New Pegas/ First Impressions

[Old Joe]

OK, bought a new Pegas 21” with stand, and foot control. Stand assembly wasn’t difficult, but they could make it easier if they numbered each part. Assembly  sheet was rather vague, but I have put together enough variations of it that it was easy enough. As to the saw itself, let’s just say UPS could’ve handled it a little more carefully and I had some minor setup issues, but things seem to be A-OK now. Today I started cutting out a detailed Charles Dearing portrait pattern on a single layer of 1/4” BB for the maiden voyage, making 70 very fine cuts using mostly Pegas #1 and #2/0 spirals, and Pegas MG#3’s for a few cuts. Honestly, I wish  I had done a stack cut of two, but I wanted to get acquainted with it via a single layer.

General observations: I am moving up from a DW788. There were a couple of adjustments that I had to make to myself personally using the Pegas. The distance from the blade to the front edge of the table is considerably shorter, but I got used to it pretty quick. At least for now I slowed the speed down a bit, as it just seems to want to cut fast. I am a bottom feeder, and found feeding the blade to be somehow easier even though I had the Pegas clamps on the Dewalt. Then the more automated blade tensioner was a dream! I have not been a big spiral blade guy until recently and everything is much easier with them on the Pegas, especially the tension system. I didn’t bend, break, or “hockey puck” one blade over the 70 cuts.

Vibration: There is virtually none. Seriously, none. I can’t articulate clearly enough on how much better than the DW788  the new saw is in that regard, even though the Dewalt is bolted to the floor, and the Pegas is just sitting on its stand, with no need to bolt it down.

Appearance: The thing makes my whole studio/shop look better! The red and black looks sharp.

Light: Unlike many, I really like the Dewalt light. I put an LED bulb in it a few years ago and it’s still working.I missed it today.  I want to find a non-magnifying, tight radius, spot lamp ASAP, preferably a bright, LED, clamp on type.

Overall: I figured that I would be happy, but I can’t understate how much better this machine is to cut with! It’s almost like I didn’t know what I was missing. I feel like I have gone from driving  an old Datsun pickup to a new Lexus luxury sedan. This thing is a scrollsawer’s dream. Not sure what I will do with the DW788 yet. Though it was a good saw for me, and I have made some serious sawdust with it, I already don’t see any chance that I would go back to it.

[Frank Pellow]

Good review!  I don't need a new machine but, if I did, I would very strongly consider buying a Pegas.  I do have  their clamps on my approximately 20 year old Excalibur and they are a joy to use.

[Old Joe]

I should’ve mentioned that I ended up buying the saw through Denny Knappen’s ArtCrafters thanks to recommendations from several people on SSV. He offered the best price including shipping. Also, as I mentioned above, the saw needed some setup, due primarily to some rough handling by the shipper and Denny has been great nursing me through a couple of minor adjustment issues. I was impressed that it comes with spare parts for the eventual wearing down of the blade clamps, and also a sample pack of assorted Pegas blades. I don’t plan to hook it up to a vacuum, so I removed the hookup attachment, as it reduces the tilt range, and by all accounts it doesn’t work all that great.

Incidentally, if anyone has any questions, I would be happy to try to answer them. 

Edited December 5, 2019 by Old Joe

[Dovetaled]

Hi Joe. Thank you for the review!  I just purchased the Pegas, from Denny at ArtCrafters. Waiting for it to arrive, in a couple of days.  I also had the DeWalt 788.  So your review is spot on for me!  Can hardly wait for my new toy;)  Denny was a pleasure to deal with. 

Light: I am going to purchase a magnetic base Sewing Machine Lamp for mine, price is around $8 on up. I will probably choose one that has 3 levels of light, which goes for $15 on Amazon Prime. I might get two to put on either side to the head. I like the low profile, and they come with a very strong neodymium magnet. They are available on Amazon, but a better buy is through EBay.  I will write more after I have a chance to use both the saw and the lamp. These old eyes definitely need the help! 

Edited December 5, 2019 by Dovetaled
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[Rolf]

Nice review! Was the front back motion pre-adjusted to minimize it or did you tweak it?

When you say that there were some things you had to take care of due to shipping what were those.? 

[Old Joe]

18 minutes ago, Rolf said:

Nice review! Was the front back motion pre-adjusted to minimize it or did you tweak it?

When you say that there were some things you had to take care of due to shipping what were those.? 

