What Was Your First Scroll Saw

[OCtoolguy]

24 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

Just came in from cutting some ornaments on the Hegner... I do really like the saw but this is one of the hang up for me. though I am starting to get used to it. Also the accessory arm where the dumb hold down foot thingy that we alway take off saws.. that is actually lower than the arm and I'm going to try to pay more attention next project to see if I'm hitting that instead of the actual arm, as I think that's what I'm hitting when trying to feed the blade or remove it.. I know I hit that once while removing the blade to move to the next spot which is what brought my attention to that. 

That arm doesn't really need to be there I don't think except I do have the light mount and use it for my mag light. 

I took that off my saw. I don't mount any light to my saws. I have all lights attached to wall studs. I'm going to try cutting that stop off and drill/tap below it for a stop with a rubber bumper on it. I'm also going to make a larger table top out of 1/4" hard board with some stops glued around the undersides that will just fit the edges of the table with some twist knobs.

[GPscroller]

My first saw was the Delta 15 inch I bought in the mid 90's.  Single speed, bottom feed and wrench tool for blade change.  Did some fretwork but more intarsia because did not have to change blade as often.  Upgraded to Excalibur 21 in 2010 and thought I had gone to heaven.  Easy blade change, top feed , variable speed and a dust blower.  Wore that saw out and bought Exselsior 21 in 2021.  

Jeff

[btseed357]

My first saw was a Dremel 1371, later upgraded to the Dewalt DW788, just recently placed an order for the Pegas 21”. Hoping that the Pegas will be the last saw I ever need to purchase (I’m 67 now).

[OCtoolguy]

22 hours ago, btseed357 said:

My first saw was a Dremel 1371, later upgraded to the Dewalt DW788, just recently placed an order for the Pegas 21”. Hoping that the Pegas will be the last saw I ever need to purchase (I’m 67 now).

With proper maintenance, it probably will outlast you. Best of luck. 

[Lester Willerton]

After I retired from farming I built myself a woodworking shop in 2015 so I would have some place to keep busy and started buying tools. I did not know anything about scrollsaws so my first was a 16 inch King. It used pinned blades and had the tension knob at the back. I grew tired of it pretty quick and found a like new Delta 16 inch 2 speed saw at a yard sale. It was much better but the arm did not lift. I did not use it much but then found a good used Dewalt 788 and stand on kijiji. This was a great step up so I sold the King and Delta. 

I put pegas blade holders and an  arm lift lock on it. After that I started to do more scrolling and enjoyed it. My daughter then expressed an interest in scrolling so I gave it to her a couple years ago and bought a 21 inch King Industrial that I now use quite a bit. I did not care for the blade holders it came with so i changed to the pegas blade holders. I wanted Pegas 21 inch saw but to get it here the freight was half the price of the saw so I bought the 21 inch King I could get close to home. I believe it is basically the same as the Pegas. So far so good. 

Last week I recieved picture of my Dewalt in use by my eleven year old grandson. He seems to like it so I hope he keeps at it. He is waiting for some pointers next time I see him.

[Joe W.]

Delta 788 - now disassembled awaiting me to get replacement bearings.   
Which I thinking I'll never do as I have a Pegas that keeps me busy.
Keeping my eyes on prices for new Delta's - the old story of price comparing a new one compared to cost of total bearing replacement. 

[tomsteve]

16" craftsman 20 years ago. I think I got it as a Christmas gift. I learned on it and really got into scrolling quick but it started having issues after about 30 hours of scrolling on it. broke down and bought a DeWalt 788 type 1 major improvement. about 5 year later and countless hours, the windings in the motor shorted out ( or something like that. cant quite remember."

got my current ex16 11 years ago. although I haven't done much scrolling in a while its ready to roll after hundreds of hours of use.

[Gonzo]

My first was an AMT.  it was my dads. He made the most beautiful intarsia pieces with it. I had no such luck. My next one was a craftsman. Both of these saws were pin only. Both also collected dust from lack of use. My nephew gave me a DW788 and what a difference. That got me hooked.
Since then, I’ve purchased two EX-21’s and two Hegner’s. (I have a summer shop and a winter shop)  I still have all four, but use only the Hegners.  The only time I’ll use the EX’s is when I need to tilt the head. 

[BadBob]

22 hours ago, Gonzo said:

I still have all four, but use only the Hegners.  The only time I’ll use the EX’s is when I need to tilt the head. 

Is it that big of a difference?

I bought my EX21 for the easy, rapid blade changes. I can't imagine using anything that does not have this.

[Scrappile]

On 9/14/2024 at 2:39 AM, BadBob said:

Is it that big of a difference?

I bought my EX21 for the easy, rapid blade changes. I can't imagine using anything that does not have this.

