# EX 30 new scroll saw



## aramco (2 Jul 2020)

Got a replacement ex 30 for my old one , not many weeks ago, and already the problems are starting, last night while cutting 3 cms piece of wood, the blade eused to go where i wanted it to , so checked everything out, and found the bottom bush on the linkage that holds the pegas chuck is shot, and the arm is doing its thing and dropping, despite adjustments being made, no wonder they wouldn't extend my warranty.

On another topic anyone thinking of buying a Dremel drill my advice is dont I have had two that broke during warranty and one that has just gave up the ghost , just out of warranty, got in touch with Bosch uk and they dont want to know , no possibility of a repair, as its out of warranty and as for where I could get spares for it again they did not care, 

take care
John


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## kstano83 (7 Jul 2020)

I have my EX21 in for a second warranty repair with numerous issues and honestly, I´d never buy this saw again and would tell everyone considering it to stay away from axminster scroll saws. A friend of mine also has vibration issues with his EX30.


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## aramco (7 Jul 2020)

Hi I would really like to see all the people who have now, or previously ,had problems with these scroll saws, to email the CEO at at Axminster, and tell him / her about your problems, if they dont know, how is it ever going to get fixed, mine is a brand new replacement saw not 6 weeks old, and it is broken already, and according to someone at Axminster , who I spoke to this morning, he doesn't know when I will get the spares to fix it, it could well be I will looking for a second hand hegner soon if this continues, as I am totally lost with out my saw, cannot even finish my present project, I wish I had never heard of Axminster .

take care
John


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## Droogs (7 Jul 2020)

I wonder if Axi have allowed a drop in terms of the quality of the build components since they rebranded the saw as there own to save a bit of cash? I have an early EX30 and have had no problems at all and the few people I know who actually bought the Pegas branded version or the older Excalibur Int originals have not had these problems.


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## AES (9 Jul 2020)

Again, agree 100% with Droogs. My Ex 21 (Pegas branded) is now over 5 years old with never a problem, ever. Beautifully built and always excellent results.

When looking to buy a new "proper" scroll saw 5 years ago I did a lot of research here and elsewhere and without exception all I could find was positive comments and pleased Excalibur users. Those positive reports, and my own side-bx-side trials with an Ex 21 and a 2 speed Hegner convinced me to buy Ex 21. So I did and to this day I don't regret it, as said above.

Please note that at that time Axminster Tools were "simply" the UK dealers for Excalibur machines and AFAIK, those from Axi in UK were exactly the same as my Pegas-badged Exc 21 version bought in Germany, and the "originals", badged Excalibur/General International.

A while later Axi announced "their own" Axminster Trade versions of "my" machine. I was a bit fed up then because the Axi Trade machines were a bit cheaper than what I paid, and from all the pix posted here and in mag adverts they all looked exactly the same.

But just as Droogs says, a while back (one year? two?) posts started here, most complaining about vibration, and since then there has been at least one case of Axi replacing a machine under Warranty. I think there may have been more than one actually.

I therefore assume (note please, I don't KNOW this) that in "taking over" the Excalibur machines in UK, Axi have "down-specced" their own versions (to save costs? - they were cheaper than other versions when they first came out) and this has led to problems such as vibrations, etc, reported here.

I therefore agree strongly with Droogs that every one of you with faulty Axi Trade machines all get together and approach Axi at the highest level. A bit of checking by one member with a faulty machine should soon uncover the rest here, and the Forum PM system will allow all those affected to join together in approaching Axi direct.

One last relevant point: A mate of mine in Germany bought a Pegas-branded Ex 30 about 2 years ago and hasn't had one moment of problem. He bought his through Dictum Tools in Germany.

Good luck fellas, let us all know how it goes please.


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## Dominik Pierog (10 Jul 2020)

This is still a thing?


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## AES (10 Jul 2020)

I don't recognize that part Dominik. Is it from an Excalibur saw?


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## Dominik Pierog (10 Jul 2020)

Yes it broke like hell saw buy in 2011




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfEg7uL2SVM


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## Droogs (10 Jul 2020)

When it happened did the saw stop working or did it just have excessive vibration? Does look to be made from chinesium


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## AES (10 Jul 2020)

Thanks for that link Dominik. Never seen that vid before, if you posted it here in the past then I must have missed it.

