kmmcrafts

Well I'm glad you figured that out.. That was my first hunch because it happen to me and then when I posted a message about it I discovered there were a whole lot of others that had the same issue.. Ray at Seyco told me it's very common with these type of saws.. Even if you lower the arm gently, you have to remember that putting tension to the blade is also pulling tension onto those threads. Over time it puts some wear on those threads and depending on how close the tolerances of the threads are in the beginning might determine how long they last. At $55 + shipping for the parts. I opted to just try blue loc-tite and see how that went.. I'm still running the original part. I put loc - tite on before the rebuild I did but while I had it all apart I also redid the loc-tite. There are a ton of folks out there that just wrapped a rubber band around the knob or something and made it hold the position with good results too.

Yeah, I'm kind of thinking the same.. I'm not sure I would have the patients for it. Plus I have a heck of a time just loading up a 1-3 minute video to any of the social sites.. or my Youtube.. due to my crappy internet service which is a bigger reason why I don't do much video.. that's the one downside to living in the boonies.. That said, last year they worked on running or preparing to run fiber optic lines and talked to the guys working.. they said late this spring they hope to have it running off those lines.. so maybe fingers crossed I'll have something with more than the 2gig upload speed, LOL.. Even my cell phone is faster than my home internet. LOL

I don't know Steve I guess.. but he did an amazing job with the rebuild video. I wanted to do video but I had no way of holding my phone and working at the same time, LOL. I need to get some video type equipment to be able to do that sort of thing. I work on a lot of various brands of saws, cnc's and lasers.. everything in between. Not to mention car repair stuff and other puttering around, LOL.. Not to change subject but I seen you have some decent videos. what type of stands and cameras does one need to do this stuff. LOL, I struggle because I like to just get to it and get a job done and feel as though fooling with camera set up just takes way more time than needed.. yet I'd like to be able to do this sort of thing too, LOL Life struggles, LOL

Found the video, I knew it wasn't that long ago that it was posted so I just went page by page until I found the title.

The closest thing I have to any instructions is just the topic where I rebuilt my saw with the Seyco arms etc.. I did this repair prior to the rebuild but I can't remember if I did any write-up or photos on that one and i couldn't find the topic for it. I added the loc-tite again while I had the saw apart for the new link arm system and took a few pictures of what the parts look like etc.. I will say the first time I did it I didn't take the saw completely apart and it was a bugger of a job to do.. The hardest part was getting access to the jam nut on the bottom side of the rod. However I didn't take the back plastic section that is under the knob all the way off so that probably hindered my process of accessing that part. I was trying to not have to take more off than needed but in hindsight I think it'd be easier to remove whatever you have to to do the job.. It came apart a lot easier than trying to get the jam nut started back into the threads of the rod. I had to use some real long needle nose pliers to reach it from the front of the saw, LOL.. Anyway check out this rebuild thread.. Also someone recently ( I think it was Ray ) posted a Youtube video of how to rebuild a Excalibur.. You might try searching for that posting or maybe search YouTube for it. I'll try to answer any questions you might have in the process but it's been some years now that I worked on mine.

Yeah, I have had issues a couple times about getting a response back from Seyco.. I believe Ray has partially retired or is going to be soon. His son ( I think I read ) Mike is going to be taking over.. I sure don't get replies back like I did several years ago. Took 3 months to get a reply back about a part for my Seyco scroll saw dust extractor.. they did say that they switch to a new computer website or something and my email got lost in the old system. He apologized but never offered any kind of discount on the parts I needed and just didn't sit right with me.. Plus I had already replaced the whole vacuum anyway because I wasn't getting anywhere with Seyco. As for the Pegas chucks.. they are great chucks however that's not to say that I haven't seen several topics in the past where people were having issues with them holding tension.. don't know if it was user error or a failure in the chucks.. but I've seen it from several folks over the last few years. You might try taking the set / thumb screws from the original EX chucks and try them in the Pegas ones.. or I suppose you could wait until the new ones arrive too. Also consider swapping the original back to the saw to see if it still happens.. could rule out the chucks or a issue with the saw itself.

