At a Glance
21″ Throat Depth
Introductory price: $649, $719 with stand
MRSP: $719, $799 with stand
Call 800-847-4188 or e-mail sales@grobetusa.com to find a local retailer
The first branded Pégas Scroll Saw to hit the market does so with a bang, combining Swiss engineering with a proven design to set a new standard for higher-priced saws.
These new units, made in the same factory as Excalibur saws (as well as Jet, King, Seyco, and a few brands sold in other countries), match the quality of those popular saws but include a key upgrade: they come with the revolutionary Pégas Blade Chuck Heads pre-installed.
Like Excalibur saws, the Pégas features a tilting arm controlled by a rack and pinion system that allows you to dial in an angle quickly and accurately. It also has a spring-loaded locating pin and matching holes for common angles, such as 0°, 45°, and 221/2°, to make it even easier to orient the arm. (Follow the instructions in the owner’s manual to check these angles when you get your saw; after I squared my blade to the table, I had to adjust the angle guide and locating pin to zero it in.) And conveniently, Pégas put the power switch and speed control at the front of the saw arm.
Most importantly, however, Pégas pre-installed their Blade Chuck Heads on the saw. This upgrade, a $90 value, reduces vibration noticeably and holds blades super-securely—incredibly, we put them on our shop saws nearly a year ago and have not had a single blade slip out of place since. (See our review of them HERE.)
The table is large enough to support most projects, and since the saw arm lifts and stays in place, you can top- or bottom-feed when cutting fretwork. (One quibble: the dust collection cover made it a challenge to change blades, so I removed it.)
A strong dust blower easily moves sawdust off pattern lines, but the pop-n’-lock joint where the blower nozzle connects with the air tubing is undersized. To tighten the fit and keep the nozzle in position, I wrapped a short piece of tape around the male end of the connection. Helpfully, a longer-than-usual nozzle makes positioning the blower easier.
The introductory price for the Pégas saw and stand, $719, puts it in the same range as the King 16″ with a stand ($730), the Hegner 14-E at $795, the at PS Wood 21″ at $799, and the Seyco ST-21 at $879. What sets it apart is the addition of those terrific chuck heads, which keep it running quietly and smoothly at any cutting speed.
To compare the new Pégas Scroll Saw with similarly priced models, check out our reviews at scrollsawer.com/category/product-reviews/saw-review/.