RBI Hawk – Model 226VS

[Lyle 1872]

I have an RBI Hawk – Model 226VS. It looks new. Belonged to my Dad - he passed last November. Any idea what it's worth? Serial Number 3971. 

[OCtoolguy]

I personally would need pictures of it from all angles as there are many thibgs to take into consideration. Hawks have undergone many changes over the years and with a 4 digit serial number it must be old.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Do you have the original owners' Manual ? That usually has the year of the saw. Does the saw use barrel style clamps of square block style? Is the motor AC or DC? This will help. You can always call Bushton Manufacturers to get exact date. Give them serial number. You can go to their web site and look up the manual under the serial number and it will get you close. As far a price to sell at, condition means alot along with age. But I would say a good number would be $400 to $500 if fairly new and does not have the questionable motors. 

http://www.bushtonmanufacturing.com/Blades.html

[kmmcrafts]

The thing with Hawk saws is... most all of them "look new" as they used a high quality powder coating for a finish and even if they sat outside the finish doesn't really fade or make the saw "look old and well used".. Unlike some of the other brands where the paint just falls off without even touching the saw, LOL

This seems like a very low serial number so I would guess it's not worth much.. but I'm not going to put a value on something without seeing a photo and knowing more about it.. Location plays a big roll in value too.. places like California where there seems to be an abundance of older Hawk scroll saws you have a lot of them in the $100 - 300 range.. places like the north east the same saw might fetch $300 - 500... As low of serial number is I'm guessing this is very old round barrel clamp saw with the problematic motor so IF that would be the case I'd guess this is worth $150 - 200 at best.. 

[TAIrving]

Call Bushton Mfg with the model and serial numbers.  They can tell you when it was manufactured and other useful information about it.  And you can find the User's Manual for it on their website.  The lady who answers the phone (I think her name is Hope) is very pleasant.  

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Another one and done.

[kmmcrafts]

23 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

Another one and done.

I kinda expected this because they're obviously looking for value of something they have no clue about. I originally ignored the topic because they were clearly not looking for info on how to use it or something pertaining to that.. but rather looking to sell it and wanting to know the value as if they may be hitting the jackpot. Those types never stick around for any type of conversation.. no thanks for the info etc..   

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

1 hour ago, kmmcrafts said:

I kinda expected this because they're obviously looking for value of something they have no clue about. I originally ignored the topic because they were clearly not looking for info on how to use it or something pertaining to that.. but rather looking to sell it and wanting to know the value as if they may be hitting the jackpot. Those types never stick around for any type of conversation.. no thanks for the info etc..   

Yea this topic comes up here as well as on the pen turning forum I am on. Today many new members are just using the forums to gain info. They have no plans on contributing or partaking in the activities. But it would be nice to be acknowledged for the info they gained. Evan when members give a little intro they just are not into the stay in it for long. Oh well. I hang around here because I still have some desire and always liked seeing what people are working on. I do not do much scrolling at all any more. But at times I still think I can add a little info once in awhile. 

[kmmcrafts]

1 hour ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

Yea this topic comes up here as well as on the pen turning forum I am on. Today many new members are just using the forums to gain info. They have no plans on contributing or partaking in the activities. But it would be nice to be acknowledged for the info they gained. Evan when members give a little intro they just are not into the stay in it for long. Oh well. I hang around here because I still have some desire and always liked seeing what people are working on. I do not do much scrolling at all any more. But at times I still think I can add a little info once in awhile. 

I'm not scrolling anymore either, however I stick around here too as I gained many friends here. I also feel I owe the folks back for all the help with patterns and other shared knowledge, tips and tricks I've gained here over my time of scrolling. Would love to be still scrolling but just can't do it on a daily anymore with my sinus issues. Would love to have a place like this where I could show some of the laser / cnc stuff and share info, but most sites for those there is a bunch of disrespectful people on them that only want to criticize newbies rather than try to teach them and help them along.   

