Terry Jay

How old is the EX? There were some issues and Ray offered free replacement parts if you would do the work. Not too hard to do. That is regarding noise. On the blade slip, the top thumb screw to tighten is on the right. Switch the bottom one to the left side. Also, lightly sand or buff or de-grease your blades. Switching the bottom made a big difference for me. And change the tips regularly.

Type I was Canadian built, Type II when they moved manufacture to Taiwan.. I bought a Type I about 10 years ago for $225, very little use on it. They are excellent saws, and age well as parts are widely available. They share a lot of the design with the Excalibur. As noted, the saw is likely 25 or so years old. Price is on the high end, but.... does it come with blades, patterns, stand, light or other add=ons. It has about the best blade tension out there, with an inclined plane to let you put as much or as little tension as you want.

The Type 1 was made in Canada. The saw would be about 20 years old now. Bought mine used, no issues, performs well. All tools need maintenance from time to time, depending on use. On the Type 1, the tension is superb, the clamps ok, table alignment and blade squareness are good. Put tape over the On/Off switch to keep the dust out.

My favorites are the DeWalt and the EX 21 sold by Seyco some years back. The DeWalt has excellent blade tension, critical for puzzles. A tight blade and a credit card can be used to square the blade to the table. The EX 21 has a tilt head and good tension on the blade, and is slightly more adjustable for cut aggression. Both these saws would be in the Used market. Both can be repaired or rebuilt as required, and both are sturdy enough to hold up for many years. There are others in the new market, and some better liked then the older saws. Have fum.

My sense of saw ranking after 13 years on forums: Hegner Others: DeWalt Type 1, Excalibur from Seyco. Hawk G4 If you like bowls or top feeding, Excalibur, then DeWalt.

Over the 13 or so years on these and other forums, it has been a changing choice. The RBI Hawk, then the DeWalt 788, then the Seyco Excalibur, and Hegner a favorite of a loyal group throughout. The DeWalt and Excalibur had the same designer, and were originally built in Canada, then Taiwan. I have 2 Hawks, a DeWalt 788 Type 1 (built in Canada) and a Seyco Excalibur. I much prefer the EX because it lets me top feed the blade. Opinions vary on this. The DeWalt also does top feed, but the arm does not go as high so stack cutting can be a slight bit harder. The DeWalt has an inclined plane tension device, so you can get more blade tension. The EX is fixed tension, so in changing blades you can push down a bit on the upper arm as you secure the lower blade clamp to get a bit more tension. Aftermarket blade clamps are available for the Hawks for the upper arm, which are an improvement on the original design. A tilting blade is better than a tilting table if you make bowls or do inlay, simply because you do not need to factor gravity into the cut. They are all fine saws and very capable. Pick one and go with it. After a year or so you will know what works for you and for your work. Best wishes, whatever you decide.

Alder, if Western Red. is a fine grain reddish wood, cuts nicely. A bit soft, sands easily.

Go with the smallest active surface for your work, like 12" square, with additional inactive surface for piece support. On my lathe a 10" square hood hooked to a 4" dust collector hose works OK at about a 3" standoff. A Shopfox downdraft table about 12"X20" was OK with a 2" hose to a shop vac using a DeWalt RO sander with collection bag if I stayed over the inlet. Then I found that Festool had an adapter from a 2" hose that fit snuggly over the outlet nozzle on the DeWalt. As an experiment, hook you hose up to something the size you are contemplating and see if it will pick up sawdust from the floor. Good luck on your search.

Hi Rolf The original Ex (purple) had the DeWalt style tensioner. a knob that slid left to right and somewhat up. It was the up that provided the tension. You could apply as much tension as you wanted in one move. The flip lever on the newer design is a single tension level for all uses.

Yes, the price is high. Does it have the left to right inclined plane blade tensioner? Some folks over the years decided that the 30" was too much leverage and made it hard to keep blade tension, and went back to the 21" style. I think, but do not know, that they had the white flip tensioner. There is a world of difference between those two systems. The flip style is OK in smaller blades and shorter saws, but the lever sliding plane is wonderful for thicker stack cutting and puzzle integrity. Having said all that, throat distance matters. If you do large projects, they become somewhere between annoying and impossible when the throat is too small. The design may have been improved, but the original was and is a great saw. Same with the DeWalt 788 Type 1. The EX allowed the arm to rise much higher then the DeWalt. If your work needs the 30" throat, make them an offer. If you don't need that much throat, offer less, buy new, or keep looking. Best wishes, and let us know what you decide.

