King scroll saw
#27
Any thoughts about how the old Delta Q3 compares to some of the new Excalibur clones?

I still use the Q3, but am worried about getting parts. I have a hairline crack in the upper arm that might be the end of it. If the King is a large step up, maybe it's time to bite the bullet.
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#28
Thanks again for all the info, very helpful. I used to have an RBI Hawk years ago when they, Hegner, and Excalibur all demoed together at a WW show. That was maybe 25 years ago. I thought they were all very good and similar, I recall choosing the RBI because he was the only guy not trashing the other saws! Anyway, find myself wanting to make some smaller projects again and need something more accurate than a bandsaw and allow inside cuts not done with a coping saw.

Kevin
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#29
(01-01-2020, 08:49 AM)camp10 Wrote: Any thoughts about how the old Delta Q3 compares to some of the new Excalibur clones?  

I still use the Q3, but am worried about getting parts.  I have a hairline crack in the upper arm that might be the end of it.  If the King is a large step up, maybe it's time to bite the bullet.

The Q3 was a great saw.  Probably had the best blade clamp design of all of them.  Took a little getting used to, but once you had it dialed in, they were great clamps.  Too bad they are no longer available and the saw isn't supported.

The Q3 design is referred to as a C-Arm.  The top and bottom arm are connected at the back of the saw, forming what looks like the letter C.  The drive motion originates at the back and the entire upper & lower arms move.  This design makes the Q3 inherently more aggressive in it's cutting motion than the parallel link design of the DeWalt, EX, Seyco, Pegas, etc.  Nothing wrong with that, but it's worth being aware of.  One can do detailed work with it, but you would probably use a different blade, slower blade speed and feed rate, compared to those other brands.
If you are going down a river at 2 mph and your canoe loses a wheel, how much pancake mix would you need to shingle your roof?

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#30
(12-30-2019, 02:38 PM)Timberwolf Wrote: ........................
From the online research I have done recently, it rates pretty highly, but not as high as the much more expensive brands like King, Pegas, Excalibur Etc...

I understandthe cutting performance depends on the blades and so far the Pegas {Swiss made} spiral blades beat the Flying Dutchman brand...at least in one comparison on Youtube. At twice the price tho, I expect better performance....I would like to hear what Bill Wilson has to say on the subject.

Report on the dewalt scroll saws a few years ago sound like they are repeating with Excalibur.  Quality decreased when they moved production from Canada to China. 
If you are looking at Dewalt could be better off looking for a used model with made in Canada on the label.
My .02
Karl




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#31
(01-06-2020, 12:37 PM)measure once cut remeasure Wrote: Report on the dewalt scroll saws a few years ago sound like they are repeating with Excalibur.  Quality decreased when they moved production from Canada to China. 
If you are looking at Dewalt could be better off looking for a used model with made in Canada on the label.

I believe the DeWalt manufacturing move was from Canada to Taiwan.  That describes the Type 1 (Canadian made) vs Type 2 (Taiwan made) discussion that was prevalent several years ago.  I think any Type 1 DeWalts would be at least 20 years old by now.  Yes, there were some manufacturing problems with the first couple production runs of the Type 2 machines, but I believe those have long ago been cleared up.  I really doubt you would find a Type 1 today that is as good as a brand new Type 2, unless it's NOS or otherwise never been used.
If you are going down a river at 2 mph and your canoe loses a wheel, how much pancake mix would you need to shingle your roof?

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#32
i've used both the hegner and the excalibur - both are good machines. i think the hegner is a little more stout but the excalibur had a deeper throat. i primarily use it for marquetry double bevel method - the big difference for me was the hegner tilts the table while the excalibur tilts the head-stock for angle cuts - which makes a big difference when cutting large sheets of veneer. not sure if the excalilbur clones also tilt the head stock - might want to check if it's significant for your work
jerry
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