Conclusions
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
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6 Responses to Hands-On: Dremel’s Scroll Station
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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?
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.
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.
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.
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
I’ve been trying to find blades for this saw. Can you please tell me the size or part number for the blade. Thanks