Excalibur Adjusting Itself Observation

[kmmcrafts]

Okay so I have this custom order I’m doing. Got the Hawk set up and doing a special project on it so I didn’t want to desturb my settings on it. Choose to work on the Excalibur. I adjusted the top arm to be parallel, got a paint marker and marked the knob since mine has no mark... also marked a dot on the saw for reference.  See photos 

I then started out on my project. Note how much I got cut and how much that knob moved. Do you guys / Gail’s saw move out of adjustment this fast. Can you see why I’m annoyed with using the saw and why I don’t rave about how good a saw it is.

The sawing started out not really all that aggressive but as I was cutting it started getting harder to do my tight corners. That’s when I checked my settings. 

It looks as though in order to put loctite on it I’m going to have to take it apart to access where it screws into. 

 

Edit To Add: After looking closer at the knob and thinking I was going to loctite it before I got started I did notice what appears to be a jamb nut underneath the knob.. but the knob sits so close to the top of the saw that there's no way to get a wrench in there to jamb it down, LOL  I'm going to look at a diagram when I get time to see exactly how the set up is.. because I can't believe this thing can't be set up better than it is.. maybe I'm missing something on this.. Maybe I should call Ray and see if he has had complaints and or a fix for this.. 

Love cutting on it.. just wish it'd stay set where I put it at.. LOL

Edited March 18, 2019 by kmmcrafts

[bcdennis]

There was another topic on this last week.  I have never had this problem with my Ex but do with my Jet.  The topic had a few different tips on how to fix it, one of which was using a rubber band to hold it in place.  I used that on my Jet and it worked great.  Take a look at it. 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Many saws have those strange quirks inherent to the saw but this looks like a defect. 

Edited March 18, 2019 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[meflick]

I would start with a phone call to Ray who is the expert on the Excalibur's and see what he tells you.  I don't believe this is the "norm" because I have not had that issue with either the used excalibur that I have or my Seyco saw.

[Phantom Scroller]

Nope never happen to me. I've had the lever jump up but only happens on thick wood. Roly

[WayneMahler]

Never had this happen to me. Your know looks a little different then the one on mine. Mine also has a jamb nut on it under the knob. 

[MrsN]

That seems really quick to get that out of alignment. I would call Ray and see what he has to say about it, he might have more experience with it. 

[Bill WIlson]

I never had this problem with my EX either.  The knob is tight and has never moved in the 3-4 years I've owned the saw.  I checked after reading the other thread about this problem.  Mine looks like the same as the one in Wayne's picture.

Bought mine from Seyco.

[OCtoolguy]

The jamb nut is there to prevent the knob from loosening. Not to lock the adjustment screw. The fix will be down inside where the threaded rod actually raises and lowers the arm. I'm thinking that a nylon lock nut or some other friction device is either missing or worn out. A bit of tear down might be in order. The arm cover is easily removed and might expose the area in question. Not sure but I think it will be a fairly easy fix once the problem is discovered. I don't think blue LocTite is the answer. The rubber band will help but is not the real fix. 

[kmmcrafts]

Okay as usual curiosity got the cat and I took the covers off. Not sure how well you can see this but appears to be a rod going down through a threaded block and a jamb nut and washer at the bottom. The whole thing is quite loose fitting in there. The threads look to have some oil on them. The washer is just a plain steel washer. 

You guys that posted pictures of your saw with view of that knob looks like that knob sticks up above the saw higher. Wonder if there was a design change or mines made with a defective part. 

[kmmcrafts]

Okay... just got off the phone with Seyco.. and.. he asked a series of questions to determine what was going on.. (ie make sure the knob is tight to the shaft etc etc.. ) getting down to the nitty gritty of it.. asked me to remove blade and wiggle the back knob and estimate how much play it has back and fourth etc.. His conclusion was.. the threads are too loose in the shaft and or the steel block that it threads into..

The three fixes he suggested was..

1) Buy a new shaft and block assembly ( since saw is out of warranty) approximately $30

2) pull the assembly apart and put some blue loctite on the threads to tighten it up some and see if it helps.

3) pull assembly and use some thread tape on the threads and see if that helps.

 

I didn't order the parts yet.. pockets are somewhat empty today.. have blue loctite on hand.. since I'm not one to change a set up on a saw much at all I'm guessing the loctite will last me quite a while.. 

