There has been a lot of confusion around the very popular Excalibur scroll saw. They disappeared for awhile without any word. Then several saws started showing up that looked like the Excalibur, but all under different names. It turns out there was a bunch of movement between brand rights, design rights, and distribution rights that gets a little sticky. Peter Kennedy from King Canada helped shed a little light on how all of this shakes out. Hopefully you'll find it interesting and understand this confusing topic a little bit better.
- - - - - - - - - -
Hi Travis, thanks for getting back to me. I will try to make this as simple and painless as possible. It is very convoluted so I think point form time lines will tell the story best. My biggest concern is scroll saw enthusiasts, knowing the reputation of the original Excalibur scroll saw, will be unaware it is still available as well as parts and help if required. Please note, my dates may be off by a bit but you will get the idea as to how things have evolved.
FYI, King Canada is the largest supplier of wood and metal working machinery in Canada. We are almost 40 years old and are just now entering the US market.
- 1982 - Somerville Design introduces the Excalibur scroll saws manufactured in Toronto Ontario
- 2003 – General International acquires the assets of Summerville Design including the Excalibur brand. G.I. sends the 21” scroll saw to Taiwan to be manufactured and adds the 30” version.
- 2008 + or – G.I. adds the 16” version.
- 2010 – EX-21 awarded “Editor’s Choice” by Scroll Saw Woodworking and Crafts magazine.
- 2012 - the EX-21AE 30th anniversary edition is introduced. 1000 units available. Color changed from green to black and dust collection added to the table, stand and foot switch are included.
- 2012-13 – G.I. goes back to the models EX-16, EX-21 and Ex-30 retaining the black color and other Anniversary options on all saws. No more General green..
- 2014 + or – G.I. is sold to DMT holdings of Seattle WA. Including the Excalibur brand but not the manufacturing rights for the scroll saw. They are held by the manufacturer in Taiwan.
- 2015-16 - JPW (Jet)designs their 22” saw and has it manufactured by the same Taiwan maker as the original Excalibur saws.
- 2016 + or – The original Taiwanese manufacturer seeks new North American distribution for the original design scroll saws.
- 2016 – King Canada is granted distribution rights to the original 16”, 21” and 30” saws for the Canadian market. They are branded Excelsior in Canada and King Industrial in the U.S.
- 2016 - Due to design similarities of the Jet 22”, the manufacturer restricts King’s U.S. distribution to the 16” and the 30” versions.
- 2016 – Woodcraft commits to national U.S. distribution of the King Industrial 16” and 30” scroll saws.
- 2017 – Seyco introduces their version of the saw manufactured by the same maker as the Excalibur, Excelsior, King Industrial and the JPW saws.
- 2017 - The European saws Azxminster, Pegas Etc., are all made by the same Taiwanese maker. These saws were previously supplied to them by G.I.
- 2018 + or - General International (DMT Holdings) begins to market a Chinese made version of the 21” saw under the Excalibur name and model number.
Summary, The only original Excalibur saws are now branded either King Industrial (U.S.) or Excelsior (Canada). At this time, there is no original design 21” available in the U.S. The Seyco and the JPW (Jet)saws are designed after the Excalibur saws with proprietary differences. So, the King Industrial/Excelsior saws are the original design with a different name and the saw branded Excalibur is a different saw with the original name. The many manufacturing nuances and extreme tolerances make these saws virtually impossible to copy and have them function as they were originally designed.
Note, when I use the term “original”, I refer to original manufacturer, original design, original components, parts, motors, and specifications.
North American Model #’s
- Original EX-16 is now Excelsior XL-16 in Canada
- Original EX-16 is now King Industrial KXL-16 in the U.S.
- Original EX-21 is now Excelsior XL-21 in Canada (not available in the U.S.)
- Original EX-30 is now Excelsior XL-30 in Canada
- Original EX-30 is now King Industrial KXL-30 in the U.S.
- General still uses model #EX-21, “made in China” on the box and 16” or 30’ no longer available.
- Seyco Model ST-21, 21” no other sizes available to my knowledge
- Jet Model #727299K, 22” no other sizes available to my knowledge
I hope this gives some clarity to the situation.
Recommended Comments
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.