Rick Berman Posted February 18, 2021 Report Share Posted February 18, 2021 Hi, New here and new to scroll sawing. Retired and looking for stuff to do and thought scroll sawing with my grandsons might be fun and good bonding experience. They are too young to work with grandpa's power tools but I thought scroll might be ok. I've bought them Stanley kids work benches and junior size tools and they like putting stuff together with their Dad. I'm really concerned that they're no shop classes in school any more so if they don't learn at home they wont know any of the stuff we old guys did in the mandatory shop classes in school. So my question is, do I just buy a Wen 3922, plus foot pedal, about $150 w/o stand,, or do I spend over $300 for a RBI Hawk model 226 that looks like new and the seller says he's used it for years on serious scrolling as a hobby and it works great and has never needed a repair? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kywoodmaster Posted February 19, 2021 Report Share Posted February 19, 2021 (edited) I would go with the Hawk if it's not the one that had motor problems. Some of the Hawk owners like @kmmcrafts will chime in to let you know what to look for. Edited February 19, 2021 by kywoodmaster spelling not my best subject. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Berman Posted February 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2021 Thank you kywoodmaster. I hope some of the knowledgeable Hawk folks will chime in. I found out that the serial number on the machine is in the very low 7100's. Is this a clue as to whether it has any problems such as the motor? OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC Scroller Posted February 19, 2021 Report Share Posted February 19, 2021 You can contact the company and they should be able to tell you if it was one of the series that had issues. They can also tell you the availability of parts. http://www.bushtonmanufacturing.com OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmmcrafts Posted February 19, 2021 Report Share Posted February 19, 2021 I would call Bushton with the serial number and ask about motor and approximate year of the saw. Hawk saws are great saws.. parts can be a wait to get if you ever come to a point of needing parts as they are a very small family run business that are also farmers.. if you need a part during harvest time you might be waiting a month or two for them to be done with the farming things to get your part made. One thing about Hawk saws is.. you rarely need to order parts.. any hardware and bearings are available at a hardware store typically right on the shelf.. The two main wear points I know of are the wedge shape piece at the back of the saw.. It should be a fairly sharp point on the end where it contacts the upper arm.. Though they are cheap to replace.. this is a sign of how much the saw has been run if it is worn and has a rounded edge. The other wear point seems to be the tension cam.. When you put tension on the blade you flip that lever over and it should go down and lock right against the upper arm.. If worn it may pop back up some thus not really locking the tension.. I've looked at saws I run across on craigslist and they will have a rubber band or something over that lever to hold it from popping up and releasing the blade tension.. There is really not a lot to go wrong with these old saws. If that wedge piece at the back of the saw is rounded over.. you can reshape it by laying a piece of sandpaper on a flat surface and sharpening that point buy sanding it flat from both sides evenly. Most wear parts for these could be made instead of buying them from Hawk.. provided you have a drill press and a grinder, LOL As for the WEN.. I don't know much at all about them.. or if parts are easy to get or not.. I assume they are made in China but I don't know for sure.. Not a very high end saw like a Hawk.. OCtoolguy and Scrappile 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben2008 Posted February 19, 2021 Report Share Posted February 19, 2021 (edited) 15 hours ago, Rick Berman said: Hi, New here and new to scroll sawing. Retired and looking for stuff to do and thought scroll sawing with my grandsons might be fun and good bonding experience. They are too young to work with grandpa's power tools but I thought scroll might be ok. I've bought them Stanley kids work benches and junior size tools and they like putting stuff together with their Dad. I'm really concerned that they're no shop classes in school any more so if they don't learn at home they wont know any of the stuff we old guys did in the mandatory shop classes in school. So my question is, do I just buy a Wen 3922, plus foot pedal, about $150 w/o stand,, or do I spend over $300 for a RBI Hawk model 226 that looks like new and the seller says he's used it for years on serious scrolling as a hobby and it works great and has never needed a repair? