kmmcrafts

Pretty sure my Seyco vacuum has some sort of muffler built into it.. It's much longer than the one I bought off eBay and it has screws at the back with some sort of extension on it.. It's not very loud.. at least not to me.. I have it mounted at the back of the saw stand as you can see in the photos.. I've been really busy so I haven't had the chance to dig the eBay one back out and do some comparing.. Pretty sure this Seyco one is a bit quieter than the other one... I'll try to look them both over and maybe do some sound comparison on it.. This is something I was going to mention in my first post but got an order during the middle of my posting and I forgot what i was doing, LOL Darn customers timing always messing me up, That all said... I'm sort of wondering if the suction is as good on the Seyco too.. one thing I see that "could be " better on the Seyco is the dust hose to the Vac hook up is kinda loose fitting and could use some sort of rubber end on the hose that was a tighter fit.. the way it came was just a hose that was cut and it has a zip tie around it that I guess you're supposed to try to clamp it onto the vac. but there is no ridge or anything on the vac... it's just smooth.. if I bump the hose just right it'll fall off.. I was going to look at the c-pap hose I have and see if maybe I could use a section of that instead.. or maybe some of the hose that came with my eBay vac.. I can't seem to pull the zip tie up any more to make it tighter.. It's a great system but that is my only complaint about it.. they should have some sort of rubber connector on the end to make a tighter fit in my opinion..

Well when I ordered the parts from Seyco to rebuild my saw I also ordered the small dust vac system..... I got it all hooked up to the EX after the rebuild.. have run about 3 hours of cutting time on it and it sure is nice not having a pile of sawdust in my lap, shoes, and all over the floor.. I do still get a slight amount that is from the top side of the table... certainly need a collection hose from the top but for now this is 90% better than with nothing at all, LOL.. I had purchased just the Vac and the C-pap hose with a mini cyclone dust separator as well... in fact before I ordered the Seyco system.. but I have yet to receive the dust separator... believe it's coming from China as Amazons shipping said ship by Sept 10th or something around that time.. That system was way cheaper at about $60.. because I found a new open box vac for $28, C-pap hose at $6 and the mini cyclone was around $25 for the aluminum one.. I'll hook this one up to one of the Hawk saws once the cyclone shows up.. I cut one stack of 5 Christmas ornaments from BB ply and then cut two of these clocks.. The photo shows the amount of sawdust in the canister.. Virtually no dust in the Vac filter!!

I agree with Scott... the Pegas last much longer for me.. Both are good blades and get the job done.. I like to cut somewhat faster than a lot of people do.. so the Pegas are my go to as they are a bit more aggressive than the FD blades.. As for breaking blades.. I've also had / seen saws that have a worn bearing or just the blade clamps be out of alignment.. which can create some heat by rubbing on the side of the wood.. and running the saw at a faster speed will increase this heat too.. So if your blade has a slight wobble look or blurry look to it when running the saw without cutting anything this movement still slightly happens when cutting.. creates heat and the blade usually will break somewhere in the cutting portion of the blade.. Yeah.. I've had some worn and junky saws over the years.. and figured this out from that.. once rebuilt or tuned for a true straight blade... no more blade breaking.. SO... there is and can be a lot of factors to play a role in breaking blades.. besides user error...

I think you are probably right on that Ray.. The EX bearing and sleeve quality in the parts I received from Seyco was much tighter and smoother than any of the other saws I've taken down to rebuild.. When I rebuilt my DW788.. I bought all new bearings and quality ones.. new sleeves from Dewalt.. but the sleeves / bearings was still not as tight together as what these parts were that I got.. That saw lasted around 6 years of production cutting.. My DW788 was a type 2 so that could be a bit sloppy from the type 1 saw maybe.. whatever the case.. the saw runs really nice now and hoping it'll last long enough to pay for itself again.. Was thinking about painting my table.. not because I need to but the finish is worn off and even through the primer coat in some spots.. Only reason I thought about doing it is because I painted a Chevy Trailblazer a few years back and it's about the exact same color, LOL.. I think the Urethane two stage base / clear coat is a much higher quality paint than whatever they used on my saw..I'm not sure if it's because of the cheap China made saw thing or is it a Excalibur thing but only about 30 hours on the saw and much of the paint was worn off.. the primer seems to be holding up better than the actual paint did, LOL.. If I didn't already have the paint I probably wouldn't fuss with it.. Maybe won't anyway.. but just something I thought about while sawing today and happen to look up on my paint shelf and seen that can sitting there..

