Bauer 22" ( New videos added)

[OCtoolguy]

12 hours ago, timelett said:

Thanks to all and without the help from you guys ,I might still be struggling with the original green machine.

Are referring to a "green Excalibur"? If so, what was the problem with it? I have 2 of them and no problems at all.

 

[Scrappile]

On 10/17/2024 at 5:57 AM, kmmcrafts said:

That is one of the major flaws with Hawk and Hegner type saws is trying to precisely set the angle and with the pinch style clamping system they have trying to make sure you don't push on the table top slightly to move that angle.. I don't feel the "holding power" of that pinching ( tightening the knob ) that down is adequate enough.. the rack and pinion is so easy to just turn the knob to the precise angle is really nice.. as is the flat table instead of a angled table. Not sure but Grizzly has a similar saw to this HF saw but it looks to me like it also has the slotted motor so you can adjust how aggressive it cuts.. These parallel link arm saws are a bit more aggressive cutting than the Hawk.. and if you can't fine tune that out at least some you're stuck with a aggressive saw. Having the slotted motor mount where you loosen the screws and rotate the motor you can adjust how it'll cut.    

There are no major flaws in a Hegner or a Hawk!  Just somethings people may prefer of some other things.. Not flaws! 

[kmmcrafts]

45 minutes ago, Scrappile said:

There are no major flaws in a Hegner or a Hawk!  Just somethings people may prefer of some other things.. Not flaws! 

I can agree with that.. on the Hegner I suppose.. But the Hawk has had some flaws over the years.. with motors and controllers etc. Then they found found various flaws with the arms on some models and JT had the roll pins bend on his blade holders that caused him some issues until he finally figured out what was going on.. so Hawk has had their share of flaws.. but on a more positive note.. when they learn of the flaws they go to the drawing board and figure out a solution the the flaw and make upgrades / parts updates etc.. even going way back to some of the very early saws.. You don't find that with Delta and many other brands.. they are good at saying " well we moved on and no longer support those parts.. just go buy our new saw" LOL

Hegner has done some upgrades but I think whoever the engineer was to design that saw got most all of it right the first time and they haven't "had" to do updates and upgrades.. I love my Hegner.. really only three downsides to the one I have in my opinion is the small table ( can make a larger over the top table if that really bothered me that much ) and the upper arm could go a little higher ( again easy solution ) and the dust blower on mine is integrated into the upper arm and at first I thought it was a neat idea as it keeps the hose out of the way.. however it blows the dust right onto your lap.. again making a homemade dust collection or even upgrading to the flex line loc stuff is easy enough to do.. I kinda feel like the guy that invented that dust blower to blow straight at the user was playing a joke on everyone because the rest of the saw is so well designed and engineered.. LOL

[timelett]

3 hours ago, OCtoolguy said:

Are referring to a "green Excalibur"? If so, what was the problem with it? I have 2 of them and no problems at all.

 

Was  referring to the first HF scroll saw we purchased, the green one. A starter saw but not even close to the new bauer saw.

[Scrappile]

Well, I have had my Hawk for a few weeks now.  If I had to choose between the Hawk or the Hegner, I would keep the Hegner.  Tensioning and clamps are so much simpler and less cumbersome than the Hawk.  Hawk is a good saw, not sorry I have it, but it seems to me they could have done better on the clamps.  Tensioning is not hard to figure out, but a whole lot more parts than the Hegner and does not seem necessary to me.  The only real plus that the Hawk has over the Hegner is the table size.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

2 hours ago, Scrappile said:

Well, I have had my Hawk for a few weeks now.  If I had to choose between the Hawk or the Hegner, I would keep the Hegner.  Tensioning and clamps are so much simpler and less cumbersome than the Hawk.  Hawk is a good saw, not sorry I have it, but it seems to me they could have done better on the clamps.  Tensioning is not hard to figure out, but a whole lot more parts than the Hegner and does not seem necessary to me.  The only real plus that the Hawk has over the Hegner is the table size.