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

2 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

I'm not scrolling anymore either, however I stick around here too as I gained many friends here. I also feel I owe the folks back for all the help with patterns and other shared knowledge, tips and tricks I've gained here over my time of scrolling. Would love to be still scrolling but just can't do it on a daily anymore with my sinus issues. Would love to have a place like this where I could show some of the laser / cnc stuff and share info, but most sites for those there is a bunch of disrespectful people on them that only want to criticize newbies rather than try to teach them and help them along.   

but most sites for those there is a bunch of disrespectful people on them that only want to criticize newbies rather than try to teach them and help them along. I found that on most sites. I am a member on a billiard site that is that way. The pen turning site is probably the best site  I ever been part of. I think alot has to do with the owner of the site and what they allow from the very beginning. Things change with the membership. I remember when the pen turning site first started we could easily poke fun at members and expect it right back with fun. Then it went too far and had to be tamed. But now there is still some of the fun but the site has so much knowledge stored in so many places and also the threads from members are filled with info. I did belong to a scrolling site and in fact quite afew back in the day. One I was the moderator on and boy that was a job. I know many times I may answr questions and other do not agree but it is of my opinion and that is what can not get lost. We all have opinions and do things differently. Many ways to get to bottom line in most things we do in life. 

[Lyle 1872]

Thank you for the feedback. I also appreciate the values for the saw. I’ve been a bit busy lately - sold dad’s house closing today. You’re right, I am not a scrolling person. I was trying to figure out what this saw was used for and since it looks like it’s never been used, I couldn’t see any projects in his house that it may have been used for….

[Lyle 1872]

Saw location is NE Iowa

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

It looks like early 90's but did you call Bushton? That is the only way you will get the year and ask them was there any problems with that motor that is in there. I highly suggest you be honest all ways around when selling.   It could be worth about $400 if all checks out. We here can not tell from serial number what year. Kevin has been more in tune with them than most here.  It looks like it has the square blocks for blade holders so again leans me to early 90"s. 

[preprius]

it would be nice to have Bushton to publish thier serial log file on this site?

Or their site again. 

 

[kmmcrafts]

Based on the lack of a flex air hose tells me it's a earlier saw.. I don't know when they switched to a flex hose but my late year 1998 saw had the flex hose..

Hard to see for sure if it has the square blade holders or the round ones.. serial number is quite low so I'd guess this is around a 1995 ish. If square blade clamps then I'd say worth around $400.. if the round ones.. not worth very much.. maybe $200.. The issue with these saws is.. they're hard to sell a old saw for much money even though new they run over $1500.. I see a lot of them take forever to sell for $400.. if you just want to get it out of your way you may want to put a low $100 - 250 price on it.. maybe try $400 for a few weeks to see what happens. 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Here is what I know because I have basically the same saw. I bought my 220 in 1998 in Jan. Because that was when the wood show would come to town. I bought my 226 the very next year because I found I needed a larger saw for what I was making. That would make it 1999. Both saws were bought in Jan. of that year. Those are facts. My saw serial number is 3923 so that makes yours slightly younger than mine but in that same year. Both my saws do not have the articulating hose section on the end of the blower hose. Mine on the 226 is the same size as yours which is smaller than the 220. The light you have is the exact same one along with the foot pedal. They sold it as a kit. Still have the same light and foot pedal on that saw. I did buy the articulating section but never put it on the saw. Did the same with the 220 but never put them on.  

I do not know when they switched to the articulating hose. but know you were able to buy separately. I know for fact that has the square blocks because it has the 2 small holes in the saws arm. They sold that blade rack along with sets of blades so he must have bought entire package. 

As far as price you can get $400 easily for it. I would not sell for $200 unless you are looking to get rid of it quickly. I would run ad for $400 and drop to $350. I would be happy to pay $350 for that saw in that condition if I were in need of a saw. yes you see lots of RBI saws but not ones like this with that quality of motor and parts. I can vouch for that motor because I used mine right up till about 2022 full time, and has a lot of hours on it with basically no maintenance done to it. 

