Customer Reviews

DELTA SS250 Shopmaster 16-Inch Scroll Saw

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased this saw to make puzzles and didn't want to spend a lot. I got what I paid for, a decent saw for a very low price. Out of the box setup was smiple. I had to re-drill/mill the top pivot point and reinstall the collect as it wasn't rotating freely causing severe vibration and breaking blades. It takes me about 30 seconds tops to change the blade. The blower (to blow away dust) is barely funcitonal. Variable speed feature works great. I've used a variety of unidirectional multidirection blades. All work well. Invest in the right blades, work your pieces SLOWLY and always have the clamp down tight on your piece, and it will work fine. I spent almost as much on getting the right blades as this very reasonably priced machine. The quality is average if that, but the price is unbeatable. Even including the small repairs I had to do on the machine.

for the little i use a scroll saw, i couldnt see dropping too much money. so i jumped when this baby went on sale. i am not dissapointed with my purchase. it has a nice big cast iron top. it vibrates a little, but not enough to complain about. i havent cut anything wider than 3/4, but i wouldnt be afraid to try it. with the appropriate feed rate, i dont see a problem with this machine handling most anything you could through at it. just remember, you get what you pay for. if you want zero vibration, more bells and whistles, etc, yes you will have to spend more. but this is a good machine for the money

I am a professional scroll sawyer and I use my Delta every day. It has proven to be a real work horse. A few things broke on it after a couple months of constant use but I was easily able to get replacement parts either at Big Orange or Sears. I feel that an expensive saw will not replace skill at using it. Save some money and buy this saw, anchor it to a bench and you will be happy. A Hegner cost $1,000!! and is not 10 times better than this saw. This is a great value!!! Great for fretwork.

I have the two speed version of this saw which I bought over 10 years ago. I am a professional crafter, and have used this saw to cut litteraly thousands of board feet of lumber. I cut 3/4" thick wood every day for at least 4-5 hours a day and have had no problems with this saw. It cuts through 1/8" thick to 1 1/8" thick wood like a hot knife through butter. It is solidly built (weighing in at just over 46lbs) and easy to use. The quickset blade holders make changing blades effortless. The price of this saw just can't be beat either. It has actually gone DOWN since I bought it 10 years ago. All in all this is an excellent saw for either the home hobbyist or pro crafter.

When I started putting this saw together I was impressed with the heftyness of the unit. Unfortunately as the blade moves up and down it moves side to side (perpendicular to the direction of cut.) Calling Delta's toll free line yielded an explination on how to tension the blade, which is not what I was trying to do, I'm not even sure if the person helping fully understood the difference between a scroll saw and a band saw. The unit is so simple there is no way to adjust for arm misalignment. In addition, to get the table 90 degrees to the blade the table must be tilted 2-3 degrees relative to the workbench (works to get a 90 degree cut but does not sit well with me.) Now I have to decide weather to try another one or shop around. Good Luck.

I have the two speed version of this saw which I bought over 10 years ago. I am a professional crafter, and have used this saw to cut litteraly thousands of board feet of lumber. I cut 3/4" thick wood every day for at least 4-5 hours a day and have had no problems with this saw. It cuts through 1/8" thick to 1 1/8" thick wood like a hot knife through butter. It is solidly built (weighing in at just over 46lbs) and easy to use. The quickset blade holders make changing blades effortless. The price of this saw just can't be beat either. It has actually gone DOWN since I bought it 10 years ago. All in all this is an excellent saw for either the home hobbyist or pro crafter.

A little over two years ago I bought a Delta SS250 Variable Speed Scroll Saw to replaced my old Dewalt 20 inch Variable Speed Scroll Saw after the motor burned for the second time in only two years of service. I have been using my SS250 for over two years now with no problems. Some of the other saw I have use have a table that pivots both right and left, this is the one draw back with the SS250, it only pivots to the left. However, this has not been a problem for me and the work that I do. If you don't need a saw bigger the 16 inches, there is no need to buy a more expensive saw. The SS250 is a very well made saw and is unsurpassed in quality, and if you don't need a table that tilts both left and right, you can't do any better with any saw on the market. There's nothing you can't do with this saw that you can do with any other, no matter how much you pay, and the SS250 is more powerful and built better then most I have used, including my old 20 inch Dewalt Scroll Saw that I paid almost $400.00 for. I'm not saying that the SS250 is the best 16 inch saw on the market, I'm saying it's as good as any saw on the market, and it's built like a tank! I do wish the variable speed dial and power switch was in the front of the saw, but this no big deal.

I would recommend the Delta SS250 to anyone looking for a 16 inch variable speed scroll saw that's well built and has a powerfull heavyduty motor, and will stand up to extensive uses over long periods of time. The variable speed range is as wide as any 16 inch saw on the market, you can work with both hard and soft woods and metals, or just about any other material. Also with the SS250 there's very little vibration, making it a great saw for fret work also.

I got this saw 7 months ago and have put many hours cutting 1/8th to 1" wood, hard and soft with no problems. I have placed the saw on an old end table (unbolted) and there is very little vibration if any. The blade changing is very fast and can be done in seconds not minutes. First thing I recommend if you buy this saw is throw away the blades that come with it and get some good ones (not delta). It will make a BIG difference. Only one problem I found and that is the table only tilts one direction and makes it difficuly to do relief cutting. I fully recommend this saw to anyone.

You can't beat the price.
You could improve the quality.
However, not bad for a starter scroll saw. This saw gets the job done, as long as you are not expecting high precision.

Two gripes:
1.unacceptable high level of vibration at higher speeds for any kind of precision cutting(perfectly acceptable at slower speeds)
2.misalignment of blade locks cause blade to shift slightly from side to side as it goes up and down. Can't seem to figure out how to adjust. From other reviews, I don't think Delta support will be much help.

Otherwise, it works just fine for my needs. This is a case of 'you get what you pay for'.

I don't have much experience with scroll saw but this one is not for serious scroll saw work. Good for just light duty and not very intricated work.