Yea this is a matter of opinion. I do not see why the Hawk clamps are more cumbersome. So simple to take out and replace blade and slap back in with no tools needed. hegner you better not loose that wrench. I had both and when I switched to Hawk it was night and day and love both my Hawks. But again it is what you learned on that we gravitate back to. I bet if you started with a Hawk you would changed your mind. But I could be wrong. 

[Michael B.]

On 10/14/2024 at 10:02 AM, Hawk said:

Well, I've been on the fence about this saw from Harbour Freight for about a month now. 

Short back story. I started with a Delta P-20 back in 2000. Loved that saw. Mt daughter wanted it to start her scrolling, so I gave it to her and picked up a Hawk 220VS to replace it. While the Hawk is a great saw, and replacement parts still available,  I just couldn't figure out an easy to top feed for fret work. The Delta was a breeze.

So I finally pulled the trigger today on the Bauer.

Here are a few pics , the video is literally 2 minutes after I put it on the bench and plugged it in. I was amazed the nickel stayed put thru the speed range.

Tomorrow I'll really get into this saw, but as of now, I'm impressed 

 

 

Hi, @Hawk -

Thanks for your posts about this saw. I was looking for my first-ever scroll saw and I wanted something good but money was still an obstacle. I wanted a DeWalt 788 but it was a bit out of my price range, and at a local woodworker’s guild meeting I was warned to avoid the cheap entry level scroll saws. I saw the HF Bauer one and although there isn’t a ton of info out about it, what I have seen has been very positive. Your posts and video helped me decide to get it so I pulled the trigger for one on Saturday. This saw is not small and not light — and I’m happy for that. I put mine on a universal HF tool stand and that thing doesn’t budge so far. Vibrations are not bad at all and better than I was expecting. Now I need to get some new blades and get it all tuned up so I can put it to use. I will be happy to report back how it goes for me, but you’ll all have to take my thoughts with a grain of salt since I am new to scroll saws. 

Michael

[Hawk]

On 10/21/2024 at 5:58 PM, Michael B. said:

 

Hi, @Hawk -

Thanks for your posts about this saw. I was looking for my first-ever scroll saw and I wanted something good but money was still an obstacle. I wanted a DeWalt 788 but it was a bit out of my price range, and at a local woodworker’s guild meeting I was warned to avoid the cheap entry level scroll saws. I saw the HF Bauer one and although there isn’t a ton of info out about it, what I have seen has been very positive. Your posts and video helped me decide to get it so I pulled the trigger for one on Saturday. This saw is not small and not light — and I’m happy for that. I put mine on a universal HF tool stand and that thing doesn’t budge so far. Vibrations are not bad at all and better than I was expecting. Now I need to get some new blades and get it all tuned up so I can put it to use. I will be happy to report back how it goes for me, but you’ll all have to take my thoughts with a grain of salt since I am new to scroll saws. 

Michael

Congrats on the new saw. One thing I did over the past few days is upgrade the blade holders to the Pegas. While not completely necessary but I was having a bit of an issue mounting the blade in the lower holder ( not the saws fault, just my clumsy hands) .

Anyhow as to vibration, you'll notice that there are speeds the saw likes and speeds that it doesn't care for. Find the speed that fits both you and the saw, as most of what I do is pretty intricate I run mine at about 4 on the speed dial.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask1

Enjoy the saw, it's a good one as far as I'm concerned!

Edited October 23, 2024 by Hawk

[Michael B.]

3 hours ago, Hawk said:

Congrats on the new saw. One thing I did over the past few days is upgrade the blade holders to the Pegas. While not completely necessary but I was having a bit of an issue mounting the blade in the lower holder ( not the saws fault, just my clumsy hands) .

Anyhow as to vibration, you'll notice that there are speeds the saw likes and speeds that it doesn't care for. Find the speed that fits both you and the saw, as most of what I do is pretty intricate I run mine at about 4 on the speed dial.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask1

Enjoy the saw, it's a good one as far as I'm concerned!

