First Scroll Saw

[KenofShelby]

Looking to get into scrolling,,,I am tempted by the Bauer 22” from HF,, it is a heavy beast, 75 poundsl.  they claim it equals the Dewalt 788,   I don’t know…the Wen is highly rated, soo?//.  then I looked at that low price Dremel,,,,really interesting.  Not interested in the portable feature, but it has lots o good points,  only thing I’m not sure of,, does it take pinless blades?

 

So what do yu think..???

[OCtoolguy]

Buy any of the ones mentioned except the Dremel. If it were me knowing what I know, I'd give the Bauer a try.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

If it were me the Bauer is too new and I would see getting the Dewalt. There are pros and cons for all the saws you list but agree the Dremel is the one to stay away from. But the Bauer has a good warrenty so may want to go that way. Heft is a good thing so that helps. 

[don in brooklin on]

When I was looking for a scroll saw a friend said "Buy the best and only cry once".

Our club has Dewalt 788's and I was tempted but the best at the time was an Excalibur EX-21.  I have used the EX-21 nearly every day for 13 years and the only thing I have done is replace the blade holders with the Pegas blade holders.

The clubs DW788's scroll saw have been rebuilt a couple of times as the bearings wear out.

I look back and I think having a better saw has made the scrolling more enjoyable and when you amortize the the extra cost it was a cheap investment.  

I have not seen the WEN or the Bauer is person but I would check and see how easy it is to change the blades for you.  The nice thing about the Pegas and the EX-21 is the ability raise and lower the arm.  Small point but makes life easier.

 The Bauer on sale is tempting.

 

 

 

 

[ChelCass]

I have the new Wen and have had no issues with it.  The blades are quick and easy to change.  It also has the lift arm. I have had it for almost 2 years and really like it.  I stopped by Harbor Freight yesterday and they have the Bauer Saw on the shelf.  It is a large heavy machine.  I don't believe the table is large as the one on the Wen. It was on the top shelf so I really couldn't really look it over all that well. Steve Good has a video demonstrating the Wen you might want to check that out.   I think he said he had a Bauer but hasn't had a chance to check it out as of yet. You could send him a e-mail and ask him if he has had a chance to look the Bauer over.

[Denny Knappen]

As mentioned, buy the best you can afford.  Years ago, I bought a Hitachi from Lowe's and returned it within a week.  Bought a DeWalt (still have it), then an EX21, and now a Pegas.  Several purchased the Bauer, but still too new on the market for reviews.

[KenofShelby]

Thank you, all for the replies…Next week I am going to Home Depot to see their selection,,  Have seen good reviews of the Shop fox,,,, and just looked at the Proxxon…..interesting,, German engineering…..Hmm??

 

[OCtoolguy]

4 hours ago, KenofShelby said:

Thank you, all for the replies…Next week I am going to Home Depot to see their selection,,  Have seen good reviews of the Shop fox,,,, and just looked at the Proxxon…..interesting,, German engineering…..Hmm??

 

Choose wisely. Neither of those would be on my list.

[kmmcrafts]

15 hours ago, KenofShelby said:

Thank you, all for the replies…Next week I am going to Home Depot to see their selection,,  Have seen good reviews of the Shop fox,,,, and just looked at the Proxxon…..interesting,, German engineering…..Hmm??

 

Unless the Shop Fox and the Proxxon have changed up the saw in the last couple years I would stay away from those.. The reviews on these a few years back was not very good and blade changes were not user friendly etc.. be sure to research them well if you choose that route.