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks As a Hawk owner for over 27 years and not one single issue, I'm going with the Hawk. Edited February 19, 2021 by ben2008 OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted February 19, 2021 Report Share Posted February 19, 2021 Buy the Hawk. ben2008 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldmansbike Posted February 19, 2021 Report Share Posted February 19, 2021 I too am a Hawk owner 25 years no major problems. I vote for Hawk too. You won't be sorry. OCtoolguy and ben2008 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Berman Posted February 20, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 Thank you all for your very helpful replies. I am currently trying to buy the Hawk. Whether I get it or not it is dependent on transportation issues. With your advice, I have done a lot of research and would really love to have that Hawk. If I don’t get it I think I will seriously consider buying a new Seyco. Any advice on that? Thanks again. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappile Posted February 20, 2021 Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 I have a Seyco, it is a very good saw. The Pegas is also a very good saw, and a little cheaper... Have you checked them out... I understand there is some shortage of them right now, but if you are not in a big hurry... Not discouraging the the Seyco... it is a work horse... and I love the big table... I added the pegas clamps to mine... it is a good option but not necessary one. If you get a Seyco, I would strongly suggest you look up the Steve Good video (youtube) on assembling it... Save you some frustration. It is not difficult but it is different from the Pegas, Excalibur or King saws.... OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted February 20, 2021 Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 Well, you are now thinking in the right direction. No cheap saws if you can help it. I realize that not everybody can jump right in to a high end saw but there are so many mid-range saws to choose from and also the 'used" route is a good idea. The EX style saws are all great. If you can find a used Hegner, that's probably the top of the heap but only because they don't wear out and parts are easy to get. Not cheap but easy. The service there through Wolfgang at Advanced Machinery is top notch. If money is an object, think Delta, Dewalt. Then move on up to the EX, Pegas, Seyco. Then Hawk, Hegner. Rockytime, GrampaJim and ben2008 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DME72 Posted February 21, 2021 Report Share Posted February 21, 2021 look at the brand of motor on the saw. fasco was the brand that can not be fixed anymore. i have a list with years they were used.you can replace the motor and controller if they go bad. fasco motors were a/c motors and the ones after are all dc motors.7100 serial would probably be early to mid 90s or somewhere in there.hawk saws are work horses that is why i have 2. if you shop around you can alot of them on facebook marketplace and craigslist. does it have the round barrel clamp on the bottom? if so it is not an ultra saw. doug OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl1 Posted March 2, 2021 Report Share Posted March 2, 2021 I have a Hawk 226 since September, bought it for 200$. Was looking at HF, Wen , and others. I know it is over 25 years but looks brand new. After i bought it i looked at the others and they look like toys. I would try to get the price down some, seems high/ Great saw though, have no regrets OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockytime Posted March 2, 2021 Report Share Posted March 2, 2021 Hawks and Hegners do not wear out. My 18" Hegner for which I paid $300 is a 1998 model and my 14" which I paid $100 for and looks like it's been rode hard and put away wet is a 1988 model. Both ran and still run like new machines. When I pulled the bushings I saw no wear. But what the heck do I know? The deals are out there but you have to be continuously watching for them. If you find something jump on it. Ponder too long and the deal goes away. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new2woodwrk Posted March 3, 2021 Report Share Posted March 3, 2021 I have the Wen which I started with a few years ago and purchased for just under $100! I bought it because I wasn't sure Scrolling would be a hobby I enjoyed and spending hundred's if not thousands of dollars as a retiree on a fixed income on an unknown is not my idea of being a smart consumer. The problem you're going to have with the Wen is it is a Pin blade machine. I found out very quickly that pinned blades hampered my ability to do certain types of cutting - such as detailed fret work. I happen to enjoy the hobby very much and after a very short time, I purchased a Delta. I now own 2 and about to purchase a 3rd as a back up. I go with the Delta simply because it has been reliable for me for the past 4 years and the price is superb! The Hawk, sounds like a great buy as all here seem to attest to, however for me a new machine is preferable to a used any day as I am not a mechanically inclined person. I am getting better at it though with the help of all the great scrollers' here. Either way, best of luck with your decision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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