hotshot

Good thing about coin cutting, no dust . . . . that I know off. The shaving fall straight down, so I can cut in the house without creating a mess. I use Pike Jewelers blades which are made by the same folks that make Pegas. For this cut, I used mainly #2/0 Jewelers. Drill Bits are #72, but for this pattern, you could get by with 1/16 on a Kennedy or Quarter. Don't buy small drill bits from FD for these, buy from Sloans or other trusted source.

This was a pattern drawn by a local High Schooler and is the Kanji Symbol for love. I have decent variety of these Kanji patterns. If any one want to try one, the patterns can be downloaded from http://www.coincutting.com

I watch with interest at the Jigs Steve makes, but for the size of coins these typical hold, I usually hold those by hand. For most folks that just want to give it a try, I think they are great and give them confidence. More than anything, Steve is giving some visibility to cutting metal, which is think needs some exposure. However, for coin cutting, I believe there is a much simpler and easier way. I call my jig the "Oily" jig, in honor of Oily from the SSWC forums who had been doing this a while and gave me the method. He passed away some time back and is missed. The advantages of just putting a small puddle of superglue on a thin piece of wood, and sinking that coin into it are these: 1. The thin wood helps support the fragile pieces. With other Jigs, the entire center is just hanging. 2. Since it is low to the table, you can easily manipulate the piece as you would any regular fretwork piece. I steer with my finger tips, giving me very good accuracy. This would be harder on a bulky jig. 3. It fits any size and shape of coin. 4. You can cut irregular shapes, which you can not do with Steve's jig. If your piece is cut out from the coin, then a jig that holds the coin from the outside just won't work. 5. With the Oily jig, you get a bonus piece in wood, often more detailed that what is possible in wood alone. So, Steve is a great guy and helping the over all hobby by giving coin cutting some visibility. However, if someone was serious about getting into coin cutting, I think the Oily jig is a much superior mechanism for those that don't think they can hang on to the coin, or for small coins. But, there is room for all schools of thought, and that is just mine.

I very rarely cut a penny, less than 4 ever I think. Thought I would give it a shot. I don't need a cheater for anything down to a quarter in size, but the penny falls well outside that tolerance, but hey, look at that pretty cheat piece. The cheater made a nice bonus piece too. The cheater (Oily Jig) in this case was thick enough that it made the cutting harder than normal. Lesson to me, keep those cheaters super thin.

I just received the latest edition of SSWC which had a small comment about struggles at General, and about how they can't get parts because of problems with their manufacturer. So this is the interesting part, the same company that originally made the Excalibur is supplying Axminster, Pegas, Carbatec, and "King Tools" (Excelsior) (and probably Jet and Seyco), but not General. I won't scoop the SSWC article, but I will tease it in saying that at least they pointed out one serious limitation of both the Jet and the Seyco that would give me pause if I were buying now. The limitation on the Jet would prevent me from doing puzzle boxes, so I was a bit shocked about that one and would like someone to verify that assertion. I could live with the Seyco limitation, but wouldn't like it. Kudos to SSWC for using some candidness, despite the fact that both products are advertised in the mag. From the remarks from General, it sounds like they are still in the game, and may eventually get their Excalibur back on the market, but I wouldn't hold my breath. If the current factory refuses to sell to them, and only to their competitors, they may have a difficult road back. For those formally in the market for the EX 30, you might look at the Hawk BM-26 which is about your only option for the longer saws.

let me clarify, under the Excalibur brand, there were three sizes: 16, 21, and 30. In the U.S. at least, we are down to only the 21" (seyco) or 22" Jet only. Re-Branded Excaliburs in other markets are still available in 16, 21, and 30.

I did ask the Jet rep about how they got rights to the core Excalibur design, and I don't believe the answer, so I'm not going to repeat it, besides, I don't want a call from their lawyers. I've heard at least two other versions of what is going on, but everything sounds more like gossip than anything solid. So, I'm going to say that at this point, the truth is very elusive. There is one truth we do know, and that is that the most recent EX design released under the Excalibur name is available under different brand names in much of the world excluding the U.S. and is produced in Taiwan by the same manufacturer that produced the Excaliburs. Of course, Ray at Seyco knows how he was able to get his variant, so perhaps his piece of the story will surface at some point. I will say this one thing, none of the stories go anything like this: "We contacted General (or other rights holders) and secured the rights to produce and re-distribute the core EX technologies in our variant for such and such region." Nope . . . . sigh . . . . the stories were nothing like that at all. Lucky for you, living in Canada, you have access to one of these Ex branded saws named Excelsior. Google "Excelsior 21" and you should get a few results. Ironically, the U.S. seems to be one of the few regions of the world that doesn't have access to a re-branded versions of the original EX design. -----Randy

Len, that is a super super question. I was consumed by the missing gear mechanism so it didn't occur to me to figure that piece out. They have to ship the saw, so I'm assuming the stand would have to attach to core in a reasonable manner, but frankly I don't know. Now I wish I would have looked at how the stand was attached better. At the next demo, someone else will have to check it out.

