hawk and hegner

[Young_Scroller]

Hi all, I have done a fair amount of research on both these saws and cannot figure out what is so great about them. by the looks of it they dont seem like very good saws and seem like the excalibur would be a better choice even though it is much cheaper. so would someone be able to help me understand what makes these two saws so great? thanks!

-Joe

[LarryEA]

I'll listen since I know little about either.

Not impressed with a used Hawk I checked out and came away confused on blade changing.

My first love was a Dremel and now I enjoy Deltas.

[kardar2]

I have a ex 21 the biggest reason I bought mine is the arm tilts not the table. My work piece is always level. From what I have been told and heard is the belt drive is the vibration thing very little of vibration.they have small tables compared to the other saws. They say the quality is good heavier. Some people I have heard made extention tables for their saw. Not sure how that works with a angle cut. Just get a dwalt or Excalibur. The biggest difference is the arm / table tilt. I think the Dewalt has a faster cutting rate. I don't think you will regret.

[amazingkevin]

I'll listen since I know little about either.

Not impressed with a used Hawk I checked out and came away confused on blade changing.

My first love was a Dremel and now I enjoy Deltas.

I'm with you LarryEA deltas with blade clamps not thumb screws!Great to hold spirals!

[amazingkevin]

I have a ex 21 the biggest reason I bought mine is the arm tilts not the table. My work piece is always level. From what I have been told and heard is the belt drive is the vibration thing very little of vibration.they have small tables compared to the other saws. They say the quality is good heavier. Some people I have heard made extention tables for their saw. Not sure how that works with a angle cut. Just get a dwalt or Excalibur. The biggest difference is the arm / table tilt. I think the Dewalt has a faster cutting rate. I don't think you will regret.

I agree with the dewalt too

[amazingkevin]

Hi all, I have done a fair amount of research on both these saws and cannot figure out what is so great about them. by the looks of it they dont seem like very good saws and seem like the excalibur would be a better choice even though it is much cheaper. so would someone be able to help me understand what makes these two saws so great? thanks!

-Joe

 

Hi all, I have done a fair amount of research on both these saws and cannot figure out what is so great about them. by the looks of it they dont seem like very good saws and seem like the excalibur would be a better choice even though it is much cheaper. so would someone be able to help me understand what makes these two saws so great? thanks!

-Joe

I think the blade changing is annoying on the hegner?

[WayneMahler]

I have been sitting on the fence about a Hegner or Ex. I think it would be great if there was a place that you could go and try out all the saws before making a decision and purchase. I know it's only a hopeful dream but in my area most people have a DeWalt. Like anything else you can get the one bad apple in the bunch, but my final choice was Ex. Mainly because the table stays flat for cutting. All these saws receive good reviews, so it comes down to personal choice to me.

[Jim Finn]

I have two Hegners and a Jet.  All are great saws.   Made in 2008, 1988, and 1986 

     .The advantage of these saws is that they have induction motors.(no brushes).  This type of motor will outlast a brushed (universal) motor.  I once had a DeWalt that died after 20 months.  A friend of mine had a DeWalt for five years that he had to replace the motor in, five times.  He and I found that saws like this , when used to cut thicker woods all day long will not last.  We cut 3/4" - 3" wood doing inlays and making toys.  Many people like the cheaper saws and I think it is because they are doing fretwork using 1/4" material or less.  I have had my Hegner for seven years now.  Changing blades takes getting used to.  I have a "quick clamp" from Hegner for the top clamp that I use on all three saws and  it works just like a DeWalt this way. (bottom feeding)  I do not do any fretwork but if I was to only cut thinner materials, I would opt for an Excalibur or a multi speed Hegner.  My three saws are all single speed motors but one of the Hegners has a simple speed control by moving the drive belt on a multi sized pulley.  Smaller Hegners with speed control have universal motors so I think they would not stand up to the heavy usage we put them to.

[hotshot]

I'm not sure any of the major saws match the Hype, and that said, I own the EX21 and Hegner.  Both have their strengths and both have their weaknesses.  But here are a few strengths/weaknesses for each (for comparison, using EX 21, Hegner MultiMax 22, and any Current Hawk.

 

 

Hawk & Hegner:  Almost Zero Blade travel.  I'm very good at tuning the EX, but you can not tune out the blade travel to anywhere close to theses saws. 

Hawk & Hegner:  Simple design mechanics.  You would think this would make it cheaper . . . If something goes wrong in the EX, you had better be very very handy.  Repairs on the Hawk/Hegner are rare and can usually be done by the owner

Hawk vs Hegner:  Hawk can be both top fed or bottom fed.  Hegner is bottom feed only.  (Clamps can be removed from Hegner to get the blade through the top, but that isn't practical)

Hawk vs Hegner   Hawk Warranty is one year, EX two years, Hegner is 7 years on mechanicals, 1 year electric  (All kinds of loop holes for warranties, you had better trust your vendor).  For the Price, Hawk warranty should be much longer, and Hegner Electric should be longer.  

Hegner:  You can adjust stroke length for thinner materials.  This is a pain, but can be done.

Hawk and EX.  You can adjust aggressiveness of the cut.  This is easy on the Hawk, and a little more involved for the EX.  The Hawk has two settings, the EX is adjusted by turning the motor (or lowering the arm) so infinite settings, but not down to zero.

Hawk and Hegner vs EX:  The older EX saws (all saws without tilt table) are no longer supported.  Hegner supports saws from 30+ years ago.  Hawk supports many older saws, I think not all parts are available.

