Thread: Scroll Saw - Buying help

Just purchased the Makita sj401 scroll saw ,yes it takes pinless blades and has variable speed (which is playing up at the moment because it is a rheostat control)although blade changing is pain in the butt you have to use a small allen key.Look for something with a better blade change system.Was looking at the Excalibur but out of my price range at the moment,($1200 plus)had the money, but blew it on other stuff for the house.It will be my next buy soon as I have expanded my skills on the Makita

thanks for the reply pheonix
Does anyone else have any recommendations?

Hi,
I don't have an Excalibur but belong to a scroll saw club, about ten to twelve regulars, where five members have one, three of the saws have problems and are back with the vendor awaiting repair. It might be that perhaps they were in a certain batch. For the price???
Bob H.

Thanks for the advice Bob
Are there any other brands worth considering?

Hi again,
Firstly I must point out that I don't admit to being an expert and my scroll saw experience is only about three and a half years but belonging to a club helps and what I reported about the Excalibur was the result of other's problems.
I started with one of Timbecon's 16ins cheapies, about $180 I think. I thought that I'd "dip my toe in the water", so to speak, to see what scrollsawing was like. There are similar machines from other firms around, Carbatec for one. I found that I could do what I wanted but you do get what you pay for of course. The Timbecon saw, mine anyway, is a bit noisey, the blower bellows is a joke and the blade clamp was frustrating ( I cured that quite simply) but it takes both pinned and plain blades and is variable speed. Joining a scroll saw club, a small one, in fact I went to its first meeting, and talking to others and seeing other machines (as well as deciding that scrollsawing was for me - I'm retired and it's a pleasant relaxation, give or take the occasional hiccup!) - I looked around for another saw. At that time the Hegner "look a likes" appeared and I bought a WMS version (from Helen Harris but WMS sell them as well). I believe the Trupro is the same, or at least very similar in different colours. My WMS cost around $700, including freight. Since then I've also bought, secondhand, a 21ins PS ScrollMate for $300, don't ask me why I did but it works well and at times the extra depth is helpful.
I believe that Deltas, Makitas and DeWalts are hard to obtain in Oz, if not impossible.
Not sure that I've helped much, can only repeat the obvious, that you get what you pay for usually - Excalibur??
Regards,
Bob H.

By the way the top of the range seems to a Hegner, I've tried the basic one and it was brilliant.

Also surprised that others haven't weighed in with their thoughts, probably more informed than mine.

Hi again,again,
Thought that I'd given the impression that I'm anti-Excalibur, I don't think I am, I don't own one. The five club members who do own one are full of its praise WHEN it is functioning properly. They like the quietness, low vibration, blade clamping, convenience of the top arm lifting and tilting. They would like reliability I think but then as I've said before perhaps they were unlucky with a bad production batch.
Bob H.
By the way I believe that the Trupro is now around $850, plus freight I guess.

As I have said here many times I have a Tru Pro and after five saws I am very pleased with it.

I did have a Makita for about a year. The only problem was that it didn't hold pinless blades very well. Other wise it worked well. As these saws where taken off the market some time ago I would think that what you have found is very old stock. I think I would be doing a bit of hard bargening if you are interested.

Red Gum

thanks for the replies
Seems I must save a little more (upwords of $600) to buy my first scrollsaw!

Hi again,
Not to belabour the point but a check on the WMS site shows no scroll saw now, but a phone call might prove otherwise, and a look at the Carbatec site shows what looks like the WMS/Trupro (different colours) at $649, plus I guess freight.
Regards, Bob H.

Hi There,
The company that I work for is relocating, as such they were disposing equipment, and I decided to keep a hegner multicut 1 (variable speed). The machine is in good condition although it has some scratches and double-sided tape on the main plate. I don't have any accessories either.
I can sell it to you for a reasonable offer (over 450) plus postage from Sydney. The machine weights a ton (according to the hegner site 17 Kg http://www.alwayshobbies.com/Store/C...icut-1-Fretsaw ); so I have no idea how much the postage would be.
If someone is interested for a pickup in Sydney just contact me through this site.

I heard about Excalibur start up problems, but also that once they are all fixed it is an excellent saw.... just takes fiddling.
Even my tried and true Delta needed a bit of fiddling before it settled down to be the workhorse that it is.
Does anyone know why Black & Decker won't import their saw here? It sure looks identical to the Delta... just with red instead of blue insert.
I still say it has the best quick blade changer available today.... and is/was the cheapest of the good saws.
Wonder if someone will take up the slack in the market soon? Beginning scrollers shouldn't have to dish out $700+ .... that'sa lot of money should they decide it's not for them. Something between $300 and $400 would be ideal.... I do realize that even that is a lot for beginners...

Juvy