"Scroll Saw vs. Band Saw... Terrain and Base Making" Topic

I bought some sheets of Plexi-Glass, several years ago, to cut into bases of different sizes for my miniatures (transparent, Hot Glue the mini's to the base, matte coat the figure, and the base, making the base frosted, translucent, which shows the underlying terrain very nicely). I finally got around to cutting some of it up, for bases, starting with a Plexi-Glass scoring tool, a variation of a razor knife. It barely worked, but not well: the Plexi-Glass would snap, after scoring, unevenly, unless I made many passes, to score it deeper. This approach did not work well enough to justify further effort, as I wanted to cut up 500+ bases!

Went to Harbor Freight Tools, found a Scroll Saw, with a variable speed control built in, for $69.99. Purchased extra blades, same time. The blades cut through the Plexi-Glass fairly well, but blade tension is critical, and you will break blades, so buy extra! Tried to make a guide to feed the Plexi-Glass straight into the blade, to cut it precisely… "Wrong answer, thank you for playing. Next contestant, please!"

The Scroll Saw blade moves, out of necessity, since it was designed for free-hand cutting in most directions; the cutting table is adjustable such that angled cuts can be made. The feed guide did not prevent the blade from wandering side, to side, which led to less than precise cutting lines. :-( On the good side, however, is that it will allow you to cut terrain pieces, out of most materials: styrofoam, plastic, wood, etc. I plan on keeping the Scroll Saw for terrain projects, but I will be saving up for a Band Saw, next. Here is the link to the Scroll Saw:

link

The Band Saw at Harbor Freight Tools, sells for around ~$120, without their 20% off coupon.

link

It comes with a feed guide, which will allow you to feed into the blade with precision. What remains to be seen, though, is how precise the cuts will be. These are low cost tools, better suited for hobbies, as opposed to commercial production.

If you are looking for low cost, hobby tools, for your terrain making needs, check out Harbor Freight Tools. Look for their discount coupons. Cheers!

Forgot to mention: the thinner the material being cut, the more teeth per inch needed. Some blades have as many as 24 teeth per inch, which is better for thin material, like Plexi-Glass. Caveat Emptor! Cheers!

Harbor Freight is where you go for power tools until you can afford good power tools. If you want to do precision woodworking, skip them. But they do OK for the occasional hobby project.

A scroll saw is not designed for straight cuts like making bases. It is for free-hand decorative cuts. If you want to do something like cut out windows on a building wall, a scroll saw will work.

For making straight cuts like bases, a table saw does the best job for wood products, but DON'T do plexiglass or any other type of plastic on a table saw. The blade spins so fast, friction melts the edges of the cheap plastic. If you try to cut the better quality, harder plastics, well, I got a broken hand for my efforts when instead of getting caught by the anti-kickback device, the plastic shattered.

A band saw is best for cutting sheet plastic. Make sure the saw is properly set up and the blade tracking true before use. Set the speed of the saw as low as possible to reduce friction between the blade and plastic. You can get pretty straight edges and consistent widths using a rip fence. And it is the safest, since the only direction of blade travel forces the material against the table. ALWAYS use a push block to move the material through the saw and keep your hands at least 6 inches from the blade.

For making straight cuts like bases, a table saw does the best job for wood products, but DON'T do plexiglass or any other type of plastic on a table saw.

I do all the time. Never have any problems with it

Proper blade for the job and all that though…

link

Not cheap at all – but compared to shattered sheets it is well worth the price. link If I am only making one or two cuts though, my normal Freud thin kirf blade will work well enough.

The band saw works well enough, but again even there the proper blade makes a good bit of difference (plus be sure to hone the back side of the blade…will help it cut through like butter).

Back up to the original post – buy a quality blade for whatever you get from Harbor Freight, band saw or scroll saw. There is a huge difference between the cheap blades that come with those tools and something which is a bit more refined.

This is why I pay professionals to cut wood and plastic for me. And I do it gladly.