I do enjoy tinkering with these saws.. I've rebuilt a lot of them over the years... mostly cheap older Delta's but also have rebuilt a Ryobi, Dremel and of coarse the DeWalts.. now Excalibur, LOL.. Be fun to do a job similar but the cost wouldn't be all that great for the owners.. unless they was like a short drive away from me or something.. Shipping them and parts prices etc.. you'd be best to buy a new one,

Well today I run the saw to cut a couple clock orders.. The saw is a total different saw than what it was.. even when it was new... The new rocker assemblies came with the EX blade chucks.. Not sure anyone remembers the issues I had with the ones that came with the saw.. I often wondered if it was user error or something.. SO with that said.. I left the EX chucks on instead of putting the Pegas chucks on.. I wanted to assure myself that the chucks that came with the saw was defective or something.. Running the saw today I had no issues with the EX clamps.. I've determined the China made chucks have the hole drilled and tapped for the thumb / set screw is not in the correct position.. It is slightly forward.. and I was always having to fiddle with where to position the blade in order to clamp it.. If you put it all the way back to the back the thumb screw would miss the blade.. The EX clamps I got with my parts works very nicely.. though I do like the Pegas ones better and will probably swap them out at some point.. The saw runs really smooth and pretty quiet.. Over all I'm finally happy with it.. and actually quite impressed with how well it works.. I might have a new favorite saw, LOL.. I'll likely sell it and buy a Pegas late this year early next year so long as business stays good and busy.. Here is another repair I did.. well heck I gotta get the photos off my phone so I'll come back and edit this in a few, LOL So this is the repair of tightening up the adjustment knob at that back of the saw.... Probably nobody will ever take their saw apart to do this just for this reason.. but if you have issues with the back knob turning on its own and you take the saw apart for something else take the time to make this repair while you're in there.. See this little rectangle shape piece on the side of the back part of the saw.. This piece is threaded and the threaded rod where your knob is screws into it and pushes down on the back of the arm.. There is a small thicker piece of welded flat stock welded to the top of the arm and that is where the rod pushes onto it to adjust the upper arm for parallel.. I should have taken a photo of the spot where the rod hits the upper arm.. from the thing turning on it's own for a long time it had actually worn a fairly deep indent into that plate that is welded onto the upper arm. Photo of the threaded block taken out of the saw... Here is a photo of the block in the saw and it shows how the top smaller piece is screwed to the larger black piece to hold it from sliding out of the saw.. You have to unscrew that screw and take the top piece off before sliding that threaded part out of the saw.. I should have ordered a new one but it never crossed my mind as I did this repair once a while ago but thought I'd redo it since I had it torn down this far and easy access to it.. If you look close you can sort of see the round shiny spot where the rod rest on the upper arm.. I have the arm lifted almost straight up in the photo.. I'm not sure if I helped or hindered the thing from turning by itself because I added a spot of grease where that shiny spot is.. But I think the loc-tite will still hold it.. and this makes the knob turn much smoother than before. That might be a problem though if the loc-tite doesn't hold it, LOL Photo of the screw and rod taken out and ready to remove the piece and clean it up good..for a new dose of loc-tite The bottom of the rod ll cleaned up and fresh loc-tite on the threads.. The threads are two step.. the bottom portion is smaller where the washer and lock nut go on to hold it from un-threading is out of the saw.. The portion with the blue loc-tite is where it threads into that block Well hopefully all this info I put up on this will help someone someday should they take on a rebuild of a EX or similar saw.. Also hope this info might help someone that accidentally bought a China made saw and wonder if the parts from a original EX from Seyco will work with the China made saw... since Ray doesn't support these saws or parts for them.. Maybe there will be a flood of cheap China made EX saws in the used market that people got frustrated with and selling real cheap or free never know you might run upon a garage sale one for $5-10.. could be worth building it if you're a tinker kinda person that likes doing this kind of thing... as long as all the electronics are good.. one could build their own saw like I did here and have a decent saw..

