Mr sawdust Posted December 30, 2019 Report Share Posted December 30, 2019 Hi to ya all.. i just bought a used ExcaliburEX-21, i,m having a hard time with blade tension, It just won t tight up..can anypne help? OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Knappen Posted December 30, 2019 Report Share Posted December 30, 2019 Check the plastic lever. It may be worn. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted December 31, 2019 Report Share Posted December 31, 2019 The first thing is to make sure the arm is absolutely parallel to the table from front to back. Once that setting is done, you won't need to turn the big black knob at all. Unless you just feel that you need more tension. As was mentioned, the white plastic lever may be worn out too. Follow the instructions in the manual. If you didn't get the manual with the saw, you can download it online. Once you get used to that saw, unless the previous owner wore it out, you will love it. My main suggestion is to spend another $100 on the Pegas clamp set. It might just prove to be the answer to all your problems. But start with leveling the arm first. dgman and tomsteve 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Knappen Posted December 31, 2019 Report Share Posted December 31, 2019 The Pegas Clamp Set that Ray is talking about is a great addition for the EX21. I replaced the clamps on my EX21 and it was a great improvement. Pegas lists the set for $90 US, but there is a Pegas special of #60 US. We (ArtCrafters) has two in stock. If interested, PM me. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr sawdust Posted January 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2020 On 12/30/2019 at 8:54 PM, octoolguy said: The first thing is to make sure the arm is absolutely parallel to the table from front to back. Once that setting is done, you won't need to turn the big black knob at all. Unless you just feel that you need more tension. As was mentioned, the white plastic lever may be worn out too. Follow the instructions in the manual. If you didn't get the manual with the saw, you can download it online. Once you get used to that saw, unless the previous owner wore it out, you will love it. My main suggestion is to spend another $100 on the Pegas clamp set. It might just prove to be the answer to all your problems. But start with leveling the arm first. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr sawdust Posted January 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2020 Thanks, i think i solved my problem at least temporarly OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted January 2, 2020 Report Share Posted January 2, 2020 9 minutes ago, Mr sawdust said: Thanks, i think i solved my problem at least temporarly That's great. What'd you do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr sawdust Posted January 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2020 22 minutes ago, octoolguy said: That's great. What'd you do? Seems bottom blade was slipping the blade, Tighned it some , seems to work... OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmmcrafts Posted January 2, 2020 Report Share Posted January 2, 2020 30 minutes ago, Mr sawdust said: Seems bottom blade was slipping the blade, Tighned it some , seems to work... You may need to rough up the ends of the thumb and set screw or at least give them a good cleaning. Sometimes they get a oil residual from the blades. All blades have a fine coating of oil on them to prevent rust. This can build up on the clamping surface of the screws. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted January 2, 2020 Report Share Posted January 2, 2020 7 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said: You may need to rough up the ends of the thumb and set screw or at least give them a good cleaning. Sometimes they get a oil residual from the blades. All blades have a fine coating of oil on them to prevent rust. This can build up on the clamping surface of the screws. I've been having to really clean my blades lately and even rubbing them on some 400 sandpaper. It seems to be something common to the Pegas clamps/blades. It just started happening so I have to blame it on that oil you mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgman Posted January 2, 2020 Report Share Posted January 2, 2020 Sanding the ends of the blade is one of the first things I teach my students. Sanding removes the oils on the blade and prolongs the life of the thumb screw tip. In addition to sanding the blades, to keep the the tip of the thumb screw clean, I dress it with a simple jig and sand paper. Rolf and OCtoolguy 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted January 2, 2020 Report Share Posted January 2, 2020 Sanding jig coming up tomorrow. Thanks Dan. dgman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmmcrafts Posted January 2, 2020 Report Share Posted January 2, 2020 Yeah, after sanding some and getting them crooked some years ago I did the sanding jig thing.. It's the only way to do it.. Just be careful to also start threading it into the wood straight.. as the wood is soft and you make the threads by turning it in straight.. The ideal thing to do is to make a metal plate with threads.. but this works fine as long as you're careful to get it started straight.. I think I originally seen this tip on Steve Goods blog.. I rarely have to dress the screws and most probably wouldn't have to do it.. Since I work on cars a lot I always keep cans of brake clean around.. I typically remove the screws and spray paper towel, wipe them down good then add a drop of 3-N-1 oil to the threads so they thread smooth into the clamps.. Make sure you don't get the oil on the tips, LOL.. Dirty threads will make you think you're clamping down hard on the blade.. but you threads are actually binding with grime in them.. I keep them running good and smooth.. Run my DeWalt for 10+ years production cutting with the original clamps and screws only dress them about 3 times.. Also.. I never have cleaned off the blades themselves or sanded them etc.. I just clean up the screws about every couple weeks.. Caution doing the brake clean though.. it will melt the little O-ring on the screws tips if you have the rotating tips like the EX and Dewalt saws have.. also hard on the plastic portion of the handle.. I always spray on a paper towel and then wipe the tips down and then the threads after it started to dry up.. rather than spraying the actual thumb screw and soaking the whole thing.. Has worked well for me doing this.. hardly ever dress out the screws like I used to do.. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta Moreton Posted January 2, 2020 Report Share Posted January 2, 2020 I always dip the ends of my blades in mineral spirits and wipe them off as soon as I open them. I keep a small spice jar handy just for this purpose. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr sawdust Posted January 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2020 Well thanks a bunch , guys, great tips i will work on next day in the shop.. Merci a lot.. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolf Posted January 10, 2020 Report Share Posted January 10, 2020 (edited) On 12/30/2019 at 5:07 PM, Mr sawdust said: Hi to ya all.. i just bought a used ExcaliburEX-21, i,m having a hard time with blade tension, It just won t tight up..can anypne help? Sorry I should have read the rest of the posts. At some point I would upgrade the clamp assembly with the Pegas version. If you don't have the manual for the saw I would suggest downloading it and follow their guide lines. http://www.general.ca/pdf/machines/excalibur/EX-16_21_30_ENG.pdf DGMAN, I would take that jig a bit further and take a piece of flat metal, drill and tap it on the drill press. Edited January 10, 2020 by Rolf OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted January 10, 2020 Report Share Posted January 10, 2020 5 hours ago, Rolf said: Sorry I should have read the rest of the posts. At some point I would upgrade the clamp assembly with the Pegas version. If you don't have the manual for the saw I would suggest downloading it and follow their guide lines. http://www.general.ca/pdf/machines/excalibur/EX-16_21_30_ENG.pdf DGMAN, I would take that jig a bit further and take a piece of flat metal, drill and tap it on the drill press. Or you can get a nut of the same thread pitch and epoxy it to a flat board, drill a hole through the board and have a good jig. Rolf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta Moreton Posted January 15, 2020 Report Share Posted January 15, 2020 Made the jig and shared it with the scrollsaw club I’m in. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgman Posted January 15, 2020 Report Share Posted January 15, 2020 On 1/10/2020 at 6:13 AM, Rolf said: DGMAN, I would take that jig a bit further and take a piece of flat metal, drill and tap it on the drill press. Yes, that would be good but most of us are not metal workers. I don’t have a piece of flat steel laying around. I will stick with a wood block. It’s lasted years now so I don’t see a need for metal. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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