Apparently the saw I got was built on a Monday or Friday.. Monday everyone comes to work with a hang over and can't function properly.. LOL or Friday because their mind in on the weekend and not focused on the work at hand.. Just goes to show that a bad apple slips through every company from time to time.. I've had issue after issue with this saw.. I'll get it running as it should sooner or later after I rebuild the whole thing.. LOL

Also just goes to show that it's not just me bitching about this saw.. it really is a bad apple.. and since I had no experience with these saws.. really made me wonder what was so special about these that everyone likes them so much.. apparently most of your saws was built in the middle of the week, LOL

If someone got there hands on this saw that wasn't mechanically incline how do you suppose they would feel about the Excalibur saw.. Or even me.. only reason I keep messing with the thing is because I wanna see what everyone else does about why they are such a nice saw... After hours of puttering around with it... I'm starting to see the glimmer of a nice saw that everyone else has..  and loves..  

 

[tgiro]

Kevin - is your adjustment going out of whack while you are cutting? If so, that is a bug and I echo other folks in saying give Ray Seymore a call. He knows more about Excalibur than International Machinery does.

Contrary to some beliefs, the purpose of that knob is to set the upper arm parralel to the table. It isn't for adjusting tension. When there is no blade or the blade isn't locked, the knob will move freely. When the blade is locked, it should be hard to move that knob.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Only you Kevin. I will not be asking you to buy me a saw any time soon. 

[kmmcrafts]

Hey, now... I've never had much trouble out of my DeWalt until about 4 years into using it... Allot...  and the newer style Hawk I have.. the older Hawk I have was very well used and had issues when I got it.. my first Hawk and I expected to make repairs on it.. Now.. IF Bushton would mail me my New Hawk.. I could maybe have a good or bad experience to talk about.. LOL.. But meanwhile.. patiently waiting and waiting, and........ waiting..... and.... LOL Sure is a good thing I don't rely on just one saw.. or even two saws LOL

Now I need to get back out to the shop and loctite this adjuster rod so I can get my order finished.. gotta be in the mail Wednesday. Maybe just finish it up on the DeWalt or the older Hawk.. LOL  

[heppnerguy]

Everyone has their personal likes and dislikes with just about everything. I started my scrolling with an inexpensive Ryobi and used it for about 2 years. I had to replace a couple of parts during that time, which were really inexpensive to buy and an easy repair job to fix. When my second turn at replacing the same parts and a couple more came around, I decided to buy a better saw. I found a DeWalt on sale at a price I could not pass up and bought it. What a huge difference it was. So much better saw.  Like going from a cheap,  no extras car to a new Maserati.  I was so happy with it. but eventually it started making some noises and  I believe it was ready for an overhaul. In the mean time. I had always been in the want for a Hawk. I thought that  was the saw to own. Well I ran into an estate sale and found a  Hawk that was priced at $65. I was so excited and I bought it.  I quickly found that I really did not  like the design of the  Hawk but  I did use it occasionally. About that some time I purchased a new, in the box DeWalt on Ebay. It had been a return because the table was not in the box. Well I had a perfectly good table on my other DeWalt so I bought it knowing the table was not there.  The price was too good to pass up. When I got it home I found the table was in the box, but it was under the saw at the bottom of the box. I was back in business with my second new DeWalt.  Paul (Scrappile) offered to sell me his 30 inch EX. because he was going to buy a Seyco saw to replace it. I knew first hand that Paul took immaculate care of everything  he owns and was completely honest and would not sell me a saw that had a problem without disclosing it to me. I now own 2 Excalibur saw and I have to say from experience, the EX has it all over the other saws I have owned. I  gave my Hawk to my daughter when I moved. I would not trade my Excalibur saws for any other saw that I have ever had he pleasure to work on.  Just one mans opinion, but I do have several years of experience with other brands, as I have mentioned above.

Dick

heppnerguy 

[OCtoolguy]

Kevin, since you are a "fixit" guy, how about taking that plate out and welding the hole closed and then drill and tap it with the same threads as the rod. I'll bet the rod is hardened and the plate isn't. It must have worn enough that it's not tight to the rod. Just thinking here. The jamb nut/washer under that plate are probably just there to keep the rod from ever pulling out by itself. I'm going by what I can see in your pics. I might be all wet but that's my thinking on it.

