Aboutmaura macaluso Expertise I can answer all questions regarding woodcarving, chip carving, scroll sawing, carving tools and techniques and can answer most questions regarding wood. I am not an appraiser of carvings nor an antique dealer.
Experience I am a custom commission woodcarver. I have been carving for many years now, have won numerous awards, and am very well connected in the world of woodcarving. I am the owner/operator of www.carvinginnyc.com
Organizations national association of woodcarvers, woodcarvers of queens, Richmond county carvers club, carving life panel of experts
Publications Chip chats, carving magazine
Education/Credentials Have taken many, many classes and instruction from many fine carvers, I was originally self taught which is the best way to learn. Many thousands of carving hours later and I find that I am now well-respected.
Awards and Honors best of show staten island & queens
numerous 1st place and other title awards at many venues
Past/Present Clients My work is now in international collections
Question I have been trying for the last few months to get blade
holder for my RBI Hawk scroll saw. The company has closed
and I can't find any place else to go to. Any help would be greatly apprecipatied.
Gwen
Answer Hi Gwen,
Yes, unfortunately RBI has closed. It is the talk of the woodworking world. You are not the only one left in a panic after this. Their websites are completely down and the company basically no longer exists. It is unusual for a good quality reliable company but Rbi has had a series of setbacks in recent years. The original owner died and it was taken over by good people, who were then devastated by a hurricane. They were forced to move their entire operation until finally the economy did them in for good. I hear that their stock is being sold at auction sometime in the future but that will take quite awhile to settle I imagine.
In the meantime there are plenty of people out there scrounging around for parts. I have not located any where that RBI parts might be available. My best advice would be to keep scouring the Internet search engines and also craigslist, looking for a cheap used saw. If you love your hawk that much it might be worth a few bucks just to get the blade holder. Also keep an eye on ebay for broken saws being sold for parts. As more of the RBI saws become inoperable because parts are not available, more and more will come on the market for less and less.
Another option is to contact other quality scrollsaw manufacturers and see if they might have a solution for the problem. I am not personally familiar with the rbi blade holder and don't know if any of the others might be interchangeable but I am sure that someone out there is looking into the issue because there is money to be made.
The last option is to try to have your blade holder fixed or a new one fabricated by a machinist in your area. If you find one who is willing to try and is handy, perhaps he could at least give you something that would be workable.
If all else fails, It is the buzz in the scrolling world that the Dewalt is one of the best around for the money and gives the much higher priced saws excellent competition.
I am sorry that I could not be of more help to you, I know it is a small comfort and doesn't help fix your saw but you are not alone out there.