Ray, i think it is a personal preference thing. I started on a Hitachi, bottom feed only, and made it work. Set it aside for the EX and went to top feed and found it much easier.

With a vintage Hawk, a Type 1 DeWalt , and a Seyco EX 21, the preference is the Seyco, due to stack cutting that is a bit more tedious on the DeWalt. The DeWalt tension is the best. The arm elevation is an issue. All are great saws. Top feeding is my preference, so the Hawk is last choice.

The Excalibur and DW788 were clones. They share a lot of parts, had the same designer, and operate on the same principles. Either would work for your purpose, and there should be used ones from time to time. I have both, as well as Hawk saws. A Type I 788 is a great saw, the Type is listed on the motor. The EX used to be Purple when it was built in Canada by General. The Green ones were marketed by Seyco. I like the EX 21 best, as the arm raises easily to clear the stack for the next cut. The tension adjustment on the 788 is a better method, as it is a sliding ramp rather than fixed. The EX and 788 can be top fed for interior cuts, most other saws are bottom feeders. In my opinion, top feeding is far better. As for blade clamps, I have found the clamps on the EX and 788 are fine, provided.... do not over tighten, and put the active clamp screw in the bottom clamp on the left and the passive one on the right. The act of tightening will keep the blade back in the holder. A bit of down pressure on the upper arm will increase the tension. One thing on blades. Consider wiping the ends with a solvent for residual oil ( you will notice they do not rust) and lightly rough the surface with sandpaper for a firm seating in the clamps. Used 788 saws are usually about $350 US on the used market. Good luck on your search.

Kevin, I have a Type I DW and a 21" EX, and the EX is a much better saw than the DW. I say this because the arm on the EX comes up higher and stays put so I can top feed 1"+ material. Tension is good, about equal to between 3 and 4 on the DW provided you lightly press down on the top anr and up un the bottom arm when you clamp the blade. I found putting the bottom thumb screw in the left side improved clamping. Having said this, the DW is a fine saw and I am glad I have it.

Consider the Pegas Modified Geometry blades. The seem to me to cut straight, and to last a long time, and no burning when cutting out thickish bowl rings.

Steve Good also did a review of the Pegas clamps. https://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.ca/2018/01/ichthys-scroll-saw-pattern.html Appreciate your work and effort on this project. Thanks.

I use a Festool, with a wye at the vacuum and two hoses, one opposite the line of the blower and one below. It captures almost all the dust. One of the reasons for getting the vacuum is it works with the random orbit sander as well, both the Festool version and the DeWalt , and possibly others.

Hotshot: In a conversation with Ray at Seyco several years ago he mentioned his machinist making the tips and screws. That may be a source for you.

This based on my experience with the EX and 788 clamps. Repeated firm tightening will eventually open the clamp body and produce hockey stick blades. The same bending can result from having the set screw back out and no longer clear the clamp body/ The Hawk has a hole, not a slot, but as it is aluminum and the screws are steel, it could go egg shaped over time and no align the two set screws. So, check the set screws, and replace the clamp if the problem continues. Second issue, reverse the screw positions on the lower clamp, so the set screw is on the right and the operating screw on the left. This seems to provide a better clamping action with a lot less effort. Please note, I do mostly stack-cut fret work 3/4" to 1" thick in Alaska Birch and Big Leaf Maple, both not too hard, and I top feed. Hope this helps a bit.

XRAY Get new blade holders. They wear out. Or try crimping them together a small amount. Changing them is simple.

I use a Festool mid size vac. They sell a Wye that fits in the intake port, so I rig a hose both top and bottom, with the top one oriented to catch everything off the blower. You can turn the motor speed down and adjust the suction. It is tied into the foot switch on the saw and runs about 7 seconds or so after the saw quits. The bad news is they are a bit expensive. The good news is they work well and are a lot quieter, but I still use ear plugs. It has just about eliminated any dust issue. Also, it also works on a number of random orbit sanders.

wombatie: Try trading positions for the set screw and the tightening one.. I put the set on my right side and the operating on on the left and cured ll the blade holding problems.

Festool sells a ":Y" that fits the smaller hose (1-1/2"?) shop vacs.

Hang in there Kevin, almost home. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and all my best for the coming year. Terry

Try Walnut oil instead of mineral oil. Woodcraft carries Mahoney's walnut oil and Docotr's Woodshop. Walnut oil is food safe and dries, and will accept any of the finishes. http://doctorswoodshop.com/