Hegner vs. Excalibur EX21

[Gogsi]

Scrimper,
Yer a gem of a lad an' so ye are !
Thanks so much for that very necessary information.
I have been looking carefully for a machine that does have the tell-tale lever of which you mention and will now not consider any machine unless it does.
I'm off to have another search on ebay with this in mind : )

By the way, I note that most of you kindly folks who answer my questions have been "thanked" many times but I don't see a button on this page to click which will do the business and give you the thanks you deserve. Can you help me rectify this?

 

[scrimper]

I wonder if by any chance someone can tell me how to determine the age of a Hegner.
I've found one on ebay and the machine number (Masch.-Nr.) is 939435.
I've searched on Google with no luck.
Thanks in advance.

Just looked at that saw on fleabay, obviously it's your choice but personally I would not buy it especially if you plan to do many internal cuts. My main concern is that it does not have a quick tension release mechanism. if you just want a decent saw for general work and not intricate fretwork and it does not go above around £100 it would be a better buy than one of the cheap new saw available new.

( you can do cut-outs without a quick release lever but it will be frustrating and hard on your fingers!

 

[scrimper]

By the way, I note that most of you kindly folks who answer my questions have been "thanked" many times but I don't see a button on this page to click which will do the business and give you the thanks you deserve. Can you help me rectify this?

Sorry our posts crossed!

You should have a little hand in the bottom right hand corner of the messages (next to the report button) i have just used it to give you some thanks to get you going!

 

[Gogsi]

Hi Scrimper,
No I don't plan on buying that one at all, especially after all the helpful info you have given me. That was just one that I could actually see the machine number and I thought that might be an indication of age. So, once again, much appreciate your help and I did find the hand and reciprocated.
"There’s a hand, my trusty fiere
And gie's a hand o’ thine
And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught,
For auld lang syne" - by Rabbie Burns.

 

[ChrisR]

Regarding the post from Roy above about the only thing I agree with is the price of Hegner spares! They are horrendously expensive for what they are.
I don't agree that just because a design is old a new design of machine is necessarily better, some things are made just right and cannot be improved, for example the bicycle frame its basic design has not changed for 100 years because it is still the best design.

Some people like lot's of gadgets and electronics on their machines, personally I prefer simplicity, they are mostly more reliable and can easily be repaired if they do go wrong, I do not want lot's of fancy settings that I never use nor LEDs to tell me when they are in use, I want my saw to be good at cutting fretwork, I want it to be accurate and easy to use, in my opinion the Hegner fulfils these requirements.

The first Hegner saws appeared around 1974 they were deigned in Germany be Helmut Abel and the design has changed little since then, the design was good then and it still is today, how many times have we complained when a new model of something comes out and it does not work as well as an older one!

Plus one, to the above comments.

I just whish that Hegner made computers, I think I would then be able to understand them. :?

Chris R.

 

[ChrisR]

Regarding the post from Roy above about the only thing I agree with is the price of Hegner spares! They are horrendously expensive for what they are.
I don't agree that just because a design is old a new design of machine is necessarily better, some things are made just right and cannot be improved, for example the bicycle frame its basic design has not changed for 100 years because it is still the best design.

Some people like lot's of gadgets and electronics on their machines, personally I prefer simplicity, they are mostly more reliable and can easily be repaired if they do go wrong, I do not want lot's of fancy settings that I never use nor LEDs to tell me when they are in use, I want my saw to be good at cutting fretwork, I want it to be accurate and easy to use, in my opinion the Hegner fulfils these requirements.

The first Hegner saws appeared around 1974 they were deigned in Germany be Helmut Abel and the design has changed little since then, the design was good then and it still is today, how many times have we complained when a new model of something comes out and it does not work as well as an older one!

Plus one, to the above comments.

I just wish that Hegner made computers, I think I would then be able to understand them. :?

Chris R.

 

[Redbythesea]

Hi All

Firstly, may I thank you all for contributing and the wonderful advice given. I am aware a lot of this is opinion but it is opinion based on the use of the machine and your knowledge of the subject - I'm a complete newbie (or numbskull..)

I would like to mention ChrisR, Scrimper, PeteG and Gogsi for all your help. Gogsi because you were asking the same questions I was thinking. I beleived I confused matters by questioning the blade change whereas I was trying to get information re blade threading! PeteG and ChrisR were kind enough to answer that - the Hegner website have short videos but they appear all the same for all machines (nearly) and a little more time on explaining the blade thread would be useful - I believe Gogsi had the same problem as I had of being unable to find a video etc - Youtube have loads on the Ex21 etc but virtually nothing on Hegner...maybe it's word of mouth recommodation and they don't need to advertise due to their reputation but I think Hegner are missing a trick.

Scrimper's advice re the induction motor, quick release clamps, quick tension lever and variable speed was invaluable has all been backed up by other members etc.

When I became enthused to purchase a scroll saw I was amazed at the variety of makers and models and how everyone's opinions differed - there are so many to choose from - I note B&Q (for English readers) are selling one for £26!!!!

Anyways just wanted to say thank you again for all your great help - I'm 95% made my mind up which one to buy...

Take care all and no doubt I will be asking questions again.

Have a lovely weekend.

Phil

 

[AES]

Hullo Redbythe sea. Welcome to the Forum, and to scroll sawing. Having been away from the forum for a while I've only just seen your post.

About 3 or 4 months ago I was facing exactly the same choice as you and after some tests I posted my own conclusions. I am definitely NOT an expert, especially not when compared to many of the members here, but my post in early June did seem to raise some interest and approval from members, so here's a link if you want to check it out:

biting-the-bullet-ex-21-t89722.html

As you'll see, in the end I opted for the Excali, and although it's not a 100% perfect tool (what is?), and I'm also sure that the Hegner would in many respects be just as good, I'm actually very pleased with my choice.

As many members here have commented in the past, when choosing any tool an awful lot depends on exactly what you want to do with it, and in my case, perhaps because lots of the stuff I do (so far) is a bit out of the general scroll sawing "arts & crafts main stream", for me the angled head (rather than the angled table) was a decisive factor for the Excali.

Also, I note that as in response to my own post, Scrimper has defended the blade changing characteristics of the Hegner here. During my own direct comparison of the two I found the Excali to be a bit easier/more immediately intuitive - not saying that the Hegner blade changing is bad, but I am saying that I simply found the Excali was a bit easier/quicker to pick up straight away than the Hegner was. But that's just me. As always," yer pays yer money and takes yer choice".

Again it probably depends on exactly what you want to do with your saw, but personally I've now found a foot switch to be an essential add-on. I had problems sourcing the "correct" switch for the Excali, but if you do go that route yourself a quick search here should pull up all the relevant details for the Excali because I posted all the info here.

Whatever your final choice it seems pretty clear to me that with either Hegner or Excali you won't go wrong, and as I'm sure you've already heard, you'll find scrolling both addictive and relaxing - just like something else I know

Again welcome, and good luck whatever you choose.

Hope the above and the link help.

Krgds
AES