# Bits and Pieces



## Samfire (12 Nov 2013)

After taking up scroll sawing in the summer I kept all my bits and pieces associated with it, drills etc, in an old tackle box, but fishing about in it for bits and pieces was getting a bit tedious. Anyway, I decided to make a small set of draws to keep stuff in and have a place on the top for my drill bits and rotary tool stuff.






I made it from bits of scrap wood including the carcass which was made from the piece of plywood my excalibur saw came on.


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## martinka (12 Nov 2013)

Excellent. I always admire people who can make useful things from wood as I have never been any good at it. The nearest I got is the box I made for my O/H for her birthday.

Martin.


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## stevebuk (12 Nov 2013)

Looks great, really neat and useful idea..


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## ChrisR (12 Nov 2013)

Looks good, and certainly a good use of the packing plywood. =D> 

Take care.

Chris R.


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## nadnerb (12 Nov 2013)

very nice piece, well made


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## mac1012 (13 Nov 2013)

looks very nice indeed , how are you finding the Excalibur scroll saw ? I am thinking of upgrading my hegner multicut 1 

I know a lot of us on here like the look of this saw on paper and some people have had problems what saw do you have ? 

what kind of wood do you cut and if you look at this link it show the problems some customers have had with rough running and the blade bending somehow in top clamp


http://www.axminster.co.uk/excalibur-ex-30-scroll-saw

whether this is more evident on the largest model I don't know the one I would get is the 21 inch 

feed back would be appreciated especially on ease of blade changing , noise , vibration of machine , working at lower speeds 

also if the is any excessive movement of blade when cutting , I mean is the blade action paralell and true ? and any problems with excessive blade breakage or faulty machine parts 

and how is the table surface as it has a epoxy resin covered steel 

I am going to ring axminster today to see if any problems have been dealt with and to see if any new models of scroll saws are coming up 

thanks mark


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## boysie39 (13 Nov 2013)

Mark will be interesting to hear what Axi. say , maybe you might post the results .


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## mac1012 (13 Nov 2013)

hi boysie I did ring axminster today , the excaliburs are being upgraded on the mains connection and the motor the ex 21 has already been upgraded the 30s in the new year which may be the reason why they are pushing the 30 at a reduced price !!

I have been looking at the reviews in the states and aussie as more stuff on their and and steve b concluded a while ago they look identical machines now with the same compnents for blade changing 

and it does seem to be the case even though they are green.

1 difference is the table in uk having small holes for dust extraction which I hear can snag the work 

people seemed very happy with the saw and I looked at a video review that went into detail , one one guy was advocating putting the top of blade in first as it was easier as the blade goes up to a metal component for the tension lever but another guy was placing it in after bottom one and had no problems in fact he was doing it one handed !

one problem that did come up was the surface coating wearing away but they didn't seem too fussed , if I did get the ex 21 I would put a sub table on the top as I noticed the ex has 4 long countersunk bolts that come through underneath for this purpose 

the older green ones where made to a better quality but they seem happy with the new version you can see its the same as uk as it has the white front tensioning lever

I don't imagine the blade clamps are made from as harder material as the hegners but they seem ok 

we will have to wait for samfires feed back :lol: 

mark


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## ColeyS1 (13 Nov 2013)

Looks like a neat solution and a job well done !

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk


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## Samfire (13 Nov 2013)

Thank you all for your kind comments. Regarding the Excalibur, I have the smallest of the range because I could afford to spend more money, 500 notes is a lot of dosh.
Most of the wood I cut is around 6mm, this includes softwood hard wood and plywood. I have cut ash and maple around an inch thick and found the latter to be hard work. There again, maple I am told is very hard wood.
I have no trouble with the clamps and I fit the top of the blade first. I honestly don't know what the table is made from or covered with. It is very smooth and the only minor problem is that the dust collection system seems to cause a vacuum at times.
Overall I am very satisfied with the saw, but having never used an hegner, I can't really compare the two.
I hope I've answered all the questions asked, please fire away if any thing more specific is required.
George


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## mac1012 (13 Nov 2013)

thanks George not sure what you mean by the dust causing a vacuum ? do you use a dust extractor ? or is it to do whith a build up of dust underneath your machine ? how do you find the table surface is it coming off or ok ? 

