I've owned excalibur for 15 yrs and have believed them to be the best. Unfortunatley the curent model ( i bought it 2 years ago) has been an all too frequent headache. The problem I've had has been with the upper blade holder. For the first year or so it just didn't want ot hold the blade. It would slip requiring me to over tighten the screw. finally about a year ago after a number of unsuccessful fixes, they discovered that the holders were the wrong hardness  causing the slippage. That has helped, but now I am on my fourth upper blade holder assembly in just over a year because the threads on the thumb screw  keep stripping out. Those are far too expensive to keep buying new ones.

 

I think the Excal. is unmatched when it works properly, but until  they straighten the problem out I couldn't recommend spending that much on it. I'm thinking of buying a Delta and hope they find a solution so I can use my EXcal the way it was inteneded.

I'm not a scroller, but do have a scroll saw. Mine is a cheap Bridgewood. I hated having to loosen and tighten the blade holder screw for each new cut. Started using the "pin" blades. I know that limits my cuts but for me and what little I do, it works.

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!

Wow, Keith, very sorry to hear of your frustrations. We have an EX-16 and have 0 complaints. Good luck with it!

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Michael and Matthew Agate (Newfoundland Canada)

I am not a scroller either but I have a Dewalt that works great when I need it (seldom). I have heard that Excaliber was the best. You should contact the customer service dept.

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Adam Welker
Red Car Construction and Fine Woodworking

Hi Keith,

I would not recommend Delta for any tool at the present time. Their quality and ownership is very questionable. I have a much older Delta scroll saw and a Hybrid TS, but I bought these back when Delta had a swell reputation.  Hopefully others can chime in here with their opinions and information. 

My main scroll saw is my wife's, it was a gift from me.  It is a DEWALT  788    20". Love it and so does she.

That's interesting because I read several ratings and in all the evalutons Delta is the highest ranked in the middle price range and among the highest of all saws reviewed
 
Leo Pedersen said:

Hi Keith,

I would not recommend Delta for any tool at the present time. Their quality and ownership is very questionable. I have a much older Delta scroll saw and a Hybrid TS, but I bought these back when Delta had a swell reputation.  Hopefully others can chime in here with their opinions and information. 

My main scroll saw is my wife's, it was a gift from me.  It is a DEWALT  788    20". Love it and so does she.

Keith,

  I wish I had a real solution, but I don't... but I do have an idea that I haven't tried...

 

I've suffered similar fustrations with the DeWalt (which I stopped using because of the aggravation from blades slipping out). If you are thinking of the newest Delta saw, then you should know that that saw, the DeWalt, and the Excalibur all have the same type of blade holding design. (Some of the older Deltas had a blade clamp,  which I've heard most people love, but some don't.)

  IMHO, the design used by the new Delta, the DeWalt, and the Excaliber needs improvement. They all use a "floating disc" at the end of the blade holding screw. They like the concept that the disc should not rotate as you tighten the screw, with the notion that it prevents the "hockey stick" bend at the end of the blade. I find that it doesn't quite succeed at that. I think the first task to master is to successfully hold the blade, then engineer a means of not bending the blade. (As it is, the current blade holder design does neither task that well, although it might not be the fault of the floating disc idea.)  Here is the problem as I see it:

In the picture I am holding a blade holding assembly and pushing a card into the blade slot. As you can see, the slot for the blade allows the blade to only enter to the middle of the retaining screw's hole. So at most, half of the "floating disc" at the end of the screw is holding the blade, and only the front half at that. IMHO, the slot for the blade should be deeper. As I see it, since the end of the screw pivots/floats, the use of only the middle to the front makes it all too easy for the blade to slip out. I picture it as squeezing on the edge of a watermelon seed to send it flying. And as I also see it, a slightly deeper slot for the blade would let the blade be held against the back of the slot using the back half of the screw's disc. I think this would have less tendency to let the blade slip out, as the blade would actually be confined to the back wall of the slot.

 

So if you are an experimenter/gambler, you should use a band saw, scroll saw, or cutting disc to deepen both upper and lower blade slots by equal amounts. I don't know if the other side of the blade holding slot would need any modification, ie where the fixed set-screw is that is opposite the floating disc. I also don't know if the slot should be deepened for the back of the blade to be all the way at the back edge of the floating disc, or halfway back... I just feel certain that it should be further back than at the midpoint.

 

Spence

Skokie, IL

 

Keith

I have been an Excalibur user for about 5 years now.  I also had the trouble of the threads stripping out.  I solved the problem by drilling and tapping a new hole in the holder and installing a standard 1/4 20 bolt.  This has not failed in well over a year.

that being said, I recently had my saw reconditioned by Ray Seymore.  The new style upper blade hole is supposed to be much better.  Only time will tell.  The lover holder is still the same design as the older models like Delta uses.  Again, time will tell as to whether this one strips out.

