# clarke scroll saws?



## Monkey Mark (28 Mar 2015)

Are the clarke scroll saws any good? One for sale near me for £25, looks almost new.


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## Chippygeoff (28 Mar 2015)

I think the guy that's selling it should give you £25 to take it away. Over the years several people on the forum have bought Clarke scroll saws and then join the forum to tell us their tales of woe and cen we help to fix the problems they have. It would be a complete waste of time buying that saw. It will not give you a true picture of what scroll sawing is all about and at the end of the day you will either give up the idea or throw it, whichever comes first.


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## Walney Col (28 Mar 2015)

You'll have to forgive Geoff, he's totally lost without a saw costing more than 10 times the price many of the rest of us paid. In short, any working scroll saw is worth £25, if that's all you have, and although it may have it's limitations if it's only for hobby use it will at least let you dip your toe in the water and see whether it's something you'd be willing to spend more on.

Col.


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## IHc1vtr+ (28 Mar 2015)

I have a cheap draper scrollsaw, basically same just rebadged. I have found it to be a capable machine and has done everything i have asked of it. Go for it.


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## scrimper (29 Mar 2015)

Monkey Mark":27eaq7gm said:


> Are the clarke scroll saws any good? One for sale near me for £25, looks almost new.



It has got to be worth £25 if only to use as a general purpose saw on your workbench. It will cut timber in tighter curves than any band saw, think of it as a motorised coping saw.
Using it to do very detailed fretwork would be a chore though especially if you have to do many internal cuts.

I already have one of these on my bench but if I didn't and I was offered one for £25 I would buy it even though I have a Hegner and a Diamond saw.


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## gilljc (29 Mar 2015)

My very first scroll saw was a similar one, and I had great fun with it, as mentioned it has it's limitations when it comes to internal cuts, but horses for courses....


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## Monkey Mark (29 Mar 2015)

Well I'm waiting to hear back about that and a table saw being sold by the same person. See what happens.


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## mseries (29 Mar 2015)

Chippygeoff":3uu9vcit said:


> I think the guy that's selling it should give you £25 to take it away. Over the years several people on the forum have bought Clarke scroll saws and then join the forum to tell us their tales of woe and cen we help to fix the problems they have. It would be a complete waste of time buying that saw. It will not give you a true picture of what scroll sawing is all about and at the end of the day you will either give up the idea or throw it, whichever comes first.


So what IS wrong with the Clarke scroll saw Geoff, in your opinion ?


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## Monkey Mark (29 Mar 2015)

Ok, the scroll and table saw have gone.
However there is a clarke band saw. Its cheap £50 as the table is missing. I'll look how much a replacement would be.


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## marcros (29 Mar 2015)

Monkey Mark":tiyf0bql said:


> Ok, the scroll and table saw have gone.
> However there is a clarke band saw. Its cheap £50 as the table is missing. I'll look how much a replacement would be.



i wouldnt bother. you should be able to pick up a cheap bandsaw for less than the 50 quid plus a new table.


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## Monkey Mark (29 Mar 2015)

marcros":3f35eqyy said:


> Monkey Mark":3f35eqyy said:
> 
> 
> > Ok, the scroll and table saw have gone.
> ...


I keep seeing a load further south, but not that many in the north.

I could incorperate it into a work bench but I'd lose any tilt ability.


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## marcros (29 Mar 2015)

i am yet to use the tilt facility on mine, but i think that £50 for an incomplete, poor quality bandsaw is asking a bit much. IMHO it would be worth about that if it was complete.


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## Claymore (29 Mar 2015)

It is a bit expensive for a Clarke bandsaw without a table, I had a 3 wheel 12" Clarke saw and struggled to get any parts for it so dumped it. For £50 you should be able to find a S/H better quality saw but make sure you can get spares for it before buying
Have you tried your local Freeads/Loot etc as you can find some real bargains on there and if its local you can inspect/test it before buying.
Also keep an eye on the Fore Sale section on here.
Cheers
Brian


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## Monkey Mark (29 Mar 2015)

I think always being on a tight budget makes me clutch at straws.
I'll find out how much a replacement would be then rethink it all. It's been advertised more than once so reckon I may get it cheaper.

