Excalibur Scrollsaws

[Alexam]

I wanted to buy an Excalibur scrollsaw from the Nuneaton Axminster store recently and had talked with Axminster a few weeks earlier about going in to discuss the Excalibur saws and deciding which one to buy. Rob explained that he had his EX16 at the shop and said kindly that he could show me blade changes and discuss the details of the scrollsaws.

I advertised my older scrollsaw and sold it quickly, but the next day, when I called Axminster to arrange a visit and to check if Rob would be available, I was told that all Excaliburs had been withdrawn so that they could be re-badged with Axminster colours and launched later this month as Axminster Excalibur Trade.

Some minor improvements were mentioned, such as different NVR switch and holds down, but other than that, the same machine and at a slightly resduced price.

I am dissapointed that there is a delay, particularly having sold my own machine, but although I will not be able to do anything scrollsaw wise for a few weeks, it sounds like it will be worth the wait and they did say sorry that it would not be in time for my birthday on the 13th, but possibly the third week in February.

With some improvements to the Excaliburs when they were already front runners, they should be really great and I will be there in line when it is launched.

Watch out for announcements guys, if you are looking to get a new scroollsaw.

 

[beganasatree]

LOOK at your emails.

Peter.

 

[Dominik Pierog]

Hi Alexam

You would remember one thing about excalibur and you will talk and think about it...... motor cam.

I have little collection now...

 

[Alexam]

Thanks for the tip. How many have you had broken and how old is the scrollsaw now? Reaired under warranty or at what cost?
Malcolm

 

[Dominik Pierog]

With eyes closed I can dismantle the machine...

First I got free. Another bought a few to spare. One day I broke 2. One by one, immediately after changing to a new one.
It is too little material in this part. I sent back for repair. Saw probably produced from 2009 to 2010.
Now I do not work much. When I worked on it a lot, one part of the year was bursting.

Work on this great. But the repair ...

The mechanism of lifting the arm EX-30 does not work. New did not work, and after repair also not workt. The arm is too heavy.

Now I have fancy plywood
http://youtu.be/91_wnINUpv0?t=55s

 

[Alexam]

Nice video but needs an English translation. Can it be Dubbed and listed again, or has it already been done with |English please.

 

[Claymore]

...........

 

[AES]

Very interesting video and comments by Dominik (pity I couldn't understand the language of the video).

Based on my own limited experience with the EX 21 (May/June 2015 to date) there are a number of differences between his machine and mine. In summary:

1. The colour;
2. The motor LOOKS smaller (in diameter) than mine;
3. A number of minor, detail differences on the top arm, such as position and type of ON/OFF switch, speed control, tension knob (at the back), etc.

In short his machine just isn't the same as mine. What date was yours made Dominik, do you know? How about comparing serial numbers? Mine was made in 2014 and has S/No. 22249914.

I'd also comment that although (from Dominik's pictures) I can guess where that cam drive casting is located on the machine, so far I've never seen it/had a need to even look at it - it looks like you'd need to remove the motor to get to it - and according to the Manual with my machine, this area (and just about everything else) is lubricated for life..

Further, if you look carefully at the component removed from Dominik's machine, although it's hard to tell from a pic, the item looks like a pressure die cast item. That means PROBABLY (but not necessarily) it's somewhat weaker than if it had been machined from solid or machined from a "free-moulded" casting. Also, if you look carefully at the item removed from Dominik's machine, the machining on the ID definitely looks offset (to the L in his picture) from the central boss of the casting, with both the flange thickness and the major wall thickness noticeably thinner on the LH side than on the RH side. In other words, a weak spot, and it is near that weak spot that the item in Dominik's pic has cracked.

If all of this sounds "defensive" of the EX 21 then I apologise, that is not my intention. Similarly this is not intended as a critique of your post Dominik - I'm sure you're speaking as you find, and indeed your pix show that to be true.

However I do seem to recall hearing somewhere that there have been some problems with Excalibur saws in the past; I do now understand that General International now own this brand and are responsible for it's manufacture, rather than the original Canadian inventor (I wonder if that change took place before or after Dominik's machine was made?), and there is at least one other member here who has an Excalibur machine of (if memory serves me correctly) about 2 to 3 years old who has not had any problems with it - just like me.

