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Besides providing a pivoting blade clamp that prevents blade breakage by allowing a blade to flex during cutting, the Hegner has a built-inholder that supports and aligns a blade in the clamp while it's tightened in place.saw. Two different length V-belts are required, one for each sawspeed pulley. Blade change requires a special rod and an Allenwrench to secure the pivoting top blade clamp. The blade tensioning/releaseadjustment features a convenient cam lock that takesonly a flick to engage or loosen for blade changes.Strong 2015 Two Speed-This saw, made by Strong Tool Design(20425 Benrice, Livonia, Mich. 48152), has a cast-alloy frame, an1)sand large 13%-in. by 22-in. table. The stand has four legs that aresplayed in lieu of bracing to give the saw stability, but we foundthe legs to be always in the way. The table surface was adequatelysmooth, but the single trunnion didn't lock well enough to keepthe table steady when cutting heavy work. The hold-down can bebolted on either side of the frame, making it easier for left-handers.Cuts with the 2015 were generally smootil, but the light saw vibratedconSiderably. A few times after tightening the blade-tensioningadjustment, the pivot on the end of tile bolt didn't engage correctlyand tension would suddenly release in tlle middle of the cut. Theblade clamps are designed to pivot with the blade, but unfortunately,arm design makes the blade move back on the downstroke.Blade changes were relatively easy with the provided Allen wrench.One problem, however, is that tlle lower blade clamp barely fitstilrough tlle table, so the blade needs to be bent and workedthrough the opening. Since our test, the 2015 has been supercededby a new model, the Strong Prospector, also witll a 20-in. throat.Super 15 in.-This saw is the least-expensive saw in the sample: afraction of the price of the $1,014 Delta, the most expensive sawwe tested. Manufactured in Taiwan and imported by Penn State Industries(2850 Comly Road, Philadelphia, Penn. 19154), the Super 15looks like the Hegner and is remarkably similar to Taiwanese sawssold by Grizzly and Delta. Altllough Penn State's ads claim the sawhas professional quality and precision, it simply doesn't. The overallquality of the castings and the saw's fit and finish is poor. Forinstance, the Super 15 has a dleap plastic hold-down and minisculepump bellows that are absolutely useless. Also, the blade clampsare badly machined and don't grip the blade well.Like the Pro-Cut 20 in., the Super 15 features a covered top armfor safety. But on the unit we received for testing, tlle cover hadbeen bent, and the arm hit it on every stroke, making a terriblesound until we bent it back to shape. On the positive side, the sawcan cut clean l y enough (albeit with a lot of vibration), no doubtthanks to its high 1,650 SPM. Also, the Super 15, like the Superscroll18, has a power-switch lock so it can be child-proofed.Superscroll l8-Imported by American Machinery Sales Inc. (Box5285, Marshallton, Del. 19809), this Taiwan-made saw is heftilybuilt and doesn't offer many frills. Although the table surfacingand machining are still pretty rough, this saw is a step up fromtlle Super 15, both in capaCity and performance. The Superscroll's18-in.-deep throat is enough for fairly large work, and with itshold-down in place, the saw has the same depth-cutting capaCity ofmost other, more expensive scroll saws. The saw is a hybrid design:It features direct drive, like many parallel-arm saws, but is aC-frame saw, like the Delta.The Superscroll 18 has pivoting blade clamps that allow for afair amount of blade flex. Plastic hinged covers fl ip over the bladeclamps (I can't see why), and a removable table insert makes accessingtlle lower arm for blade changes easier. The Superscroll 18produced a moderate amount of vibration during cutting, whichdecreased when we bolted tlle saw to a heavy workbench. Cuttingaction was solid and yielded smooth cuts in all but thick hardwoods.Overall, the Superscroll 18 is a lot of saw for the money.Other models-As interest in scroll saws grows, manufacturerscontinue to offer additional models, which we were unable to includein this test. Companies offering other scroll saws includeAMT, Grizzly, Sunhill, Sakura U.S.A. and Transpower. DGreg Bover is the woodshop foreman of CB. Fisk lnc., pipe-organmakers in Gloucester, Mass. Sbop members Rob Hazard and JohnSchreiner helped with the testing for this article.54 Fine Woodworking