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Scrollsaw Just Broke Again


Muzz

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Just had bits fly off my 25 year old Deta Q3, and rather than try and fix it again, because parts have to be sent from the USA and take many weeks, and postage is a joke ($40 postage for a few tiny metal parts), I have decided to bite the bullet and buy a new scrollsaw.

 

The problem is I have my heart set on a Dewalt DW788, and they seem to be not available here in Australia.

 

I have seen a similar looking scrollsaw called the General 21" Variable Speed Scroll Saw, available here in Australia from Carbatec.

 

So Is the Dewalt available in Australia? and if not, is the General any good?

 

Any help you can provide will be most appreciated, an around $1,200 purchase is a lot of money for me, and I would like to have as much info as I can.

 

Muzz

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Sorry to hear that Muzz.  I'm in NZ so not sure if the DW788 is available in Australia or not but I did find an old post (from 2005) in a woodwork forum that someone had found a couple of DW788's in a Service Centre in Adelaide.  (This is a link to the thread). So there may be hope.

 

I think the General 21 is also known as the Excalibur and seems to be very well thought of.  There are several owners on the forum who will be able to give you more information I'm sure.

 

Can I ask what broke on your Q3?  I have the same saw and would like to know what to keep an eye on.  You mentioned you have had to repair it before so anything you can tell me in this regard would be very helpful.

 

Thanks,

 

Rob

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Hey Rob, everything associated with the blade holder has broken at one point or another, the spring, the metal de-dent spring, even the bolt that holds it together, also the bellows split so the air wont blow the sawdust away.  You also need to keep an eye on the on switch, unbelievably the bottom of it, where the wires connect, is not covered so all the sawdust junk etc gets stuck to it and eventually you have to pull it out to clean the contacts or you scrollsaw wont work.  Also had to replace the switch when it went as well.   

 

Roly, the General 21 looks like the Excalibur to me, so it looks like I will go with that. Back when I first bought the Q3, about 25 years ago, the scrollsaw I really wanted but couldn't afford was from a company in the UK called Excalibur, for a Scrollsaw called the same, it was pretty much hand assembled and their only product, back then (early 1990's) it cost nearly $3000, in today's money about $4500 or more.  They went bust and sold their scrollsaw design.  Guess what the new Excalibur is an exact copy of?  

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I wouldn't even look at buying a dewalt unless its a type 1 its the older series. I had the newer one and it was in the shop 3 times less than a year old i got my money back and bought the Excalibur and I've had it 3 years now and had no problems what so ever. So in my opinion don't waste your money on the dewalt.

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If you enjoy cutting on a Dewalt, you'll love cutting on the General (EX21). Plus, if you do any cutting on an angle, the EX21 is definitely the way to go. The tilting head is what sold me on the machine, it makes it just so much easier to make any cut on an angle. Yes these saws generally cost a bit more than the Dewalt does, but, they seem to be a better built saw.

Len

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got my new scrollsaw finally, the General ie Excalibur (EX21).  I am loving it so far, cuts so much better than my old scrollsaw. 

 

I have never used a footswitch and decided to try one out and surprise surprise, like everything else, not available in Australia, even ebay seems not to have a correct type, and unwired as well, I would rather not wire anything up when I am dealing with 240v.

 

Muzz

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Thanks Tom, but most if not all ebay footswitches do not have the power plug on the end for a start, but the real problem is they have no "output socket", ie power from wall to footswitch, footswitch to scrollsaw.  Hope that explains the problem.  There is one on amazon, but they dont ship to Australia, and the plug at the end would need to be replaced as well.

 

Muzz

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