Well Ray, It'll never be a Pegas because even the Pegas saws are different than the original EX saw.. Pegas upgraded the main drive bearing sizes for more strength and durability which is something many people don't think about.. They see a saw that "looks like" and assume it's the same thing.. My saw is "now" more like a original EX.. As for value.. I gave $340 for the saw .. upgraded chucks way back when they was on sale.. I think with shipping etc.. the chucks was $80.. Since then ( nearly three years ago ) I've put around 350 hours on the saw.. which is comparable to the usage I get from a DW-788.. The parts from Seyco run me $115 for the inside guts and $160 for the rocker assemblies.. So in all I have about $705 if I did my math right? lol Depending where you buy a Pegas.. the cheapest I found with shipping charges etc. was $800.. I did manage to put about 400 total hours on it too.. That said.. Pegas wasn't around when i bought my saw back in Oct. 2017.. New EX's wasn't available then either.. though somehow the guy I got this from had a new seal box with one, LOL a few months later Home Depot had them.. and he worked for HD and supposedly won it in a raffle..

Yeah it's been a frustrating machine for me for sure.. from day one of opening the box and setting it up it was issues.. starting with the blade chucks.. The Pegas chuck upgrade made the saw usable, LOL So I bought new rocker assemblies as well.. and they came with the blade chucks.. and these was what the biggest difference between the China made saw and the original EX saw that I had... See next set of photos.. These pieces that screw into the arm tubing of the saw are different size.. The China made saw they used a smaller tubing than the original EX Here I'm trying to show a visual comparison of the size differences.. Also a few photos of where I measured them as well.. I ended up trying to grind enough of the bracket material away so they would fit into the tube of the arm.. Turns out.. once I get it to fit into the tube the mounting holes do not line up.. Note the photo above where I'm holding the two pieces.. one goes into the hole farther than the other.. so while I think the holes would have been lined up they didn't go into the tube far enough to put the screws back in.. and they was close enough that I wouldn't be able to re-drill and tap them either.. So thankfully the rocker assemblies was the same so I was able to swap the assemblies to the China made brakes and all worked out.. If not then I would have been stuck using the worn out bearings etc on the front part of the saw..

Well I got it back up and running. Now I need to dial everything in and it should be ready to make sawdust. The job wasn’t too bad, I took it farther apart than I really needed to but I was also making other repairs than just the bearing assembly. I bought the whole assembly from Seyco. The pictures of the parts below. I’ll try to upload the instructions that came with the assembly since it’s just a few pages. I found them not very good because they was photo copy pages and the pictures was very poor. Since I can’t read words and the pictures was bad they might as well not sent them.

Well today I started taking the saw apart.. I did a short video of how loud the saw is before I do the rebuild.. I have taken a lot of pictures that I'll probably put up later.. I have it almost put back together.. I worked on this a good 6 hours or more.. and I'm still not done.. but real close to being done.. I'll say there is a big difference between the original EX parts and the China made stuff as far as tolerances.. I'll add more to this post later on to describe some of the issues I had and the tolerance things etc.. Meanwhile check out how sloppy and noisy this thing was in the video

I use clear packing tape.. or masking tape.. I just tape around the edges.. I apply the shelf liner to the top piece then make the stack and tape the edges..

I may be wrong but I think maybe Keith Fenton has a design too? It would be on Sheila Landry’s website if so.

I've never heard of this one... but one day I needed a darker piece of wood and did some research.. I learned that you can put a piece of poplar in the oven and turn it into a piece of walnut, LOL.. It takes a couple hours on a low setting.. Think I used 250F for about 4 hours.. Wife didn't mind and actually encouraged me to try it since she was leaving for a few hours.. I did just that.. Let me say.. you should have a exhaust fan.. While the smell wasn't horrid at all to me she didn't like it when she came back home.. Sort of smelled like I would think roasting nuts would smell like.. but maybe on a stronger level, LOL Just know if you try it.. do not have your wood already cut to size as it'll shrink .. and it doesn't darken on the inside of the wood all that far either.. Maybe longer baking would? The lumber store I go to sells it like this.. They advertise it as thermo modified wood..

My opinion is that saw might be worth more around $200 - 300 tops.. As Ray said.. a Pegas is the go to saw of that style and is nearly that same price point.. Maybe not shipped to Canada though?? In my area. There isn't a used saw that I would buy for more than $600 and it better be a really pristine saw for that kind of money for used.. and that kind of money used it'd only be a Hegner or Hawk that I'd pay that.. because a Excalibur or Pegas types of saws can be had new with a warranty etc for just a small amount more.. You can't buy a new Hawk or Henger in that price range which is why I say that would be the only used saw that I'd consider spending around $600 ish on.. about half of the price if it was new..

