MarylandScroller

Columbia has changed over the years, not for the better. Its still a good place to live, but after the founder and designer of Columbia, James Rouse, passed away, control was sold to a for-profit corporation. Now, many decisions are based on profit motives and not centered around building a great, safe place to live. It is quite congested but still pretty nice.

I am moving to a condo and must give up my workshop. I have an Excalibur EX-II scroll saw. I believe this is the original Excalibur scroll saw. It is pretty old, built in the 1990s, but built like a tank. It has 3 speeds. I did upgrade the blade clamps at one point. Motor isn't original. I also have a stand, which is included. It is a pain to ship, so local pickups only. Let me know if you are interested. Thanks, Alan Excalibur EX-II scroll Saw Manual.pdf

I guess I could take up carving and trade in my scrollsaw for a set of carving tools. That would solve the noise and sawdust issues. However, I am more attracted to the wide range of projects available for the scrollsaw.

I believe that many condos and apartments have concrete subfloors between levels, wheras single-family houses and townhomes do not. The concrete does a much better job of absorbing neighborly noise. Your idea of using a box fan with filter sounds like a great one. I am noise sensitive and running a loud vacuum cleaner while scrolling would take away much of the joy for me.

I was wondering if anybody does their scrollsawing in an apartment or condo? For a range of reasons, I am considering moving to a smaller home which would not have a dedicated woodworking space but I don't want to give up my scrollsawing hobby. I am trying to decide if it is feasible to do scrollsawing and other small-scale woodworking in a spare bedroom. This bedroom would be sometimes used for guests so sawdust and tool storage are my primary concerns. Does anybody else use their scrollsaw in a condo or apartment, or in a bedroom that is also used for sleeping? -Alan

I am sure I would be happy with either saw, although if I bought the King, I would probably end up upgrading the blade clamps because so many people seem to feel the Pegas clamps are superior and have less vibration. What about the table finish? The King appears to be untreated aluminum ( like my old Excalibur EX-II). The Pegas table has some sort of a slick black finish covering the aluminum. I don't really have a problem with the plain aluminum table so I guess thats not a big selling point.

It seems like the Pegas 21" saw is extremely popular these days. The King 21" saw is virtually identical. However, it costs about $130 more whereas the less expensive Pegas has the famous much-beloved Pegas blade clamps. Other than that, the only difference I can see is the paint job, and the finish on the table (King appears to be plain aluminum and Pegas has a black coating). Is there anything else differentiating these saws? Is there any reason to pay more for the King? I know the Seyco is another similar saw from the same assembly line but has a few customization's differentiating it from the others. -Alan

I would like to make a basket similar to the one in the picture. I saw a pattern with instructions in a book at one point, but cannot locate the book. Does anybody know what book has this sort of "woven" basket pattern or where I could get similar patterns? Thanks, Alan

How do they improve your experience? Is it a matter of quicker blade changes, or does the saw actually run smoother in some way?

Glad to hear the Pegas clamps will fit my saw. How exactly will the Pegas clamps help me or my saw, if the current Excalibur clamps are still working well?

Here are photos of the clamps on my Excalibur saw. I actually purchased these clamps from Seyco about 10 years ago.

I was wondering if the Pegas blade chucks would fit an Excalibur EX-19 saw? On Woodcraft, it states that the clamps fit the 16", 21" and 30" saws. There is no mention of the 19" saws. -Alan

I was looking at ways to ship a scrollsaw from the East Coast to the West coast and I was surprised how much it would cost. The 50 pound saw was $120 to ship. The separate motor was another $110. I checked with UPS Ground, FedEx Ground and Yellow Freight (YRC). These prices seem awfully high to me. Is there a better way to ship? Is any of this related to the current pandemic situation? I know there are staff (and vehicle) shortages in certain industries. -Alan

Yes, I want a pretty, red, Pegas saw. Is that wrong? I could get the King or Seyco saws, which are almost the same saw, but they aren't as pretty (and the Pegas has better blade clamps). I have heard negative things about the Chinese-made Excalibur saws, so they aren't an option either. Come to think of it, maybe I should just keep my old Excalibur saw and invest in a can of red spray paint, if that is important to me

Other than footprint, the biggest feature of the new saws which my saw lacks is that on current saws, the upper arm stays up on its own during blade changes. This makes projects with lots of inside cuts easier. It is also much easier to change speed, but I rarely change speeds on my Excalibur.