Hands-On: Dremel’s Scroll Station
By Sean O'HaraConclusions
We were favorably impressed with the power and overall quality of Dremel’s Scroll Station. It has a quirk or two – such as the air blower snapping off – but it remains a very capable and sturdy addition to any woodworking shop. And at a street pricing of around $190, it’s a steal. Remember: just because it says Dremel on the side, that doesn’t mean that it’s only good for small projects.
1830-01 18″ Scroll Station [Dremel]
Street Pricing [Google Product Search]
Via Amazon
August 27th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
I’ve been wondering this for a while now, but I’ve not looked into the idea any further than simply wondering: would a scroll saw like this, with an appropriate blade, be usable in place of a band saw for cutting metal? If not, why not?
For that matter, would a typical wood-cutting band saw like you’d see at Home Depot or Lowe’s be usable for metal if you slowed down the blade a bit and put a metal-cutting blade on it?
August 28th, 2007 at 5:31 am
A scroll saw CAN be used to cut metal, but it won’t exactly be a picnic if the desired cut is large or the metal is thick. I’ve used a bandsaw before with a metal cutting blade and it sliced through aluminum and steel like butter. A lot of solid lube was used to cool things down and smooth the cut. The same bandsaw model was used in the woodshops and metal-fab shop so I assume the only difference was the blade and speed settings.
August 28th, 2007 at 7:01 am
I’ve never been around a scroll saw, but a “wood-cutting” band saw works well for small or decorative cuts in light metal and plastic. Just use the right blade and take your time.
August 28th, 2007 at 8:29 am
The main difference between a metal cutting saw and a wood cutting saw are the blades and the speed. The blade runs a lot slower to cut metal. One other thing is that many metal cutting bandsaws have clamps built in for bar stock and can tilt and cut like a chop saw for nice square cuts.
As far as cutting metal on a scroll saw, I wouldn’t think it would be that good unless the metal was pretty thin, I’d think you’d go through blades pretty fast otherwise.
May 7th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
All I want to do is cut out a series of zig-zag teeth that wrap around a cardboard tube, roughly 1/16″ thick. Each cut will only be about 3/16″ into the the tube. One half of them go at a 45 degree angle to the right, the others to the left, so each full tooth only needs 2 short cuts.
The salesperson at Home Depot sold me 3 things to do this job: the MS 400 XPR; the XPR multi saw that attaches to it; and the Dremel workstation 220-01 that was supposed to hold the blade in vertical place so that I can turn and push the tube into the blade with both hands. (all this cost $200!)
But for the life of me I / we can’t see how to lower the arm of the workstation and lock it there. This should not be rocket science. I suspect that this is not the right trio of tools for my job. Dremel has not returned my calls and emails! I’d prefer to have a small hobby sort of tool(s) like a Dremel, rather than some larger, more serious power toll. But whatever can get the job done. Any and all suggestions will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Matt