So PERHAPS that change of owner/manufacturer has something to do with all this?

Nevertheless, in the light of Dominik's post, I think it would be very wise if you Alexam (or any one else thinking of buying) would discuss these points with the vendor and if necessary, you yourself examine the hardware you are about to buy in detail.

These things are after all a large financial outlay for a hobbyist and it obviously makes sense to be as sure as is possible before parting with the hard-earned.

I hope that helps.

AES

 

[jasdon79]

Hi malcolm I have ordered a ex last week . After talking to axminster it sounds like thay have changed the faults with the old white machine. I look forward to finding out and using the new machine.

 

[Alexam]

Hi malcolm I have ordered a ex last week . After talking to axminster it sounds like thay have changed the faults with the old white machine. I look forward to finding out and using the new machine.

Hi Jasdon,

Who did you order from Jason and which branch? The Nuneaton branch tried to get one for me just before they were withdrawn to be re-badged and I have been told that the only changes have been to the hold down foot and the NVR switch, but nothing more than that. I was also told that the prices were to be a little lower.

What price for which machine have you ordered and when have they quoted delivery?

Malcolm

 

[ardenwoodcraft]

I believe the problem with the broken drive cranks on the Excalibur scroll saws was twofold. They were confined mainly to the EX30 models and a few EX21's. With the EX30's it was the length of the link arms that put an excessive amount of strain on the crank arm when running at high speeds, ie:- cutting thicker stock. Axminster had quite a few EX30's returned and I remember seeing them offered for sale on *bay as refurbished items.
But...... they also suffered from a bad batch of crank arms supplied to the manufacturer which, I think were re-designed to stop the breakages happening. As I said, a few EX21's also suffered from this problem but Axminster, to their credit, were quick to jump on this problem and I believe most were rectified under warranty. To the best of my knowledge I don't think any EX16's were affected in this manner.
I may be the member AES is referring to having owned my EX21 for nearly 3 years now with no problems to speak of. But I do not use it on a full time 8 hour day basis, it is for me, purely a hobby and my full time job pays the bills. However, I have no doubt that if I were to use it as a full time income earner it would be up to the job and I expect to still be using it for another 10 years at least with nothing other than normal wear and tear to it.
All Excalibur scroll saws are currently made in Taiwan and I would hope that the Axminster trade branded ones are also. If Axminster were to get them made in China I think the quality would severely suffer and it would be a "shot themselves in the foot moment" for what is a well proven, high quality, and for me at least, reliable design.

 

[AES]

Yes, I confirm (having checked back) that it was indeed you (ardenwoodcraft) that I was thinking of when I mentioned "a member here with 2 or 3 years ownership experience of Excalibur".

I also confirm that my own machine was made in Taiwan, not in China.

Having said that however, I believe (personal opinion) that being made in China is not automatically a bad/poor quality idea. Yes, lots of made in China things are pretty low quality, but in line with another thread on UKW a few weeks back, my belief is that some (most?) Chinese manufacturers are pretty much like any other manufacturer in any other country - i.e. they make what they're contracted to make, and if a company dictates a low price and just leaves them alone to get on with it then the result can be pretty dire, with the Chinese using cheese bolts and "monkey metal" castings full of blow holes to keep their own costs down! But if a company gives an exact spec (for example, the materials to be used and machining tolerances to be worked to, especially on a highly-stressed component such as the drive arm we saw in Dominik's pix), AND if that company carries out a decent on-going QC program, then there's no reason why a Chinese-made machine should be any worse or less consistent than, say, a Taiwanese product (or a German or a British one for that matter)!

But ardenwoodcraft obviously knows the history of the Excalibur better than I do, so I would suggest that anyone buying the new Axi version should have a detailed look at the materials and general machining finishes - especially on such highly-stressed items - whether made in China or anywhere else.

I should think that as Axi is a reputable trader they would not object to a buyer displaying such caution, but in any case Axi are generally well known for good customer service and after sales support.

Like ardenwoodcraft I also do not use my machine on a professional basis, but like him I'm also pretty confident that it'll stand up to whatever tasks I throw at it for the foreseeable future.

