router, craftsman smooth plane, books, scroll saw patterns, etc).
Life is good!
Nice 'score'. I hope you bought him a drink.Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
If he used what I gave him for drink, that was on him. I told him it was a contribution to his daughter's college fund... Maybe the two things go hand in hand;-)
Maybe you could make her a nice small knock down table, This way it would help not deplete the college fund.
No photo of the wood? ;-)Looks like a nice saw, though. Congrats.
I've had one for a few years and found that it's one of those tools that you don't use for a lot of things, but when you need to cut tight curves, nothing is better. You can also make a cut inside a solid piece of wood by drilling a hole and running the scrollsaw blade through it...something you can't do with a bandsaw. Hope this helps.
Jim
Thank you Jim. That is useful. Now I'll just have to find somewhere to put it...
If you have room in your shop for one, it's a great tool to have around. Whenever someone new to scrolling asks about this-n-that, I have to say: The blade is a very important ingredient to having a happy and successful experience! Flying Dutchman blades are terrific, and Mike of Mike's Workshop is a wealth of knowledge [and the place to get Flying Dutchman blades]. If you buy this saw, check out his web site and get a sample pack of blades. Click here for his FAQ on scrolling. Here for Home Page.
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