Home Made Scroll Saw by John Bannister

Last week I received an email from John Bannister. John sent me a couple pictures of a home made scroll saw he had built. I was so fascinated by the project that I ask him if he would write up a short article that I could share with you guys. John was good enough to send me some video clips and the article. Thanks John.

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Home Made Scroll Saw
by
John Bannister

I decided to build this scroll saw after deciding I couldn’t afford to buy the better quality models available, and to me the short stroke on most models was to short, so I went about building my own.
It is built almost entirely from bits I had lying around in my garage. The base of the machine is an old metal table leg, which gave me the box section.

The arms are pieces of box section with tube welded in for the pivots. The motor is a 24v wheel chair motor I had and combined with a transformer gave me variable speed.

A broken foot pump was cut up and modified to give me a blower. The table was a piece of steel plate with angle iron welded around the outside, not really a very good idea as the welding distorted it slightly. Two pieces of tube welded under the table acted as pivots to tilt the table.
First trials of the machine clamped to a workbench were disappointing as it jumped about a bit but building a sturdy base, adding some weight and lightening moving parts has made the machine really smooth and you can balance a £1 coin with it running.

Showing the pivot points.

The reciprocating linkage uses two small bearings

Blade clamp.

Anyone with a keen eye will notice the geometry is wrong in that the blade relief is on the down stroke but it doesn’t seem to be a problem. My machines are all built to work I don’t have the time or inclination to make them look pretty. Some of my other machines can be seen at
www.john-bannister.co.uk I’m only to happy to answer any questions.





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