# The £15 Scroll Saw



## powertools (22 Jan 2014)

This is my original saw a Sealey SM44
. 






I purchased it new in the 1990's but did not use it much until lately and have been very pleased with it.
This model of saw was sold under various brand names including Sealy, Clarke, Axminster and NU Tool to name a few but seems to have been unavailable for about 10 years.
I made some scroll saw sanders and rather than keep changing the blade for a sander I thought I would try and find another saw the same just for the sanders.
I came across this saw on ebay not far from home for a winning bid of £15 I put that down to the fact that the picture in the listing made the saw look in poor condition it wasn't until I collected it that I became aware that the picture actually made the saw look far better than it was.






When I got it home I switched it on to see if it worked and was shocked by the amount of vibration it was almost like a wacker plate and moved around the bench I just put it under the bench to keep as spares for my original saw.
However the other day I decided to drag it out to see if I could find the cause and on inspection it became apparent that just about everything that could be wrong was wrong but having spent a couple of hours stripping it down and putting the faults right I can now stand a pound coin on the table and it rolls around but does not fall over. 
The picture shows the saw after I did this you can still see how rusty and dirty it still is but having now got it to work as it should I am going to strip it again and will re paint it.
The reason for this post is to try and show that a cheap saw can become a very usable saw with a bit of time and effort and I would recommend to anybody looking for a cheap saw to try scrolling to look out for one of this model second hand on ebay as it is a very well made machine but needs the owner to fine tune it.
If any members have a saw of this type it would be nice to hear your opinions of it.


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## bugbear (22 Jan 2014)

powertools":2skldat2 said:


> However the other day I decided to drag it out to see if I could find the cause and on inspection it became apparent that just about everything that could be wrong was wrong but having spent a couple of hours stripping it down and putting the faults right I can now stand a pound coin on the table and it rolls around but does not fall over.



Could you detail (or outline) the faults and fixes?

They may serve as a guide (or check list) for others.

BugBear


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## wizard (22 Jan 2014)

I bought this 26” one a few years ago for £18.00 but it vibrates a lot. Not sure if i should bin it or fix it.


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## martinka (22 Jan 2014)

I keep looking for one of those on ebay but always fail. Either too far away or I forget to bid. When I first got interested in scrolling, the Nu-Tool one was the first I saw that actually looked like it had a bit of quality about it, meaning it looked well built, compared to the usual Chinese clones. Now I don't need one, I just want one to find out what I missed.  
I still have the 26" Diamond but it's much too big for me so I think that will be sold on.


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## bugbear (23 Jan 2014)

wizard":ukq8kkh8 said:


> I bought this 26” one a few years ago for £18.00 but it vibrates a lot. Not sure if i should bin it or fix it.








May I congratulate you on your Swinden vice - superb things!

Hope you didn't pay new retail price for it...

BugBear


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## wizard (23 Jan 2014)

bugbear":18g6ielw said:


> wizard":18g6ielw said:
> 
> 
> > I bought this 26” one a few years ago for £18.00 but it vibrates a lot. Not sure if i should bin it or fix it.
> ...


allmost i paid £35.00 :lol:


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## scrimper (23 Jan 2014)

wizard":2w8cg7y7 said:


> I bought this 26” one a few years ago for £18.00 but it vibrates a lot. Not sure if i should bin it or fix it.



Surely it's worth keeping if only to use for general cutting with a coping saw blade fitted! 

What interests me in your picture is the old nail puller hanging on the front of the shelf, I had not seen one until recently when I found one when sorting out an old garage, at first I wondered what ever it was! 
Mine has the words WR with BM underneath and an upward pointing arrow (*not* like the war department mark) and the date 1944.

Can anyone tell me anything about these? I have a feeling mine is from Western Region railways (the WR mark) and that BM stood for Birmingham?


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## martinka (23 Jan 2014)

bugbear":2y26rq02 said:


> May I congratulate you on your Swinden vice - superb things!
> 
> BugBear



apologies for going off topic, but I had to do a search on Swinden vices and that is a vice I could have made a lot of use of over the years. I actually have an old Record engineers 6" vice. My vice has a 3 on the side but isn't a No 3 vice, which doesn't have an anvil whereas mine has. I ended up reading about vices for about 2 hours, including one American 9" vice which weighs around 300lbs and makes my 6" vice look like a toy.


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## powertools (23 Jan 2014)

wizard":muk0pzjs said:


> I bought this 26” one a few years ago for £18.00 but it vibrates a lot. Not sure if i should bin it or fix it.



Well I think that you should get rid of it.
I will be in Cornwall in a few weeks I will collect it and donate £20 to a charity of your choice.


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## powertools (23 Jan 2014)

martinka":55njtsnj said:


> I keep looking for one of those on ebay but always fail. Either too far away or I forget to bid. When I first got interested in scrolling, the Nu-Tool one was the first I saw that actually looked like it had a bit of quality about it, meaning it looked well built, compared to the usual Chinese clones. Now I don't need one, I just want one to find out what I missed.
> I still have the 26" Diamond but it's much too big for me so I think that will be sold on.



I would never suggest that this saw is anything like the quality of the Hegner or Diamond that you own but would recommend it to anybody who wants to try their hand at scrolling without spending a lot of money before they are sure that they like it.


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## stewart (23 Jan 2014)

I've got one of these with the Axminster badge on and have been put off using it due to excessive vibration - if you are able to put up some information about how you minimised it on your saw I'd be keen to read it!

Cheers


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## powertools (23 Jan 2014)

Did you buy the saw a long time ago new or did you buy it used not that long ago?


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