Cheap labor.. inferior metals for the bearings and skip the grease is my experience, LOL The blade clamps never worked smoothly for me... I don't know if it's because of quality or the user.. LOL.. maybe a little of both.. Be thankful you paid a lot more for a "quality" saw.. I've seen some good and bad reviews of the China made saw.. Of coarse most folks that do not have a complaint also do not leave reviews too.. ( including me sometimes)..but you can sure bet if there is issues there will be bad reviews.. People like to complain but not compliment.. so you have to take reviews with a grain or two of salt I guess..

So first thing I'd try is ruling out the foot switch.. though by the sounds of it it's the VS controller.. I'm assuming by the serial number that it's a newer saw than my 1998 226VS Ultra as my serial number is 10290.. I have not had any of these issues with my 226 but when I first got my old 220VS it would do the surge type thing IF messing with the dial while running the saw.. but not otherwise.. I took the thing apart and blew it out with the air compressor and it's not had any issues since then.. Thankfully since that is a problem those old saws with the Fasco (SP) motor had before the motor or controller box went out.. Hawks fix for those is a new motor and controller assembly.. On my 226 Ultra.. I did replace the Pot meter ( VS controller ).. not because it was bad... but because I broke it trying to take the knob off it to work on something else.. I now know the knob is not just pressed on... it has a very small screw that holds it on.. Be aware of that if you try taking it apart to blow it out or something.. LOL The fix from Hawk for this was also a new motor and controller assembly at $350.. I found out I could just buy a new pot meter and could solder the new one in place.. the meter was only about $6 free shipping from eBay.. If you find it's not the foot switch and find it's this part.. and can solder.. it's a cheap easy fix.. If you solder the leads on backwards it just makes the switch work backwards... (ie what used to be high saw speed is now slow, LOL Don't ask how I know that but I did correct it..) Hopefully it's nothing to do with the motor itself.. I suspect it to be the pot meter. however I'm no electronic expert so I don't know.. If you cannot solder.. I'm sure there is some shop somewhere near you that would be able to make the repair.. EDIT TO ADD If you need to replace the pot meter.. I did a little digging to find the listing to the one I purchased.. maybe this will help you or someone along the way.. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Alpha-1k-ohm-Linear-Taper-Log-Pot-B1K-Solder-Lugs-Split-Shaft-Potentiometer-EW/111400183535?hash=item19eff7e6ef:g:hh0AAOxyXWdQ9FfY

The EX-21 used to be much cheaper when they first released the back on the market.. I believe they was priced at around $530.. nearly the same price as a DeWalt.. My saw I bought was second hand but still in the sealed box.. I gave $340 for it.. put a$100 in for the Pegas chucks and bought a stand so I have around $550 into mine.. BUT.. I've also put 400 hours on the saw in the 3 years I've had it.. ( 400 hours is a estimate as I didn't put hour meters on my saws until March of 2019 and now has 200 hours on it ).. It's been a good back-up saw for me and just something different to run when I want a break from the Hawks.. I really haven't used it a lot or as a main saw..could do without it.. Curiosity got me and wondered about if the guts from the original EX will fit this China made one.. I bought all the parts from Ray at Seyco a few weeks ago.. I'll be doing this swap soon.. then my saw should be the same as a original EX.. It seems well built other than the bearings.. are sloppy right out of the box.. Not sure some of them even had any grease.. Be interesting how these new parts make the saw run.. IMO.. the saw has never ran as smooth as it should even when new and out of the box had some noise and vibration.. Probably from those bearing that had no grease.. they was actually rusty when I pulled it apart last fall.. Smoothest it ever ran was after greasing it up etc but I couldn't find a source for the bearing sleeves and as you can imagine the bearing and sleeves was pretty shot after running the saw for 300 hours with no grease.. I've bought and will be replacing everything short of the electronics.. So in short to answer the question.. NO it's not worth the cheaper cost if you have to put bearings in it soon.. The saw itself seems well built.. but they cheapen out on bearings and the castings for the blade chucks.. etc.. I've got $300 in parts to replace all of the components.. Add that to the price I paid for the saw and what have you and I could have bought the Pegas saw which is even a better bearing machine as they upgraded the bearing sizes etc. from what the EX has.. because they seem to "want to" build and improve upon a nice EX style saw.. while China seems to cheapen it up just to make a buck.. They are now priced way too high for the saw you get.. unless they've started adding better bearings and actually adding grease.. When I bought mine there was no Pegas yet.. nor was there a known China made EX.. I thought I was getting a new original EX as they had been discontinued at the time I got mine.. It was one of the first ones in the USA from China..

