Dewalt Type 1 repair

[GrampaJim]

Over 3 years ago and as a newbie, my new Sears scroll saw broke. I found a Dewalt 788 Type 1 on Craigslist and was a happy camper for a long time. How much use it had before was unknown. Over time the noise of the saw increased and I read all the threads about 788 repairs here and watch the You-tube videos on the subject a couple of times. Not being a mechanic I admit to being kind of intimidated to tackle doing a rebuild. Since new saws were not in the budget and lately CL has lots of $50.00 Craftsman, a couple of $1000 Hegners, and Dewalts at $500 and up (really?? for a used machine that is going for $490 at Home Depot?). It was time to dive into DIY repairs.

I studied the videos until I almost had them memorized. Ordered sleeves from e-replacements and bearings (INA brand) from my local distributor Bearings Inc. They are less then 10 miles for me and were very helpful – great service.

The job is done and the saw has quieted WAY down. Just kind of purrs. My observations:

1. Should have done this much sooner! Not that there were any big issues, just that after 15-20 years of life everything was slightly warn. I found nothing nearly as bad as what was shown on the vids.

2. The parts lists that are on other threads here, seem for type 2 machines and there are some differences in part numbers.  If you have a Type 1, verify your part numbers.

3. The videos show using the new bearing to push out the old one in one operation. Bearings Inc people told me to do it in two steps. Push out the old one and than install the new. Their reasoning was the the side with the part numbers on the bearings is hardened steel and the opposite side is not. Pushing on that side could deform the bearing and shorten its life. I have know idea if that is true or not.

4. Going forward, I will be doing a disassembly and applying new grease probably every year.So my recommend that if you have a Dewalt that is less than ideal, be braver that I was and go for it. I have a like new saw at a cost of about $150 in parts.

 

[hotshot]

Very neat experience, I'm glad it worked out so well for you.

[hawkeye10]

Good job Jim. Just because they break don'y mean they are trash. Now you have one good as new and more than likely better.

 

PS  I think if I bought a new DW788 I would tear it down and fix it with better parts.

[Iguanadon]

Thanks for sharing your experience Jim.  I ordered sleeves and bearings for my Type 2 DW788 last month, received them, and now just need to set aside a day to perform maintenance on my oldest one.  I want to be able to perform maintenance and repairs as needed.  I have 3 saws now so that I can rotate them and not have any down time.

I too am not mechanically inclined, so it's encouraging to hear that you tackled the task and was successful.

Next rainy weekend, I'll dedicate a day to tearing one down.

[tuner]

Thanks, gives hope to us non mechanics that we can rebuild it we can repair it too.

[jerry1939]

Because of an unheated garage in Iowa, I only saw when the weather permits, and am fine with that.  At the end of the sawing season, I take apart my 40-694 and grease it.  Am a long time believer in preventative maintenance.

Jim, you will thank yourself for years that you raised your self confidence level by tackling it.

[amazingkevin]

5 hours ago, GrampaJim said:

Over 3 years ago and as a newbie, my new Sears scroll saw broke. I found a Dewalt 788 Type 1 on Craigslist and was a happy camper for a long time. How much use it had before was unknown. Over time the noise of the saw increased and I read all the threads about 788 repairs here and watch the You-tube videos on the subject a couple of times. Not being a mechanic I admit to being kind of intimidated to tackle doing a rebuild. Since new saws were not in the budget and lately CL has lots of $50.00 Craftsman, a couple of $1000 Hegners, and Dewalts at $500 and up (really?? for a used machine that is going for $490 at Home Depot?). It was time to dive into DIY repairs.

I studied the videos until I almost had them memorized. Ordered sleeves from e-replacements and bearings (INA brand) from my local distributor Bearings Inc. They are less then 10 miles for me and were very helpful – great service.

The job is done and the saw has quieted WAY down. Just kind of purrs. My observations:

1. Should have done this much sooner! Not that there were any big issues, just that after 15-20 years of life everything was slightly warn. I found nothing nearly as bad as what was shown on the vids.

2. The parts lists that are on other threads here, seem for type 2 machines and there are some differences in part numbers.  If you have a Type 1, verify your part numbers.

3. The videos show using the new bearing to push out the old one in one operation. Bearings Inc people told me to do it in two steps. Push out the old one and than install the new. Their reasoning was the the side with the part numbers on the bearings is hardened steel and the opposite side is not. Pushing on that side could deform the bearing and shorten its life. I have know idea if that is true or not.

4. Going forward, I will be doing a disassembly and applying new grease probably every year.So my recommend that if you have a Dewalt that is less than ideal, be braver that I was and go for it. I have a like new saw at a cost of about $150 in parts.

 

good man,'m going to use my drill press to press out the bearings.Yes car grease makes for long life in a dewalt.

[lawson56]

I'm glad ya gotta her going.I myself have learned to do minor repairs.So I remind myself to do regular oil&lube 

[NC Scroller]

I would not use regular old fashion grease. Pay a couple extra bucks and get some synthetic grease. 

[hawkeye10]

For those that say they aren't to mechanically inclined I think if you can do scroll saw work you can work on your saws. It's all about taking your time and doing it right.

[CharleyL]

Take your time, do one small assembly at a time, and get it completely back together before taking anything else apart  When working on machinery I frequently take a few pictures of complicated assemblies with my cell phone camera before I take them apart, then refer to them, if I need to, when putting it all back together. Lay the removed parts in the sequence that you remove them, down the side of your bench. Then exchange the used parts for the new ones, keeping everything in the order of dis-assembly. Then re-assemble the mechanism, starting from the opposite end of the parts on the bench and you will get everything back together in the reverse order that it was taken apart. Don't think about how big the whole job is, only concentrate on one assembly at a time. Then take the next sub assembly apart using the same techniques. Continue until all of the sub assemblies have been rebuilt. If you have to stop for more than just a few minutes, write down a little note to yourself explaining which sub assemblies are done or need to be done, and where you are in the process of rebuilding the assembly that you are working on. Good organization is critical, especially when you are new at this. If you can print out the exploded views from the parts list, these will also help you get things back together. Follow these suggestions and you will do fine.

 

Charley