Procrastination Bites Me Again

[Iguanadon]

For a couple of months I've been thinking "Iggy, you should buy a 2nd saw so that you have a spare."

 

I've been checking Craigslist but a decent one hasn't popped up.  I should have bought another DW788 and been done with it.  Now I'm paying the price.  Mine is making noises that it shouldn't... some rattling, some squeaking, etc.  There is a Dewalt service center here, so getting it repaired is no issue, but I can't afford to go 2 weeks without a saw... Especially right now.  I have an event coming up and I'm cutting like crazy getting ready for it because I'll be out of town on business all next week.

 

I be screwed. I'm thinking of picking up a cheap Craftsman from Sears tomorrow just so I can keep working thru Sunday.

 

I just wanted to rant.  I feel better now.  :-)

 

 

[ike]

I had my DW788 in the repair shop 2 years ago and it took  them 3 weeks to get it back to me. I made it thru it but when i found a DW 788 type one at a garage sale i bought it . the cost was $150. i haven't used it yet , but it is still there waiting in reserve. 

IKE

[LarryEA]

Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and take the saw apart. Grease it!!!!!!!!!!!

You will not be happy buying a Craftsman.

[Iguanadon]

Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and take the saw apart. Grease it!!!!!!!!!!!

You will not be happy buying a Craftsman.

 

I don't have the mechanical skills or the time to take my saw apart, put it back together again, have several leftover parts after 40 hours of cursing and screaming.  ;-)  My full time job and my spare time being spent cutting, just doesn't allow me the time to learn how to dismantle the saw and learn how to maintain it.

 

I know I won't be happy with the Craftsman, but I must have a saw for the next 3 days and that's my best option available for pick up tomorrow morning.  Such is life, it's my own fault.

Edited November 10, 2016 by Iguanadon

[Scrolling Steve]

Larry is right Scott, you will not be happy with the craftsman.........Good luck...does the guy in raleigh still have the EX you looked at !? 

Edited November 10, 2016 by Scrolling Steve

[Iguanadon]

Larry is right Scott, you will not be happy with the craftsman.........Good luck...does the guy in raleigh still have the EX you looked at !? 

 

Hey Steve, Yes, the EX is still available but even if he was available tomorrow, it's a 6 hour round trip and I'd lose a day of cutting.

 

I learned my lesson.  I'll buy a spare DW this winter.

[Iguanadon]

Well, I bit the bullet and ordered a DW from Amazon and have it coming Saturday.  With any luck it gets here during daylight hours and I won't lose too much cutting time.  

 

I only have to travel twice a year for the day job and of course next week is one of those times.  Very rude of them to interrupt my cutting and craft events.  ;-)

[Lucky2]

Iggy, for the amount of time it took you to check out the Village and post your rant, you could have greased your saw. It's a simple thing to do, and it does not take up much time. For the sake of an hour or less, you should be able to strip the saw down and service it. There's all kinds of videos on you-tube that show you how to do it, if your not mechanically inclined.

 

Len

[Iguanadon]

Iggy, for the amount of time it took you to check out the Village and post your rant, you could have greased your saw. It's a simple thing to do, and it does not take up much time. For the sake of an hour or less, you should be able to strip the saw down and service it. There's all kinds of videos on you-tube that show you how to do it, if your not mechanically inclined.

 

Len

 

 

Just for you Len, I won't take my current saw to the repair shop and I'll take the time in January after the holidays to watch some tutorials and will learn how to maintain the DW so that I don't find myself in a bad situation again.  I'm not completely clueless when it comes to mechanical work, however I won't be surprised if I end up with a box of parts that I end up taking to the repair shop with a horribly disfigured saw asking if they can put Humpty Dumpty back together again.  ;-)

[Lucky2]

Iggy, I've got faith in you, I'm quite sure you can do it on your own. There's not much to these saws, a couple of bearings and pivot points. Do the reverse build method, it will keep you straightened out and going in the right direction. Do you intend to grease the bearings, or, do you intend to replace them. The original bearings are sealed bearings, they should not require any grease. But, a lot of DW saw owners swear by it, they say that the grease makes all the difference. So, who am I to disagree with them, I don't own a DW saw. I have worked on a couple of them in the past, that's how I know it's not that big of a job to do a rebuild. It will be a good thing to learn how to do, you never know when you will need to rebuild another one.

Len

[CharleyL]

There are several large bearings that are sealed bearings, and greasing them does no good. They need to be replaced when bad. 

 

The smaller bearings have an insert sleeve in them and they are easy to grease. Just remove the bolt from the center, remove the sleeve that the bolt was going through, put a tiny amount of synthetic instrument grease on a tooth pick and coat the inside of the hole in the bearing. Then replace the sleeve and the bolt, installing the sleeve rotated about 1/2 turn from where it was when you took it out. Tighten the bolt, then move to the next little bearing and repeat the process. DON'T use automotive grease. Find a small container/tube of synthetic instrument grease to use for this. A small tube will last you through several lubrications of the saw. The bearing store sells it if you can't find it anywhere else. My first container came from a better hardware store. 

 

Pay special attention to the bearing in the arm on the end of the motor shaft. Also the long bolt in the center of the vertical rocking arm, and the bearings at the top and bottom end of this arm. They are sealed bearings and will need to be replaced if they are bad. If you can make the center of the bearing move side to side without the outer part of the bearing moving, even just a tiny bit, the bearing is bad. You just need to inspect them closely to be sure there is no play in them, and make certain that the long bolt through the center of this vertical arm is not loose. It needs to be snug, but not tight. If it's loose, or broken, it could be the noise that you are hearing, but worn bearings can make the noise too. 

