Charnwood Scroll Saws

[Mikegtr]

Hi
'Newbe to the scroll saw'.
Has anybody had experience of the Charnwood SS18F 18" or the Charnwood SS16F 16" scroll saw? A good product? Your experience welcome.

Many thanks.

 

[scrimper]

Hi
'Newbe to the scroll saw'.
Has anybody had experience of the Charnwood SS18F 18" or the Charnwood SS16F 16" scroll saw? A good product? Your experience welcome.

Many thanks.

It is yet another clone of a cheaply made saw but with some extra embellishments to make it look prettier and better to use - which it won't be.
There are a huge number of scroll saws all built on the same basic design in various styles and colours but underneath most are the same and there is little difference between those with a quality name and a lesser known make other than in price.

If you want a machine for just a little scrollsawing or for general woodworking then any of these 'clone' saws will do the job, however if you want to do more intricate work with internal cutting then I would recommend buying a decent quality second hand machine instead.

I should add that some people do brilliant work on these cheap machines but the majority of us find them frustrating and hard to use.

For a more information you might like to have a look at the "buying a saw" page under "help and advice" on my website. The link is in my 'signature' below.

 

[Eric L]

I bought the SS16F as my first scroll saw based on it having a foot switch (excellent) and a light (not effective at all). Once I started doing internal cuts it became frustrating as many others report too. I got round that by getting the Pozsgai EZ blade holder system as I fortunately have a daughter living in USA and did some projects where it worked well, but still limited and an upgrade became just a matter of time…

So if you enjoy scroll sawing, in time you may wish for something better.

As I found that I really enjoy scroll sawing I went for an Axminster AP535SS.

I hope this helps,

Eric