kmmcrafts

I actually used the blade chucks as I wanted to compare them to those junk China made ones.. I hope China has at least improved on that part as they was junk. After about 6 months use I put my Pegas chucks back on. I sold the chucks on eBay for $50 and the new rocker assembly brackets with the old link arms, bearings etc. as the front part wasn't really too bad. Got another $50 for them.

I did buy the front section, I tried to modify it by grinding down the brackets to make them fit.. but it was a no go for me, or at least I gave up on grinding the parts down as it's only the bracket that's different the rocker arms and bearings etc is the same. so I took the bearings and parts off the new assemblies and mounted them into the old ones. I posted photos of all this last year when did the build and posted on here about it. Not exactly sure how to find that posting now.. I'll see if I can find it though and link it here to this topic. EDIT TO ADD TOPIC LINK:

I used a local specialty bearing supply place here in MI called Detroit Bearing and I did get the better quality bearings, they was real close to $8 each x about 20 in the saw if memory serves me correct. Plus as Ray said, the sleeves from what I could dig up was only through DW or in my case through ereplacementparts. The connecting rod deal the goes from the motor to the pivot arm bearings was really pretty close to the price of the whole assembly so I went that route. IF memory serves me right the sleeves are $6-7 each plus the shipping cost.. you might as well say $200 or very close to it. In my case buying a Hawk was a much better investment.. If it needs bearings any local hardware has them and there is only 4 of them. I've only ever had to change the ones on the connecting rod from motor to lower arm on my 2 older saws. They are a sealed bearing but all the grease after 30 years apparently dried up. $6 each at my local Detroit Bearing store.. 2 bearings one on each end of the rod.. both same bearing, about 20 minute job to pull the two bolts and press the new bearing in, and put it back on. Never had to replace any bearings in the upper / lower arms.. they looked well oiled and not any wear to be seen. EDIT To Add: When I rebuilt my Excalibur I bought the whole assembly from Seyco.. All the bearings inside the saw already pressed into the new arm assemblies etc.. was only $114.. mind you that doesn't come with the front rocker assembly bearings at the front of the saw.. But I couldn't get the bearings for that price.. and I never did find a source for the bearing sleeves.. the assembly from Seyco comes fully assemble with the sleeves in it and you only need to remove a couple bolts to install the thing.. I don't know the quality of the bearings etc though.. I would have rather bought new bearings of a high quality and replaced the sleeves so I know I have good parts in it but as I said.. there doesn't seem to be a source for the sleeves themselves..

Yeah, I do agree too, about 6 years ago I purchased all new bearings / sleeves etc. to do a complete rebuild on my DW and back then the cost was just over $200 factor in a half day of labor for the rebuild and not only that but down time I could have been making products rather than rebuilding a saw. I will say though.. with quality parts and good grease I went from getting 14 -24 months on a saw to about 5 years before needing to do another rebuild so there is that.. If I was a person that was a DW saw only saw that worked for me I'd be rebuilding rather than buying new and replacing every 1.5 years or so.. They run so much smoother / quiet etc. with the quality parts and grease. It's a shame they can't put grease fittings on these things so they can be maintained.. The biggest reason of failure when I take these apart seems to be the grease disappeared, LOL If you could give them a shot of grease every 6-12 months they'd go a really long time..

Exactly what Charley said, only a few thousandths of an inch wear on each bearing.. turns into a lot of slop when you factor in that there are something like 20 bearings in the saw. I know this may sound dumb to some folks but If I'm taking the saw apart I'm replacing all those bearings.. I know there may only be a couple really worn bearings.. but slight wear in the ones you don't replace creates a hammering effect on them once you make those worn ones tight again.. just going to cause premature wear on the whole system.. When I rebuilt my DW the first time and used a quality name brand bearing and high quality synthetic grease.. that saw ran smoother than it did when it was new.. and it lasted two times longer before needing attention again..

