Dewalt 20" or Excalibur 16"

[John Padgett]

Hello. I need some advice about the Dewalt and the Excalibur. I owned a Dewalt years ago and loved it. However they have since moved their factory to Asia and I read a lot of forums saying the quality has gone way down. Has anyone bought one recently? Also, need input on the Excalibur from people who have one. Thanks.

[Max Neu]

I recently bought a new 30" excalibur and really like it.If you make bevel cuts very often, you will really like the excalibur, since the table remains flat,and you tilt the blade instead.

[Jamie Buxton]

What kind of tool are you talking?

[John Padgett]

Sorry about that. Scroll saw.

[Bryan Cramer]

I have used both and chose to get a 21" Excalibur which I like a lot. The number one difference is the tilting head on the Excalibur versus a tilting table on the Dewalt (kind of like your table saw versus bandsaw tables). So if you are doing angled cuts get the Excalibur. The Excalibur is made in Taiwan and it is built better. There is less plastic parts on the Excalibur. If you are just a hobbyist who will only use the saw occasionally then the Dewalt is just fine. When properly set up the cut quality of both is the same however the Dewalt seems to vibrate a bit more probably because they are lighter. I put sometimes 30+ hours on my saw for each piece of fretwork . I know some people use the Dewalt as a main saw for their business (I can't confirm it but they most likely have the early Dewalt). The Excalibur has the ability to easily adjust the blade swing where as I don't think that is possible with the Dewalt. As far as throat depth 16" is too small for my work and a 20" is just right. It depends upon what you want to do. I think a general purpose size is the 20".

[Michael Moscicki]

Can't speak for the Excalibur, although I have yet to hear any complaints about it. I do however have a DeWalt DW788 Type 1 which is made in Canada like the one you used to have. I would recommend that if you were to get the DeWalt, check craigslist or ebay for a used type 1. If you are buying new then go for the Excalibur 21 inch instead of the 16 inch.

[Bill ThompsonNM]

Can't speak for the Excalibur, although I have yet to hear any complaints about it. I do however have a DeWalt DW788 Type 1 which is made in Canada like the one you used to have. I would recommend that if you were to get the DeWalt, check craigslist or ebay for a used type 1. If you are buying new then go for the Excalibur 21 inch instead of the 16 inch.
Good advice! I have the older Excalibur made in Canada and wouldn't part with it!

[david minnery]

I have both the dewalt and the excaliber 21". I use them professionally and quite often in my shop. My dewalt tends to go down about once every 10-16 months. I got kind of fed up and purchased an excaliber, it lasted 6 months before breaking. Both fail with the mechanism in the upper arm, perhaps I'm tensioning too much. I cut 3/4" maple so I need a taught blade. The excaliber was a few hundred dollars more and not worth it IMO. The dewalt has a faster rpm, though the excaliber has a larger table. However the excaliber has a coated table, like teflon. It flakes and come off pretty quick. I'm saving my pennies for a Hegner. All the previous posts are valid, this is just my experience.

[Len Mullin]

Which saw do you want to buy, a Dewalt 20'' or the EX 16''. Well, I think that you should save a few more bucks and buy an EX21'', you won't regret it. As for your two choices, I have never tried out the EX16, but I do own an EX21 and I love it. It has little to no vibration, and it's a quiet saw to operate. All of the adjustments are easy to make, and blade changes are as easy as could be. As for the Dewalt, I have used one for about three months. They are nice saws to use also, but, there's a difference between the two that is hard to describe. One big deciding factor between the two is, the EX21 has a table that stays flat for any type of angle cutting because the head of the saw tilts 45 degrees left or right. On the Dewalt, you have to tilt the table and hold your project at that angle while cutting out what you want. Just that difference is enough to make a lot of people want an EX21 or the EX30. If you can't see yourself saving up the extra money for an EX21, then I'd suggest that you decide what it is that your going to be cutting. The Dewalt will cut anything up to 20'', the EX16 will only let you cut something up to 16'', so, you have to decide if you can afford to give up the 4''. Personally, I would buy the EX16, the main reason for doing so is, the reputation of the Dewalt ll series is nothing like the Dewalt l series has. Lastly, it would be good if you could find someplace, where you could try out both saws.
Len

[Wade Lippman]

Never used the Excaliber, but I needed 20" yesterday. I can't see buy a 16
saw. If the Exc 21 is too expensive , get a Dewalt. So far mine is great.