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General Category => Ask Steve a question. => Topic started by: emtdonald on September 21, 2010, 05:20:18 pm
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i am looking at the 189$ craftsman or the portercable saw at lowes both are the same price. just wanting an opinion or help if anyone has either saw
Thanks
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Issue #40 of Scrollsaw rated the saws by price catagory. Porter Cable won the top spot for it's price category. The said "It stands above comparatively priced scroll saws when it comes to usability". Features highlighted were: easier blade changes than the other saws and the least vibration in its class, all controls are up front. It is the only one in it's class to come with a stand and work light.
One of my students bought one. I am finding in easier than the Dremel 18" that I started with. It is a very user friendly saw.
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thanks julie is the one your student has the 189$
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I would have to go with portercable to. A friend of mine bought the craftsman and it has allot of vibration. 8)
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Yeah, he got it at Lowes.
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My saw is the Porter Cable from Lowes. I have had it about a month and a half and have used it a lot. I had a lot of problems at first but they were ID-ten-T (ID10T) errors. After I got some Flying Dutchman blades and some well needed advice on these forums, I love this saw. It will take both pin and pin-less blades, has a variable speed and a work light. Mine also came with a stand. I did a lot of research and I believe this is a perfect beginner/hobby saw. If I keep doing this and get as good as some here I may invest in a DeWalt. That will be a long time down the road though.
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My Lowes had a Skil for $109 and the Porter Cable for $189. The Skil had some bad reviews and no stand. If you bought the Skil and then a stand the total price would be more than $189. The Porter Cable had good reviews and a stand so it was more economical in the long run. The controls are also easier to get to and the work light is bigger.
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i want to thank everyone for the feedback. ive never used any of the porter cable brand tools so i wasnt sure about the quality. i have a craftsman scroll saw that is about 10 yrs old i bought for 40$ at a yard sale.it was probably a good saw new and its ok but the blower dosent work and the blade has alot of movement. craftsman dosent make thier tools like they used to.
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FYI - Porter Cable has the #1 selling air compressor in the country - the 6 gal pancake. Their sanders and nail guns are top rate. Their routers are very high quality (although I prefer Bosch). I was impressed with the scroll saw for a starter saw. It should serve you well for many years.
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Oh heck I look at craftsman and porter cable scroll saws but when I seen what steve good had I had to have the dewalt dw788 scroll saw :P great scroll saw... other then the thumb screws which you need a little wd-40.... I think the dewalt dw788 is a great scroll saw for the greenhorns......