I hate to give up on a saw but...

Hmerkle

Board of Directors, Development Director
Hank
Staff member
Corporate Member
Forest city is a little west of us but not to far away
Cathy probably doesn't know you drive truck Jerry - there is probably a time where you guys could get together to figure it out...
 

Jclrk

Jclrk
Corporate Member
I'll help if I can Bruce has alot more knowledge than me I'm still wet behind the ears but ill.help anyone if I'm home lol
 

sawman101

Bruce Swanson
Corporate Member
Does the pony express still work?
I'm between both of you and can handle the transaction. FYI, the Pegas clamps are the very same Jerry has as a replacement for the Dewalt clamps. Haven't ever tried the Pegas or Pegas replacement clamps I can offer no opinion as to how well they perform, but others who have made that swap on the DW788 love them.
 

Jclrk

Jclrk
Corporate Member
I'm between both of you and can handle the transaction. FYI, the Pegas clamps are the very same Jerry has as a replacement for the Dewalt clamps. Haven't ever tried the Pegas or Pegas replacement clamps I can offer no opinion as to how well they perform, but others who have made that swap on the DW788 love them.
Not wanting to trade there is one for sale in Mt airy this morningI was willing to let them try my clamps off dewalt or the pegas clamps I have on the dewalt
 

Berta

Berta
Corporate Member
The Pegas is very similar to my EX21. I do get this issue sometimes. Try a couple of things
1. Is the back tension/leveling knob staying still or is it moving/shifting during cutting? (Sometimes mine moves, I put a mark on it and the saw with a white pencil to keep track, and I have a fix).

2. Paraphrasing.
Insure the upper arm is parallel to the table top. Use the back tension knob to adjust it.
I use a square, put a piece of tape on it set at rear of arm, mark by holding the pencil level with the bottom of the arm and mark the tape now mark that mark. Then put the square near the front of the arm and mark that. Are the two marks within 1/8” of each other? Adjust the rear knob until they are.

When you install the blade, install the top of the blade first and tighten the wing knob.
Insure the upper arm is all the way down, and the blade in in the slot in the bottom blade holder and tighten

Then flip the tension lever and use the back tension adjust if necessary.
Once the back tension knob is adjusted it should not have to be adjusted again.

THE BOTTOM OF THE BLADE CAN EXTEND BELOW THE BOTTOM OF THE BLADE HOLDER. IT CANNOT EXTEND ABOVE THE TOP ONE!
If the blade pops, lower the front of the arm slightly.

This helped. Sometimes I have to do it a couple of times.
Be sure your tension knob is not moving. (Mine is sneaky)
 
Last edited:

Phil S

Phil Soper
Staff member
Corporate Member
The Hegner I have is an 18" on a Hegner stand. The paint on the stand is peeling, but the saw itself is in great shape.
This has the original blade clamps, not the after market quick release. I bought it used from Dino down on the coast, I believe he was the original owner. It has very few hours.
 

cskipper

Moderator
Cathy
I gat a rusty old craftsman.... LOL
Too bad you are having problems with the saw @cskipper did you go back to Pegas or who you bought the saw from to see if there is a known problem and if they can help or have a ready solution?
I had in the past and did again this afternoon.
 

Phil S

Phil Soper
Staff member
Corporate Member
I can get the Hegner to Fred and Bruce can pick up from there and you can get from Bruce Try it out and if that is what you want then we will trade. No hurry, test drive for a few months. I think the last time I used the saw was in 2019.
 

cskipper

Moderator
Cathy
The Pegas is very similar to my EX21. I do get this issue sometimes. Try a couple of things
1. Is the back tension/leveling knob staying still or is it moving/shifting during cutting? (Sometimes mine moves, I put a mark on it and the saw with a white pencil to keep track, and I have a fix).

2. Paraphrasing.
Insure the upper arm is parallel to the table top. Use the back tension knob to adjust it.
I use a square, put a piece of tape on it set at rear of arm, mark by holding the pencil level with the bottom of the arm and mark the tape now mark that mark. Then put the square near the front of the arm and mark that. Are the two marks within 1/8” of each other? Adjust the rear knob until they are.

When you install the blade, install the top of the blade first and tighten the wing knob.
Insure the upper arm is all the way down, and the blade in in the slot in the bottom blade holder and tighten

Then flip the tension lever and use the back tension adjust if necessary.
Once the back tension knob is adjusted it should not have to be adjusted again.