I've now book marked that vid and watched it twice. A few points if I may: 

1. His saw looks exactly the same as mine except that the lower part of mine is painted black (his is green, and I note yours is yellow). I have no idea what difference - if any - that makes;

2. Unlike my saw, his blade retaining thumbscrew is on the LH side (as you look at the vid). Mine is on the right. Similarly, the "puffer tube" on his machine is on the right (as you look at the vid), mine is on the left. Again no idea what difference that makes - if any;

3. My blade retaining thumbscrew (steel, like his) goes into the ali blade "chuck". BUT my ali blade chuck is definitely hardened ali. I've had NO problems with waggly thumbscrews at all. BUT I have carefully following the manual to make sure that the (steel) grub screw on the other side of the blade thumbscrew is adjusted so that the inner faces of blade chuck are completely flat. This is to ensure that when the thumbscrew is fully tightened onto the blade, the other (grub screw) side of the blade chuck is indeed flat - NO ident and NOT standing proud. This is clearly shown, with clear diagram, in my Manual. As said, NEVER a problem on my machine (5+ years old) and I even have a spare blade thumbscrew which I've never used;

4. He states that the big black knob on top of the arm right at the back is for setting the blade tension. As per my Manual that's completely wrong - the procedure in my manual is (without blade) to use that big black knob to set the arm parallel to the table. When that's set, that's it, finished. And it only needs checking (as above) now and again. ALL blade tensioning (once the arm is set parallel, as above) is done SOLELY by moving the little white nylon over-centre arm (right at the front of the blade chuck) from the forwards (blade slack) to the rearwards (blade tight) position;

5. I have never even removed the cover on the LH rear of the arm (as you look at the vid) which I why I didn't recognise the part you showed Dominik. I'll look later on and report back, but in passing I should state that in my machine, many parts are made of pressure die castings - they are NOT ali. That COULD mean "better" metallurgy, or WORSE, depending on the "funny metal alloys" General International have used for their castings. We can't tell just by looking, but on mine it definitely ain't ali;

6. Similarly I have never removed the cover on the top of the arm as shown in the vid. As 5. above I will do so later on when I have time (my arm is in a sling at the mo, and likely to remain so for about a week yet);

7. Finally apart from the paint colour difference and thumbscrew and puffer pipe location differences mentioned above, my saw has a "Pegas" badge on it as well as an Excalibur badge. As above, I have no idea what difference - if any - that makes.

My saw was also made in Taiwan, and apart from the "political economics" of that (which I'm not even qualified to go into), as I remarked after buying mine and reporting in depth on that purchase here, 5 years ago now, I was very pleasantly positively surprised at the high quality of the materials and fasteners used throughout the machine, and with the way it had been assembled.

As your machine was bought in 2011 Dominik (mine in 2015) perhaps General International have indeed improved the product/spec? Dunno. But I'd be interested to know when the bloke in your vid bought his.

I'll post more later on, after I've had a chance to look inside those 2 covers mentioned above.

P.S. Sorry. In the list of comments above I forget to say that when your vid bloke was talking about adjusting blade forwards/backwards movement, as per my Manual he is again wrong. My Manual clearly shows that the blade fore/aft adjustment is made by slackening the 3 motor retaining screws at the back of the arm, then SLIGHTLy rotating the whole motor clockwise/anti clockwise until you get the amount of forward/rearward blade motion you want. Then re-tighten the 3 screws.


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## kstano83 (16 Jul 2020)

I´m glad to see this thread.

My story short(er). My Ali EX21 broke after 2 years. It kept blowing fuses in the saw and in my house repeatedly. I sent it for a repair and got a new motor and PCB. It ran well for about a month but all of a sudden a fuse blew again. Instantly after I pressed the switch. It went well gain for a month or so and it blew a fuse again. Now after 5 months after I got my saw back from repair it has developed a HUGE vibration of the top arm. It was "shaking" from side to side. 
My saw is now in service and after expection I got an email saying:
They have found that the vibration is being caused by the speed running too fast, this would have been adjusted when the PCB was replaced. They have recommended that the scroll saw PCB will need to be replaced and set up, this will reduce the vibration.

That´s what I have been doing to prevent it from vibration but there are times I need to run it at max speed. A friend of mine has Ali EX30 (the latest version) and he too has top arm vibration problems. 

To me, they are just doing some warkarounds instead of fixing it.
I´ve tried sending an email to the CEO listing all my problems (yes, there are several) but it has never been read by him/her. And I dont think it will ever be. 
But still, If I can be any help in letting Axminster know about their faulty saws, I´ll do my best.


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## Dominik Pierog (16 Jul 2020)

Mine jumps on flor like angry bull.


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## aramco (16 Jul 2020)

Hi Dominik, how have you got your saw fastened down ??, and when you are cutting a pattern does the blade go off the line and will not come back again??, I had mine on ex 30 stand and it vibrated and the blade wandered all over the place, and the arm kept dropping till eventually I put a piece of timber under the arm to keep it up, while I changed blades or moved cuts,

A quick check is to take the blade out and take hold of the blade holder and move it sideward's left and right there should be no movement at all, if it is loose then there is your problem, the movement will be in the linkages , if that's the case get after Axminster for spare parts , the only problem is there are no spares to found at the moment for this problem, then you will have to fight with customer services about getting a replacement or or your money back.

