I’d like to get into woodworking and I want to by a small lathe, a drill press, and a scroll saw. I’m basically wanting to fool around with this. Maybe make some simple projects like pens or toys.
Moderator Action
Since this is seeking opinions, let’s move it to IMHO.
Moving thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion.
All of them should have a long life. The scroll saw will need blades replaced. For any unit worth buying in the first place the only thing that will break is the electric motor, and usually the brushes wear out and can be replaced. For a lather and drill press the motor should be easily replaceable.
All of them could be fine used, you just have to know how to determine if it’s in good condition.
There’s no real answer. I never regret spending money on tools to get better quality.
The trouble here is you are jumping right into power tools without looking at your hand tools first. Do you have hand saws and chisels? Why do you need a drill press instead of an electric hand drill?
Another note, I’d spend money on a bandsaw instead of a scroll saw.
1. Of those which has the tendency to break down more?
Probably the scroll saw because it has more delicate parts. I wouldn’t expect any of them to be horribly unreliable though.
2. Of those which are better to buy new or can you go with used?
I used to buy used tools a lot when I was young, simply because I couldn’t afford new ones. I had a hand drill burn up its motor after I had it for about 15 years, a saber saw that wore out after about 20 years, and a router that got rusty and started working poorly after about 20 years. Considering what I paid for them, I easily got my money’s worth out of them. Overall, I did pretty well with used tools.
These days I tend to buy new because I have the money and I don’t feel like running around and searching for tools, although you can find a lot of decent stuff on craigslist these days.
**3. Of those which would you really want to spend some money on? **
For things like pens and toys, you’ll definitely want the drill press and the lathe. You could probably get by without the scroll saw.
I tend to get a lot of use out of my chop saw. I think you’ll find a router and a small router table to be relatively inexpensive and very useful as well.
I personally would recommend a drill press for things like pens and toys. It is fairly difficult to get the hole lined up exactly right and at a perfect 90 degree angle for something like a toy wheel. A drill press makes it simple and easy. Making a wooden tube for something like a pen would be very difficult without a drill press as well.
Agreed.
He should be able to use his lathe for those purposes. I think a lathe with a decent tailstock will be worth more than a cheap drill press, that’s all.
Sorry, got pulled away. My question about the drill was really about getting hand tools and portable electrics before the big power tools. I’m thinking the OP may already have those, but was just opening up the discussion.
But back to the lathe, some inexpensive wood lathes have minimal tail stocks, it’s worth get something that can mount a live center and a chuck for drilling.
I think for children toys you might use a scroll saw often. I have one that goes years between use. I use my band saw for most everything. I paid about $800.00 for a decent delta 14" bandsaw about 15 years ago. I use it daily and it has never broken.
I would buy an older used drill press, you can get much better quality at a much lower price. You can but a $1,000 dollar drill press for about $200.00 used. Same with wood lathes. Portable tools I only buy new.If you’re doing fine work, make sure you run the drill press before you buy to ensure that there is no wobble in the bit. You’re doing small items, apparently, so you don’t need a huge band saw, either. If you’re going to move on to larger things, then buy accordingly. Check reviews carefully for all of these tools.
Well I’ve been messing around with this for a few years. They have that stuff at work and a relative makes pens on his lathe. it looks like for lathes you spend alot on chucks.
What I like about a scroll saw is the ability to cut out shapes and make puzzles. My wife also wants one to cut fabric and cardboard.
The reason I’m not saying band saw is I’m running out of room and I can always sneak a project into work and use there big bandsaw.
You may want to look at the Rockwell BladeRunner. I’ve heard good things from the people who have one, it’s economical and versatile. I rarely need to make inside cuts but if I was making toys I might want something like that. If you have a band saw available then it makes sense to concentrate on something like a scroll saw. You don’t want a cheap bandsaw anyway, they won’t cut straight, won’t have enough power.
I think I will go ahead and get one of those.
That looks pretty dang good - thanks!
If you’re going to get into wood turning I’d recommend a small bench saw for preparing stock. For this and the lathe I’d shop for older tools made in the 1950’s - 60’s. Older tools were more heavily made and they can often be had at low cost.
If you get a good quality drill press you might be able to custom-make a drill press table for it and skip the lathe. When I first got my drill press* I was looking for vises and tables and other accessories and stumbled across a YouTube video and associated plans for a cool multi-functional drill press table that includes what is basically a nice small vertical lathe. There are videos showing the guy making pens and tops with it. Plus the table can be used as a drum sander, multi-driller (for things like 1/4" holes inside adjustable-shelf cabinets), mortisser, and other options. PM me if you want a link and I’ll hunt them down again.
But, as someone above noted, are you jumping into woodworking by buying power-tools first, or do you have the basics of hand-tool usage already firmly in-hand?
–G!
*While my table-top model does well for me, you might even want a free-standing drill press. It depends on how much room you have to play in and what kinds of toys you’ll be making.
You may want to read the Amazon reviews first.
If you ever want to get serious with fretwork using the scroll saw, you will regret buying a cheap one (I did that).
The blades that come with the cheap ones, with pins in each end, are not the ones you will use for delicate patterns. You will want to use the thinnest skip-tooth blades, the size of a mechanical pencil lead.
This means that you will be unattaching and reattaching the top end of the blade hundreds of times for any project. That sucks when you have to use an allen key to loosen the top blade holder. Get the kind with a quick-acting lever.
Also, you will want variable speed, a foot pedal, a gooseneck lamp, and an air blower.
Many scroll saws come with one or more of these.
And you will eventually want a drill press for drilling the starting holes for all of those hundreds of cuts. You can use a manual drill, but it’s so much easier to use a drill press for that.
Scroll saw work is fun, and it is a great “small workshop” tool, but it isn’t meant for doing regular carpentry cuts.
ETA: For the drill press, bigger is not always better. Bench top is fine if that’s enough for you. When I was a machinist my buddy was almost eviscerated by a 12lb chunk of lead he was drilling to lighten to a specified weight–the drill corkscrewed in and ripped the lead from his hands and hurled it a hundred feet away, with the bent Jacob’s chuck shaft. I never used that drill press without clamping things after that incident. The bench top drill presses slip instead of violently attacking you.
People who don’t understand electric motor torque are amusing to watch.
The reviews weren’t bad, but I see it uses T type saber saw blades, it’s basically a keyhole saw. That’s going to limit how tight you can make the curve on an interior cut. Still, with a little extra work and follow up with a file you can probably do 99% of what a better jigsaw can do.
This got me thinking about whatever happened to my Dremel jigsawthat disappeared one day. So going to their site I see they no longer make that jigsaw, but they do have this Moto-Sawwhich looks kind of interesting because the saw detaches from the table for hand use. What I’m not finding are the scroll and jigsaws Dremel used to make. There are plenty of others out there though.
Ebay is sometimes a good source for OOP power tools and the like. I picked up an old, sturdy Craftsman drill guide there for about $10. Is this the jigsaw you had?