Problem with that is.. I bought a lot of lumber at last years expo.. I haven't even touched any of it yet as I've been trying to use up the free lumber that I picked up from my brothers mill that is now finally dried enough .. The only lumber I have touched is the Poplar as I went on a puzzle making frenzy and made around 300 or so puzzles in the last few months.. I've got enough lumber that I doubt I'll buy anything at this years expo if I even attend this years. Think I have around 30 sheets of BB ply.. and haven't touched much of that either.. But I need to start on my ornament making very soon.. so some of them will be used up for that..

A box of 100 would be perfect for me.. I buy the 50 packs now and have to buy them about every 3 - 5 months.. I'm going to look through all these suggestions and look at what's USA made etc.. then maybe give some of these a try.. I haven't really looked.. but I suspect the Diablo is not a USA made product.. Thanks everyone for your replies.. Hopefully a few more will come along and add to the topic..

Yeah some of the Diablo disc have a cloth backer piece you stick to your sander hook and loop pad and then the sandpaper sticks to that.. I haven't tried them but the sales guys said he bought some and said they do last longer but he still preferred the regular paper ones.. I guess the cloth back thing is supposed to "breath" and are cooler running and also helps with dust collection? I don't know as I haven't tried them.. I'm not sure if this is what you was referring to?

Been somewhat slow here and I'm going to need to buy some sanding disc again.. was thinking about ordering some online.. What brand and where do you all get your sanding disc at? Me? I've used the Norton brand from Harbor Freight in the past and then I found the Norton brand from Menards.. I had been using it ever since until my last time I seen a package of Diablo at my local lumber supplier store.. so I bought the 50 packs of the various grits I use.. I like the stuff.. seems to be long lasting etc.. I think longer lasting than the Norton I had been using.. I bought some Mastercraft ( I think it was ) from Menards and that stuff clogged up just putting it on the sander before touching the wood.. Must have came from the factory clogged up.. maybe it was made clogged up, Hahaha.. I'm probably going to go with the Diablo or Norton again.. but if I get it locally I need to take a 40 mile each way trip to the lumber store.. Hate to drive that just for sanding disc.. Menards is closer but not by a lot... so was thinking about ordering it online.. Anyway, I know some folks talked about Kingspore? But they have so many options to choose from I don't know what I should try.. So what do you use and where are you getting it from? Made In The USA Sanding Disc is a BIG PLUS if you know of any... Just Sayin ( I think Norton is USA made )

Welcome to the Village.. What blades are you using? It's a possibility that you could have a bad batch of blades.. Over the years I've had a few packages that had skipped past quality control.. The dealer sent out a new package to me because they had complaints and found a run of bad quality blades.. I've had this happen on both Flying Dutchman a Pegas blades over the years.. Any time there is blade breakage it's a good idea to ask on these forums as they could have run a bad batch.. When this happen to me I was changing saw set-up with blade tension and other common things that cause blade breaking.. pulling my hair out trying to figure it out.. then seen a post on here that there was a bad run of blades.. If that person had not posted this info I would still be fooling with my saw.. and that was over a year ago, Hahaha.. Some helpful tips for asking about breakage is.. giving the info on what brand / style / size of blades ... what saw you're using and what you're trying to cut.. Also are they breaking near the top or bottom of the blade or in the middle etc.. this gives us something to diagnose what's happening.. Once you post some more details I'm sure someone will be able to give you some advice to try to pinpoint the problem..

I sold mine for $200 along with $200 worth of bearings and sleeves etc to rebuild it, LOL It was on the factory stand and I keep my tools clean waxed.. it looked new.. but I ran it hard for 11-12 years.. rebuilt it once and needed it again when I sold it.. even throw in the foot switch the Jim Dandy easy lift and some other odds and ends.. I would have sold it for more but my sons best friend bought it and I was thrilled that he had interest in trying to saw.. I also sold it with the option of getting first dibs on it if he should decide to sell it. He's been using it " hobbyist " for 2 years now and never has rebuilt it yet, LOL

You must have missed this one a long while ago... I think this is who you're talking about??