Your saw looks in excellent shape. I sold a Dewalt saw for $350 . I bought my Hegner in 1993 and got $500 for it when I sold it a couple years ago when I sold Dewalt. So there are buyers depending if you want to test the market. I sold mine through Face Book Market place.   

[kmmcrafts]

8 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

Here is what I know because I have basically the same saw. I bought my 220 in 1998 in Jan. Because that was when the wood show would come to town. I bought my 226 the very next year because I found I needed a larger saw for what I was making. That would make it 1999. Both saws were bought in Jan. of that year. Those are facts. My saw serial number is 3923 so that makes yours slightly younger than mine but in that same year. Both my saws do not have the articulating hose section on the end of the blower hose. Mine on the 226 is the same size as yours which is smaller than the 220. The light you have is the exact same one along with the foot pedal. They sold it as a kit. Still have the same light and foot pedal on that saw. I did buy the articulating section but never put it on the saw. Did the same with the 220 but never put them on.  

I do not know when they switched to the articulating hose. but know you were able to buy separately. I know for fact that has the square blocks because it has the 2 small holes in the saws arm. They sold that blade rack along with sets of blades so he must have bought entire package. 

As far as price you can get $400 easily for it. I would not sell for $200 unless you are looking to get rid of it quickly. I would run ad for $400 and drop to $350. I would be happy to pay $350 for that saw in that condition if I were in need of a saw. yes you see lots of RBI saws but not ones like this with that quality of motor and parts. I can vouch for that motor because I used mine right up till about 2022 full time, and has a lot of hours on it with basically no maintenance done to it. 

Your saw looks in excellent shape. I sold a Dewalt saw for $350 . I bought my Hegner in 1993 and got $500 for it when I sold it a couple years ago when I sold Dewalt. So there are buyers depending if you want to test the market. I sold mine through Face Book Market place.   

I wonder if they offered the flex hose as an optional add-on from rbi, because I bought my saw new still in the sealed box in 2017 for $400. The receipt in the box shows it was ordered late Dec. 1998. There was a bunch of added things in the box as in blades, books, 10 extra blade holders, etc. I’d have to see if I can find the original paperwork to see if that was an added cost. It was quite hard to read as it was one of those carbon copy receipts and I’ve never showed it as it had all the credit card and name info on it so out of respect I’ve never really bragged on showing that side of my deal lol. I don’t know my serial number off the top of my head but I think it’s 32**. I’ll try to remember to look when I’m in the shop later. 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

3 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

I wonder if they offered the flex hose as an optional add-on from rbi, because I bought my saw new still in the sealed box in 2017 for $400. The receipt in the box shows it was ordered late Dec. 1998. There was a bunch of added things in the box as in blades, books, 10 extra blade holders, etc. I’d have to see if I can find the original paperwork to see if that was an added cost. It was quite hard to read as it was one of those carbon copy receipts and I’ve never showed it as it had all the credit card and name info on it so out of respect I’ve never really bragged on showing that side of my deal lol. I don’t know my serial number off the top of my head but I think it’s 32**. I’ll try to remember to look when I’m in the shop later. 

I do not remember because I bought mine later when I needed to replace the front blade tension lever assembly because it wore out. That time I bought a bunch of stuff. Bought a lever assemblies for both saws, bought a bunch of blade holders, and those air nozzles. Still have stuff laying around I did not use. I actually can not find the receipt for the 226 but have the one from 220 and know exactly what I did. Have the one from Hegner also. The Dewalt was a Home Depot give away. Got that for $80 when they were discontinuing them. just could not pass that up. I would have bought all they had but just one. I called around to other Home Depots too but that was a well kept secret and they were gone. When I bought the RBI saws they were both show specials as was the Hegner. I use to buy alot of tools at woodworking shows many years ago. You could get good bargains and also deal with the vendors. You use to get free Tee shirts too. Now you get nothing and prices are basically what you can get on-line. Stopped going when they moved the show and so many vendors stopped going because of prices they charged to set up a space. Plus like I said with internet there is not much deals. 