I totally understand every aspect that you mentioned,

Totally understand this too, we didn't do full time RVing but we did do 6 months on and 6 months home for several years, Now we haven't even been anywhere for 4 years and the last time 5 years ago was only a 2 week deal at a local campground, Last year with the Covid stuff going on there was not a camper in stock at any of the local dealers, everyone went out to do "outside" things.. even tents was sold out as well as bicycles etc.. My brother retired a few years ago and now they do quite a lot of camping. He was saying the parks are full and while the crowded places didn't bother him too much, he did say there is no better entertainment than watching the newbies trying to set up / take down or back into the spots etc.. I think if you can wait it out a couple years the critters will chase out many of the newbies and the parks will thin out a lot. Also, if you really are selling the RV, I'd say now is a great time as there still seems to be a demand for them.. But give it 5 years and there will be a flood of lightly used units out there after the hoopla wears off many of those newbies, LOL Back to the scroll saw side of this LOL, I'm really surprised you said you'd take the Hegner over the Excalibur, Everyone I see mention of the Hegners claim without the factory stand or a very solid table they vibrate bad, Maybe these are somewhat newbie folks but many FB groups postings in the last couple years there was a lot of discussion on the vibration issues with the Hegner unless it's on the factory stand or very well made stand. I don't know this to be true as I have no first hand experience with the Hegners. I have run my EX-21 just sitting on a bench and not too much vibration issues and a couple grip clamps wouldn't take care of. I will say I do know Hawks are pretty fussy with the stand being planted firmly onto the concrete floor. I've often thought about moving my saws upstairs in the loft of my shop but I'm not sure how well they'd run on the wood floor..

I have about 15 pallets if you all want them come get them, LOL.. I get them because I burn wood pellets to heat my house and shop and I buy the pellets by the skid / pallet. The rough cut lumber that pallets are made from seem to hold a lot of dirt / grit.. I used to use them but the savings for me isn't worth it by having to replace planer knives a lot more often, Yes I can wash / sand with belt sander etc. to help get the dirt / grit off.. but also my time and effort is worth something too. Most of the pallet wood I find has only 4-5" wide boards on it.. not a lot of my stuff can be made from it unless I also take time to do glue ups. Now please don't take this as a waist if you're just a hobby working shop, you have all the time you want to clean up boards and make use of free lumber. For me spending 30 minutes labor just to "make" the board usable makes no sense unless you're getting some high dollar exotic wood or something.. How much you pay for a Poplar, Oak, Cherry, or other type of wood that is 4 - 5" wide x 3/4" thick x 4 foot long, Not really even 4ft because you have nail holes on each end of the pallet board and holes in the center of the board to work around. So maybe more like a 30" board, LOL 10 minutes to take the pallet apart, 10 minutes to hose off the loose dirt, 10 minutes of sanding some grit off on a belt / drum sander, 10 min. to run through the plainer .. many of the boards also split from the nails. OH forgot to mention better get out the metal detector to be sure no metal in it to ruin the planer knives. I personally don't see any savings there even as a hobby worker.. wear on the machines probably cost more than the savings of the so called free lumber. Now, furniture pieces that are smooth and easy to wipe the dirt / grit off and run through the planer is not a bad option.. pallet lumber though.. most of them are covered in dirt / grit and full of nails..

Those Delta P-20 saws are tanks, I'm certain the weight of one would put my 26" Hawk to shame, LOL Not knowing how comfortable you are with change etc.. as those older Deltas had the quickset ll blade clamps that you're accustom to. Also not knowing your budget for a saw. I would consider looking for a old 16" Delta with the same quickset clamps they are hard to get parts for though.. Wife wants to travel when we retire I intend to travel with a ( if they're still available then ) 16" King / Excalibur saw.. small compact and light weight, run fairly smooth just setting on a tabletop or maybe clamped to a table top.. If your pockets are lined well with funds and want a quality US made saw, Bushton MFG. has done some RV mods and done a permanent install of the Hawk scroll saw in the RV, actually I think it was custom fitted where it folded out of the outside wall so folded out you was outside sawing and had it's own awning so it didn't get wet in a light rain so still could saw on a rainy day.. That was a story they told me on the phone a couple years back that they did for a couple full time RVers that wanted a scroll shop too. LOL

