hotshot

Denny, you aren't a fan of the Pegas Modified Geometry for this type of cutting? Curious as I've never tried the Super Skip blades, but do some thicker cutting for puzzle boxes.

Depending on your model, I suspect most parts on the King would be interchangeable or maybe even Pegas. I have the green Taiwan version of this saw, and so far, only thing I've had to fix were the clamps, which I upgraded to Pegas. (I also have a 16" King). I've always been a little leary about the complexity of these saws, at least the mechanical side, and I am hoping my luck holds out and I don't have to deal with any serious repair. I do treat it with care, and leave any abusive (thick) cutting to the Hegner. For me personally, I would rather "drive" the EX, but I was able to do a serious repair (broken drive connector) on the Hegner, and would freaking hate to try that same repair on the EX. ---Randy

Wow thank you!

Ok Kevin, you definately have some cool tools. That omtech looks huge. So Jealous.

JT, I don't mind the spice you add. If we all had the same perspective, there would be nothing to talk about. I personally don't get upset when other opinions don't align with mine, as long as the conversation is respectful. I do enjoy trying to logic my way through a discussion where opinions differ. As for Hercules and Bauer, Hercules is definately their "Best" in the "Good", "Better", "Best" levels. I don't touch Bauer if there is a Hercules counterpart, and don't every buy any Bauer Battery tools as they don't work in the Hercules battery system. I typically don't even look at Warrior and those level of tools. I'm sure they serve a purpose for some, but I selected Hercules battery system, and I am sticking with it. I agree with you that they have too many brands, but I'm sure every tool has it's fanbase. There is one very cheap tool I love, the cheap corded grinder, than I have often gotten for around $15 or less. I have a number of these with different wheels so I don't have to continually change them out. I'm not afraid to push them, because if I burn one up, it's not a big deal. I've pushed and burned up a large Rigid angle grinder, and that hurt (life time warrantee means it takes a lifetime to get your tool back). I do have the battery powered Hercules grinder also, which I love, but don't abuse. For my cabinets, I do face frame, with Kreg screws. I don't "need" a Domino, I just like the concept.

I've have been using DW for years: I own their corded Miter saw, battery drills and drivers. In the corded tools, I also have everything from Milwaukee to Hitachi. I also have a Battery Makita drill and a driver, and I have to admit, they are great, but their batteries are very expensive as are their tools. Because of price, I just did without the other battery tools, except for the exceptions I mentioned. So back when Hercules came out, I was checking out HF and saw what looked like unbelievable prices on Hercules tools and bought one on a whim. It felt good/solid and performed great, so I bought another, and I continue to build up my collection of battery tools with Hercules. I've yet to get a lemon. I'm completely renovating multiple properties, so the Hercules tools are getting hammered. If I would have chosen to go with Milwaukee for my Battery Tools, I would have been very happy with the one or two tools I could have bought with that same amount of $$$, and if I were rich, probably would have went with the more stylish Red, or if I was really really rich, stylish Green. But I've already gotten my moneys' worth out of many of my Hercules tools, have a good collection of Batteries, so I'll continue to use them. Has anyone priced the Track saws from the better brands? Even used? Shockingly high. If Hercules brings a great Tracksaw to market, it might come down to a Hercules or nothing. I would be very happy with the level of "Great" I have from their other tools, even though they may not on par with the "Best" you get from FesTool/Milwaukee. How about a "Good" domino competitor. Domino patents are expiring. I would never ever pay $1700 for the Festool DF700 or $1200 for the lessor DF500, but what about $170 for a tool with 95% of the capability? At the end of the day, there is no shame in buying Hercules, or Festool if that is your thing. For me personally, Hercules has proven themselves, but to each their own. Circling back to ScrollSaws. . . I have very very nice scroll saws, but if I were buying a saw for a family member to "try out the hobby", I would buy the Bauer and a Pegas clamp upgrade for not a lot more that I paid for the Hitach cw-40 in the very beginning of my scrollsaw Journey.

I keep in shape by chasing my pedal all over the floor . . . . .

Both my EX and King are quiet like sewing machines, until that blade touches the wood, then it really depends on the speed and thickness of the material. I suppose you could turn down the speed to reduce the noise levels. For me personally, the sound doesn't bother me, it's part of the immersive experience of it all. Compared to my table saw, planner, jointer, impact driver, drills, sawzall,and most other powered tools in my shop, the scroll saws are super quiet. That said, we had a shaking dremel "motoshop" as a kid, the one with the thin metal table and round sander disk on the side. That sucker was so loud you could not think.

Juan, from the Grizzly product video, it looks like the dust collection is different on the Grizzly, but, the images is a little blurred, so I can't tell for sure. I'm interested in that aspect as the membrane "Idea" was very bad in my opinion, and have been waiting for some company to come out with something better. I didn't tolerate the membrane on the King very long before I ripped it off.