I have had very good results cutting plastics with a tablesaw. I have used a band saw for plastic. They have some of the same problems you describe with the scroll saw, but to a lesser degree.

What DAF said. I've ruined a saw trying to cut
Plexiglass for a non-hobby project. The guy I paid
to get it done did it in about 1/4 the time, with
no errors, very little scrap and did a very neat job.

i use a band saw with a fine blade for long straight cuts in all materials.
a scroll saw is only useful for fine detail and many bends type of cuts.
the trouble is the heat build up whilst sawing will melt the plastic and leave some on the blade.
if you can afford it get both, if not a band saw will do quite a bit more than a scroll saw.

Agreed, Shaun. Saving up for a bandsaw, now. I have some terrain projects which the scroll saw will be perfect, so no need to box it up, and return it. Not looking for perfection, but just something good enough that it won't jump off the table and shout how bad it looks. ;-)

I have paid 'professionals' to do a lot of work for me, and I will continue to do so, for some things. I used to pay a friend to paint my figures for me, until I realized how much paint, and additional figures, I could buy for what I was paying him! He has painted 12,000+ figures, over 20+ years, and he is superb at his craft. However, sometimes, I just choose to do it myself, and save a wad of cash in the process. To each their own. Just wanted to share my experiences with others who might wish to try it themselves. Cheers!

I have heard that a couple of layers of clear tape over the cutting line will help cool/lubricate the plexiglass when cutting it with a scrollsaw or bandsaw. I have found this to be true when cutting hardwoods on the scrollsaw, a little tape and no burn marks on cherry wood. As for cutting straight lines on a scrollsaw, the curve is due to how the teeth are made. The teeth are punched out of the metal, so they cut better on one side. Some people hone the back of the blade to compensate while others just feed the stock in at an angle. I won't go into too much detail, a google search should give you specifics. Precision Ground blades (I know Olsen makes some) do not do this and will cut straight with and improvised fence, so maybe that is an option.

Thanks, diceslinger! Cheers!

Taping plastic, helps prevent edge fracture,, but won't help to lubricate it or prevent blade over heating. Most saws designed for plastics cutting having a liquid lubricant circulatory system.

You can cut with a normal band saw, but just be mindful of blade heat. Cut slowly and let the blade do the work and don't try doing too much in one go. As said above, a fret saw is for cutting intricate shapes and piercings, they won't do straight edges.

A fret will not do very good straight edges, no matter the blade type, partly as it uses an oscillating motion to power the blade. The continual rotation of the bandsaw allows for a straight cuts, as the bed should (on a proper setup saw) not vibrate.

If you have a local school with a CNC lazer cutter, they may be able depending on the plastic type, be able to cut it for you.

A little thread necromancy…

I put my cheapo, 9" Band Saw to the test last night. I cut off 1" strips, then I cut those strips into 3" pieces (bases for three, 25-28mm figures, standing abreast); I also cut a number of 2" square pieces to use as bases for larger creatures (Giants, Ogres, Elementals, etc.). The saw cut them easily, without issue. I hope to go back and cut up the remainder of my Plexi-Glass sheet, but I will be connecting my Shop Vac, to the attachment point, to suck up the plastic 'dust', which will also help cool the blade.

If you check your local DIY stores, you will likely find a 9" Band Saw, with Rip Gate, for around $70. USD Doing the math, I would spend a lot more than this, to get the 200+ (acrylic -- they don't use Plex-Glass) bases I want, cut by a commercial company. I also have occasional uses for it to cut wood for house projects -- first test cut was a 2x6, to make sure I had the blade tension correct; nice cut on the wood, worked very well. YMMV. Cheers!

Tangent – re: cutting acrylic sheet with power tools

Put a box beneath the blade for collection and/or sweep up the chips (be sure to clean the area before doing any cutting, of course). A sprinkling of the chips added to the top of snow terrain/bases gives a 'sparkly' effect to the snow.

For good, long, straight cuts you really need a small table saw with a guide. Best way to get good right angles too…

Barring that, you can use a skill saw with a guide attached to the sled.