Great -- thanks for the tips! I'm glad you mentioned that about the speed control. I'll make sure to mess around with that and find what works best.

Based on your earlier posts (and a few others), I did order a Pegas blade holder kit from @Denny Knappen . It seems like a worthwhile investment for the long haul. Hopefully it will be here by the weekend so I can start putting it all to use.

[Hawk]

29 minutes ago, Michael B. said:

Great -- thanks for the tips! I'm glad you mentioned that about the speed control. I'll make sure to mess around with that and find what works best.

Based on your earlier posts (and a few others), I did order a Pegas blade holder kit from @Denny Knappen . It seems like a worthwhile investment for the long haul. Hopefully it will be here by the weekend so I can start putting it all to use.

Thats great. I would also suggest a foot pedal if you don't already have one. It keeps both hands on the work piece and when a blade breaks pulling your foot off cuts power instantly. The Pegas blade holders went on pretty much straight forward, the bearing sleeve went in  kinda hard on the top, I had to convince mine with slip joint pliers. Much better at holding the blades than the stock set up.

[JJB]

12 hours ago, Hawk said:

Thats great. I would also suggest a foot pedal if you don't already have one. It keeps both hands on the work piece and when a blade breaks pulling your foot off cuts power instantly. The Pegas blade holders went on pretty much straight forward, the bearing sleeve went in  kinda hard on the top, I had to convince mine with slip joint pliers. Much better at holding the blades than the stock set up.

Glad to see that the Pegas holders will fit. It is making me lean more toward this saw.

[ScrollerGuy]

I'm not currently looking for a new scroll saw, but I recently (monthly actually) received a 25% off coupon from Harbour Freight. The coupon is good in store only and on in stock merchandise. There aren't any exclusions in the fine print that would exclude the scroll saw. Out the door for around $200 would be a great deal and puts it into the "entry level" price range. Seems like a lot of saw when compared to the many "entry level" saws in the $100 to $200 range.  

[rjweb]

I received that coupon from harbor freight a while back, said because we missed you 25 percent off, but never used it, let us know how that works out, RJ

[Hawk]

2 hours ago, ScrollerGuy said:

I'm not currently looking for a new scroll saw, but I recently (monthly actually) received a 25% off coupon from Harbour Freight. The coupon is good in store only and on in stock merchandise. There aren't any exclusions in the fine print that would exclude the scroll saw. Out the door for around $200 would be a great deal and puts it into the "entry level" price range. Seems like a lot of saw when compared to the many "entry level" saws in the $100 to $200 range.  

I would agree, this saw is superior to many entry level saws, mostly being 22 inches as opposed to 16. It is also variable speed which is a big plus. I've been thru a few saws in my time scrolling and I will say this one is a winner.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

21 hours ago, Hawk said:

I would agree, this saw is superior to many entry level saws, mostly being 22 inches as opposed to 16. It is also variable speed which is a big plus. I've been thru a few saws in my time scrolling and I will say this one is a winner.

This saw is way too new to call a winner. As they get more sold and reviews start coming in the verdict will be more clear. I do not know who is making these but they do look like a clone. Good luck with the saw. Maybe a good idea to make some sort of cover for the switch and control box to keep dirt and dust out. 

Edited October 25, 2024 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[bradynjonesjr]

i started scrolling 30 years ago. started on a dremal 3 inch blade saw, graduating to a ryobi 16", then the yellow machine. old yeller finally bit the dust after replacing the pcb, potentiometer, brushes and motor over the years. i saw this saw at HF and blew right past it thinking " yeah right!!!". with old yeller down, i needed a solution fast. after researching and eventually finding these reviews from a sight I actually trust, i'm finally going to pull the trigger on this hf saw. i did portraits for the International Motorsports Hall of Fame when they had new inductees. Scrolling has not only become my favorite form of wood working but has also shown me how to look at the world and myself inside. thanks for the reviews.         Brady Jones, 2 Roosters Gallery.

