A scroll sabre saw makes detailed cuts.
Determining what type of power saw to use will make the difference in the quality of your cut. Even though many people interchange scroll sabre saw and orbital jigsaw to mean the same thing, the two power saws are actually different in many aspects. The differences are found in the components, cut quality and design of each tool.
Orbital Jigsaw
An orbital jigsaw adds a circular motion to the regular cutting motion.
The orbital jigsaw is a hand-held power tool that allows you to cut straight lines and around corners. Every jigsaw uses an up and down motion, but some have a feature that allows the jigsaw to add an orbital or circular motion with the standard reciprocating motion. The blade on the jigsaw begins to lunge out of the cutting track during the down stroke and and back on track during the retrieval stroke.
Scroll Sabre Saw
The scroll sabre saw is a table saw that a woodworker uses to make fine cuts like dovetails, filigrees or decorative cuts. The saw uses an up-and-down motion like the jigsaw, but uses a serrated blade to cut on the down stroke. While the orbital jigsaw uses a circular motion when cutting, the scroll sabre saw only uses an up-and-down motion to cut the wood. The blade remains on track at all times so fine or detail cuts can be made. You can use the scroll sabre saw to make the same cuts as a jigsaw, but a jigsaw cannot make a detailed cut like the scroll sabre saw.
Blades
One of the biggest differences between the two saws is the way the blades get attached to the saws. An orbital jigsaw attaches the blade on one end of the blade, while the scroll sabre saw attaches to both ends of the blade. Attaching the blade at both ends allows the scroll sabre saw to control the cut and motion of the blade better than the orbital jigsaw. The scroll sabre saw blade is smaller, with finer teeth than the orbital jigsaw. Because the jigsaw's blade only attaches to the saw on one end, it must be durable enough to withstand the up-and-down motion. The bigger design of the blade in the jigsaw does not allow it to make the detailed cuts the scroll sabre saw can make.
Cuts
Another major difference between the two power tools is the type of cut each can make. The orbital jigsaw makes a more aggressive cut than a scroll sabre saw. The more aggressive cut makes the width of the cut increase, while the cutting stroke of the scroll sabre saw is thin and controlled. You can think of the orbital jigsaw as the bigger cousin of the scroll sabre saw that cannot be as precise as the smaller cousin.
Tags: scroll sabre, orbital jigsaw, circular motion, jigsaw uses, up-and-down motion, blade jigsaw