Some people love RBI saws, and some, like me, don't care for them. To me, they look like a home shop made prototype and not the finished production model. I also don't like the rear blade tension adjustment, and the long distance of the arms between their rear bearing points and the blade. With this distance, any wear in these pivot bearings at all results in unstable blade position side to side. These are all my personal opinions. I have used several RBI saws, now made by Bushton, that friends have, and have developed my opinions from this experience.
I mostly use my DeWalt Type 1 that I have kind of super tuned to get the accuracy that I need to make the tiny reindeer and jewelry that I like to make. I have now gone through my DeWalt two times, replacing bearings and adjusting it to keep it in top running condition. I'll likely keep doing this every few years until something breaks on it that I can't fix. One of the new Seyco, Jet, Excalibur saws would be an upgrade for me, but until I'm forced to upgrade because of the death of my DeWalt I will likely not spend the money for one. Even then, I will likely try to find a used one, or another DeWalt and tune it up.
Scroll sawing isn't something that everyone enjoys, and many buy these saws with no prior experience using one. It gets an hour or two of use and then collects dust for several years before going on Craigslist or to the pawn shop. One of these better brand saws used, picked up from one of these sources, is where I would look if my DeWalt became un-repairable. There is a Delta saw that's similar to the DeWalt saw that I have. I have not included it in my list above because I'm not at all pleased with the new Delta woodworking tool company. The name goes on, but not the quality or service that once existed for Delta Tools.
Charley
