Excalibur 21

[Chippygeoff]

As many of you know I have had major problems with my ex-21. Two weeks ago it was impossible to carry on using it. I could not get enough tension on the blade and after a couple of seconds of use the tension lever would fly back over. It was impossible to get the blade square to the table and as a result the pieces from jig saws would only slide out one way. The fault lay in the arms and the rods. It went back to the supplier over a week ago so I should hear soon.

If I go for a refund I was wondering what to replace the ex-21 with. Hegners are over priced and out of my reach at the moment. The replacement would have to have variable speed and quick release blade clamps. I am thinking about the AWFS 18 along with an upgrade to better clamps. Any comments would be very welcome.

 

[RoyB]

Hi Chippygeoff.
I have the AWFS18 with the Hegner clamps. The saw is very quiet with very little vibration throughout the speed range. There is no front to back blade movement which is a vast improvement on my old Delta saw. I really like the AWFS18 for what I do, cutting portraits and jigsaws. It took me a while to get used to the blade changing system after the Delta, which IMHO has the best system I've used, but I am now up to speed with the new saw.
Hope this info helps.
Roy

 

[hawkinob]

Hi Chippygeoff,
If you scroll through some of the recent posts you will find some comments about the AWFS18 (or what appear to be the same model albeit under a different name and different colours), all positive.
Good luck.
Bob H.

 

[knappers]

Has anybody got any links to any of the AWFS18-a-likes on the market?
Thanks
Si.

 

[doddy555]

sorry to hear bout your saw,,,,i bit worried now i just swopping mine for excalibur ex 16 ?

 

[Chippygeoff]

Thanks to everyone who has replied. I have sent a PM to Roy. Doddy. Don't be put off by my experiences. I have read glowing reports on the ex, I just happened to have a bad one. The guys in the factory in Taiwan have no idea what the saws will be used for and I suppose some of the assembly workers are not as careful as others. I feel the rods and the arms were not assembled properly. Going on what Roy has said I think I will replace it with the AWFS18, he is very happy with his and he makes the same sort of stuff as I do. I have lost my confidence in having a replacement ex-21 for I feel the same things could happen all over again.

 

[doddy555]

aw thats how i felt about my last saw only used for an hour, i very new to this, i just hope mine is not a bad one,

 

[hawkinob]

Hi doddy555,
Good luck with your new saw, I don't have an Excalibur, just a Hegner lookalike and wouldn't swap. Let us know how you get on.
Bob H.

 

[doddy555]

hi bob thanks , i will

 

[Clockie]

Doddy, hope your new saw is grand. Best of luck.

 

[doddy555]

aww thanks i hope so to

 

[Rivaz]

Hi, I'm writting from Switzerland. I just wanted to say that I never had any problems with my EX21 and I suppose that you were just unlucky with yours. I would give one other chance to Excalibur.
Good luck and do what you feel better for you!

 

[chrispuzzle]

I add my vote to the AWSF18 which has given me very little trouble for several years now. Very solid and smooth and rugged.

I may have the chance to get hold of an EX30 some time this year for a project that needs the 30" throat, but that's the main reason I'd switch, just to have that extra throat length for the few times that nothing else can do it.

 

[Gill]

I may have the chance to get hold of an EX30 some time this year for a project that needs the 30" throat, but that's the main reason I'd switch, just to have that extra throat length for the few times that nothing else can do it.

A second hand Diamond might be a better choice because of its rotating blade holder. Don't forget that although your workpiece may measure, say, 29" by 29", you also have to consider the length of the diameter which, if my maths is correct would exceed 41". It would be difficult to turn your workpiece without catching the back of the saw even if the throat was 30" deep.

I can remember cutting a door sign which was 36" long on one side of the board. I had to stand so far away from the blade that I couldn't actually see the pattern; following the pattern line was practically guesswork! Supporting the weight of the wood as it overhung the table was a challenge too, never mind rotating it so as to follow the pattern.

 

[chrispuzzle]

I may have the chance to get hold of an EX30 some time this year for a project that needs the 30" throat, but that's the main reason I'd switch, just to have that extra throat length for the few times that nothing else can do it.

A second hand Diamond might be a better choice because of its rotating blade holder. Don't forget that although your workpiece may measure, say, 29" by 29", you also have to consider the length of the diameter which, if my maths is correct would exceed 41". It would be difficult to turn your workpiece without catching the back of the saw even if the throat was 30" deep.

I can remember cutting a door sign which was 36" long on one side of the board. I had to stand so far away from the blade that I couldn't actually see the pattern; following the pattern line was practically guesswork! Supporting the weight of the wood as it overhung the table was a challenge too, never mind rotating it so as to follow the pattern.

You may well be right, Gill. I have done all the maths on the workpiece and the prospect is extremely daunting. I'd need stands on either side of the table, for a start, to support the workpiece and these would probably have to be custom made as well.

It's a jigsaw puzzle project, of course. This means that all-important first cut should be a puzzle line, not a line following a pattern, but then that will involve rotating the piece over and over again. Turning the blade in a Diamond might help with that although the maths still have to be right. I can envisage taking a day or more just to do that one cut, very slowly and carefully, a little at a time. And that's all the big machine would be for: just to make that one single cut with all its tabs.

I have a fallback position if I can't do that but I'd have to persuade the client. It is all still at the feasibility stage, though.