Here is their official response: "They are indeed made in Taiwan. We strive to ensure accuracy in all our items, but errors can occasionally occur. We apologize for any inconvenience and reserve the right to make changes and correct errors as needed. CUSTOMER SERVICE"

If you look down in the QA questions, this was asked prior also. The prior question was from me a few months back, and that time as well, they confirmed the saw was manufactured in Taiwan. However, I zoomed in on the Grizzly saw, sure enough, it says made in China. I have a hard time believing the sticker is wrong, but who knows. Personally, if there is any chance this is truly China, I would avoid like the plague. In the QA section of the Grizzly site, I did ask about the sticker discrepency.

Original in terms of Excalibur is a bit more complicated. The King is almost identical to the Excalibur Anniversary edition (black and gold table). The prior Taiwan model of the EX was Green and had no holes in the table (no dust collection), which is the model I have. There were multiple EX version prior to that, including all the earliest models being made in Canada (as were Dewalt at the time). That said, the King, Pegas, Seyco and ect are coming out of the same factory as the prior Taiwan Excaliburs, but but none of these, including King, are part of the original company. A few employees of General, that were involved with Excalibur, did leave General and landed at King. Not sure if they are still there or not.

The G0969 is probably fine. Like Scrappile, it annoyed me that they claimed this saw as "unique." Nevertheless, if they can step up and support the saw, it might be an interesting choice. Besides Pegas, Other similar Taiwan saws are the Jet, Seyco, and King, and overseas Axminster and Carbatec. If I lived in/near Atlanta, I would be very tempted to go Dewalt, as they have a crew of Scrollers in the club there that are experts at repair/maintenance. Repairs for any of the Pegas type saws are dicey. If I was close to Seyco, I would go with them, even if I don't like their current saw style as much. Since I don't live anywhere nears those places, Pegas might be my choice, via ArtCrafters/Denny, mostly because I like Denny and he will try to help facilitate warrantee repairs. Currently, my older Taiwan Ex was Seyco, my current 16" is King.

Yeah, I'm a bit that way myself. I have a stack of wood I took from pallets, I need to send a few of them through my planner or sander and see if there is something amazing hiding underneath. I do like the look of Charlie's piece

Adding to Scott's comment, there is one other change related to blade travel. It won't fix a "collision issue" but it is important in relation to adjusting the "aggressiveness of the cut". Don't do this unless you are getting a lot of foward and back motion, after the arm is leveled. Loosen the bolts around the motor, with speed at it's lowest setting, turn the motor until yout find the sweetspot, where the blade forward and back motion is least.

I agree with Scrappile on this one. My green ex21 doesn't have that blade guard. I would remove it. I would also remove the top blade guard if you have not already.

Kudos on the props, that was very clever use of unexpected materials.

I will say, I've seen this approach on metal, and because metal heats and expands when you cut it, pattern adherence can be a problem for very fine detail. I plan to try this on my coins when I eventually get a laser. On wood, for normal patterns, having a white paper background with very black lines seems like it would be easier to see than a burn line against a wood backdrop. It certainly doesn't hurt to experiment though. I would be interesting to see how easily a shallow laser line could be sanded off if you happen to stray a bit form the line.

Good Grief, if I was anywhere near that, I could drive a few hours for it. Awesome Deal!!!! That table is in too good of shape to have been used much. -------Randy

I'm with the others, put a blade in it, try to cut a small piece of wood. If it's smooth, buy it. Ray has given a "we don't carry parts" for the older saws, for many years now. Usually the older Exs with tilting table were black, and purple came in with the new tilting arm, but this one must have been made close to that transition point. For $100, I would take a chance. I suspect the clamps are interchangeable with the more recent saws, and that is the part that is most likely to strip out on you. If you're concerned, you can call Ray, but I don't think I would sweat it for that price. Consider it disposable.

Thanks. I'm one year older, and hopefully a few days wiser.

I love and hate harbor freight, at the same time. Hercules cordless rocks, period. But their advertising kills me. 30 percent off no exclusions* . . . . of course the * always has the "gotcha", in this case, "On Items $20 or under", which "is an exclusion" at least in my book. But, then I get over it, and see the bang/buck on Hercules tools, even at full or bundled prices. I've pretty well stopped paying for the yellow plastic and now everything new is Hercules, and they have been holding their own. It's not that HF doesn't still carry crap, but it's always a cost/value proposition. Their Cement mixer is underpowered, but I work around it, and since I can afford the cheap option, cheap wins.

I hope to get some saw time shortly, and will post this new design if it is cuttable. A lot of the time, I wont really know if it can be cut until I print it to size, and get it on the saw and see it under magnification. There is always the Eisenhower if I need a little more re-estate

Awesome, I might see if it is cuttable when I shrink it down to Kennedy coin size. I have another tree of life pattern I do, but it's a bit more involved, so this might be a good alternative. I attached the one I've been doing, cut on a kennedy. As you can see, it's a little nasty, even blown up. If you were to see that at actual size, the twigs are pin size.

Can you post a link to that image that was based on please?