The issue with this method in my opinion is you'll have to adjust it every time you un-do a blade clamp.. if you're doing fretwork it would be a royal pain. Basically what you'd do for this method is: Install blade in both clamps then "slightly lower the parallel arm via knob at back of saw" then apply the tension via the lever, then if changing to another hole you'd need to release tension > turn knob at back of saw to raise the arm back to where it was switch blade to another hole reclamp again, and lower arm via knob at back of saw then apply tension. You see.. basically the parallel arm is not meant for changing once you set it parallel you should never mess with that adjustment again. IF you forget to turn it back or forward once or twice you get the saw alignment all out of whack. Just my opinion but I'd say bending the blade over some while installing it like in Randy's ( Hotshot ) video is a better method. OR buying another DW, Hawk, or Hegner where there is no fuss with small blades. I'll note that, I typically run 2/0 spirals on my Excalibur EX21 with no issues of blade breakage at all, and I don't fuss with the knob or bending the blade over to get less tension. I think a spiral blade breaks easier than a straight reverse blade does too. BUT.. going with a smaller than 2/0 might start causing some issues.. I half wonder if the breaking blades issue in the other topic isn't a bad batch of blades.. As far as availability, I'm guessing Seyco will have some inventory of their saws most all the time.. Pegas is / was a very hot seller and they had been selling out faster than they could get them.. and with the shipping ports being backed up because of Covid etc.. they have had trouble getting saws. Not sure if that's still the case or not, I'd contact Denny and ask if that is a concern.

I think a lot of it has to do with what I was accustom too. I ran the Dremel I had for about 3 years and it has a table much like the DW had.. then I ran the DW for 6+ years with it's large table. The Hawks have a slightly smaller table than the DW etc. but I never really noticed it until I got the EX and WOW! that table is real small compared to the DW etc. Then I started doing some measuring on tables etc. There was ( if I remember correctly ) 6.5 inch of table in front of the blade on the DW and only about a half inch difference with the Hawk.. but then the EX only has like 3.5 inch out front of the blade.. that's half of what the others have. I am still running the stock table on my EX, and it doesn't bother me at all anymore.. unless I'm cutting 18 - 20 inch material.. swinging a large really large projects around on a saw can be difficult.. especially when you only have a little over 3 inch of support at the front of the table. The actual table size doesn't bother me.. it's more about the blade being right near the front of the table that is more of a problem with large projects. I want to say the DW was more than 6.5 inch.. I could go measure my Hawk I suppose as it wasn't much smaller.. but in either case.. when you're used to the whole project not hanging off the saw at all and then go the the EX where even cutting 4 inch diameter ornament the project is off the tables edge a little.. I just wasn't used to having to hold the project down in a way to keep it from tilting off the edge of the table. No different than trying to get used to the tall stands on the Hawk.. at first it took me some time to get used to that.. now it's just natural to me. There have been numerus topics and comments over the years about the EX tables so I'm not the only one that had complained about it.. which is why Ray made the large table on the Seyco a standard option and why Pegas took the time to design a larger table option My opinion on Pegas table is.. it shouldn't be a add-on.. should be standard OR an upgrade option where you pick which table you want.. instead they sell you the saw with the small table and send you a large table too.. should be a order option with two separate prices.. what does one do with that small table when they upgrade to the bigger table.. goes into the trash or ?? If I order a Pegas and want the larger table then they should have a way to remove the small table and upgrade to the larger one.. instead they want to sell you two tables which is really dumb and wasteful. For me, if I order a new Pegas I'll order the larger table and then put the smaller one on my EX as the paints all worn off my EX table.. But I'd still rather just order the large table and they keep the smaller one and charge you the price difference between the two rather than full price for two tables even though you really only need one of them, LOL

If you like the tensioning mechanism and the other things on the DeWalt you might want to just buy another DW. They are decent saws for the money. Be nice if you could sit at each one and see what you like the most. I started business out with a DW and ran that saw hard for 6 years, did rebuild it once and was worn again when I sold it. Between the two saws a couple things come to mind that I didn't like about the EX type saws was the table size, distance from blade to front of table, and if you use the factory stand the EX type stands kinda suck ( nowhere to put your legs / feet ) While these things was really annoying to me at first I have grown used to it now and really don't think much of it at all these days but at first I hated the table and stand. Just some things to consider and possibly be aware of on these saws. Pegas does offer a larger table with a lot more distance from table edge to the blade etc. and I do believe that table will fit the other branded "like" saws. Does have a somewhat hefty price on that larger table too if I remember correctly. Edit to add: If the table is an issue for you then the Seyco comes with a larger table and its less money than the Pegas with the table upgrade.

