Jules

They're adorable! I'm sure your nephews love them. What type of wood is that - is it pine?

Great - thank you!

Oh, sorry, I forgot to reply to your question, Kurt. I am in Newmarket, Ontario.

Thank you, Len and Kurt. Wow, Kurt, those are great deals indeed! I will keep looking for sure. The used Dewalt saws on Kijiji right now are at least CAD$500. If you're spending that much money, might as well go for a NEW one over at Busy Bee Tools for CAD$599 - with stand and light. So far, that's the best deal I've seen on a new one, at least here in Canada.... in case anyone is interested. Also, I found two saws that Canadian members may be interested in: (1) a used RBI Hawk (Model 226M; 26-inch) in "excellent" condition selling for CAD$695. (2) a used EX-24 listed as "very good" condition. Also $695. They're in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Unfortunately, they're over my budget (for now). I'm sure I'm being dumb for not grabbing either one of these. Hope everyone is having a great day, Jules

Wow, thank you so much, everyone! I knew it was the right move to ask you. You have been quite helpful, and I hope you know how much I appreciate your time and advice. You all made a good point. Not knowing whether I could find parts in the future is going to be a concern when that happens. I probably would be willing to pay more if it's closer to home or if it is a better saw. The presence of rust should be worrisome as well. Thank you -- it's so good to hear about these from people who have extensive knowledge of scroll saws. I will not take either of these saws then. I will not be in a rush... I shall be patient.... I do have a Dremel Moto-saw, but I don't like the blades (and the very limited selection of blades). I was hoping I could try using spiral blades, but they won't fit. So this afternoon (before I saw your replies), I bought some finer Bosch blades with a higher TPI for my ordinary jigsaw and use that AND the moto-saw to cut a project. I haven't gone very far and broke a piece of the wood -- I think it was because when I was using my jigsaw, I may have pressed on my project piece a bit too hard. For now, I think I'm going to keep trying alternating those two. I'm sure it's going to be a good practice for both my scrolling skill and patience. Thank you once again, everyone. I look forward to learning a whole lot from you. Jules

Hello everyone, I have found this wonderful forum very recently from doing a web search on scroll saws. I am a beginner. I am looking at getting a used good one -- so far, I have seen a Delta 18" variable speed and an Excalibur-II 19 inches. I understand the EX-II is an old saw but well-built. I contacted the Delta seller and was told it's a Q3. My biggest concern is not being able to find parts when I need to. I am in Ontario, Canada. I have attached two pictures of the saws (one of each). If you were in my shoes, which of the two would you get, assuming they're both working perfectly (Both claimed they're in excellent condition)? The Delta is $100, while the EX-II is $280. Both are about 1-2 hours away. I am also open to recommendations on a new scroll saw, if it's better than the two I mentioned AND it's within $250. I wish I could get a Dewalt straight away, but the price range is too high for me at this point. My plan is to get a decent one to practice on, and then get a much better one when the right time comes. Thank you so much for your time. I greatly appreciate any advice.