As I said in my "Biting the bullet" post last year, I did look at the internals of my machine before buying and compared it, as far as I was able (without any dismantling), to the Hegner machine standing on the same bench. I must say that my own assessment was that the Excalibur was equal in quality of materials and in build standard to the Hegner.

Again I'm not trying to "justify" my own buying decision but simply pointing out that while Excalibur have apparently had quality problems in the past this does not seem to be the case now. If Axi are MAYBE getting these saws built elsewhere, then yes, a careful check should be made by prospective buyers, but if, as I suspect, the new Axi machine is simply a business arrangement and in fact it's the same machine as mine coming out of the same factory as mine did (and as ardenwoodcraft's did) except for the colour and the badge, then personally I can't see any problems are likely to arise.

I hope that helps.

AES

 

[Alexam]

Excellent points by you all on this, but apart from switching a machine on and seeing it run at various speeds and that all 'seems' well, that's about all that can be done here.

Andy had anadvantage that most do not in the UK, to sit down with two machines and try them out in detail with diffent woods and blades. Even though Axminster are a good reliable outlet, they would/could not allow that to be done otherwise they would have several machines in shop that had been used.

The most surprising to me was jasdon79, having placed an order for Excalibur, when I was under the impression that all the Excalibur machines had been withdrawn until the new launch later in February of the Axminster Excalibur Trade at a slightly reduced price.

Other information I have received from elsewhere, regarding the re-badging in colour and name is not known by those who should know, but this will be clarified in the next few weeks. I just hope that Axminster will be living up to their reputation for good service and honesty.

I just want to get my hands on a new Excalibur scrollsaw to get started on Intarsia, as I don't have a machine at present and am awaiting to hear from Jasdon with more information about his order.

Thank you all very much for your interest and input

 

[jasdon79]

pm sent Malcolm

 

[Alexam]

Thanks Jason, that added to the information I had received and another couple of weeks or so the new Axminster Excalibur Trade machines should be available. It will be interesting to see them.

 

[Alexam]

UPDATE - Info from Axminster head office, Procurement Manager, (very nice guy).

Launch of the new scrollsaw's will be 17th February. Same machines as the previous Excalibur scrollsaws, same factory in Taiwan with alteration of the NVR switch and hold down foot. Axminster Ex16 Trade £499 (Stock #101771) The Axminster Ex21 Trade £549 (Stock# 101772) (didn't get the EX30 price (Stock# 101773). Axminster colours, Grey/Red.

Axminster have looked closely at all previous problems with the Excaibur scroll saws to ensure they have been dealt with and they are exited at this new model will be an improvement, but it will not have the name 'Excalibur' on it as the name is owned by G.I. who will not permit use of the name and changes.

Guarantee will be 3 years and as it has the 'Trade' category, it can be used commercially as well as for hobby and remain covered. Some other manufacturers will not honour a long guarantee if the maching has been used commercially and say that in thgeir literature, (which we may all miss).

Hope this helps those who are interested.

 

[AES]

Thanks for the update Alexam. I should think that this info should allay any doubts you or anyone else may have about buying this "new" machine - so "buy away" with confidence I'd say!

One point though - I noticed that you (and a couple of other people previously) have mentioned a NVR switch on both this new and on the "old" Excalibur saws. Perhaps that's a UK-only thing, because mine does not have one at all.

I mention this only because when I was trying to source a foot switch for my machine, Axi told me that their foot switch was only suitable for machines with an NVR. That's why, last year, I posted details of the (pretty expensive) foot switch I ended up buying via the Excalibur distributor here in Switzerland.

Just pointing this out because if you do want a foot switch you'd better check the exact situation with Axi at the time of buying your new saw.

Cheers
AES

 

[Alexam]

Good point on the footswitch Andy, I will check it out.

All the best

 

[Aggrajag]

I bought my EX16 in December, UK, direct from Axminster, and I'm sure mine isn't NVR? If the machine is running and I turn it off and back on at the wall it starts running again. I tested it because I could buy a cheap footswitch if I wanted.

 

[Alexam]

Only passing on the information I have been given, but I am talking about the NEW Ex models that are due out on the 17th Feb. Your model is no longer available as I tried to buy one and have to wait for the new Axminster EX16 Trade machine.

How are you getting on with yours?
Malcolm