I recent article in Fine Woodworking reviewed mid-sized scroll saws and recommended the Dremel 1800 as a best buy and the DeWalt as the best overall. I’m new to woodworking, so I’m not looking to spend a lot of money and was thinking of buying the Dremel.

Since the article came out, Dremel has discontinued the 1800, but they are still available. They also come out with an 1830. The 1830 seems to have a little bit more power, but it does not have the built-in sander. I have one on my drill press, but it may not be as convenient as the built-in on the Dremel 1800. So, one of my questions is — which of these Dremel’s would you recommend?

The second question concerns the Dremel’s durability. I saw a couple of complaints from people who said that the motor on their Dremel scroll saw burned out. Apparently, these people bought their machines from an on-line outlets, so there may have been some damage that occurred in shipping. I have a Dremel rotary tool and have had very good experience with getting it repaired by Dremel (Bosch). I damaged my rotory tool by using the wrong collet nut with the flex shaft tool and Dremel did not charge me anything for the repair. They sent a letter of apologizing that I had trouble with my tool and sent me a couple of extra accessories for free! I don’t know if they support their scroll saws as well as their rotary tool. So, I guess my second question is whether you still think it is a good idea to buy a Dremel scroll saw. I don’t want to buy a tool that is likely to fail. I’m wondering if you have heard about motor problems or how Dremel responds to motor problems in their scroll saws.

I know that the DeWalt is the gold standard, but if I have to spend that much money for a scroll saw, I think I’d rather have an incra-jig for my router.

Thank you for your help

Gatherer