Well, I would take it apart and inspect the bearings and sleeves to see what you can find. As for the bearings and sleeve parts.. I believe the rocker arm parts are all the same on these so you might price out bearings and sleeves for each brand of machine including DeWalt and see who has the best price. The easier way though is to buy the assembly from probably Seyco. Do note though.. the aluminum block that these parts mount inside the tube are different on the China made saw. They used different size square tubing to make the arm tubes. So if you buy the whole assembly with the aluminum block you'll have to remove the assemblies from the block and mount them to your existing blocks. Your saw isn't that old and the table doesn't look like the paint is all worn off. I'm more inclined to think your set / thumb screw or your chucks themselves are the culprit. But I'm not there to visually see what is happening and video is hard to go off of sometimes. I didn't think the saw noise was horrible in the video to be something major but then audio on video is deceiving too sometimes. Maybe pull the three allen screws off the plate at the back of the saw and take a peek at the rear pivot bearings. The main bigger one is also a common wear point. I've seen many of these with low hours that had no grease and broke the pivot arm.. Regardless, congrats on the new Pegas.. I don't think you'll regret that decision. When business gets better for me I think I'm going to get one of those too.. Meanwhile I'll keep plugging away on this China made Excalibur that I rebuilt with all new Seyco parts.. and my 2 Hawks and Hegner.

Well I believe the lower arm tube is welded and part of the whole saw base etc.. I may be wrong and possibly it's bolted but I'm pretty sure its welded. IF welded then you've got a major issue and unless you have a welder you might be looking to get a new saw.. I would grab the lower arm tube and try to see if it has any movement / slop.. I'd be more inclined to think the issue is the upper arm and the threads in the rod and thread block worn.. but you don't seem to have issue with the knob at the back adjusting itself like the most common telltale sign of those threads being bad. Maybe also check out the aluminum block that inserts into the tube where the rocker arms connect to make sure the screws are all tight etc.. Since you think it's the lower arm giving issues.. maybe time to take it all apart. I personally have had those bearings go bad more so than the ones inside the saw. I believe because all the sawdust falls down onto the top of all those bearings in the rocker arms etc. and absorbs all the moisture in the grease.. Maybe you got a bad bearing and sleeve in the rocker arms.

I think you'll find your problem is like Thurman said above.. you probably need to adjust the rubber feet. The feet might have been planted to the table very well on the surface of the old table / benchtop.. maybe the new or old bench has a slight low spot and one of the rubber feet is not firm to the bench now. I have a brand new shop and new concrete floor.. my saw will tell me if it has been moved even just the slightest amount because it'll pick up some extra vibration. I place my saws where they'll be permanently parked.. then adjust the feet to that particular spot.. If I move the saw even the slightest amount.. I have to readjust the feet again.

Only thing I really noticed was your blade isn't centered in the table cutout.. But that shouldn't cause any issues that you're having. It does look like it rubs the right side of the table every now and then. May want to loosen the 4 allen heads on the table top and center it better then tighten it back down. There was a couple noises that I heard just as you sped it up or slow it down. I'm not sure what that was I heard. Could it be the blade flexing and hitting the table edge of that hole.. seems like it's far enough away from the edge it shouldn't be hitting it until it's super loose, but doesn't look that loose in the video. LOL.

Just my 2 cents from all that has been tried and done.. If it were mechanical you'd hear something different in the sound of the machine.. If the bearings was worn that bad you'd definitely hear something or see it with the square. Since everything is spot on yet doing this I believe you are losing tension.. I know you mentioned you changed the screws etc.. but if you have been tightening the blade too tight the chucks could have spread apart and not holding the blade like it should.. yeah Pegas chucks can do that too even though they are made better. If you have your original chucks still... maybe swap them out and see if that rules out anything.. Before changing out the chucks.. I know you mentioned you lower the upper arm down easy. What is your process for tightening the blade.. Do you lower it down and clamp the blade and apply tension and done? I have always found that on my Excalibur that I get slack in my blade if I don't tighten it twice.. What I do is clamp the blade tension it then release tension undo the thumb screw and then re-clamp the blade and apply the tension. I find that first time I tension sort of "pulls down on the upper arm" into its true resting place.. If you have the arm adjusted pretty snug maybe you're creating too much friction on that ball.. and it's not lowering the arm all the way into position easily. Behind that upper arm deal that you adjust is a spring loaded ball that sort of drags onto the upper arm for holding it up.. That ball actually should have some lube of some sort on it and it should be able to spin freely.. IF you have that too tightly adjusted it'll wear out the upper arm tube.. I've seen someone in the past showing a photo of how that ball seized up and wore a groove right through the steel upper arm tube. You don't want that so tight it's hard to move.. Should move freely yet have just enough friction to hold up the arm.