THE BOTTOM OF THE BLADE CAN EXTEND BELOW THE BOTTOM OF THE BLADE HOLDER. IT CANNOT EXTEND ABOVE THE TOP ONE!
If the blade pops, lower the front of the arm slightly.

This helped. Sometimes I have to do it a couple of times.
Be sure your tension knob is not moving. (Mine is sneaky)
Thanks for the suggestions. The lever moves when it's about to release the tension. I do attach the top clamp first and then then the bottom. I'll try the other info in the morning (the tornado sirens unnerved me this afternoon).

It is so frustrating. The bottom clamp lets loose even if the machine is just running - not actually sawing anything.
 

cskipper

Moderator
Cathy
I can get the Hegner to Fred and Bruce can pick up from there and you can get from Bruce Try it out and if that is what you want then we will trade. No hurry, test drive for a few months. I think the last time I used the saw was in 2019.
That would be fabulous! I love this group and the generosity of its members. Meanwhile I still see if I can figure out the problem with the Pegas so it its more than a paperweight.
 

cskipper

Moderator
Cathy
I had this issue with a DeWalt when new. The clamp screws were not installed correctly. After I corrected that, no more slipping. Not sure how how Pegas clamps compare to DeWalt, but folks use Pegas clamps to replace DeWalt's.
They sent me replacement clamps which never really resolved the problem.
 

Berta

Berta
Corporate Member
Thanks for the suggestions. The lever moves when it's about to release the tension. I do attach the top clamp first and then then the bottom. I'll try the other info in the morning (the tornado sirens unnerved me this afternoon).

It is so frustrating. The bottom clamp lets loose even if the machine is just running - not actually sawing anything.
I get it, I was ready to go back to the Dewalt. After leveling again, and rigging the knob, the bit about how to put the blade in the holder is what worked.
 

Alan in Little Washington

Alan Schaffter
Corporate Member
I'm not a scroller, don't have a scroll saw, but do a lot of tinkering am good at engineering stuff like this. There are a few things that strike me as possible causes: (1) one or both clamping surfaces are not flat, (2) clamping surfaces are not parallel because they were not properly formed (i.e. are wedge shaped with both high points meeting first) or because the clamping screw holes were not drilled and tapped perpendicular to their clamping surfaces, (3) the clamps have thread issues- the clamping screw and/or clamp body have bad threads at the point when the clamp meets the blade. (4) the clamping screw is too long and bottoming out before the blade is gripped.

All can be fixed with different levels of difficulty. If the saw is under warranty, then send the clamps or saw back.
 

cskipper

Moderator
Cathy
I'm not a scroller, don't have a scroll saw, but do a lot of tinkering am good at engineering stuff like this. There are a few things that strike me as possible causes: (1) one or both clamping surfaces are not flat, (2) clamping surfaces are not parallel because they were not properly formed (i.e. are wedge shaped with both high points meeting first) or because the clamping screw holes were not drilled and tapped perpendicular to their clamping surfaces, (3) the clamps have thread issues- the clamping screw and/or clamp body have bad threads at the point when the clamp meets the blade. (4) the clamping screw is too long and bottoming out before the blade is gripped.

All can be fixed with different levels of difficulty. If the saw is under warranty, then send the clamps or saw back.
Thanks for the input. The saw is out of warranty. I have a feeling that the the clamping surfaces are not parallel and despite lots of attempts by me do not seem to want to be. Different clamps than the ones the came with the saw so they are probably not actually the problem. I need to get some scrolling done while I can.
 

cskipper

Moderator
Cathy
Not wanting to trade there is one for sale in Mt airy this morningI was willing to let them try my clamps off dewalt or the pegas clamps I have on the dewalt
I appreciate your offering to help. I didn't know you drive a truck which could make meeting up tricky with LOML's medical appointments. We are going to use the pony express to get Phil's saw to Hickory where I can pick if up.
 

Jclrk

Jclrk
Corporate Member
If there anything I can do to help yell I'm not home alot but I do get home some lol
 

ScottM

Scott
Staff member
Corporate Member
Phil I am overdue for a trip to your scrap pile so let me know when you get the saw and I will try to help figure out what is going on.
 

Premier Sponsor

Our Sponsors

LATEST FOR SALE LISTINGS

Top