Knowing what I know now and just getting started in the hobby the buy the best you can and buy once is true.. however if you don't even know if you'll enjoy the hobby it's a tough call because a lot of these expensive machines do not hold the resale value.. A brand new Hawk or Hegner cost you  around $1700 and if you don't like the hobby the resale on them is lucky to get $600 back from one that is barely used.. on the flip side a DeWalt runs you $600 but used ones will sell upwards of $350+ for like new machine.. These other new to the market saws we have no idea of a resale value.. but if I were looking at used saws online and a like new Bauer came up.. since I can get a new one for $220 on sale with a manufacture warranty I'm not paying much for a used one with no warranty either.  The DeWalt name holds some resale value.. and are nice saws to start with. IF I was just throwing some cash around and wanted to take a chance of loosing some $$ knowing it going into this I'd probably look pretty hard at that Bauer.. seems like a nice starter saw in my opinion. 

Also don't rule out a good quality used saw.. Knowing what I do now about these saws and the help from others on these forums and groups.. I wouldn't be afraid to buy a quality used saw for the same price range.. just ask here about a saw you find.. many of us here can tell a lot about a saws condition based off of photos... and high end Hawk and Hegners can be had in the price range of these "new" starter saws depending on your location. 

[Scrappile]

I say @kmmcrafts is correct.  I am not a huge DeWalt fan, but for some reasons that I do not understand,  they have the best resale value of any scroll saw.  After scrolling for around 20 years, If I knew starting out what I know now, I would look at used Hawks or Hegners.  But look carefully at Hawks; there are good ones and some not so good.  Hegners, it runs smooth, not much to worry about, they have changed very little over the Years.  I have had a Hegner for several years longer than any other saw I have owned, and I would not part with it.  I also recently purchased a used Hawk.  I purchased it for $275 and did not buy it until I had asked for opinions here on the forum.

Edited November 14 by Scrappile

[OCtoolguy]

It might help us a bit to know what your budget is and maybe where you are located. I'm in So. Cal. and the used saw market is huge. I have never purchased a new saw. Or much of anything else in the tool category. So, if you are patient and ask lots of questions here on what you find on Marketplace or Craigslist we will gladly guide you in the right direction. We have all been where you are so please, take advantage of what we have to offer. There are truly some great deals to be had if you know what you are looking for. Just today 2 Hegners popper up on Marketplace. One for #350 and the other for $300. When it comes to Hegners and Hawks, you really have to know what to look for as for what they have on them and their age. 

[KenofShelby]

Thanks , Ray, I’m in Western Michigan, and my budget is $500 or less.

[OCtoolguy]

7 minutes ago, KenofShelby said:

Thanks , Ray, I’m in Western Michigan, and my budget is $500 or less.

Wow! If you can spend that much, you should be able to find a great deal. Just ask Kevin (KMMCrafts) here. He lives in Michigan is always looking for good deals. He'll help you find something for sure. Heck, he may even part with one of his 5 saws.

Edited November 15 by OCtoolguy

[kmmcrafts]

Yes, I do want to downsize and sell at least two saws.. been wanting to do this since the beginning of the year and now it's almost the beginning of the next year. My issue is I like each saw for certain projects I make and I am having a hard time on which saws to let go and what ones to keep.. Maybe you need to come pick for me.. My prices will range from $300 - 650 depending on the saw you choose, LOL

I'm getting out of doing so much of the scroll sawing and getting more into laser and cnc work.. Amish people just moved in a mile up the road and he is a cabinet maker that just built a huge new shop and wants to hire me to do their CNC work on the cabinet doors etc.. so it's looking like I'm going to be doing less and less scroll work and going more and more to the dark side with the cnc and laser stuff. I have 5 saws but only willing to sell two of the 4 in my shop.. the 5th saw was a saw my father bought new and started his hobby which when he upgraded I asked to play around with his old saw which is what got me started in the business.. same saw got him in the business.. I restored it and for now it's not going to be for sale.. 

I'm down in southwest Michigan.. your name here makes me believe you're from Shelby Mi.. that's probably at least 2 hours from me.. 

[KenofShelby]

KMM, where are youu located?   And which saws do you want to sell and what is their condition?   thanks for a reply.

[kmmcrafts]

1 hour ago, KenofShelby said:

KMM, where are youu located?   And which saws do you want to sell and what is their condition?   thanks for a reply.