While Seyco may be an American company which is good to support those American companies. I personally see no real difference in buying a Pegas from an American distributor such as Artcrafters which is an American company considering both saws are actually made in the same assembly plant... as well as the King brands and all the other names they put on them other than the General International Excalibur model which is a China made knock off unless you get a old one with that name on it as you have. American "Made" saws are Hawk and PSWoods.. Hawk makes all their parts in house the last I knew, not sure on the PSWoods saw. Yes Hawk does have some parts made from other countries such as possibly the electronics and maybe bearings as they do not "make" those parts of the saw. I'm not trying to say one saw is better than any other saw, just making a statement that I personally wouldn't skip out on a Pegas just because of the "American company thing" when I can buy a Pegas from an American company too. I might change my tune on that IF the Seyco was actually made in America.. but it's not, its made in the same place most all those other saws of that style are made. I personally like the Pegas clamps better than the Seyco ones even though Seyco does have a better clamp than the Excalibur, King, and etc. branded saws. Also like the tilting mechanism on the Pegas better. If I were buying a new saw and those type saws is what I was after I'd go with Pegas.

Actually Carbatec has a model that is actually a Hegner branded as a Carbatec. I believe it only comes in the 18 inch saw though.. and I have no idea if it's sold to you Aussies.. But I thought I've seen other Aussies mention it? Anyway take a look for it. https://www.carbatec.com.au/scroll-saw-18-old-code-ct-ss18v Edit to add, Also found this Woodman that sure looks like a rebranded Hegner. https://www.machines4u.com.au/view/advert/Woodman-18-Variable-Speed-Scroll-Saw/270440/

I'm not retired yet so I scroll pretty much every day from 7-8am until lunch time usually somewhere around 12 - 12:30 pm and usually back out scrolling from 1 - 3pm or 4. Pretty much every week day and sometimes on the weekend too. Every once in a while I stay inside doing website work or bookkeeping for a half day or so. I'm not a strict worker in the shop.. I've taken several days off woodworking the last couple weeks because I'm rebuilding a engine for my daughters Jeep. The rebuild has taken a lot of time sitting waiting for this part that part etc.. seems there is a shortage of everything including workers LOL.. People still shopping online though so that's good.. not sure how long that can last if nobody is working. LOL I have a zero turn mower and a couple large older John Deere Garden tractors.. but 5 years ago someone gave me a John Deere push / walk behind 21" mower.. I had a lot of fun tinkering with that old mower. Friend of ours was throwing it in the trash and my wife said she should have me look at it. she didn't want to fuss with it as it was old and scratched up said if we wanted it she would bring it over, LOL. I drained the gas and the float bowl and poured fresh gas in darn thing fired right up one pull, LOL. Soo, I've been mowing my 3 acers with the 21" mower for 5 years now, while the zero turn sets there.. real hot days or real busy weeks where I'm crunched for time I do use the big mowers.. which end up being about 2-3 times a year. Tractors pretty much stay dress with the snow blower on one and a snow plow on the other. My father told me if you set down too long you may never get back up.. I pretty much stay busy from daylight to dark.. not a TV watcher but I do spend my TV watching time right here on the SSV probably every day, This place is about the only entertainment type thing I do on a regular basis. I have some car, tractor and RV forums I like to read on every now and then but nothing like here.

As Ben said, I cut the image because I like it, whether it be positive or a negative. I honestly never paid any attention to that myself and I never had a customer ask to make it a certain way either..

