Bill WIlson

I think I misspoke. I'm going to start with the bottom arm, because that is where I felt the vibration in the frame.

I talked briefly to Ray again last evening. He called me to make a suggestion to take apart the front, top rocker arm and grease the bearings, as a start. I suspect we'll work our way around, doing the same thing to the bottom rocker arm and eventually the rear rocker & cam assy. That way we may be able to isolate where the problem really is, presuming it's a bearing. Grease may help the problem for now, but I can then take steps to get parts to eventually replace them. I took a couple of very short videos this morning. When Ray called back last night, I asked him just what he wanted to see in a video and he told me a shot of the rear cam action as well as a side view of the front rocker arms. I'll try to send them to him tomorrow, when I am someplace I can get a cell connection.

Well, I have spoken a couple times to Ray today. He suggested and I checked all of the things you folks have mentioned. Motor is tight and I haven't touched it in a few years. Ray confirmed the non-functioning bottom bellows, but I admit that in theory it made a lot of sense. That is why I was so hopeful that it was the problem, especially when I saw how it had disintegrated. Anyway, for the time being, Ray is stumped. We went through everything he could think of. I had taken the saw off the stand and put on a work table, to make it easier to work on and harder to lose little parts. Ray suggested re-installing it on the stand and going through the checks again. I did that and called him back to say there was no difference or improvement. One thing I did notice though, I grasped the frame of the saw at all of the pivot points. I felt a lot of vibration on the frame where the top pivot arm is. I noticed none at the bottom front or in the back. I told Ray that. He's going to confer with one of his techs and I'll get in touch with him again next week. In the meantime, I've taken the advice to acquire a back-up saw. The Dewalt is on sale for $399, w/o stand. I ordered one from Amazon this morning and it should get here by next weekend. That makes my schedule a little tight, but I think it's still doable. It doesn't sound like the Ex fix is going to be a quick one. As for the video, that remains a possibility. Next time I speak to Ray, I'll mention it and get specifics on just what he would like to see. Right now, I'm not counting on the EX being operational in order to finish Christmas projects, so the pressure is off....a little. Wish me luck and thanks for all the advice and replies to this thread.

Well, bad news. It wasn't the bottom rocker arm bellows. Indeed, that part had practically disintegrated, but I received the replacement today and installed it. No change. Still get the loud banging noise. I called Seyco and talked to a fellow. I told him what I had done so far and he informed me that the bottom bellows is completely non-functional. He said he doesn't know why they even put a bellows on the bottom arm. Anywho, he had me check a couple things. He asked me if I could take a video and send it to him, but I don't have cell reception where I live, so no-go on that. Non of the obvious possibilities seem to be my problem. I'm waiting on a return call from Ray Seymour, himself, to see if he can diagnose the problem. I'm reaching a point where if I don't get some resolution soon, I'm going to be in trouble. I gotta start thinking about my options.

I think it's an addendum to Murphy's Law.

Still waiting...albeit a little less patiently. I placed the order, on-line, with Seyco on Thanksgiving morning, so I didn't expect it to get here Monday. I called them today, just to make certain that it shipped. The CS rep told me the order should have gone in the mail Monday AM, as they were not in on Friday after Thanksgiving. I was hoping it would make it today, but I guess I'll have to keep patiently waiting.

Like Norm, for flat ornaments I mainly use 1/8" BB ply. If making from hardwood, I plane the blanks down to about 3/16". Personally I think thinner ornaments look better. Since I haven't been able to find BB ply at my local supplier and now have to order on-line, I may switch to something like 1/16" aircraft ply in the future.

Patiently waiting for the part to arrive. I'm expecting it any day now.

The hold down arm is but a distant memory. But thanks for the response.

The idea of a 2nd saw was one I seriously considered back when I bought the EX-21. I was replacing a DeWalt that had never given me any problems, but I had used for a number of years and when the opportunity to get an EX came around, it seemed expendable. I really had no good reason to sell the DeWalt, other than I had no space for a 2nd saw. Even still, I almost kept it, even if I would have had to break it down and tuck it away someplace. As it turns out a friend was interested in a back-up saw. He makes stuff to sell and had a couple sons who he thought might have some interest in scrolling, so I sold it to him. Funny thing, one of the first thoughts that crossed my mind, when I didn't know what was wrong with my EX or when I could get it running again, was to call my friend up and ask him if he still had the DeWalt and offer to buy it back from him. I still don't have anyplace to put a 2nd saw, but this isn't the first time this has happened to me. Many years ago, my first scroll saw, a Craftsman, broke down under similar circumstances. I borrowed my BIL's Delta Q3 to finish up my Christmas projects. I eventually replaced the Craftsman with the DeWalt. Since I don't make stuff to sell, I never really felt that a back-up saw was anything more than a luxury. Might have to reconsider.

