If Money were no Object...

[Tor]

Which saw would you own? I have compiled a list of what seems to be the top of the line model of various makes (a couple places where that was ambiguous).

I would currently choose the Diamond for a variety of reasons.

1. Slow speeds. I have operated my saw noticeably below 60 SPM, or one stroke per second.
2. Front tension release that operates on a screw principle, so that the blade is never tensioned in excess of the working tension.
3. Foot switch in parallel with hand switch. What you wish for when you find yourself in the middle of a long cut. Pairs with #1, in that I often stop the saw for sometimes fractions of a second in the middle of a cut.
4. Separate blower. Never again curse the inadequate flow of air when you slow your saw, or the gale that drops the piece you just cut in the bin when zipping through thicker woods.
5. Large throat. Very useful, especially for large inlay work, which is exactly what I do.
6. Rotatable blade holders. Ever run into that large sheet that you cannot spin, and do not want to use spirals for? Here is your answer.
7. Built to cut thick woods. Actually, I have not yet tried this, I have heard nothing but good here.

Of course, there are a few things I wouldn't mind having different, such as:
1. Even more vertical blade stroke. A fact of life in any saw, except one designed along the lines of the Eclipse.
2. I would enjoy trying a tilting blade instead of tilting table, as with the Excalibur EX-21.

All in all, I am not sure I could design a better saw over all.

Tor

[SNAPPER]

The only saw I have owned is a Delta 16"vs. I wood like to upgrade to the p-20.
Dean

[JohnB]

I have a Ryobi, Delta and now a Dewalt.

IF, money grew on trees and I had an orchid, Id like to give the Excalibur and or Hegner a shot.

[Tor]

Originally Posted by JohnB

IF, money grew on trees and I had an orchid

Which is why I very clearly stated "If money were no object". I know that most people have never tried most of these (I haven't!), but I did have in my mind the idea to find out what saws are considered the best in the world, at least as the people here picture them.

Tor

[Lois from Mississauga]

Long before I started looking at any saws or knew anything about them, I decided an Excalibur was the one for me - because it was purple. And how can you go wrong with a purple saw. Now that it is green, it has lost that superficial appeal, but it is still the main one on my list.

[jigsue]

I have a Hegner 2SV and can see not reason to change it. I have had a Delta and another (cannot remember what it was). I have had my Hegner for about 5 years and it does everything I want it to do and more. I would reccomend Hegner to anyone, I love mine!

Sue

[CanadianScroller]

I haven't tried a lot of those saws.
I would like to try a Diamond, I am not sure if it would suite the type of scrolling I do any better than other saws, but it would be nice to try them all out.
Of the saws that I have tried, the one that would suit my style of scrolling would be the EX-21. It is also not too far out of reach, but then again money os no object ...ahh to dream. Merry Christmas

[Jediscroller]

When I upgraded a couple of years back, I weighed the pros and cons of all the different high-end models available and ended up with the EX-30. I have no regrets. There still isn't another saw out there that would make me think about changing saws although the Diamond does look kind of neat.

[Gill]

Originally Posted by jigsue

I have a Hegner 2SV and can see not reason to change it. I have had a Delta and another (cannot remember what it was). I have had my Hegner for about 5 years and it does everything I want it to do and more. I would reccomend Hegner to anyone, I love mine!

Sue

I share Sue's opinion. With a Hegner 2SV there's very little reason to consider other saws. That said, I also have a Hegner Quick which outperforms the 2SV in all aspects except fine detail because it cannot be fitted with a zero tolerance insert. I know, I could make a false table... but why should I when I can switch to a Hegner 2SV? Perhaps the best of both worlds would be a Hegner SEV which has both the zero tolerance insert of the 2SV and the cast iron table of the Quick. However, you sacrifice depth of throat.

Is the SEV listed? I can see a Hegner 22 (which, I presume, is the American equivalent of the Quick) but no option to vote for "Other".

So I've come to the conclusion that different saws have different strengths and weaknesses. If money's no object then why not buy more than one? And a huuuge heated workshop too ?

Gill

[shinzam]

I am with Gill with this. I have a Henger 2SV and I am very pleased with it. I have not tried any other saws on the list, but as gill said each saw has it's pro's and con's and I would by more than one.
Graham.