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4th January 2015, 11:12 AM #1New Member
- Join Date
- Jan 2015
- Location
- Melbourne
- Posts
- 7
To upgrade, Or not to upgrade. That is the question!
Hi all.
First off, Happy New Year.
Now, down to business.
I am currently using a Carba-Tec 16" saw, similar to the current Jet one. I have been using it for a bit over a year now.
It works fine but is a bit difficult to work with at times. I don't do a heap of work on it, as I only have a small shed so it is put away when not in use.
I am thinking of upgrading as Carba-tec have a sale at the moment.
I am looking at the Carba-Tec 18" scroll saw. http://www.carbatec.com.au/carba-tec...bid/1/sort/20a
Is it worth upgrading to this model?
I know its a Hegner copy, but I can't afford a Hegner.
Or should I spend a bit more and go for a General 21" Scroll Saw? http://www.carbatec.com.au/general-s...bid/0/sort/20a
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Brad
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4th January 2015 11:12 AM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
- Join Date
- Always
- Location
- Advertising world
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- Many
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6th January 2015, 02:06 AM #2
I can't really help you but I can say the General is an awesome saw. Least I think it is the same as my Excalibur. I love mine. But it is expensive compared to the Carbatec. I guess you can look at it two ways. Is it worth the extra money if it is only to be used occasionally, or maybe if you had a better saw you would do a lot more scrolling. I know nothing about the Carbatec.
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6th January 2015, 09:14 AM #3Senior Member
- Join Date
- Jan 2012
- Location
- Yenda NSW
- Age
- 74
- Posts
- 344
I have had a carba-tec 18''variable speed for the last 18 months.It was all I could afford at the time & it has served me well,I have really given it a good workout in this time & find it a vibration free & accurate saw,I am not at all sorry I bought it,I don't think you will be sorry if you decide on this saw.
Cheers Peter.
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6th January 2015, 11:13 AM #4Senior Member
- Join Date
- Apr 2012
- Location
- Shepparton
- Posts
- 140
which scroll saw
Hi, I would suggest that you try both saws if possible I am sure you will go with the excalabur its is heap better to use with the tilting upper arm.only ting I wold suggest is that you insist on a pre delivery tune-up if you go with the excalabur
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6th January 2015, 10:41 PM #5New Member
- Join Date
- Jan 2015
- Location
- Melbourne
- Posts
- 7
Hi
Thanks for the advice.
DiRob, what do you mean by a pre delivery tune-up?
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7th January 2015, 10:58 PM #6Senior Member
- Join Date
- Apr 2012
- Location
- Melbourne
- Posts
- 293
I would highly recommend general scroll saw... I've started with the 16" Jet.. which was a bit of a disappointment to be honest... Upgraded to the biggest general... and have been very happy with it...
comparison
Jet vs general (personal experience)
General beats Jet in pretty much everything.. I mean it should.. when you compare price tags...
noise
Jet is much noisier than general..
With Jet.. the whole arm is moving thus creating fair bit of noise while general has only front part moving...
General wins
Blade replacement..
Jet takes both pinned and pinless blades general just pinless
Jet wins
Jet requires allen key to replace blades general has hand twist mechanism
General wins
Blade tensioner on jet is at the back of the saw and tends to undo itself with prolonged use, general is at the front easy reach and cannot come lose
Use.
On general scroll saw you can lift whole arm up, thus when working on pieces that have drill through hole as a starting point, it is much easier and faster to position blade through pin hole than on jet
Further notice...
I've pushed jet through some serious work.. and it pretty much fell apart...
The blower is almost a gimick, the screw attaching the arm to the motor started coming off... so i pretty much had to take half of the machine apart to be able to easily reach that screw which started to constantly come off.. the blade guard on jet has quickly became annoying feature which caused more of a danger than a safety and was promptly taken of. Work required constant poke of blade through hole and that was painful.. loose tension, get allen key, loose blade holder screw.. pull blade through the hole, get allen key, fix the blade, apply tensioner, start scrollin, figure out that the tension is not good as tensioner has loosen itself, re tension.. etc...
Very frustrating
general scrollsaw..
flip up tensioner, undo bottom screw, lift the arm up, position and poke blade through the hole, screw back screw, flip down tensioner.. you're done...
ALso general scrollsaw has dust collection and vacuum cleaner attachment...
as you can see.. I am quite impressed with general scrollsaw.. although pricey.. it is definitely worthy expense...
Additionally, general has updated their models a bit.. so previous issues seems to be alleviated.. Mine came in a nice sturdy packaging, fastened to a plywood panel and was fully tuned and aligned straight from the box. It was literary plug and use experience
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8th January 2015, 12:48 PM #7New Member
- Join Date
- Jan 2015
- Location
- Melbourne
- Posts
- 7
Hi
I think I will probably go with the General Excalibur.
Its a fair bit more than I wanted to spend, but after hearing your comments and a bit of research, it looks the better way to go.
Would it be best to get new or if it can be found, second hand?
Thanks again.
Brad
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8th January 2015, 03:15 PM #8Senior Member
- Join Date
- Apr 2012
- Location
- Shepparton
- Posts
- 140
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4th February 2015, 10:46 AM #9Novice
- Join Date
- Jan 2011
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
- Posts
- 12
I have had Carbetec 18" Scrollsaw for the last 4 1/2 years. I find they are a great saw maybe not as smooth as the Hegner but just as good. I would recommend this over the General. Suggest you try both before you buy. If you are in a club should not be a problem.
Barry.
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