EX-21 adjustment issue

[Phil J]

I bought an EX-21 last February and it has worked great. Have not done any cutting for a couple of months..seems like I fiddled with the rear tension knob and got things out of whack. It seems if I tighten the top clamp too much it just snaps the blade,or rather just chops off the top 1/2-1/4 inch of it. Everything is just way out of adjustment. And the little plastic tension lever on the front will flip forward for no apparent reason... When I got the saw I was amazed that I could cut and cut and the blade would dull way before it broke.

Any hints on how to get this critter back into factory-like adjustment?

thanks!

Phil J.

[hotshot]

Make sure the arm is level with the table: I put a piece of wood beside the arm toward the back, mark a line, and bring it foward, then adjust to the line, repeat until level.

Don't use the knob in the back. If you need a little extra tension, just press down a little on the arm as you tighten the blade.

Because of the blade breaking, I think your issue may actually be with the set screws in the clamps. The set screw should be adjusted such that the end is just barely "proud" of the inside of the clamp, or in other words, looking into the clamp, you should just barely see the end of the screw. I've not gotten around to using a locktight to lock the threads, so the screws tend to get out of kilter over time. If the screws back into the clamp, you will damage the blades when you tighten the clamp and possibly cause breakage.

Let us know what you figure out

--------Randy

[Northerner]

i do the same thing as randy, i use a little drop of loctite (non permanent) blue stuff i think? just so the set screw doesn't move around.

[Phil J]

Thanks for the info! I checked that the upper arm was level with table, adjusted a little. Set screws I think are ok - really cannot hardly see into that small space well.

With no load it runs like a sewing machine, when I put a load on it such as cutting 1/2 birch plywood that white plastic tension lever on the front flips foward, relasing the tension and rendering the saw useless.....arrrrggg!

Short of duct tapee and/or baling wire, how do I correct that problem?

thanks,

Phil J

[Terry Jay]

Call Ray at Seyco. There have been several threads here on that adjustment, and some have said they were wrong, so call and ask.
Terry

[Phil J]

I just fiddled with it for a few minutes....though it seems counter-intuitive, could NOT having enough tension cause this to happen? I loosened the blad, pushed down a bit on the front part of the arm and re-tightened....ran for a few minutes and it seemed to hold....hmmmm


thanks!

Phil J

[sawdust11703]

I had the same thing happen to me with the tension lever flipping forward . Either the white flip lever needs to be adjusted by turning the white nylon screw in front of it or it might be worn out and you will need a new one. Call Rey at Seyco so he can guide you as to how to adjust it. I ruined mine initially because I followed some directions on this board that according to Rey were not accurate and caused my flip lever to prematurely wear out. Also as I have said numerous times on this board, if you are and EX owner, STOP playing with the rear knob on the EX. It's just to raise and lower the upper arm. It should not be used to give the blades extra tension. Once the upper arm is set to your liking, you should really never have to touch that rear knob again.

[Phil J]

Thanks - I took a look and there seems to not be any white nylon screw anywhere around the flip lever - looks like it is just hinged on some metal grommet-looking pin....

thanks,

Phil J.

[hotshot]

Phil, looking down, there should be a hole at the your top clamp. There you should see the nylon screw. On a post here some time back it was mentioned that they were going to do away with that screw. I've not heard of anyone actually getting a saw without it yet.

-----Randy

[Northerner]

give this a try

[sawdust11703]

Northerner, your directions are the ones that Rey from Seyco told me were inaccurate. I followed what you posted and my lever prematurely wore out. I think the problem is that you should only turn the screw 1/4 a turn NOT 1/2 as you have written down. Just so you know, I'm not trying to criticize you, I'm just relaying what Rey told me when I told him what I did.

[Northerner]

no problem, and ray sent that pic with the instructions but never knew it was wrong?
but my lever works perfect on my saw so not sure whats going on with others?

[sawdust11703]

Yeah I don't know, he seemed to tell you one thing and told me something else. Maybe it depends how out of wack the lever is. If it just needs a minor adjustment, maybe a 1/2 turn is too much. Rey is very helpful so I find it easier and better to just call him rather than looking through forums trying to find an answer.

[Northerner]

one thing i know there are different types of levers so maybe one lever takes a different setting over another?

[Tom J.]

Phil, looking down, there should be a hole at the your top clamp. There you should see the nylon screw. On a post here some time back it was mentioned that they were going to do away with that screw. I've not heard of anyone actually getting a saw without it yet.

-----Randy

I got my EX-21 in Canada a couple of years ago and it does not have the nylon screw. The threaded hole is there but no screw. I can't figure out what the screw would react on to adjust the lever. Can anyone give me a clue.

Tom