Grizzly G0536 16 Variable Speed Scroll Saw
| Brand: | Grizzly | ||
| Average Rating |
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Other features include: built in air nozzle to clear sawdust; easy to adjust blade tension knob.; safety switch with key; clear plastic blade guard moves easily out of the way; no tools needed to change blade; approximate shipping weight is 35 lbs. more info
Related Reviews:
Terrible.
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
A scroll saw for less than $100 – I thought I would toss up a “Hail Mary” and hope for the best… Well, it was a $90 lesson in why comparable models go for $200+
If you’re looking for a “cheap beater” that you can use for roughing-out stuff, this is it. If you want something for fine scroll work, look elsewhere. I’m not complaining, but a Hawk costs $999 for a reason… what do you expect for $90?
What I like:
- The price. For $90 it’s the cheapest one available.
- The weight – the whole assembly is solid cast iron. Nice, but doesn’t compensate for the rest of the flaws.
- The clear plastic guard is actually designed pretty well and moves up, down, out of the way, fairly easily. Unfortunately, it introduces a lot of parallax which caused me to end up removing it to see what I was doing.
- The air nozzel is adequate, but the vibration from the machine causes the nozzel to move around a lot.
- The table is long length wise and will support wood nicely behind the blade…however, see what I dislike below.
What I dislike:
- The size of the table is too small width-wise. Little support to the left and right of the blade. There’s also little support in front of the blade.
- The table is cast iron, however, it had the worst grinding I’ve ever seen. Deep circular gouges and very rough. Rough enough to leave scratches in soft woods.
- The plastic insert around the blade doesn’t sit flush with the table and there are no set screws to adjust it. It also has an enormous L-shaped blade cutout. If you’re scrolling a small piece, you tend to fall into the divot, then into the blade cutout. Annoying. So basically no support close to the blade.
- Lots of vibration. I mean , LOTS. I bolted it to a wooden pallet then clamped the pallet to my bench. It vibrated enough at high rpms to cause the bench to “walk”.
- The vibration causes serious arm fatigue. That, coupled with the small amount of support in front of the blade, made me feel like I was wrestling the piece through the blade. I was exhausted after 30 mins of this…
- Blade tensioning is done with a tiny plastic turnscrew at the back of the machine which will chew the skin off your fingers before you get the blade tight enough. So you’ll need your Channellocks to tension the blade.
- Pin type blades require a huge pilot hole, unsuitable for fine scrollwork.
- The motor comes out over one of the holes used to secure the base to a table. The half-circle cutout is also just too small to get a wrench in there. So you’ll have a hard time locking down the right side of the base…
And, drumroll please, the hands down most annoying, irritating, frustrating feature of this machine:
Blade changes!
The hallmark of a good scrollsaw is fast, toolless blade changes. This one says “no tools needed to change blade” – LIES.
You have to unscrew a metal plate on the side of the motor housing to change blades. This is the only way you can actually SEE the lower arm that holds the blade. You also need to get your fingers in there to help guide the blade and get it seated. This also exposes the lower arm, which, when turned on, is highly dangerous if left uncovered. This means you can’t leave the plate off. SO, you must remove three screws, remove the plate, change the blade, and reattach the plate. If done for speed you might be able to do this in under 5 minutes…
So, if you want a cheap scrollsaw, that you’ll never change the blade on, that you use for roughing out cuts, this might be good for you. However, I get the same results, faster, and better on my bandsaw… This scrollsaw now sits in a corner, unused. I’m saving up for the DeWalt or a Hawk.