Shopsmith Forums

Is there a basic difference between a jig saw and a scroll saw? I have neither but this one came up for sale in my area so I was wondering, what's the difference in terms of features/functionality between it and this one?

Those are excellent machines and that is a very good price if it is as good as advertised.

mountainbreeze wrote:Is there a basic difference between a jig saw and a scroll saw? I have neither but this one came up for sale in my area so I was wondering, what's the difference in terms of features/functionality between it and this one?

There is a difference.

A jigsaw has a spring to hold tension on the blade, and the mechanism pulls against it.

A scroll saw uses an interior frame to hold the blade. (Think of a coping saw.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coping_saw

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scroll_saw

That second article discusses a rigid-arm scroll saw. That would be the equivalent of the SS jigsaw.

steve

As has been mentioned the saws are as alike as they are different.

The older model of either might be a problem in the parts department. Certain parts are just not available from shopsmith any more so keep that in mind.

Besides the differences note above is how they can be used. The jig saw has the option of working like a saber saw by removing the upper arm and putting in the proper blade. It also works with files (not so easy to find anymore but they do come up from time to time.) You can also use things like Popsicle sticks which can have sandpaper attached for light sanding operations. You can get special tubes of sandpaper to fit an arbor to do sanding. This is all due to the way the saw is made. They can be a pain because of the oil bath they need to run in, leaking oil can be fixed but if you run them dry and wreck things then the potential lack of parts will bite you. The smoothness of operation suffers because of the way it is made, driven at the bottom and returned by a spring.

I feel it doesn't work as nice as the scroll saw does for scroll operations. I have both and would not trade either of them away.

The scroll saw has a few upgrades which you might want to look into if you get one. Better if they are already there. I've done those upgrades and while some of the parts in the kit were pretty much a neutral experience the other parts made blade changing easier and in my mind made things better over all.

Ed

Thanks for the feedback, that helps a lot.

If I go to look at the jigsaw, can you give me some specific things to look for to determine how good of shape it is in mechanically? Also parts that I should be sure are present and/or not broken.

Thanks

The gaskets are bad to go bad on the jig saw and allow the oil to leak out. Check to make sure it has not been run dry. I actually prefer my SS jig saw over my Delta scroll saw for a lot of things especially thicker stock.

OOPS! I should have read Eds post before replying. What he said!;)

reible wrote:As has been mentioned the saws are as alike as they are different.

The older model of either might be a problem in the parts department. Certain parts are just not available from shopsmith any more so keep that in mind.

Besides the differences note above is how they can be used. The jig saw has the option of working like a saber saw by removing the upper arm and putting in the proper blade. It also works with files (not so easy to find anymore but they do come up from time to time.) You can also use things like Popsicle sticks which can have sandpaper attached for light sanding operations. You can get special tubes of sandpaper to fit an arbor to do sanding. This is all due to the way the saw is made. They can be a pain because of the oil bath they need to run in, leaking oil can be fixed but if you run them dry and wreck things then the potential lack of parts will bite you. The smoothness of operation suffers because of the way it is made, driven at the bottom and returned by a spring.

I feel it doesn't work as nice as the scroll saw does for scroll operations. I have both and would not trade either of them away.

The scroll saw has a few upgrades which you might want to look into if you get one. Better if they are already there. I've done those upgrades and while some of the parts in the kit were pretty much a neutral experience the other parts made blade changing easier and in my mind made things better over all.

Ed

Please contact me off-line if anyone is looking for any Shopsmith Jig Saw parts. I have collect quite a pile of them. I never got around to rebuilding most of them. I do not stock the gasket. It is easy to make from gasket material available at auto supply stores. I still have a few Plexiglas covers. I have a file of the latest 52 page Shopsmith Jig Saw. Over half the parts numbers are still valid and can be ordered (back ordered?) from Shopsmith. This is the spring loaded jig saw.

How does one check the oil level? Is there a sight glass or a dip stick?

mountainbreeze wrote:How does one check the oil level? Is there a sight glass or a dip stick?

Open the fill hole and probe. Now one member replaced the cover with a lexan(or whatever) plate and a fill hole. Tis apparent in his avatar.

Never mind...