 

[kmmcrafts]

50 minutes ago, octoolguy said:

Kevin, since you are a "fixit" guy, how about taking that plate out and welding the hole closed and then drill and tap it with the same threads as the rod. I'll bet the rod is hardened and the plate isn't. It must have worn enough that it's not tight to the rod. Just thinking here. The jamb nut/washer under that plate are probably just there to keep the rod from ever pulling out by itself. I'm going by what I can see in your pics. I might be all wet but that's my thinking on it.

 

Yeah, that was kind of what I had thought about doing.. But for a quick fix to get back to cutting today I put the loctite on it and put it back together.. Will probably leave it as is until I have an issue again.. I don't think the thing is worn.. but more like defective.. The saw was brand new when I bought it I've not put many hours on the thing at all.. Definitely less than 50 hours..  Well... I've only cut my puzzles on it and then I stack cut like 6-10 stacks of ornaments.. I've only made 15 puzzles.  so really I might have about 30-40 hours at best on that saw..  I also am figuring out that maybe I wasn't having such the issues with the blade chucks as i thought I was having.. It was more about this thing going out of whack and making it hard to get enough blade to clamp to.. the distance keeps going up and making my blades seem shorter, LOL Not being able to see the blade back in the OEM chuck so well I thought I was having clamp issues.. The clamp did hang up on the the piece it moves on... But looking back at it now.. I think this knob adjustment thing has been the whole culprit.. Glad i have the upgraded chucks anyway..    

[scrollingforsanity]

Your saw is different than mine on the adjustment knob Kevin. Mine sticks up about two inches or so above the cover. Mine is a 2010 green model. That was aid I just wrapped electrical tape around the threads. There was plenty of room. You do not have that option. Hope you get it resolved.

grizz

 

 

 

[kmmcrafts]

Well, so far I'm happy with the quick cheap fix of a couple drops of loctite.. scrolled all morning and the saw has so far stayed tuned where I set it.. 

I just wanted to add that if you ever take that thing apart it's a pain in the rear to get that nut and washer back in there and threaded onto the shaft.. can't reach back there too well with fingers.. can't slide it back into the relative position because there is a raised ledge sort of spot where the rod pushes on the arm. I kept either dropping the washer or the nut... three drops of super glue on the washer and sticking in onto the nut did the trick though.. I've used grease and silicone sealer to do this trick before on cars.. I didn't want grease on there to make it turn too easy since I washed off all the oil that was on the threads etc.. so super glue was the savior of the day, LOL

 

Edited March 19, 2019 by kmmcrafts

[OCtoolguy]

Well, lets hope that will take care of your problem for a good long time. Maybe now you will be able to fall in love with your EX as much as the rest of us who have them. I would not let mine go for most anything. Well maybe for $$$$$$$$$$$$$$. After I get my Hawk home tomorrow, I will have a new love affair. I hope so.

 

[kmmcrafts]

1 minute ago, octoolguy said:

Well, lets hope that will take care of your problem for a good long time. Maybe now you will be able to fall in love with your EX as much as the rest of us who have them. I would not let mine go for most anything. Well maybe for $$$$$$$$$$$$$$. After I get my Hawk home tomorrow, I will have a new love affair. I hope so.

 

I hope you like the Hawk if you get it.. There's lot of people that love them.. but I think about just as many do not like the way they cut.. I hated my Hawk at first if anyone remembers that.. Well I take that back.. I loved they use it.. but I hated that it seemed to cut slower than the deWalt.. But I kept pressing on.. after using it a good amount of hours and finding the right blade It's one of my favorites.. why I bought another.. That said.. The EX I also really like to cut on.. but I'just kept having problems and with those problems there seemed to be quality issues.. I guess I just the only one to have gotten a lemon.. 

[OCtoolguy]

2 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

I hope you like the Hawk if you get it.. There's lot of people that love them.. but I think about just as many do not like the way they cut.. I hated my Hawk at first if anyone remembers that.. Well I take that back.. I loved they use it.. but I hated that it seemed to cut slower than the deWalt.. But I kept pressing on.. after using it a good amount of hours and finding the right blade It's one of my favorites.. why I bought another.. That said.. The EX I also really like to cut on.. but I'just kept having problems and with those problems there seemed to be quality issues.. I guess I just the only one to have gotten a lemon.. 

