chippygeoff Posted December 4, 2011 Report Share Posted December 4, 2011 I have had my Excalibur for two weeks now and it is a fine piece of kit but there is one thing that drives me mad and that is changing the blades. It is such a pain in the rear end. I am working on some animal portraits at the moment and on each one there are many cut outs and I am a bottom feeder. Getting the blade in the top clamp each time is a real test of my nerves and sometimes I have to walk away from it otherwise I would surely take a hammer to it in my frustration. I feel I have done absolutely everything possible to try and rectify the situation but everything I have done so far has failed. I push the top of the blade in and meet resistance from the screw bolt although I have undone it three or four turns, you would think with that big wide gap the top of the blade would fall into place. I have adjusted the grub screw till it is flush with the inside of the clamp. I don't know if I can file away the top of the screw bolt so it has a chamfer on it. If only the blade changing was as easy as it is on my Dewalt. I think it is a bad design the blade clamps on the Ex-21. They are far to big and the blade has a way to travel before it is by the clamp screw and I cannot see into that void without a torch. Any ideas from you good people will me much appreciated. In the mean time I will hide the hammer but if I cannot come up with some solution the ex-21 will go into early retirement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesscrollsaw Posted December 4, 2011 Report Share Posted December 4, 2011 are you keeping the blade connected in teh bottom clamp, and feeding it through the bottom of the wood then clamping into the top? The Excalibur system is best used when you leave the top clamp in all the time, then feed the blade from top to bottom through the wood. I have had no issues and have gotten quite fast at attaching the blade for scrolls work. with my last scrollsaw I always disconnected the top and fed the blade from bottom to top through the wood, it took a little getting used to doing it the opposite way but after a project or two it was second nature. Hope that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thawkins57 Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 I, too, leave the top clamp tightened and use the bottom clamp for fretwork. It seems easier for me, and I can insert the blade and tighten it without even looking... maybe you could try that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky2 Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Chippy, are you giving yourself or should I say the saw a fair chance, or excuse me for asking just complaining because your so in love with the system that the Dewalt has and you can't get used to the system that the EX has? I too am a new owner of a new EX and I love it and have had no problems with it, but I do admit that I am not as big a fan of the clamping system on it as well as I liked the clamping system on my Delta. I am a bottom feeder also and I can reattach the top clamp with one hand, granted it took a while to get used to it though. Is it possible that you have the tension set so high that the blade is to short to reach the top clamp? One of the things I like so much about the EX is the way that I can raise the upper arm, so that it is easier to bottom feed the larger cuttings. I have been reading all of the postings you have been making about your new saw, and I find it hard to understand how one person can have so many problems with a new saw. That is why I asked the first question that I did,because if it were me and I was having the problems that you are I would return the saw to where it came from. There should be all kinds of warranty left on your saw and I would let the repair shop fix the problems. Len Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesscrollsaw Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 I've noticed I keep hearing about tensioning the blade..... On the excalibur tension is set automatically and consistently using the white lever on the upper arm The knob at the back of the saw sets the full down position of the upper arm higher or lower. Thus setting the distance between the upper and lower blade clamp. It's not to be turned after the blade is clamped, yes it will adjust tension but that's not it's purpose. Install your blade in the upper clamp, push the arm all the way down, adjust the rear knob so that the blade sits proper in the lower clamp, tighten the lower clamp and then push the white plastic lever on top. That's it. Since all my blades are the same length, I never really touch the rear knob. (although i admit sometimes through vibrations the rear knob moves a little) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26hare Posted December 28, 2011 Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 wow.. guess I got lucky..I bought my scroll saw (Craftsman) at a pawn shop about a year ago. Didnt know that other types were so hard to use.. But I too have gotten quite quick at removing and inserting the blade, I put my blades in from the top keeping it attatched to the top arm then draw it down to attatch to the lower reciever. ? not sure if other machines have a tension screw like mine but I like it and have got real use to it. some times Im too quick and forget to tighten it all the way down(cought up in my work) lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chippygeoff Posted December 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 Hi Everyone. Hope you all had a good Christmas. I have been using scroll saws now for many years and I have found that each scroll saw has it's own little problems, most of which can be sorted out and the saw finely tuned so in theory there should be no need to touch it for a long period of time. However. When i got the Excalibur 21 it was different again, the principal of scroll saws has always remained the same but the way they are built remains different with each one. Yes, I had a number of problems with the saw when i first got it as it came direct from the factory where they are made and they probably make all manner of machines in the same factory and have very little or no idea of what scroll sawing involves, the people just follow a set of guidelines on the production side of things. The people I bought the saw from are the main importers into the UK so they don't even open the box, they just store them in their warehouse and ship them out to whoever buys one. With a lot of help from Ricks scroll saw site and other people I managed to sort most of the problems out. I am more used to the blade changing now but it is still a pain, I have no problems fixing the blade in the bottom clamp. With the top clamp I push the blade in and tighten the nut but it does not always connect with the blade for some reason. I adjusted the tension knob at the back so that there was plenty of blade going into the clamp. I measured it and checked it and it is fine but quite often the clamp just wont tighten onto the blade. The other problem is the grub screw the opposite side of the clamp. every two or three blade changes i have to screw it back in flash as it keeps working loose.The supplier said they will be re-designing the blade clamps at a later date and they will let me know when these are available as I will be the first to buy them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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