First off, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Got up early this morning and began disassembly of my scroll saw. Kevin, you were right! I removed the bottom rocker arm and when I pulled out, the bellows was in pieces. Now all I have to do is get a replacement and I should be back in business. I'm tempted to try and attach a small piece of thin rubber sheet inside the tube to supplement the cushioning but not sure how or if that will help. I've been cutting stand up puzzles out of 7/8" thick IDKWII wood and running the saw at full speed, which I rarely ever do. That may have contributed to the self-destruction of the bottom bellows, but I feel better at least knowing what happened. Again, thanks so much Kevin. You are the man! Have a great holiday!

Thanks for the tip Kevin. I'll keep that in mind.

Great stuff Kevin. I hope that this turns out to be my issue. The fact that it happened so suddenly, without any warning and that nothing seems loose, broken or out of alignment, it would make sense. I can't seem to isolate the noise precisely, but If I were to guess, I'd say it is coming from the bottom arm. My first thought was that the lower thumbscrew was hitting the underside of the table, but that wasn't the case. I'm getting air out of my blower nozzle, which would seem to lend credence to it being the bottom arm. Thanks again Kevin. It may be a few days before I get back to this, but I'll post an update on what I find.

That could be. I know the top & bottom arms are held in with 4 screws, but to get them out, do I have to also disconnect them from the drive links?

OK, I'm in the middle of Christmas projects and all of the sudden my EX-21 developed a loud knocking sound, at all speeds. I bought this saw from Seyco, the year before manufacturing went to China. I've never had any problems with it. This problem did not come on gradually. I was cutting puzzles and it was running smooth, then all of the sudden it wasn't. I called Seyco, but Ray isn't in until Monday and the fellow I talked to suggested a couple basic things, but couldn't go much farther. The knocking seems to be coming from the front, but I can't say for certain. No obvious loose hardware anyplace. No apparent damage, excessive play or loose hardware in the upper & lower front rockers. Blade tensions normally. Top arm is parallel to the table. Bottom clamp thumbscrew is not hitting the table. Took the cover plate off and checked the rear rocker arm & cam. No apparent damage and nothing seems loose. I admit, I'm stumped and not sure where to start. I hate to start tearing stuff apart, at least until I have some idea what I'm looking for. If anyone has any suggestions, fire away. Thanks

Always appreciate your input, John.

One of the founding members of our scroll saw club was Ernie Lang. His passion was searching out, restoring and cutting old scroll saw patterns from around the turn of the century. That was the main reason he started the club. He wasn't necessarily a pattern designer himself, but more of a historian and preservationist. He knew most of the major fretwork pattern designers of the day. Ernie passed away a number of years ago. Unfortunately, a lot of scrolling knowledge and history passed with him. Attached is an article from SSW&C magazine. Hope you find it an interesting read. https://scrollsawer.com/2009/09/02/ernie-langs-scrolling-scrapbook/

I have several routers and I dedicate some of them to specific, repetitive tasks. I have a Bosch Colt palm router with an 1/8" round over bit that stays in it, just for the purpose of breaking sharp edges. I will never sand these edges round again.

That's awesome, Dan. Congratulations. Very nice assortment and display. No wonder the customers were flocking to your booth.

I actually think I've reached the point where I have enough clamps. For years, I got by with the bare minimum as I didn't ahve the $$ to buy all the new clamps I wanted. Over time, my income improved a bit and I've slowly been accumulating a pretty good collection. I find them at flea markets, yard/garage/estate sales, Black Friday sales, etc. I even found several Bessy parallel jaw clamps at Ollies several years ago for less than 1/2 their regular price. I bought all they had. I have well over a hundred now, F-style clamps, pipe clamps, parallel jaw clamps, Quick Clamps, wooden hand screw clamps and that doesn't include several dozen spring clamps and a few random C-clamps. I've gotten to the point that I'm not buying anymore. I still look and if a good deal falls in my lap, I'll jump at it, but it's pretty safe to say I have enough...for now.

The real trick in woodworking is not being perfect, but being able to hide your mistakes.

Following the line will improve with time and practice. I know it's tough, but patience is required. I rarely sand imperfections on the cut edges. My cuts are far from perfect, but if I end up with an unwanted bump or notch, I try to smooth them with the blade, before I finish the cut. Make the imperfections blend into the pattern as much as possible. In a lot of cases, no one will ever know, once you remove the pattern. This is why cutting letters is so challenging. Slight imperfections are harder to hide in most fonts, so it's a good test of your abilities to cut letters.

I bought my first scroll saw around 1996. To this day, I do not regard myself as a fast scroller. In fact, compared to a lot of other veteran scrollers I know, I'm pretty slow. I've been a member of a scroll saw club for almost 20 years. I've seen, first hand, the work of true masters. I will never be able to measure up to them in skill or accomplishment. I long ago realized that putting added pressure on myself to meet some sort of "standard" was not the way to enjoy this hobby.

Wise words.

I agree that putting a floor mat/padding underneath and adding some weight to the stand will probably work just as well, if not better than bolting to the floor.