Welcome to the village!! So you talk to Bushton Manufacturing or just look on the website? They don't have it on their site but they do or maybe I should say did make a motor and controller upgrade kit for these old saws with the problematic AC motor. The upgrade kit isn't cheap at like $350 but it is a brand new motor and control box modified with the new style bearing block on the motor etc.. and is a direct bolt up kit. The reason there isn't much parts offered for these old saws is because not much goes bad on them, LOL Basically the tension cam and rear wedge shaped thing at the back of the saw is the main wear parts.. most people upgrade the tension cam to the new style.. IF the motor still runs but you cannot change the speed.. you may be able to find a work around for that such as a old sewing machine controller or ? I've also seen where people just wire the motor direct and bypass the controller, then it's a single speed but is usable at full speed for some folks anyway. Full speed on my saw 1993 220VS is 1500 strokes per minute.. I run mine on full speed for cutting wood etc.. probably not doable if you going to cut plastic or metal materials. Anyway, hopefully you can get in contact with Bushton and get the upgrade kit still.. Hopefully you didn't give a lot of money for the saw because there are some decent deals out there on newer saws for the $350 you need for the newer motor kit. They are great saws and built to last.. I'm not sure but.. I don't know of any other brand other than maybe Hegner that even offers parts for a near 30 year old saw.. Heck many 10 year old saws can't even get parts for, LOL

I don't think he's interested in changing the original clamps... just looking for additional ones.. These have the lower barrel style clamp like the old RBI Hawks have.. Very slightly different size but I've read where people use them on the Hawks.. The price for 3 of them is the same as 1 from Hawk.. I looked on ereplacement parts for the jet model and it's not listed on their site.. Amazon has the barrel clamps but I'm not sure about the spring. Seems like since Jet had distributers in the UK they'd support parts or someone there would.. Not being from the UK I have no idea what options for stores you all have. eBay also listed some clamps.. again.. don't know what you need for the spring piece you mentioned.. that might be something that could be matched up at a hardware store?

I agree with Ray.. take the EX upstairs.. you don't need a stand for it if you have a table top to work on. My excalibur came with some rubber feet that I never installed.. I'll mail them to you if you want them. They are designed for benchtop use..

Well in that case I can understand. I've heard of quite a few satisfied folks that use the porter cable saw. I don't know anything about it or even know if it's still sold. Could be worth looking into that one. I have seen a lot of people use the WEN etc.. But the biggest complaint was the lower blade clamping not easy to get to it etc.. Might be okay for projects that don't require a lot of blade removal though..

Too bad you can't get someone to help you pick up something from craigslist etc. There is a Hawk on your side of the state for $80. I was in southgate MI yesterday.. about 2 hour drive for me..( my daughter works there ) How far from southgate are you? In the price range you're looking at on this saw can land you a very high end saw in the used market. https://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/tls/d/warren-rbi-scroll-saw-model-inch/7314259056.html

Ohh I like that last one you posted.. Great work! I might have to make one as well. LOL

Mine has the muffler that Seyco designed for it.. Much quieter than the homemade system I build for my other saw from a standard metro vac. Anyway my guess is the paper filter / bag restricts the air and makes the vac work harder thus making it loud. Probably something everyone should keep an eye on as this could cause it to get hot and either burn up the vac or set a fire.. The bag never really "looks" like it has much of anything in it.. but once you take it out and the find dust is just a thin layer all through the sides and back of the bag.. Blow it out " outside " and it has a lot more in it than I realized. I have new ones but trying to get my money's worth out of them so I just blow it out with the air compressor.. Probably didn't make the neighbors too happy, LOL They are a 1/4 mile away but man that cloud of dust,

Yeah that's why I said it reminds me of a DeWalt / Delta / Excalibur. Has the style look of a DeWalt and the locking pin for the upper arm of the Delta and the table similar to the Excalibur, LOL Does also look like a lot of table in front of the blade.. Something I disliked a lot on my Excalibur but have grown kind of used to to now.

I've had my Seyco DC for almost a year now and it's on my Excalibur which I haven't used a lot. Today was out cutting on it and thought it seemed like the DC is louder than it was. I checked things out. Not much in the filter / bag but was a lining of fine powder dust. I took it outside and used a air hose to clean it out. Put it all back together and quite as new again. If you have this style vacuum setup might want to check that out.. especially if you notice it's getting loud. I forgot exactly how much dust the thing actually does pick up too.. The noise was annoying to me at first so I just shut the vac off for a while. There was sawdust all over my lap and the floor.. I only cut one puzzle but looked like I had sawn for days, LOL