As you said, Excalibur (in my humble opinion) is a great saw overall.  I don't know if the $1,000 plus saws would provide a more lasting piece of machinery for the ones of us that spend several hours a day at the saw.

OK, folks, my 2% of a buck.

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Fred
aka Pop's Shop
www.pops-shop.com
'Soooooo many patterns - sooooo little time'
Scroll Saw Forum Host

I've spent alot of phone and a little face to face time with Ray fine tuning the saw; he's the best and will do anything to try to make it work. I've been using the new upper and find the same problems I had before.
 
Fred Wilson said:

Keith

I have been an Excalibur user for about 5 years now.  I also had the trouble of the threads stripping out.  I solved the problem by drilling and tapping a new hole in the holder and installing a standard 1/4 20 bolt.  This has not failed in well over a year.

that being said, I recently had my saw reconditioned by Ray Seymore.  The new style upper blade hole is supposed to be much better.  Only time will tell.  The lover holder is still the same design as the older models like Delta uses.  Again, time will tell as to whether this one strips out.

As you said, Excalibur (in my humble opinion) is a great saw overall.  I don't know if the $1,000 plus saws would provide a more lasting piece of machinery for the ones of us that spend several hours a day at the saw.

OK, folks, my 2% of a buck.

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Fred
aka Pop's Shop
www.pops-shop.com
'Soooooo many patterns - sooooo little time'
Scroll Saw Forum Host

Hmmmmmmmmmm, how about soaking the blades in alcohol or a similar substance to get any and all oil off the blade ends.  Also, from time to time, I use a little sandpaper on the ends just to roughen them up a little.  I also make sure the tightener end is clean and without oil.  Forgot to say that I use only Flying Dutchman blades and haven't found oily blades to be a problem.

Keith - be sure to keep us abreast of your problem.  It could help all of us.

Thanks for starting this thread.  We scrollers are always looking for tips and tricks.

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Fred
aka Pop's Shop
www.pops-shop.com
'Soooooo many patterns - sooooo little time'
Scroll Saw Forum Host

Just had a lllooonnng talk with Ray. One question I asked was about the clamp only being deep enough for half the blade. He said it has to be that way because if you go past half, the tightening screw will force  the blade against the back of the clamp and to twist it down causing it to loosen the tension so you think it has slipped before you start. he said they've tried cutting the slot deeper with no success.

 I thread my blade from the bottom up and have been taking the tension out of the upper arm by pulling gently down on the upper thumb screw. I am now trying to use my middle finger to pull the arm down while using my right thumb to softly tighten the thumb screw.  Good sawing!!!
Fred Wilson said:

Hmmmmmmmmmm, how about soaking the blades in alcohol or a similar substance to get any and all oil off the blade ends.  Also, from time to time, I use a little sandpaper on the ends just to roughen them up a little.  I also make sure the tightener end is clean and without oil.  Forgot to say that I use only Flying Dutchman blades and haven't found oily blades to be a problem.

Keith - be sure to keep us abreast of your problem.  It could help all of us.

Thanks for starting this thread.  We scrollers are always looking for tips and tricks.

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Fred
aka Pop's Shop
www.pops-shop.com
'Soooooo many patterns - sooooo little time'
Scroll Saw Forum Host

keith bock said:

Just had a lllooonnng talk with Ray. One question I asked was about the clamp only being deep enough for half the blade. He said it has to be that way because if you go past half, the tightening screw will force  the blade against the back of the clamp and to twist it down causing it to loosen the tension so you think it has slipped before you start. he said they've tried cutting the slot deeper with no success.

Just to keep the wording accurate: the slot is only deep enough to let the blade be held by the front half of the disc at the end of the screw. So as small as that disc is, only the front half has any chance at all to hold onto a blade under tension. I suppose if Ray tried it, he would know if deepening the blade slot is an improvement or not. I can't envision that "twist it down causing it to loosen the tension", but I did envision that "forcing the blade against the back of the clamp" would add retention. Perhaps the twist means that the opposing setscrew or something in back of it does need some change to go along with the deeper slot, but something needs to be done. Ray said he's heard about blade slippage for 30 years. And I say that it's about time blade holders held blades at the tension we need. Yes?  I'm not picking on Ray or Seyco...I don't have an Excalibur... I mean for ALL scroll saws... I stopped using my DeWalt because of this issue, bought a used Hegner that had blade holding problems, too, and now an RBI Hawk that also has issues w/blade holding. We want the blade to be a certain tension, especially when cutting harder and/or thicker woods... what the heck is with blade holders not being able to do that for us?

