Super-Sized Excalibur Scroll Saw | Popular Woodworking

Posted May 11, 2008

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The tilting head mechanism makes scrolling at an angle a dream. A large knob on the front of the machine controls a rack and pinion mechanism for tilting the saw up to 45-degrees left and right with positive stops at 22.5-degrees, 30-degrees and 45-degrees. Release the lock lever and turn the knob to adjust.

The flip-up arm simplifies pierced cuts and blade changes. Just unlock the lower blade holder, lift the arm and the blade out of the piece, move to the next hole, lower the blade, lock it in and go.

The new Excalibur EX-30 scroll saw is finally here. It's identical to the EX-21 except bigger. It boasts a 30-in. throat and has a large 14-in. x 32-1/2-in. table. A larger table means better support for your work and the deep throat gives you more swing for larger projects. Of course, the EX-21 also has lots to offer with a 21-in. deep throat and a 13-1/2-in. x 23-1/2-in. table. Both saws have 2-in.-thick stock capacity and feature Excalibur's famous parallel link drive system that keeps the blade moving in a near-straight up-and-down motion. Angled cuts are accomplished by tilting the head (top photo) rather than the table. If you've ever done a lot of scrolling on a tilted table, you can imagine how nice it is to keep the stock flat while cutting. Excalibur's lifting arm feature makes blade changes and pierced cuts a snap (bottom photo). Power, speed and blade tension controls are all within 2-in of each other and right up front where you want them. Blade changes and adjustments are all tool-free. The machine's designers have even thought to include a series of holes in the base to hold blade storage tubes.

Source:
General International, www.general.ca, EX-30 Scroll Saw, $900; EX-21 Scrollsaw, $750.

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