I did ask some other questions in my earlier post but you seem to be happy with the way the blade and saw operate 

mark


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## Samfire (13 Nov 2013)

Hi Mark,
I don't have any of the problems mentioned on the axminster site. I mounted the saw on a rubber backed carpet tile and it operates very smoothly. The table surface is still intact and I don't have a reason to suspect it won't stay that way.

Regarding the vacuum effect, I have connected it to a vacuum cleaner to collect the dust. The issue is that every now and again the work piece doesn't move has smoothly as usual and I have put this down to the vacuum cleaner sucking the wood down if all of the dust collect holes are covered by the wood. The problem doesn't arise some of the holes are not covered by either previous cuts or a smaller workpiece. I hope that makes sense, I can't see how the problem can be caused by the workpiece getting jammed in the holes.

All of my comments need to be viewed against the fact that I am not heavy user. I guess I am only sawing for a couple of hours a week at the most, where some of the scrollers on here are at it for very long periods of time. Anyway I hope you find my input useful.
George


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## Bryan Bennett (13 Nov 2013)

Hi George The cabinet is certainly a credit to you,you have made a fabulous job with the materials that you used to make it.WELL DONE.


Bryan


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## MMUK (13 Nov 2013)

martinka":1rduih0r said:


> Excellent. I always admire people who can make useful things from wood as I have never been any good at it. The nearest I got is the box I made for my O/H for her birthday.
> 
> Martin.




When you say useful, was it coffin shaped? :wink: :lol:


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## mac1012 (14 Nov 2013)

thanks George your comments have been very helpful , I like the look of the machine and I am a heavy user , my hegner that is three years old has paint chips and scratches on the table that would probably make some hegner owners faint :lol: 

but its a working machine that makes me money not a ornament that I just look at and admire and polish everyday 8) 

I not too precious about these things its cleaned and oiled up regularly that's about it 

I still not sure about the ex saw I do think there is a lot going for it and I am sure your very happy with your machine for me no hassle and fast blade changes the hegner gives me is important , how would an ex 21 be after 3 years of my abuse ? I not so sure 

I not heavy handed but I ask a lot of my little hegner and it stands up pretty well 

the simplicity of its design, quality and minimal parts make for not a lot that can go wrong , its the prices where it disappoints 

the other thing I have discovered is the blower tube on the ex 21 works independently from the below table port the top tube blower has a very small diaphragm that connects to it on the arm so even when I have the dust extractor rigged up it will still be blowing the top work piece dust around , am I correct in this ?

I may have to save more pennies for a hegner 2sv


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## Chippygeoff (14 Nov 2013)

Over many years I have used several scroll saws and when the excalibur came on the market I bought the 21. In truth it was the worst saw I have ever worked on. BVlade changing was a nightmare as you cannot see the blade as it goes into the clamps. After a month I had a knocking noise. I stripped it down, found several problems and rectified these. after another month other problems started to happen. The tension lever would not stay tensioned for more that a few seconds. The wiring was the cheapest available and this caused problems with the on/off switch. In the end it went back and I bought the Hegner. In my opinion the excalibur is a heap of overpriced rubbish. I have no idea if Axy have improved it. The uy that desined it also designed the Dewalt 788 and I have no idea why he did not use the same clamps and tensioning system, it would have been a half decent saw then. The covering on the thin table wont last long either, especially if 3/4 hardwood is used.My table looked a mess when I sent it back. I must have had my Hener for a year now and it is still in the same pristine condition as the first day I used it and the saw is going for 8 hours a day most days. I don't know of any other current saw available in the UK today that will last as long.


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## mac1012 (14 Nov 2013)

yeah I already know your opinions on the ex 21 Geoff as they are well documented :lol:

it would be unfair to assume that everybody who owns one has the same experience as you as George is happy with his along with other people 

that being said it does have its faults I guess.



mark


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## martinka (14 Nov 2013)

MMUK":2vaskh6l said:


> martinka":2vaskh6l said:
> 
> 
> > Excellent. I always admire people who can make useful things from wood as I have never been any good at it. The nearest I got is the box I made for my O/H for her birthday.
> ...



Not a chance. That particular box will be made from cardboard. I see no point in spending lots of money on good wood, just to set fire to it. 

Martin.


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