If I can be of any further help please get in touch.

take care 
John


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## Dominik Pierog (17 Jul 2020)

I pay 1/2 price of new one for repair... Work on this saw is great but quality is garbage...


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## aramco (17 Jul 2020)

hi Dominik, I am going to try a Jet scroll saw they are on offer at Axminister for about £620, - should be the same price as the ex30 - not much more than what you would pay for it to be repaired, it is an American machine so hopefully better quality, on top of which for me the blade clamping method will suit my Arthritic hands better no screws to tighten, I have got to give this a try otherwise I will soon have to give up scrolling a lot.

take care
John


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## Dominik Pierog (17 Jul 2020)

In USA I see many people using DeWalt scrollsaw


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## kstano83 (10 Aug 2020)

I have sent my EX21 in for a warranty repair due to the top arm vibrating. Got it back and this is what a fixed saw means to Axminster specialists:


https://drive.google.com/file/d/11F6cge1nBJIWa7rLgx4QsOkivlXzCDfQ/view?usp=sharing


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## Droogs (10 Aug 2020)

That really is a lot of vibration coming through the chassis. I have some but nothing like that. How is the lateral vibrations at the cut point on the table?


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## kstano83 (10 Aug 2020)

Enough to make it difficult to cut. As I feed a piece into the blade, it makes the piece vibrate as well.


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## Droogs (10 Aug 2020)

Do you recall having bumped or knock the top arm at all? There is definitely a miss-alignment going on for that much vibration


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## kstano83 (10 Aug 2020)

Not at all.


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## aramco (13 Aug 2020)

hope you are all fit and well and staying safe

3 weeks ago I finally got sorted out with Axminster over my ex 30, , got a full refund for the saw and stand, I was going to buy a Jet but they had sold out, in a way I am glad as I would have been dealing with Axminster again, so bit the bullet and bought a Hegner multispeed 2, its way behind the technology of the Axminster, the table is smaller and aluminum, an the blade clamps are taking some getting used to, I have to keep finding them on the floor when they fall out, and the top arm dose not lift as far up as the ex machines the table problem can be sorted out by making an extension both sides of the table with a 5 mm plastic sheet on stilts - for want of a better word - and a couple of drawers one each side for blades etc .

On the whole its a better machine a lot quieter sturdier and in general a pleasure to use, its a pity from a scrollers point of view that there is not a greater choice of middle to top class machines to choose from, only Axminster and Hegner - unless I am missing something - it was once upon a time possible to get a Delta but they have been discontinued in the UK, same as Jet now and the dewalt never came here, they ca n all be bought in and use a 120 to 240 transformer, but its getting warranty work done and spares that be will the main problem there, on top of which there is now a tax on goods coming from the states, I have been caught out twice on that score with buying flying Dutchman blades, so unfortunately I have had to start using Niqua from the Hegner site plus they are cheaper £18+ for 144 blades, they do not do an ultra reverse, although they are made in the same factory as the FD, which seems strange.


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## AES (13 Aug 2020)

Please have a look at the link that Droogs posted in this Scrolling Section. It's from a US site but explains pretty well "what's happened to Excalibur Saws?" (or a rather similar title, I forget exactly).

That seems to confirm what I've suspected for some time - it seems that there ARE some differences/internal cheapenings between the "Pegas"/"Excalibur" branded machine that I bought in 2015 in Germany (and which as often said, hasn't given me a moment of trouble since) and the "Axminster Tools" version which looks "identical" but which it seems is far from it.

Both Droogs and I own "real Excalibur" machines, and following posts from yourself and others John, we both began to suspect that the Axi version has been somehow cheapened/downgraded, even though this is not apparent from pictures of both machgines (onlycolour and badges seem to differ). Droogs' link to the US site seems to confirm that conclusion, and that seems to have been going on since at least 2017/8 or perhaps earlier.

Still, little help for you (and others) I realise, so best of luck with your Hegner mate.

Edit for P.S. 
John, I've found the link to the info detailed above:



https://www.scrollsawvillage.com/articles/resources/excalibur-scroll-saw-what-happened


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## Cheesehound (2 Sep 2020)

aramco said:


> Got a replacement ex 30 for my old one , not many weeks ago, and already the problems are starting, last night while cutting 3 cms piece of wood, the blade eused to go where i wanted it to , so checked everything out, and found the bottom bush on the linkage that holds the pegas chuck is shot, and the arm is doing its thing and dropping, despite adjustments being made, no wonder they wouldn't extend my warranty.
> 
> On another topic anyone thinking of buying a Dremel drill my advice is dont I have had two that broke during warranty and one that has just gave up the ghost , just out of warranty, got in touch with Bosch uk and they dont want to know , no possibility of a repair, as its out of warranty and as for where I could get spares for it again they did not care,
> 
> ...