As far as this guy, not sure what his deal is but if it were me I would easily put a $500 price tag on that saw and start from there. That is an over $1000 saw and the condition that saw is in he would get it. You can not compare selling Hegners to RBI saws because they sold more RBI saw than Hegners I bet easily. RBI saw American made!!!! The big thing is the motors they experimented with and the changes they went through compared to Hegners. Both saws are top quality saws and made for the business man. Not so much as hobby saws. They are serious scrollers saws. With that said these type deals show up now and then and if you know what you are looking at you can get a deal. This one is a deal.  

Boy I looked at the photos again and have to say rare to see the hold down foot on these saws or any saw. I bet somewhere in one of the drawers I still have mine but man would have to look. I had to look hard for the Hegner one and the Dewalt one when I sold those saws.   

Edited May 7 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[kmmcrafts]

Guess I was way off.. my serial number is 10290 receipt shows it was ordered Dec. 1998 but wasn't delivered until Feb. 1999. 

Location plays a huge roll in the value as is one's opinion of a good deal vrs. another.. Many folks see these older used saws and think they'd rather spend $300 - 600 on a brand new saw that has a warranty.. I see many of these in my area in great condition for $350 - 500 and many times they're on there for several months before someone snags it up. Then you have the folks that know these saws saying they're easily worth $500 - 700 but then they already have one and know what they are, LOL and nobody is really buying them very often for more than $350 - 450 so that is why I place my value lower than one would expect me to.. I put up one in this condition and also placed it on many FB groups for $450 and I lowered all the way down to $300.. then took it offline.. someone here was looking for a saw and I spoke up about mine and just basically wanted to move it out of my shop so I sold to him for $250 if I remember right.. that was probably 5 years ago. 

As you know I put hour meters on my saws.. My 226VS Ultra that was new in sealed box when I got it only has 100 hours on the meter.. and to be honest I'd sell in a heartbeat at $400 - 450.. even though I really feel it's worth more like $600 - 800 for the condition.. even my new saw I'd be happy to get $400 - 500 out of.. but it does have 500 hours on it.. and I am going to be selling both of these hopefully soon.. just in case anyone is interested. LOL

[Scrappile]

Where I live in the North West, now just an extension of California, you would be lucky to see it.  There are many listed on the FB Market.  Nothing wrong with your saw, just not many are interested in scrolling or scrolling products.

[Lyle 1872]

Thank you so much!!! All of this is really helpful. I will call and get specifics and also inquire about motor issues. I do have the original manual but Dad didn’t fill it out so a call is going to be the best option. Once again - Thank you!!

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

2 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

Guess I was way off.. my serial number is 10290 receipt shows it was ordered Dec. 1998 but wasn't delivered until Feb. 1999. 

Location plays a huge roll in the value as is one's opinion of a good deal vrs. another.. Many folks see these older used saws and think they'd rather spend $300 - 600 on a brand new saw that has a warranty.. I see many of these in my area in great condition for $350 - 500 and many times they're on there for several months before someone snags it up. Then you have the folks that know these saws saying they're easily worth $500 - 700 but then they already have one and know what they are, LOL and nobody is really buying them very often for more than $350 - 450 so that is why I place my value lower than one would expect me to.. I put up one in this condition and also placed it on many FB groups for $450 and I lowered all the way down to $300.. then took it offline.. someone here was looking for a saw and I spoke up about mine and just basically wanted to move it out of my shop so I sold to him for $250 if I remember right.. that was probably 5 years ago. 

