Question

[Judy Hunter]

IF money were no object what would be the best saw available?

[dgman]

Hey Judy, "Best" is subjective. What does that really mean? What is the best saw for me is not necessarily the best saw for you. In my opinion, The best saw for me has not been made yet.
I am spoiled in that I am a top feeder, which means I could never go back to bottom feeding. All the saws that I know of that top feed have problems. The most expensive saws such as the Eclipse and Hegners are all bottom feeders.
A lot of folks do only Intarsia. And some only do jigsaw puzzles. So it does not matter if their saws are capable of top feeding or not. I do everything from Intarsia, to fretwork, so I need a top feeding saw.
 So where does that leave me? For now, I will stick with my DeWALT.

[jim stiek]

the best saw you can own is one that is easy for you! to use and that has great service behind it unless you are capable of doing your own repairs. I am also a dedicated top feeder and could never go back.
good luck
jim

[jimbo]

Unfortunately down under we only have the choice of  of an Excalibur and a crap saw so which one would you pick?
Jimbo

[Billy in Va]

If money were no object  Get one of every kind and have fun finding out which is best. Of course as to others said, the best for me may just leave a "best" for someone else.

[Barry]

Hi Judy-

I really like my Dewalt.  However if I could afford it, and one day I will, I would get an Excalibur EX-21.  A good friend of mine got the 30", it is impressive looking, but he has had nothing but trouble with it.  That may be just a bad saw and not a design problem.

Yes, I would be fat and happy if I had the EX 21 as my everyday saw and my Dewalt as a spare. 

Barry

[SheGold]

Judy I must say that any saw that will let me do my scrolling is the best saw for me. Thats just my opinion... Sheila

[julief]

My EX21 is going on 10 years old and at one time got a full 8 hours a day of use.  I would buy an EX30 in a heartbeat!  I tried to get a price on that commercial one Steve showed on his blog a few weeks ago and still have no idea how much it costs or any of the specs on it.  All my inquiry got me was a but load of e-mails offering to get me "fast quotes" on tools I don't want.

[dgman]

My EX21 is going on 10 years old and at one time got a full 8 hours a day of use.  I would buy an EX30 in a heartbeat!  I tried to get a price on that commercial one Steve showed on his blog a few weeks ago and still have no idea how much it costs or any of the specs on it.  All my inquiry got me was a but load of e-mails offering to get me "fast quotes" on tools I don't want.

Hey Julie, I'm curious, Is your EX21 North American made or made in Taiwan? It seems to me that all the problems with the Excalibur and DeWALT saws started when they started manufacturing them in Taiwan.

[Toneman]

The best saw for me is the EX21. I am not saying it is better than other saws, but, I am a top feeder(used to bottom feed) and Seyco, the Excalibur distribuor and repair center is only 1 1/2hr. drive. The key to my saw purchase(and other purchases such as autos and appliances) is quality and service. The Excalibur is a top quality saw and the service at Seyco is, in my opinion, cannot be matched. I came close to buying the Dewalt(found one on Craigs list that was used only a couple of times for $350.00), but, how much was it going to cost me in shipping charges for repairs?? I had my saw just a few weeks, and a rod broke; drove to Seyco, exchanged the saw for a new one; Ray paid my expenses for trip. So, in my opinion, before purchasing a saw, consider what type of service you will get.

Tony,aka,Toneman

[BilltheDiver]

Ok, I am the oddball.  The best saw for me is the one I have.  An RBI 26" VS.  I have had 2 RBI's, a 16" and this one and I think they are great.  They are bottom feeders, but that doesn't present a problem for me.  I only wish Bushton (the company that bought them out) could restore them to their former place in the market.

[Marcellarius]

I had a simple saw and changed that for a Hegner, wouldn't go back!!!
we don't have the deWalt and the EX21 her so.... no choice really.

[Intarsia92]

Judy, If you are strictly referring to ?What is the best QUALITY scrollsaw you can buy, if money?s no object? in my opinion it would be the Hegner 20? Polymax, 8-Speed Industrial Precision saw.  It is built to run 12 hours a day 7 days a week and it comes with a manufacturer's 7 warranty!  See www.advmachinery.com 

Mine was made in 1986 and I purchased it used in 1991.  I?ve cut over 450 Intarsia?s with it and the only thing that has failed in 26 years is: a crack that developed in rubber bellows, which I patched with silicone glue.  I have never had to make a single adjustment to the saw and it still runs as good as the day I got it.  I wouldn?t trade it for any other saw.

However, Dan is right,  "Best" is subjective.  Hegner saws are bottom feeders and would not be the best choice if the major cutting you do is fret type.  I have had to make a lot of inside type cuts, while making Intarsia?s and cutting portraits and hate it every time.  (Maybe Hate is too strong; I dislike it, lol)

[julief]

Dan, I have no idea where mine was made.  I bought it used from Ray at Seyco. (I used to live about 10 minutes from his shop).  I know I have read about the lever "poppin" up on the front from some people.  No problem for me because the model I have does not have that lever.  I also do not have that rear tensioning wheel that I see on other models.  All my tension is set with a lever on the right of the blade that slides forward.  I am pretty sure my model is one of the first ones after they changed to green from purple, but I could not say exactly how old my saw is.  I might check the plate on it and see if there is an identifyer on it.

[termite]

 my guess it was made in Canada