Hawk, Hegner or something else?

[John Terefenko]

The Hawks, Hegners, Excalibers are all top of the line highend saws. Now there is a difference if you are a top feeder or a bottom feeder and THAT IS the only difference. There are differences in many saws and yes the Excaliber and now the new Jet saw have a tilting head design. No better than a tilting table if you are into that but some may find it easier. As is with top feeding over bottom feeding. It is a matter of preference. I own 2 Hawks 220 and 226, Hegner 18" a Dewalt 788 . Have been scrolling for over 30 years. I use Flying Dutchman blades and mostly the $5 Silver reverse blade. You will get 100 different people disagreeing on different blades also and again it comes down to a matter of preference. Can not go wrong with any of them.

[Dave Cav]

Thanks for all the input. Hawks seem to be a lot easier to find so I'm glad everyone seems to be happy with theirs.

[Andrew Kertesz]

If you were in my neck of the woods I might be cajoled into selling my Hegner 22V....

[Rich Riddle]

One thing people haven't mentioned here is that if you purchase a used saw in good condition that the price will be far more reasonable. I have never seen power tools that immediately lose resell value as much as scroll saws. The other thing I forgot to mention is you have tons of time when considering a scroll saw; they languish forever. I had one seller on the Creek who wrote me over an eighteen month period trying to sell. He lived near St. Louis and couldn't get a bite up there. Andrew listed his for sale last August and still has it. The move slower than any other tool I have seen.

[Andrew Kertesz]

Rich is right...not everybody has a need or want of a scroll saw. While they are quiet, don't make a big mess they are more a specialized tool.

[Rich Riddle]

My wife really liked the lack of mess and quiet aspects, but I don't perform enough detail work.....I am not good enough to perform all the detail work. I did enjoy watching the motors move almost silently and that little rubber piece move up and down.

Rich is right...not everybody has a need or want of a scroll saw. While they are quiet, don't make a big mess they are more a specialized tool.

[Robert Parent]

I have owned a Hegner for about 10 years and really like it especially after owning several low end saws. It was a hard choice between the Hawk and Hegner but went with the Hegner. If you live near a large city both saws come up for sale fairly often if you want to save a few dollars.

Robert

[Dave Cav]

Well, I ended up getting an RBI Hawk. There were four or five Hawks on CL within a hundred miles or so, but the one I got was only about 10 miles away. I went to look at it Sunday afternoon, and picked it up Monday evening. It's an early 2000's RBI 26" model, the biggest one they made. I got it for $ 450, which I don't think is too bad as the current version of the saw is going for $1400 plus shipping. I got it from the second owner, who apparently never used it or used it very little. She bought it from the first owner, who apparently didn't use it much, either, because the saw appears to be brand new, and it came with a bunch of patterns and pattern books that have never been unfolded. I'll give it a try this weekend when I have some free time.