In the mean time I had a call from a friend. He'd heard I was after a saw of some sort. He has a table saw (no idea what type) and wants to swap it (he never uses it) for some welding lessons. Sounds fine to me.


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## Claymore (29 Mar 2015)

I'm the same Mark...... its always nice to find a bargain and there are always plenty knocking around (usually when i'm skint lol) but having had experience of tools that don't live upto their makers claims I am wary of buying anything new incase it turns out to be useless, some of them you can improve with more rigid/accurate fences or even just taking the time to set the blades up correctly can make a massive improvement but others can be a money pit and will never do the job consistently and better off sticking them on Ebay or similar.
The swap sounds promising and as its your mate less chance of getting a lemon so worth giving a go. Depending on what you want to make its best to narrow down the actual tools needed to do the job ie I don't make furniture or large items so no need for a table saw but I do need a Scrollsaw and a bandsaw and a bench sander so made sure i got decent ones of those first and have gradually added extra tools when i have saved up a bit (you could always make something to sell at craft fairs etc to earn extra cash for tools, that way you are earning while learning how to use your equipment)
Good luck with the saw and keep us posted
Cheers
Brian
Ps Love Durham...... they used to have a great Hog Roast outside the market  I went there quite a lot when i lived in Yorkshire


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## Mechanism Man (6 Apr 2015)

mseries":2shf835u said:


> Chippygeoff":2shf835u said:
> 
> 
> > I think the guy that's selling it should give you £25 to take it away. Over the years several people on the forum have bought Clarke scroll saws and then join the forum to tell us their tales of woe and cen we help to fix the problems they have. It would be a complete waste of time buying that saw. It will not give you a true picture of what scroll sawing is all about and at the end of the day you will either give up the idea or throw it, whichever comes first.
> ...



To answer that question, I guess in short, not much. I started off with one of these machines and initially loved it!
At the end of the day, what you'd end up with is a machine that had a table to support the work, a motorised horse shoe shaped frame that had a thin blade fixed between its two ends that will move up and down at a pre set rpm through a hole in the table which would enable you to cut wood in whatever shape you fancy. So far, just the same as a top end Hegner machine. 
However, the Devil as they say, is in the detail. The table will be just a little bit warped, the plastic insert in the table won't quite fit properly, the machine will vibrate just a little too much, and the blade will possibly move a little left and right as it goes up and down making your cuts a little wider than they need to be. It will probably only take pin end blades, which aren't quite as good as plain end blades (but they work just fine for 90% of what you'd want them to do). The biggest draw back would be the single speed motor though - speed is set at manufacture, so for delicate stuff it will run a bit fast for comfort, and pin end blades are bit aggressive at high speeds. That said, the lower end Hegner machines are also single speed, and they cost hundreds...
So in short, as an introduction they are great, especially if you've never tried anything better. However, expect to outgrow it as you get better. Keep looking - they pop up on ebay regularly.


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## Monkey Mark (10 Apr 2015)

Ok, so I never got the scroll saw, or the Clarke table saw, but I did get something. 

Just a small black & decker bandsaw. Not ideal but it will get me started until I can prove to swmbo it's worth me investing the money. 

Anyway, still to pick it up but for £17 with a new blade it will do for now. 

One more question while I'm here. What brand of blades are good to go for and how do I know what tpi etc to choose? OK, so that's two questions :mrgreen:


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## Claymore (10 Apr 2015)

for bandsaw blades it s got to be Tuffsaws http://www.tuffsaws.co.uk/index.php?route=common/home once you have your saw check to see what size blades you need, I suspect the smallest will be 1/4" and largest 3/8" for thin material you want more teeth per inch 10+TPI and for fast cutting thicker/rougher wood less 4+TPI.
Cheers
Brian


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## marcros (10 Apr 2015)

Make sure that you mention that it is a 3 wheeled bandsaw (I assume that it is). There are some blades more suited to that than others.


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## Claymore (11 Apr 2015)

aye he needs the thin type for his 3 wheeler


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