I gave three to Steve Good which he used on his display :-) and one to who I think was the president of the Gwinnett Woodworking Club, but not sure on that one. I would have give some to the other scrollers in the Gwinnett booth, but they were all busy cutting puzzles so I didn't really get a chance to talk to them. ----Randy

Had a great time at the show, met, Steve, and saw all kinds of stuff that I've previously only seen in magazine ads. Most of what I bought was on the $1 table in the back and the $5 table for router bits. Pretty good deal on bits and such. But, the main reason I took the trip to Atlanta was to get a first hand look at the new Seyco saw, and I'll give you a few observations here. Even though I've purchased an Ex from Ray at Seyco, I've never been shy about being critical where I thought criticism was merited, and I'll do that justice below, even for the minor nits. First off, I was relieved that the saw didn't suck. We need a great successor to the Excalibur, and for many, perhaps the Jet fits that bill, but for those of us that like the EX top feeding/tensioning, and the solid bottom clamp, we need a saw that fits our needs as well. Although I wasn't 100 percent pleased with what I saw, my areas of criticism were minor and wouldn't really play significantly into the usefulness of the say. So here we go: Positives: 1. The core of this saw is Excalibur and it feels like a direct successor. Everything I love about the EX clamps/tensioner, raising arm, tilting arm, and the rest of the "Core" saw is the same. These elements giving us top feeders what we want (of course you can bottom feed if you prefer) 2. That table is huge. If you have an Ex, and have ever worked on a large piece and struggled with the very small amount of Real Estate in the front of the blade, this saw puts as much space in front of the blades as I would find comfortable. 3. For those that love to jack up the back of the saw, the new Seyco stand should give you that option without having to solution that yourself. I have a picture showing that. 4. The magnetic top cover was interesting, and I am not sure if that is a positive or not. However, in case the user doesn't like it, they can remove it for the normal EX style experience. 5. Digital Angle Guide: This could be a positive or a negative. I like to have that option, I just don't want to be reliant on batteries, and they removed the manual option. So yeah for the digital option, and boo for removing the manual angle guide. Marginal Negatives 1. I really like the front geared knob on the EX and Jet that is used to change the angle of the arm. This is gone, and you just loosen the bottom knob, and push the arm where you need it, using the angle guide to determine proper angle. I'm sure this was more cost effective to leave out, but I would have preferred they left this alone. This is not a deal killer, just not my preference. If the battery in the angle finder turns out to be problematic, this becomes a much bigger problem. 2. The table doesn't reach to the back of the saw (See pictures below). I don't know that this would actually cause any practical issues, but it looks dumb. So, this is not horrible, just not how I would have done it. On Balance, I'm happy with what I saw. We still have a gap in the 16" and 30" space, and I suspect we won't see that change, but time will tell. You will need to click the images below to see full size: Huge gap between table and back of saw: Missing Gear Table Tilt Mechanism: Magnetic Table Guide/Template: Large Tilt of saw possible with new stands: Celebrity Moment: :-). This guy is about as genuine and friendly as it gets. Steve is truly a great guy:

Heading down to the Atlanta for the Woodworking show. If you approach me there on Saturday, I'll give you a Kanji scroll saw cut coin, unless I run out.

There is a replacement arm with quick tensioner available for this saw ($180). That and the QuickClamp would be a must upgrade for me.

Hawkeye, check the forward/back movement of the blade? The EX is notorious for blade travel if you've been messing with that back knob. Even the best tuned EX will have some blade travel, but it should be 1/16 or less. If it is out of whack, it's easy enough to adjust that back to the sweet spot.

Yep, from the video, side to side looks excessive. I would probably be returning it, and if you can afford, jump up to the 788 or Delta. You would be shocked at the difference that would make.

Well, I'm siding with your wife on this one, it is sure nice to flush and things disappear as they should :-) That said, now that you have a saw, you can continue to look at leisure without being in a rush. Awesome deals come around, you just have to keep looking, and be patient. It's not how wide you look, its' how long. Check out Craigslist daily, and eventually, something will pop. I bought a 14" hegner for less than $100, since I already had a higher end model, I probably shouldn't have, but I couldn't resist. Got a nice Type I DW788 at a Pawnshop. Found other good deals over the years, and bought and gave some away to promote the hobby.

Are you seeing the support banner missing, or is there some other indication? My banner is still up, but I have no idea when it expires. I assume I would get prompted to renew at the appropriate time, but I don't know how that works here.

Do a google search on "cabinet grade plywood in Folsom, CA". I have gotten plywood from the Home Depot and Lowes and prefer it for the sides of cabinets where the edge doesn't show, but the wood they sell isn't really cabinet grade and has some voids. Your cabinet shops may use cheaper plywood for the side of the cabinets, but anywhere the edge will show, they will use the Cabinet Grade/Baltic Birch. Here is a good read that talks about this: http://www.woodworkerssource.com/blog/woodworking-101/tips-tricks/your-ultimate-guide-to-baltic-birch-plywood-why-its-better-when-to-use-it/

Wow, that Jet won't last long

No the current BM models and the G4 before that can both top feed --------Randy

Yep, as prices move closer to those of the Hawk, I think the Hawk option should start to seem more viable. The EX family is starting to look super unstable (except for Jet), and Bushton is seeming to hang steady. More than anything, I think the DW788/Delta saws will be the winner as the exit of the EX basically leaves that price point to these two. And though I love my EX, my 788 is just as capable for most stuff. One way or the other, its fun to watch this stuff play out. --------Randy

In Canada, the Excesior 21 is priced equivilent to $743 USD. That saw is basically the EX-21 with nice new paint scheme. Hope someone starts selling those in the States with that price point. The 16" version of that saw is $520. These do not come with the stand.

$929. Hmmm, was hoping for a price point much lower. I'm assuming shipping will put this over $1000

If you are a top feeder, the bottom clamp gets the action. Stripped the bottom clamp on the EX and replaced last year.

Wow

If I were to have this saw, the jig seems like a reasonable addition. However, I am not understanding why this jig would need to be 3D printed. It seems like the jig would be very very easy to create on the scrollsaw, from wood. More than anything, I think this video shows that the clamp mechanism as a whole would not be an improvement for me personally. I'm sure this is great for the right kind of scrollers, but it just seems awkward to me. --------Randy