I was concerned about that when I thought of buying a Hegner.  But I have no problem with the Hegner clamps.  It only takes a few seconds to change. I am so used to it I do not even think about it.  And for the tilting head, versus the tilting table, I just cut 50 stars to be inlaid for a flag, tilted the table to 7°s, and had no problem.   Maybe, If you had to go a lot steeper it could be, but I can think of nothing I would make that I would need to go much over that.

[Gonzo]

On 9/14/2024 at 4:39 AM, BadBob said:

Is it that big of a difference?

I bought my EX21 for the easy, rapid blade changes. I can't imagine using anything that does not have this.

I’ll take the Hegner clamps over the EX and Pegas clamps any day. I don’t think it takes any longer to change blades with the Hegner vs EX. But if it does take longer, I don’t particularly care.  When I’m running my scrollsaw, I’m I my own little world and time is irrelevant.  

[kmmcrafts]

On 9/14/2024 at 5:39 AM, BadBob said:

Is it that big of a difference?

I bought my EX21 for the easy, rapid blade changes. I can't imagine using anything that does not have this.

Coming from someone that has all three saws.. having three different style blade clamps on the Hawks I have.. the round barrel style and two different versions of the smaller square style clamps.. Also having a Hegner, and a Excalibur with Pegas chucks.. 

To me the Hegner blade chucks are really no different than that of the Hawks.. yes they are a different chucks but same principal.. break a blade and spend the next week looking for the blade chuck.. I don't know if the spring steel clip is somewhat worn out on the Hegner but it's three times worst for sending the blade holder into another dimension.. I rarely have a blade chuck come out of the Hawks when a blade breaks.. but that darn Hegner only stays in the saw maybe every 10th time I break a blade, LOL 

All three saws are great for certain types of projects.. I can see where people get the attitude that "my saw is better than yours" because having had many different saws over the years and doing many different types of projects I find myself liking the Hawk and Hegners for very detailed fretwork in thin stock.. but I find I like the EX-21 better for cutting thicker stock.. could I do all the various projects on one saw? Yes.. but having all three styles of saws I have favorite projects for the various saws that makes "business life" easier and more productive. IF I were just toying around to pass time I could care less what saw I had in my shop out of these three saws.. Probably the most user friendly saw in my opinion is the new Hawk BM-26.. large table top or bottom feed.. IF I were to do angle cuts.. I'd say the EX is probably better.. The Hegner without some modifications would be my last choice of a saw.. table too small to support the wood on larger projects.. upper arm doesn't move up high enough to easily switch holes and no way to top feed.. That said it's probably better built than any of the others and runs way smoother than any of the others.. A lot just boils down to personal preference and muscle memory from whatever style saw you started out with. All saws mentioned are great saws and in no way trying to say one is better than another.. just stating my opinion based on the types of projects I make and my experience with running many different saws.. 

[BadBob]

1 hour ago, kmmcrafts said:

but I find I like the EX-21 better for cutting thicker stock

It does that good. I cut a 1.5-inch wood lot with mine and only resort to my band saw if I need to cut thicker wood.

 

[Blaughn]

I bought the RBI on Craigslist and cleaned it up.  It had been sitting unused for years with a paint can that interacted with the aluminum table leaving a ring and the air bellows were decayed.  I cut well but the vibrations drove me nuts and the bottom blade feed felt foreign to me.  The saw cut well and is high quality.  It just wasn't a good fit for me.

I was fortunate enough to locate an Excelsior 21 still in the crate and I snapped it up.  I gave the RBI to my Daughter's family.

 

  

[kmmcrafts]

31 minutes ago, Blaughn said:

I bought the RBI on Craigslist and cleaned it up.  It had been sitting unused for years with a paint can that interacted with the aluminum table leaving a ring and the air bellows were decayed.  I cut well but the vibrations drove me nuts and the bottom blade feed felt foreign to me.  The saw cut well and is high quality.  It just wasn't a good fit for me.

I was fortunate enough to locate an Excelsior 21 still in the crate and I snapped it up.  I gave the RBI to my Daughter's family.

 

One thing about the RBI Hawks is they are very picky about having the stand legs planted firmly to the floor.. On occasion I've had to loosen up the bolts to the legs and run it through the speed range and sort of let it settle into the permanent spot in the shop and then tighten things back up.. That is one thing Hegner has going for the smoothness of the saw as they designed a three legged stand.. Also they welded the stand together with many braces.. Hawk stands are on the tall side and they bolt the stand way up at the top without really having any sort of bracing down lower to stiffen it up.. They really shake at certain speeds but smooth out either above or below that harmonic balance.. 

I've mentioned it many times but I don't think there is 1 perfect saw out there that handle every type of work you throw at it.. some are great at certain things while others are better at other things.. a bonus is having the shop space and the ability to keep a few different ones in the shop which is what I have done.. 

[BadBob]

The tall stand was one of the things I liked about my Hawk. I enjoyed cutting standing up.