No more Excalibur scroll saws in the near future


earbogast

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I just had my Excalibur scroll saw order cancelled by Acme.  I ordered the 22 inch and what the guy told me is that it is not related to just scroll saws.  Apparently they lost a factory to make parts for their machines in Taiwan and somewhere else.  Just relaying what the guy told me so I don't know for fact, General is closed right now as it is too late to contact them.  Anyway, the reason I posted is the next level up I guess is a Hegner.  Does anyone know if they have sales on their saws during the year sometimes?  If so, I can wait as I have my Delta still.  Appreciate hearing from someone cause if they don't have sales, I'll just bite the bullet and get one now.  Thanks in advance.

Earl

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Unless you are a hardcore scroll saw user, like doing tons of intarsia, save a few bucks and get a DeWalt. It's damn near a carbon copy of of the excaliber and a few hundred less than the hegner.

Not trying to change your mind. You may know exactly what you are after. Just food for thought.

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I was given a Powermatic a long time ago that had never been used.  I don't remember the model number, but it's heavy cast iron with an enclosed base, and green with white racing stripes, like the tablesaw I bought in 1974.  It has a single phase motor that I turned on once.  The table on it is cast iron, and does tilt.

Just out of curiosity, is it anything comparable to the new ones?

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Tom we have one like that in the guild shop.  It's a beast for sure.   The Excalibur is different than the ones where the table tilts - the whole head tilts on a trunnion around the table.  If a guy is cutting a lot for intarsia as Janello pointed out, it really reduces the fatigue factor.  I played on one @ the guild.  Here's a pic if I'm not being clear:

13514-003.jpg

Anyway, the table on that Powermatic is probably 10-20% heavier than the one I have on my DeWalt.  I never did play with the tilt so I can't say whether the tilt mechanism is any smoother.  The cutting action was very smooth/low vibration because of that mass.  So yes, it's just like the contemporary ones if a little heavier.

Does yours use a clamp for the blade or does it use the pinned blades?  The clamp is what most folks use now as the pinned blades really don't come in a very good selection (I don't think you can pin the really fine ones.)

ETA:  I learned a little about the saw you probably have.  It uses a pin type blade but there is an adapter.  I assume since you've never used it on so long that a scroll saw is not part of your daily routine so that may not be an issue. :)  I see that people say the adapter is rather common and Delta and Hegner use it.  This may or may not be it.

EDIT again: Here it is.

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17 hours ago, earbogast said:

I just had my Excalibur scroll saw order cancelled by Acme.  I ordered the 22 inch and what the guy told me is that it is not related to just scroll saws.  Apparently they lost a factory to make parts for their machines in Taiwan and somewhere else.  Just relaying what the guy told me so I don't know for fact, General is closed right now as it is too late to contact them.  Anyway, the reason I posted is the next level up I guess is a Hegner.  Does anyone know if they have sales on their saws during the year sometimes?  If so, I can wait as I have my Delta still.  Appreciate hearing from someone cause if they don't have sales, I'll just bite the bullet and get one now.  Thanks in advance.

Woodcraft website says " Out of stock, order now for current pricing. Expected Delivery on March 1,2016 ."

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Woodcraft website says " Out of stock, order now for current pricing. Expected Delivery on March 1,2016 ."

Yes Acme said that too.  But Acme said they got word from General that they cannot deliver any orders on any of the model scroll saws.  Maybe Woodcraft gets word next week.  I plan on calling General Monday to confirm though.

Earl

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8 hours ago, earbogast said:

Yes Acme said that too.  But Acme said they got word from General that they cannot deliver any orders on any of the model scroll saws.  Maybe Woodcraft gets word next week.  I plan on calling General Monday to confirm though.

Do let us know.

What sort of scroll work do you do?

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Well I just called General and they didn't know what Acme tools was talking about.  So I called Acme back and they said it was available March 1.  But my order had been cancelled and I needed to re-order through custormer service since they still haven't given me a refund.

Ten minutes after I got off the phone with Acme and I get this email so I have no idea what is going on:

To: Earl Arbogast 

"Acme Tools" Order "1877972" Order Update [826533:143598]

Hello,

We have recently received word from General International that item EX-21K has been discontinued with no replacement. Due to this issue, we will be canceling your order.

We did not anticipate this, and apologize for any inconvenience.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at 1-877-345-ACME (2263) Option #3 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm CST.

Thank you,

Acme Tools eCommerce

-----Original Message-----

From: "Acme Tools" <support@acmetools.com>

Sent: 12/27/2015 11:45 PM

To: earbogast@elp.rr.com

Subject: "Acme Tools" Order "1877972" Received

Customer Service from Acme just called me for the re-order and they told me General informed them on Friday that the scroll saw has been discontinued.  I give up.  Ordering the Hegner from Advanced Machinery.

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On 1/23/2016 at 7:51 PM, Janello said:

Unless you are a hardcore scroll saw user, like doing tons of intarsia, save a few bucks and get a DeWalt. It's damn near a carbon copy of of the excaliber and a few hundred less than the hegner.

i owned a 788,now own an ex16, have drooled on the ex21 and 30 in person. the only similarity is they are both scrollsaws.

the dewalt and delta are quite similar,though.

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So I just heard through the grapevine that Jet is going to be coming out with a new scroll saw in May. It's a 22" model that shares many features with the Excalibur and is supposed to have several improvements too. Might be worth holding off a purchase just to see how this thing stacks up. Jet has a mailing list for folks who want to be the first to know about the details as soon as they are available: http://bit.ly/1MfRktI

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1 hour ago, thewoodwhisperer said:

So I just heard through the grapevine that Jet is going to be coming out with a new scroll saw in May. It's a 22" model that shares many features with the Excalibur and is supposed to have several improvements too. Might be worth holding off a purchase just to see how this thing stacks up. Jet has a mailing list for folks who want to be the first to know about the details as soon as they are available: http://bit.ly/1MfRktI

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