 

Only remove one side cover of the saw at a time. The saw will fall apart if you remove both sides at the same time. The covers are a kind of exoskeleton for the saw. There is no internal frame to hold the saw together. Just put one cover back on and tighten the bolts before removing the other side.

 

There are tiny numbers etched in the side of every bearing. If you need to replace one, this is the number that you need. There is a bearing specialty store in every major city in the country. Go there if you need new bearings and you will save a lot of money. If you buy them from DeWalt, you will pay about  3X as much for them. The little bearings and the sleeves in them are separate part numbers and they need to be purchased separately. Some online sites also sell bearings at good prices, but you can't look them over before buying them.

 

Watch the Youtube videos if you run into any problems. They are long, but very thorough. The saw isn't really that complicated. Once you can see how the pieces move inside, it's easy to understand. With a cover off of the saw, turn the motor shaft with a screwdriver and watch the parts in the saw move. A few revolutions of the motor and you will understand how it all works. 

 

Good luck,

 

Charley

Edited November 11, 2016 by CharleyL

[Dave Monk]

Iggy, I totally feel your pain. My Dewalt is in the shop as I speak. It is under warranty. The bearings are out of it. I may also have to go to the doctor so I can get something for these shakes. dave

[Iguanadon]

Good info, thanks Charley.  Between Youtube and our resident knowledgebase I'm sure I'll come close to not destroying my saw.  

 

Which one of you wants to come to the beach for a weekend to do this for me?  LOL

[amazingkevin]

For a couple of months I've been thinking "Iggy, you should buy a 2nd saw so that you have a spare."

 

I've been checking Craigslist but a decent one hasn't popped up.  I should have bought another DW788 and been done with it.  Now I'm paying the price.  Mine is making noises that it shouldn't... some rattling, some squeaking, etc.  There is a Dewalt service center here, so getting it repaired is no issue, but I can't afford to go 2 weeks without a saw... Especially right now.  I have an event coming up and I'm cutting like crazy getting ready for it because I'll be out of town on business all next week.

 

I be screwed. I'm thinking of picking up a cheap Craftsman from Sears tomorrow just so I can keep working thru Sunday.

 

I just wanted to rant.  I feel better now.  :-)

Chek out"OfferUP" Great place to buy an sell,free too

[spirithorse]

I'm not trying to pick on anybody here and everyone is allowed their own opinion but,

it really chaps my butt when people make a generalized statement like

"You won't be happy with a Craftsman". How in the world do you know what someone

else will be happy with? How do you have any idea what someone else can fit in their budget?

I started out with a Harbor Freight saw and will still put any of my projects beside yours and

dare you to tell me which saw cut which project. That saw, by the way, is still working after

at least 11 years and had the best blade alighnment of ANY saw I have seen.

I then bought a Black and Decker saw because it had variable speed and a larger table.

It worked fine and is still running but, I did get over-zealous with the tensioner on that because

instead of a cam lever tensioner you turned the lever on the rear of the saw then locked it down

so, I stripped the threaded rod twice (about a $9 fix).

I am now using a Craftsman because it is a larger table/larger throat..

I do NOT endorse Craftsman because of the trouble getting any help from Sears for anything

and if you have to get a part, you can almost guarantee you'll have to order it for ANYTHING you

buy at Sears. Other than that, the Craftsman saw I am using has more than paid for itself with some

pretty good pieces of fret-work, Intarsia, and crafts.

Go back to the posts on this forum alone and see how many posts you find that say,

Whoops trouble with my Excaliber or Dewalt.

Make any comments you wish about my post but, as far as I'm concerned, I have already said all I

have to say on the subject.

Edited November 11, 2016 by spirithorse

[Scrolling Steve]

Bob, First of all let me say that my comment was in no way meant to diss or insult your saw of choice...I am glad you like it !.....I should have said that i had used one and it was not for me....I am sorry if it came across any other way.....Steve.

[NC Scroller]

Hey Steve, Yes, the EX is still available but even if he was available tomorrow, it's a 6 hour round trip and I'd lose a day of cutting.

 

I learned my lesson.  I'll buy a spare DW this winter.

No cutting for 6 hours or no cutting for three weeks. Sounds like a no brainer to me. I live 3 hours from you. I have overhauled a couple DW788 saws. Want to bring it up and do it together. If no parts are required we can do in in about an hour.

[Iguanadon]

No cutting for 6 hours or no cutting for three weeks. Sounds like a no brainer to me. I live 3 hours from you. I have overhauled a couple DW788 saws. Want to bring it up and do it together. If no parts are required we can do in in about an hour.

 

Hi Scott, 

 

I would like to take you up on your offer.  I won't need to do it right away as I have a new saw on the way, but would very much appreciate the maintenance lesson.

 

My wife's dad lives "near" you in southern VA, so it may be that I coordinate a trip when she wants to go visit him.

 

I'll be in touch.

 

Thanks again for offering.  Yet another example of the great community we have here.

 

Iggy

[CharleyL]

I'm quite a bit West of you, so Scott's offer should be better for you. I haven't  had enough spare time to even use my scroll saw lately.

 

Charley 

[Iguanadon]

My new DW788 arrived today at noon.  Thank you Amazon and FedEx.  It is great, of course.  I just finished 3 solid hours of cutting and as I compare the movement of the linkages between the new one and the one I had to stop using due to noise, etc, it's amazing the difference.  I have a feeling that just about every bearing and/or sleeve will need to be replaced when I break it down in a couple of months.

 

I need to dig into the diagrams and start ordering parts.