The rear tension assembly is probably not the issue then, usually a good way to know is the saw starts lowering or raising the upper arm on its own and you have to keep adjusting the back knob to keep the upper arm parallel.. Seyco does sell the parts but around $55.. Mine was bad but i just took it apart and added blue loc-tite threadlocker and I haven't had any issues since then. There appears to be a screw missing in your first picture of the last post.. if the others are loose that could be your issue.. those square aluminum pieces insert into the arm tubes need to be good and tight as those keep your rocker arms in alignment..

Yeah, 20VMax DeWalt and 20V Bauer Batteries using the adapter so the Bauer battery will fit the deWalt drill..

Maybe we need to start at the beginning of the tune process.. Maybe something has moved out of alignment.. First check the upper arm is parallel to the table top by measuring it ( I like to cut a block of scrap that just fits under the arm and I slide it from the front to the back. ) I think my block is 3 1/4? that just fits, your saw may be different.. One thing that messes with tension on these saws is the threaded rod and or the threaded block that the rod screws into at the back knob on the saw.. The threads wear from the banging they recieve when you lower the upper arm down each time that puts pressure onto those threads and they will wear out over time... the harder you drop the arm down and let it slam to the lower position the harder it is on those threads.. When the threads get worn your saw will lose it's tension just the same way that a slipping blade will do.. you will cuss at the clamps and everything but what the actual problem is, LOL

There is quite a lot of play in both upper and lower clamps and rocker arms in my saws.. There has to be some looseness otherwise it'll put a strain on the motor. Once the tension is on the blade everything should be pretty tight though.

Some time ago in one of the discussions on here about cordless tool batteries someone mentioned you could get adapters to use different brand batteries on your tools. I was a bit skeptical but I finally bought one just to give it a try. I have two of the 20V HF Bauer brand battery packs, both of which are larger amp hour than my DeWalt drill has. I got the adapter in the mail today and it seems to work.. Does get a little sticky with the release button and made from what feels like some cheap plastic but it does work and I think it'll work well for my needs.. We'll see how it holds up for some bigger jobs where I'm using it enough to get the drill motor a little warm.

Take a piece of thicker stock scrap and cut into it a short straight line, then spin the piece to the back of the blade.. should slide right into the slot you just cut if the blade is square to the table. Might be a dumb remark here but squares can throw you off sometimes as table tops get worn.. especially those painted table tops like the EX saws have.. could be worn and giving you a false reading. Edit to add: You table doesn't look too worn.. I have seen the dust port holes also give you false readings though.. There are only a handful of things it can be.. I've even had a bad "twisted" blade that was making weird things like this happen.. don't know how it got like that because it was brand new blade.. so if you haven't tried another blade maybe check that. I know you're not new to scrolling so.. Another thing is the actual wood itself. I've also had a piece of cherry wood that gave me fits.. turned out the wood was under some sort of weird tension and moved after being cut.. any other wood I cut was fine.. so it had something to do with the wood itself.

Can't remember where I got the pattern for this.. but this is one that I made several years ago. Might be here in the pattern section.. if not I'm sure one of the designers here would make a pattern.

I don't think with this "link style arm" saw that a smaller or larger saw has any difference.. at least not like a longer arm saw is.. Even the long arm saw as far as wear and tear on the mechanics of the machine is really not much difference I don't think.. so long as they are built right with weighted counterbalance to minimize vibrations etc. That being said, I guess if you have the extra space that a 30 inch saw would take and you don't plan to take it with you on camping trips etc.. then go for it..