Rolf, I haven’t noticed any issue with front/back motion. The saw is shipped with a lot of packing materials, with a #7 blade in the clamps, and is bolted to a piece of thin plywood in the bottom of the box. The plywood was literally broken out on all four corners and the blade was broken. Certainly not the distributor’s fault. I was a bit bummed when I first saw it, but I figured pretty quickly that there wasn’t anything seriously damaged.When I set the head at zero it was off by several degrees, and off center.  I had an issue with getting it  zeroed in and holding a perfect true with the angle set at zero. I would set it as instructed in the directions, but the blade wasn’t holding perfectly centered. I tracked down a couple of loose Allen nuts, and wallah! problem solved. I think the head may have gotten jarred pretty good in shipping, but it wasn’t damaged per se, just needed a couple tweaks. I’m pretty persnickety and everything seemed fine yesterday. I checked the trueing with a machinist square after cutting yesterday and it was dead on. 

[Bill WIlson]

5 hours ago, Old Joe said:

….. At least for now I slowed the speed down a bit, as it just seems to want to cut fast...

Thanks for the review.

I think Rolf was referring to your above comment when he mentioned the front to back motion.  On this style saw, there is an adjustment that can be done to make it cut more or less aggressively.  If it seems like the saw is cutting too fast, you may want to dial it back a little.  There should be instructions for how to do this in the manual.

[Scrappile]

Thanks for the review and congratulations on the new saw.  Sounds like you had about the same feeling I had when I went from a DeWalt to an new Excalibur several years ago.  Now if they made a Pegas, with the same size table as the Seyco saw... They could call it the Pegco saw..... wouldn't that be great...

[meflick]

Thanks for sharing about your new Saw. Congratulations to you. If I was in the market for a new Saw, getting one of these from Denny would be at the top of the list probably (even if it is red.) somehow, I don’t think I could sneak another one in past DH who bought me the Seyco I primarily use. Always enjoy reading and celebrating with everyone else about their new saws and reading their reviews and info. In a dream world, I would have this extremely large shop with one of each.

[Old Joe]

3 hours ago, Bill WIlson said:

Thanks for the review.

I think Rolf was referring to your above comment when he mentioned the front to back motion.  On this style saw, there is an adjustment that can be done to make it cut more or less aggressively.  If it seems like the saw is cutting too fast, you may want to dial it back a little.  There should be instructions for how to do this in the manual.

Thanks for the heads up on the speed.I am on a lunch break from the saw. I am working with 2/0 spiral blades which I have only recently started using with any volume of cuts. With the MG scroll reverse blades I don't feel that I am slowing the speed down abnormally, but I do with the spirals. I'm doing another advanced Dearing pattern with lots of head and beard hair and feel very comfortable. I would be hesitant in changing anything at this point, but I do get how to make the adjustment. 

BTW, I forgot to mention how quiet it is!

[OCtoolguy]

8 hours ago, Scrappile said:

Thanks for the review and congratulations on the new saw.  Sounds like you had about the same feeling I had when I went from a DeWalt to an new Excalibur several years ago.  Now if they made a Pegas, with the same size table as the Seyco saw... They could call it the Pegco saw..... wouldn't that be great...

I think too much is made of the short table. I have not noticed a problem with that. I went from a Dewalt 788 to the Ex21 and there is a difference in the table size but for me, not a big deal. Maybe if I get involved with larger projects but for now, I'm happy.

 

[OCtoolguy]

I too wanted to congratulate you on your new saw. I know I love my Ex21 and when I got it, I couldn't believe how smooth it is/was. I did the aggression adjustment and that made it even better. Keep us updated on how it goes. Wishing you all the best.

 

[John B]

ONYA Joe,
If they had them in Oz for a reasonable price I would jump on a pegas.
Enjoy mate.

 

[Old Joe]

Thanks for the tip on adjusting the front/back motion. I  didn’t realize that was the issue, and probably wouldn’t have known if Rolf hadn’t mentioned it. I dialed it back a pinch and now I just feel like everything is perfect. My Dewalt is now temporarily serving as an expensive coat rack for my shop apron!

[Bill WIlson]

2 hours ago, Old Joe said:

Thanks for the tip on adjusting the front/back motion. I  didn’t realize that was the issue, and probably wouldn’t have known if Rolf hadn’t mentioned it. I dialed it back a pinch and now I just feel like everything is perfect. My Dewalt is now temporarily serving as an expensive coat rack for my shop apron!

Makes quite a difference, doesn't it?  I got my EX-21 from Seyco and it was already set up for a less aggressive cutting motion.  I fiddled with it once when I was doing some compound cutting in hardwood and forgot to change it back.  I didn't do much scrolling for a period of time.  When I got back to it, I couldn't figure out why I was having so much trouble controlling the cut, in some thin stock.  I thought I had lost my touch, then it occurred to me that I had adjusted it for max aggressiveness and I set it back and all is well. 

[Rolf]

The first time I used a Dewalt, I was surprised at how aggressive it was. I had a Delta SS350 before my Hawk G4 it had close to 1/8 front back motion. I did not realize how challenging that made my delicate ornament cutting until I started using the Hawk which was easily adjustable. And now I have the EX 16 that has been perfectly tweaked.  I love a well tuned saw.!