I'm 50 miles South of downtown Grand Rapids or 10 miles North of downtown Battle Creek.

The main saw I'd like to sell is the 1998 RBI Hawk Ultra model 226VS.. has around 6-8  extra blade holders.. Don't let the year of the saw scare you as this saw was still sealed in the original box when I got it. I put hour meters on all my equipment and this is the lowest hour saw I have with only 102 hours on the meter so it's still like new. Somewhere I have the receipt from the original purchase.. guy I got it from ordered it in Dec. 1998 but didn't get delivery until January of 1999 and he had a stroke and couldn't use it.. it sat in a climate controlled shop until I bought it in 2017.. I'd let that saw go for $450 that's a firm price as I don't haggle. 

I've got a 2002 Hegner Multimax 18 that I might be able to be talked out of but I currently haven't played around with it enough and would like to get more time on it to see whether I really like or dislike it.. but I could be talked out of it for $350. I don't know much history on the saw other than it was pretty grimmy / dirty and needed much elbow grease and cleaning up when I got it.. Runs great and seems to work good.. I've only put 5 ish hours on this saw which is why I'd kinda like to hang onto it. 

I ran the other saw I had in mind this morning for a few minutes and I currently cannot sell it.. It's a China made Excalibur but this saw might be having some issues and I just can't sell it to someone the way it is currently.. May just have been some dust in the speed controller but the motor was hunting speeds this morning so I need to look into this before setting a price and selling someone a faulty saw.. That's not how I do things.. It's got quite a few ( 560 ) hours on it, and may need a few things checked over.. so currently not for sale. I also bought this new in box from someone that won it in a raffle.. I got it in Nov. of 2018

I have a 2018 Hawk BM26VS that I bought new in Dec. of 2018 but didn't take delivery until April 2019.. saw has 500 hours on it.. Can't say I really want to sell this one either but I suppose I could be talked out of it for around $650.. IF this saw sold then the other RBI 226VS wouldn't be for sale... I'll be keeping one of these bigger saws. 

 

[KenofShelby]

Well, it should be obvious by now, that I don’t know what I am doing,,,buying used is not a problem for me,,,can get some good deals that way,

The Rockwell does use larger blades, which would be not good for fretwork.  I still want to make ‘hearts’. Beyond that I don’t know..Have to do more thinking, and research. This board has been very helpful

 

by the way, there is a vintage used scrol saw on EBay,, it looks pretty rough and the asking price is $8,000.   Can you believe that???lol

[preprius]

Kenofshelby,

I started out with a Lowes entry saw porter cable.  I had issues with that not holding blades and tension issues.  OcToolGuy helped me find a Hawk226 used for $400.  No issues of blades and tension every again.  I am the 3rd owner of the Hawk.  I have owned it for 4 years now.

I went to see the used machine and OcToolguy told me what to look for.  I got pic and messaged him and he said the machine is in very good condition. So I got it.

I was so frustrated with entry saws. But the experts of scrollsaw village showed their project pictures and enticed me to go with used good brand name.  My hats off to everyone here.   I purposely used the term hats off because I designed a wearable cowboy hat from scrollsaw.  I am building my 4th one now.

The machine is never part of my frustration anymore. 

 

Me.

Mark Eason

 

 

[OCtoolguy]

2 hours ago, KenofShelby said:

Well, it should be obvious by now, that I don’t know what I am doing,,,buying used is not a problem for me,,,can get some good deals that way,

The Rockwell does use larger blades, which would be not good for fretwork.  I still want to make ‘hearts’. Beyond that I don’t know..Have to do more thinking, and research. This board has been very helpful

 

by the way, there is a vintage used scroll saw on EBay,, it looks pretty rough and the asking price is $8,000.   Can you believe that???lol

It's probably one of the old bicycle type saws. They do go for some big bucks.