As you know I put hour meters on my saws.. My 226VS Ultra that was new in sealed box when I got it only has 100 hours on the meter.. and to be honest I'd sell in a heartbeat at $400 - 450.. even though I really feel it's worth more like $600 - 800 for the condition.. even my new saw I'd be happy to get $400 - 500 out of.. but it does have 500 hours on it.. and I am going to be selling both of these hopefully soon.. just in case anyone is interested. LOL

Well yes location always plays a roll but will disagree with you that just because they live in a different state makes the price different. He came on this site where there is knowledgeable people who know scrollsawing and saws values and that is what he wanted. People sell their saws for what they want. It is the same with all tools. $500 for that saw is an excellent and fair price for it  providing it does run and all that. How it was stored and where means alot too. I have said this over and over here scrollsawing is a dead artform and hobby. There are still  some who like to try it and maybe make something of it but those people are far less than what was when I started. This is why you see so many getting out of it and selling their saws. People trying scrolling for first time do not know what a good saw is and how much they should cost. I try to steer people away from the low end saws in hopes they stay with the hobby. Many times a low end saw can have so many problems and not easy to use that it pushes them away from the hobby. You will not find a saw like he has for that price as a new saw and you know that. How fast he wants to sell and at what price is his business. But he asked. from what I seen I could be of help because I own that saw. i do not know about motor problems or other problems with other saws so I stay away from those conversations. He can verify the dates and motor things with RBI. I hope he reports back if he follows through. 

[kmmcrafts]

1 hour ago, Scrappile said:

Where I live in the North West, now just an extension of California, you would be lucky to see it.  There are many listed on the FB Market.  Nothing wrong with your saw, just not many are interested in scrolling or scrolling products.

Yeah, kinda like where I'm at.. most any given time I can go to marketplace and there will be 12+ of these for sale in the $250 - 600 price range and those in the $300+ are setting there for sale for months.. These are only worth what someone is willing to pay.. which is why I suggest a bit lower value than some might think. It might be worth $600 to someone but price it at that and wait 6 months for that someone, or price it to move it..

Hegners are another example of this.. You pay big money for a new one.. but try selling it 2 months after you buy it and you're lucky to get $600 from it unless you wait for that special buyer that just knows it's a good deal.. 

[Scrappile]

2 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

Yeah, kinda like where I'm at.. most any given time I can go to marketplace and there will be 12+ of these for sale in the $250 - 600 price range and those in the $300+ are setting there for sale for months.. These are only worth what someone is willing to pay.. which is why I suggest a bit lower value than some might think. It might be worth $600 to someone but price it at that and wait 6 months for that someone, or price it to move it..

Hegners are another example of this.. You pay big money for a new one.. but try selling it 2 months after you buy it and you're lucky to get $600 from it unless you wait for that special buyer that just knows it's a good deal.. 

All said and done, like it or not, the DeWalt has the best resale value.  I have seen some used sell for close to the new price.  Nothing against the saw, I just do not get it.

[kmmcrafts]

2 hours ago, Scrappile said:

All said and done, like it or not, the DeWalt has the best resale value.  I have seen some used sell for close to the new price.  Nothing against the saw, I just do not get it.

That’s why I went with a DeWalt way back in the near beginning of my scroll sawing journey. Then I found a Hawk for $100 and then some deals on other saws so I bought a wide range of saws to try. lol. I bought the  Dewalt new from Grizzly on holiday sale for $350 with stand and light. Sold light for $20 and run the saw production cutting for 6 years with one rebuild and needing it again soon but sold it for $250 instead because I had two Hawks and the Excalibur. 
 

I bought that new hawk in 2018 for $1700 ish and I’d be lucky if I could get $500 for it.  People would rather spend $600 and get a new saw instead of a 5-10 year old saw that realistically would outlive the new one several times over. But they seem to think new with warranty is better. It takes the right person to know the value of the Hawk and Hegner to sell one and many of them that know them already have one. lol unfortunately they are just hard to sell at any real value unless you want to set on it for several months and wait for that right person to buy.