[GregBennett]

I bought the Bauer saw a few weeks ago. It has much less vibration than my DeWalt and I like that the arm raises higher than the DeWalt when I'm working on larger pieces since I feed from the bottom. I use a block of wood to hold up the arm for the most part, but when I want it all the way up I use a dowel rod to pull the ring in the back to release the arm.

I've replaced the chucks with Pegas. The ones that came with it are fine but if the top arm is set too low it doesn't fit since the chuck slots are closed at the top and bottom. I find blade tensioning problematic which is my biggest gripe with the saw so far. I don't know if it's a flaw with my particular saw or if it's the same with all of them. There are times when the tension is too weak when the lever is flipped. This can be remedied by pushing down the upper arm before tightening the blade, but that technique can result in too much tension and a broken blade. There's a tension knob on top of the saw in the back, but it's not possible to adjust when seated because it's too far to reach. 

For the price, it's hard to beat and I prefer it to my DeWalt DW788.

 

 

[OCtoolguy]

That knob on top at rear is NOT for tensioning. It is only to adjust the arm height so that arm is parallel to table. Leave it alone once set. Tensioning is automatically set once blade is installed and lever is flipped. I have 2 Excaliburs and they both have Pegas clamps. 

[GregBennett]

Ray- Most everything I read says that the knob is used to adjust the arm height so that it's parallel to the table as you suggest. But as you can see in the picture when the upper arm is level with the table the blade does not extend nearly enough to reach the upper clamp. Some of what I've read in this forum suggests that the knob can also be used for blade tension and the manual says that it's used to adjust the height of the arm. I must be missing something. 

 

Greg 

[rjweb]

I beleive what you need to do is measure the distance of the arm ( from table top to under arm height) at the back of the table, and at the front they should be equal, RJ

[OCtoolguy]

6 hours ago, rjweb said:
I beleive what you need to do is measure the distance of the arm ( from table top to under arm height) at the back of the table, and at the front they should be equal, RJ
Yes, measure the underside of the arm to make sure it is the same both fore and aft. Once correct your blades should be long enough to install in clamps.

[BadBob]

The knob is used to adjust the arm so that it is parallel to the table. Not level with the floor.

[GregBennett]

Thanks to al of you for your guidance. My DeWalt didn't have an adjustment knob at the back, so this was new to me. Using the back knob on the Bauer, I set the height in inches so that the bottom front of the arm was the same height from the table as the rear. The blade fit from extreme tip to tip. I lowered the front 1/16" lower than the back to give myself more leeway. Hopefully this won't alter the saw far from how it was designed. I still find I have to depress the top arm to get the blade to reach the clamp screw. Thanks for all your help! 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

2 hours ago, GregBennett said:

Thanks to al of you for your guidance. My DeWalt didn't have an adjustment knob at the back, so this was new to me. Using the back knob on the Bauer, I set the height in inches so that the bottom front of the arm was the same height from the table as the rear. The blade fit from extreme tip to tip. I lowered the front 1/16" lower than the back to give myself more leeway. Hopefully this won't alter the saw far from how it was designed. I still find I have to depress the top arm to get the blade to reach the clamp screw. Thanks for all your help! 

It should have no effect on the saw. That level with the table is just a guide. There is nothing written in stone it has to be that. All saws have some sort of mechanism to tension blades. The RBI has a wedge. The Hegner has a screw in the back like this. The Dewalt relied on an open clamp system where you can slide the blade up or down in the clamp till it sits right. All saw blades are not the same length. You will find out quickly if you break blades to loosen the tension. It is a touch and feel thing.  The thinner blades may need less tension than a larger thicker blade. Over time you will figure it out. We all do. Good luck.

[Scrolling along]

On 10/16/2024 at 10:43 AM, OCtoolguy said:

I can see many ingenious ways to release that pin without reaching. A cable with pulleys comes to mind. 

Check out this video on u-tube, I did this and it works great.