As to your search, here would be my list of saws worth looking at:

Dewalt 788, the Delta version of the same, any of the green Excalibur saws both from Canada and Taiwan, certain Hawks, Hegners. Stay away from any saw that uses pinned blades or short blades. Common blade length is 5 in. , Pegas, although they will be few and far between because they are so new, and the newest Wen saw (not the $100 one) might be ok, Seyco which is very close to an Excalibur but a very good saw. They will be scarce though. PSWoods makes a good saw too but I've never seen on for sale used. One more suggestion, if you are into research, go to Scrollsaws.com. There is a ton of great info there on many saws.

 

 

Edited November 15 by OCtoolguy

[kmmcrafts]

Not for sure where you are in relation to this but this one looks like a decent deal.. new this saw runs around $1100 I think.. doesn't look to be used a lot to me.. Maybe 50 - 100 hours 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1302295034104092/?ref=saved&referral_code=null

This one has been listed for a few weeks now... never been used with stand and foot switch etc.. He may haggle on price a little to get into your price range. This saw new is another $1000 for the saw only.. stand I think is another $100 ish so to buy all this new is probably around $1200 + tax

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/952241970096593/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3Accf7a6ec-d3c6-4207-866c-5ae7526b64a7

Edited November 15 by kmmcrafts

[KenofShelby]

both are possible’s,, thank youi,

[OCtoolguy]

3 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

Not for sure where you are in relation to this but this one looks like a decent deal.. new this saw runs around $1100 I think.. doesn't look to be used a lot to me.. Maybe 50 - 100 hours 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1302295034104092/?ref=saved&referral_code=null

This one has been listed for a few weeks now... never been used with stand and foot switch etc.. He may haggle on price a little to get into your price range. This saw new is another $1000 for the saw only.. stand I think is another $100 ish so to buy all this new is probably around $1200 + tax

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/952241970096593/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3Accf7a6ec-d3c6-4207-866c-5ae7526b64a7

Wow! That looks like a very good deal. If it were closer to me, I might be tempted.

 

[kmmcrafts]

 

There is usually good deals on there all the time.. There are a few Hawks and Hegners too but they're the older Hawks with the junk motor issues and the Hegners are the old ones without the up front tension levers.. Both are priced higher than what I'd sell mine for so it wasn't really worth mentioning them, LOL.. It's really hard to find a good deal on a Hegner in my area that has the newer features.. everyone asking $400+ for the old ones and most are the single speed.. I probably really could get a better price for mine if I were to sell it. A million Hawks in my area but the majority are the old ones with the round clamps and the ones with motor issues.. most are also priced 300 - 500 for those old ones so when you find a deal in that range for a Ultra or newer in this area it's a bargain 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

4 hours ago, OCtoolguy said:

Wow! That looks like a very good deal. If it were closer to me, I might be tempted.

 

 

Edited November 16 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[Scrappile]

21 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

Not for sure where you are in relation to this but this one looks like a decent deal.. new this saw runs around $1100 I think.. doesn't look to be used a lot to me.. Maybe 50 - 100 hours 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1302295034104092/?ref=saved&referral_code=null

This one has been listed for a few weeks now... never been used with stand and foot switch etc.. He may haggle on price a little to get into your price range. This saw new is another $1000 for the saw only.. stand I think is another $100 ish so to buy all this new is probably around $1200 + tax

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/952241970096593/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3Accf7a6ec-d3c6-4207-866c-5ae7526b64a7

If it was me, I would choose the Seyco.  That is a great buy, and the seller of those is in Texas, always helpful, and carries parts.  The King is an Excalibur knockoff; I do not know how good they are.    The Seyco says OBO.  This means you may get it for a little less, Cash talks... There is also that little drill Seyco sells sitting on the shelf under the saw.   That costs around $130 Actuall I just looked $159 now.  Get that thrown in if possible.    Check them out at Seyco.com.  You would be set up with a not only good But a great saw.  It has a nice big table on it.

Edited November 16 by Scrappile