Congrats on the new saw!! My first Hawk ( not my first scroll saw ) was a round barrel clamp style saw.. They take a bit to get the hang of them but I also really liked that saw.. Kinda wish I had not sold it.. But I still have the Hawk Ultra 226VS and the new BM26 I bought a few years ago. I mainly use the new saw but the other saws have a place and somewhat special use in my shop.. sometimes I get tired of cutting with the Hawks and will switch things up and use the Excalibur or Hegner.. both have a slight different style of cutting.. Like the wide legs but I bet that takes up as much room as two saws do, LOL.. That is one thing about these 26" saws.. they are massive and weigh well over 100 pounds too.. Beautiful work on that Lord's Prayer.. hope you show some more of your projects you do with the new saw.

I think @Rolf mentioned something similar with his Festool and plugging his Hawk into it.. The Hawk didn't have enough power draw to turn on the vac. I think he ended up plugging the vac into his footswitch for the scroll saw so it comes on that way.. I may be wrong but I thought it was Rolf that mentioned this. I have my vac hooked up to the foot switch. I used a three way plug to plug the saw, vac, and hour meter to plug into the footswitch so when I hit the foot paddle it turns on the saw, vac and keeps track of saw run time.

Got any pictures of your set-up? sounds interesting.. I'm open to different ideas... Originally I wasn't even going to fix the dust blower and my intensions was to build a dust extractor type of system.. I've seen a few different set ups but nothing looked real practical unless I'm missing something many of them look like the piping would be in my way on some larger projects etc. LOL.. I scroll all kinds of things and versatility is a must. Probably end up buying some PVC and fittings and just play around to find what works best for me.. but always welcome photos and ideas from others.

I've thought about how I could run the hose on the other side and attach a bracket to the accessory arm like shown in your photo. I thought that might get in the way of the blade clamp too though.. I suppose one could flip that clamp around so the knob was on the other side maybe, however I am used to all my saws having the clamp on that right side.. I just think it'd be better to have the hose on the opposite side of the clamp.. I may have to do some experimenting.

Here is a couple photos of my saw that I had on my phone so if you need better photo I can go take one of specific areas. I think if I had a couple good photos of the new saws I could make the bracket for the flexible loc line hose. I’ve been searching for a good shot of the bracket but most photos are of the opposite side of the saw. From what I can tell it looks like a piece of angle that bolts to the upper arm pivot bolt and then there is a pipe nipple to accept the hose from the bellow that screws to the bracket and into the loc line stuff. That would be super easy to make if that is how it’s set up. Hegner does have an upgrade kit for dust management but it’s also $80 and comes with a vacuum attachment etc. I’m not really interested in that type of setup at this time. Even though the saw was given to me I’m not wanting to put much money into it just yet. What little I’ve used it I really do like it and could see liking it more than the Hawk if I can get past this dust blowing into my face and lap and the small table is kinda hard to get used too. I like the compact three leg stand and overall size is small and lightweight compared to a Hawk.

My Hegner has the older style dust blower tube on it that is just a hose that connects to a metal pipe fixed into the upper arm. It works great, however I'd like a flex ( loc line ) set up like the new saws have so instead of blowing that dust at me and my lap.. maybe I could send it off to one side where i would also have a box fan and filter like I do with the other saws in my shop.. I haven't used that saw but 4 hours worth in the year I've had it because it sends all the sawdust onto / at me. I was looking on their website for maybe a possible upgrade to the newer flex hose but I don't see anything available. It looks to me like the parts list shows the older saw as having a smaller hose than the newer one with the flex line. If no upgrade kit is available I'm sure i can figure out how to connect something up. It looks like the newer saw has a pretty basic metal bracket at the back of the saw.. like maybe it connects to the bolt that holds the upper arm pivot bolt but I haven't seen any "good" photos of that area.. Has anyone upgraded their older saw to have a flexible line or do you just enjoy having the dust in your lap so it looks like you been working in a sawdust pile, LOL