Was that the saw that you bought new in box? Too bad but like you said, a lemon comes along in every field. I know from experience that I had with a 69 Chevelle that was almost new when I got it. It had a habit of stalling dead at the most inopportune times. It did it one too many times and it was gone.

 

[kmmcrafts]

2 minutes ago, octoolguy said:

Was that the saw that you bought new in box? Too bad but like you said, a lemon comes along in every field. I know from experience that I had with a 69 Chevelle that was almost new when I got it. It had a habit of stalling dead at the most inopportune times. It did it one too many times and it was gone.

 

Yes, I bought it from someone that used to work at some store and they raffled the saw off to the employees.. the guy I got it from won it and had no use for it.. the banding strap was still on it so yes sealed.. well until we opened it before I bought it.. making sure I wasn't buying a big rock ... Guess all in all I still got a deal on it.. at $350.. glad I paid for the Pegas updated clamps anyway.. but like I said.. Pretty sure the real culprit was that rod spinning on its own.. took me a bit to figure it all out.. All and all I think I have about $550 in it because I bought a stand and those Pegas clamps.. not the awesome deal I originally thought I was getting though, LOL

[OCtoolguy]

4 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

Yes, I bought it from someone that used to work at some store and they raffled the saw off to the employees.. the guy I got it from won it and had no use for it.. the banding strap was still on it so yes sealed.. well until we opened it before I bought it.. making sure I wasn't buying a big rock ... Guess all in all I still got a deal on it.. at $350.. glad I paid for the Pegas updated clamps anyway.. but like I said.. Pretty sure the real culprit was that rod spinning on its own.. took me a bit to figure it all out.. All and all I think I have about $550 in it because I bought a stand and those Pegas clamps.. not the awesome deal I originally thought I was getting though, LOL

Do you honestly feel that the factory stand was beneficial? I brought mine home and tried it just clamped to my workbench and found that it ran so smooth that I wouldn't need to do anything but build a substantial wooden stand for it. I love how it has worked out. I made sure that it would be moveable so I can take it outside during the warm summer months. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the Hawk because of the tall stand. I also have a wood floor in my shop that has some bounce to it so that may present a problem. I'm thinking of doing something out on my driveway to give me some privacy too so I may put it out there on concrete and do the sandbag thing. Just not sure yet.

 

[kmmcrafts]

My Excalibur vibrated pretty good out of the box unclamped / or unbolted.. I had a cheap Harbor Freight metal tool stand but the footprint was too small.. I took a piece of leftover 1" flooring from when my loft was built in my shop and bolted that to the stand and then bolted the saw to that.. still more vibration than the DeWalt had unbolted etc.. but was usable that way.. The actual EX stand was much better.. that said though.. I had the EX mounted off center on that HF stand with the flooring on it as I wanted a little sort of side table area.. and I think that was why it still had vibration..  I don't really care for the EX stand because it has a wide stance and also too wide to straddle and it's awkward to sit at.. now where for my legs to go.. suppose the designer may not of had legs, LOL .. I may build me a stand as I cannot get real comfortable sitting for very long at the EX.. ( another reason I haven't used it too much. )  The stand is just a odd height and my stool works well with the Hawks or the DeWalt.. I have a slight tilt on the Hawks toward me.. and the DeWalt which is the most comfortable one to sit at for long periods is tilted as far as it'll tilt.. 4 inch? I think.. I tried tilting the Hawks but doing so creates some vibration..

Hawks ( at least mine ) are very fussy about being level or they vibrate.. I'm not sure how this will work out for you with moving it to a different area.. I have the radio on a shelf behind my Hawk and once in a while either I or one of the kids will bump into the saw trying to get to the radio.. if it gets bumped I know right away.. It's not a huge amount of vibration.. maybe none at all as I only notice it buy it sounding funny.. a little louder than normal.. so I kinda move it as I run it to find it's home again, LOL

I think Les moves his around but mounted to the stand but he has wheels on the stand.. he doesn't have much issues from what I gathered from reading a topic about it..