Hawk made in USA, Hegner made in Germany, EX made in Taiwan.  Ex has had a few issues with Quality control with broken connector rods, especially with those sold through Axminster

Hawk & Hegner has slightly longer blade stroke, 7/8" (vs 3/4 for the EX) using more of the blade.  This means you get more out of each blade.

Hegner:  Requires three different blade clamps for different sizes of blades, and those clamps can go flying when a blade breaks.  

Hegner:  Requires a tool to change blades.  If you have weak hands, this can be an advantage.

Hawk:  Business stability, very very small.  Prior owner went out of business, leaving their users stranded until Bushton made that purchase.  From what we can tell, they don't sell a lot of saws.

Hawk VS Hegner vs EX:  Both saws are pretty well built, but Hegner has a plastic connector arm, that can break, especially with age, as mine did.  EX has aluminium blade clamps that can strip.  Hawk seems to be heftier in some respects, but their newest model has not been out that long.

Hawk vs Hegner vs Ex:  Hegner stands are welded, and though solid, are not adjustable.  Ex and Hawk stands can be adjusted.

Hegner vs Hawk vs EX: Table on Hegner is a very small 9 inches wide.  Hawk is 13.5.  EX is 13.5

EX:  The arm Tilts instead of the table.  Very very nice for making angled cuts.  The mechanism that handles that tilt operation is very solid.

 

Never has the "Different Strokes for Different Folks" been more true.  Each of these saws have their devout followers.  That said, from a pure enjoyment perspective, I personally enjoy both saws, but prefer the Ex to the Hegner.  That has nothing to do with the durability of the tools, it's just a usability thing. If I'm cutting something precise and need zero blade travel, I always use the Hegner. Both of these saws see their fair use.  If I get an influx of money, I would love to buy the Hawk as it has many of the strengths of both the EX and the Hegner, but if I do that, I will need to get some "hands on" first.

Edited September 30, 2015 by hotshot

[GrampaJim]

Randy - Great summery!  I have been wondering about these high end saws for a while and trying to decide which one is on my wish list.  Doing a lot of fret work, kind of points me to Excalibur.

 

It seems to me that Hawk and Hegner would sell a lot more if they upgraded the blade clap systems.  Dewalt, Delta, and Excalibur have it figured it out - why can't they?  Am I missing something here or are they?

Jim

Edited October 23, 2015 by GrampaJim

[hotshot]

I think you will be happy with the EX for fretwork.  If money wasn't an issue, for me, I would have to consider the Hawk because of the zero blade travel thing.  In theory, it offers the best of both worlds.

 

As for the clamps, if you buy the QuickClamp for the top arm of the Hegner, the blade insertion is very similar to the EX at least for that clamp.  They don't recommend doing this for the bottom clamp, but I know of at least one person that had tried this successfully.  Of course you still have to deal with bottom feed only which sucks.

 

For the Hawk, I think they feed the blade down through a hole in the clamp, but looks easy enough in the video.  I think the old style barrel clamps were not so great but these seem workable.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=871&v=Na5E18zXTZI

 

 

 

----Randy

Edited September 28, 2015 by hotshot

[Scrappile]

I, like Randy, have a Hegner and an Ex.  All he says is true.  I love cutting with the Hegner, but I cannot do the portrait type work with it that I can do with the Ex.  I have never successfully been able to us anything smaller than a #3 blade in mine.  I have not had the Hegner long and I am sure I will figure out how to use the smaller blades on it eventually.  That being said, I really enjoy cutting thicker stuff with it.  It is a workhorse.  And it just purrs.  I know my Grandkids, even my Great Grandkids, will enjoy using it someday. 

 

For my type if scrolling I am a bottom feeder.  I have not been successful feeding a #0/3 spiral blade down through a #70 drilled hole.  It is going against the direction of the saw teeth and, well, I find it most difficult.

 

I will say of all the saws I have owned, I like the Ex the best over all.  Tilting table versa tilting head means nothing to me.  either way works for me probably because I so rarely cut that way.  The Ex is just a great machine for the type of work I am now into.  

 

Are the Hegner/Hawk worth as much more as the asking price over other saws,,,, hummm, well they are heavier built, and will out last the others, but no, if I had it to do over, I would have two Excaliburs instead of a Hegner/Excalibur set up.

[kmmcrafts]

The blade clamps are exactly what steers me away from Hawk and Hegner.. I know you can buy upgraded clamps.. Guess this is a peev of mine... but if I spend that kind of money on a saw.. it should come with the upgrades.. JMO.. Really like the new Hawks with all the adjustments that can be made.. Even heard the older saws can be upgraded with the newer style arms so they can be adjusted and fine tuned as well.. Since I do mostly fret work.. I am looking to upgrade from my DeWalt to a EX in the near future.. unless I find an awesome deal on a older Hawk that I can't refuse.. LOL

 

 

 

Kevin   

[jesse]

I like my alot, Never had a problems with my Hegner, more than 15 years

[Young_Scroller]

thank you randy kevin and paul you really helped. exactly what I was looking for.

[Sycamore67]

I have a Hegner which was made in 1996 and paid $350 for it and the stand a couple years ago. You can typically find a used one. I agree about the blade feeding and would struggle with fret work if I did it.

 

The Hegner is a very solid machine with parts available and they run forever. Would I buy a new one ... probably not but a used one at a good price...Yes.