Scroll Saw

Well, not one to ever afford a "Top-O-The" line scroll saw, Craftsman has always worked out fine.  But finally, after 14 years of very heavy and abusive use, my Ol' cheap Craftsman scroll saw bit the dust.  Immediately went out to replace it with the newest and latest cheaper ($125) Craftsman scroll saw.  Don't waste your time and effort.  The model 16" variable speed (21602) cannot even remotely compare to the old one.  Here's the problems as I see them with this newer model.

A.  The table is so coursely ground that wood hangs up on it when sawing.
B.  There is no table insert for the blade.  The blade hole is about 1 1/2" wide by 3/4" deep.  This means small pieces are really difficult to cut, safely.
C.  Because of the shape of the blade hole you must bend the blade to the right or left to insert it for pierced cutting. 
D.  Must use a hex wrench to loosen and tighten the blade clamps.
E.  Blade clamp of top hex nut is on the right and the bottom blade clamp is on the left, and both tend to push the blade out of the clamp when tightening.
F.  There is way too much (right to left) play/slop in the top and bottom blade clamps, that results in blade wandering.
G.  Excessive vibration.

Needless to say this saw was returned.......

However, there is a happy ending to this story.  A carver friend has recently up graded her scroll saw from a Craftsman to a "Top O The Line" DeWALT.  And as a result she had two older Creaftsman scroll saws on a basement shelf.  Upon learning of my problem she offered one of her "spares" to me.   This Older "spare" is head and shoulders better than the new Craftsman that I tried and returned.

I'm back in business cutting out carving blanks.  Arn't carving friends wonderful!

Thanks Laura.