Keith

I am a top feeder so that will make a difference in the way we load the blades.  Yes, I have a little trouble getting the blade in the proper position when I change blades.  Have found that once I get the blade in the holder and put a "little" tension on the thumb screw, I grab the blade, losoen the thumb screw a little and readjust the blade until I know that it is square with the back of the holder, then tighten the thumb screw.  Maybe that is why I don't have your trouble.  Just a thought, sir.

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Fred
aka Pop's Shop
www.pops-shop.com
'Soooooo many patterns - sooooo little time'
Scroll Saw Forum Host

I'll take any tips ya'll have about the Excalibur saws since mine is due to be delivered tomorrow. I ordered the 30 Anniversary Limited Edition. It may be a bit before I get to use it because God is calling my mother-in-law home but letting me care for her untill He is fully ready for her. But hints, tips and secrets would be great for when the time comes to get back to making sawdust. Thanks

Pamela,

it is so wonderful you are taking time out to be with your Mother in law. My mother passed when I was 25 and my wife and my mother were best friends. This made our marriage so strong.

My son Matthew and I have the 16" Excalibur. We love it to pieces. We use spiral blades. Using spiral blades allow you to cut in all directions. We could easily cut out portraits that are 30x30 using these blades. There is a Scroll Saw Forum on here that could perhaps offer you great insight. 

Best of luck with your new scroll saw and peaceful time with your mother in law. 

Kindest Regards,

Pamela Bates said:

I'll take any tips ya'll have about the Excalibur saws since mine is due to be delivered tomorrow. I ordered the 30 Anniversary Limited Edition. It may be a bit before I get to use it because God is calling my mother-in-law home but letting me care for her untill He is fully ready for her. But hints, tips and secrets would be great for when the time comes to get back to making sawdust. Thanks

I promise you'll love the saw. None are perfect , but X is the best. Ray at Seyco is a wonderful support for any tech. issues and is on top of any problems

Pamela Bates said:

I'll take any tips ya'll have about the Excalibur saws since mine is due to be delivered tomorrow. I ordered the 30 Anniversary Limited Edition. It may be a bit before I get to use it because God is calling my mother-in-law home but letting me care for her untill He is fully ready for her. But hints, tips and secrets would be great for when the time comes to get back to making sawdust. Thanks

My grizzly scroll saw was a waste of money, it had 2 screws in a little v shaped wedge holding the top of the blade.

They had no flat surface on the ends of both bolts and never did set the same way twice.

My ridgid scroll saw however does a great job.

No complaints.

That's where i ordered from. He has done great so far dealing with the hubby of an anxious woman waiting for her dream saw lol.

keith bock said:

I promise you'll love the saw. None are perfect , but X is the best. Ray at Seyco is a wonderful support for any tech. issues and is on top of any problems

Pamela Bates said:

My mother died in 2002 and my mother in law is like a second mama. Its going to be rough, but she has been encouraging me to get back into wood work. Can't wait to learn  things you didn't hear much about 21 years ago.

Michael & Matthew Agate said:

Pamela,

it is so wonderful you are taking time out to be with your Mother in law. My mother passed when I was 25 and my wife and my mother were best friends. This made our marriage so strong.

My son Matthew and I have the 16" Excalibur. We love it to pieces. We use spiral blades. Using spiral blades allow you to cut in all directions. We could easily cut out portraits that are 30x30 using these blades. There is a Scroll Saw Forum on here that could perhaps offer you great insight. 

Best of luck with your new scroll saw and peaceful time with your mother in law. 

Kindest Regards,

Pamela Bates said:

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Michael and Matthew Agate (Newfoundland Canada)

As seen in this thread, the "X" can have little problems from time to time just like any other man made machine.  The original "X" was so good that DeWalt bought it from the original company.  Since the non-compeat has been over, the "X" is now the "bomb" as far as "less then $1,000" saws.  After spending the day with Ray, I am more than ever a believer in him and his company.  Just got my "old" saw back from him after reconditioning it - called me on the phone and advised it was on its way back to Georgia - said that the motor was making some bearing noise but that I should run it until the bearings come out and THEN replace the motor.  I believe that most other dealer/repair folks would have put in a new motor right now just to get more $$$ - especially in this economy.  Scale of 1-10 for Seyco?  Probably an 11 or 12.  With his wife at his side, we can't lose with Ray Seymore.  That's my 2% of a buck and I'm sticking with it.

Pamela - I know your pain and will keep you and your family in our prayers until He calls your mom-in-law home.

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Fred
aka Pop's Shop
www.pops-shop.com
'Soooooo many patterns - sooooo little time'
Scroll Saw Forum Host