With regard to your problems with Dremel drills, my own experience of these completely mirrors yours. The first one I bought developed massive vibration after about 10 months light use. I returned it under guarantee, and they sent me a replacement which was actually a refurbished one.
This lasted a similar time before it went the same way as the first. Fortunately my daughter-in-law worked for Woolies in those days and she got me a cheapo Chinese clone that was much better than the Dremel in every respect. After years of abuse this also failed, so after a trip to Axminster, I replaced it with a Proxxon, which is a massive improvement - quieter, far less vibration and easier to hold. I highly recommend Proxxon mini drills.


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## kstano83 (24 Nov 2020)

So after months of emailing, Axminster sent me a new saw that is developing the same type vibration as the first one. Top arm is shaking like crazy. Weird is that it started all of a sudden. Like bang, and it has been increasingly getting worse. 
I´d NEVER ever buy an Axminster scroll saw again.


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## Droogs (24 Nov 2020)

So sad to hear that, I would suggest you try adjusting the motor position it rotates and can move a little side to side and vertically. This may help with the vibration. It is an adjust and try method but may help. Also check the link arm at the back of the machine this may be loose or bent.


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## AES (24 Nov 2020)

+1. I'm also sad to hear that kstano83. Further above these last 3 or 4 posts there's a link to info that MIGHT explain what's happened. Not that that's much help to you of course. 

As Droogs says, such a pity, because my own experience (with both an Excalibur/Pegas scroll saw, and with other purchases from Axi) has been in all respects excellent.

Dunno what else to say, can only sympathise.


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## aramco (6 Dec 2020)

hi id 


kstano83 said:


> So after months of emailing, Axminster sent me a new saw that is developing the same type vibration as the first one. Top arm is shaking like crazy. Weird is that it started all of a sudden. Like bang, and it has been increasingly getting worse.
> I´d NEVER ever buy an Axminster scroll saw again.


you tell axminster you are having the same problems if not get after them, hoe you get sorted

take care

John


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## Blister (6 Dec 2020)

I sent my EX30 back years ago when thay first came out ( Pre Axminster branding ) , Back then they also had wiring faults 

I now have 3 Hegner's a Diamond and a re branded RBI Hawk ( Painted green and called Record )


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## dave2882 (12 Jan 2021)

hi guys i have just sold my my ex21 and bought the new axminster ex30 but have only used it for 1 hour and its started to vibration and its very loud thinking i have make a big mistake


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## dave2882 (12 Jan 2021)

kstano83 said:


> So after months of emailing, Axminster sent me a new saw that is developing the same type vibration as the first one. Top arm is shaking like crazy. Weird is that it started all of a sudden. Like bang, and it has been increasingly getting worse.
> I´d NEVER ever buy an Axminster scroll saw again.


i wish i had seen this i have just got ex30 only used it for one hour and now loud vibration going to phone them in the morning but not sure now to get it fixed or ask for my money back


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## AES (12 Jan 2021)

@dave2882:

May I ask why you sold your Ex 21 (and also where/when you bought it)?

Reason for asking is that I bought an Ex 21 (in Germany, not from Axi) 5+ years ago and have been/continue to be thoroughly delighted with it - amongst other reasons, it's been 100% trouble free and is a real pleasure to use too. And there have been similar comments from others here who bought Excalibur Scroll Saws at roughly the same time.

But since then, (about 3 to 4 years?) Axminster have brought out their "own badge" version of these scroll saws. Although in pictures the "new" Axi versions look exactly the same as the "old" Excali versions, it APPEARS that in reality they are NOT the same (been "cheapened inside somewhere"?). 

I have NIL actual proof of that so cannot say it's fact, BUT since the Axi own version of the Excali saws have been on the market, several members here have bought these "new" Axi versions and it seems that almost without exception they have all suffered bad vibration problems (amongst other things).

So I respectfully suggest you do a search of this section of our Forum over, say, the last 3 years or so and see how many complaints you can find on this subject. I can remember several without trying too hard (no names though, except kstano83 above) .

The reason I say this is because unusually in my own experience of buying from Axi, the people who have been having problems with their Axi "new" scroll saws have also been having problems with getting Axi to stand behind the guarantee.

HTH (and good luck BTW).


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## Droogs (13 Jan 2021)

Send it back get a refund and look for either excelsior or king branded scroll saws as these are the current versions of the original machine. Axi has the brand name but the machine they sell now is entirely of a different spec to the orgininal and I believe they have had a wonky production run that they are still trying to flog off to the unsuspecting. This is just my opinion based on a lot of posts over the last 5 years or so and I have been doing a lot of snooping about this. Even though they have renamed the machine in their recent shakeup, i still think they have old machines they are stuck with and not a new production run. Which is a shame as the design idea is brilliant just their execution of it is way below what you would expect but hey ho they are run by the bean counters now


excellent article about it all here


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