Dewalt Side to Side Play Question

[jbrowning]

Hello everyone, well I finished up with all of my cutting for the year and now I have a question.

I have noticed that on my Dewalt 788, there is some side to side play in the upper and lower arm. I am wondering if this is normal? I have never checked that before, so maybe there is supposed to be some play in them. I haven't taken the time to measure the amount of movement yet.

Thanks

Jim

 

[OLD WORMY]

If you are talking about side to side movement in the blade holders with no tension, this is normal. The movement will go away when tension is applied. If you are talking about side to side movement with tension, then this can be corrected by adjusting the set screws in the blade holders so that the blade will be centered in the holders.

[OCtoolguy]

Also, if you have a lot of time on your saw, it might be time to do an inspection of the tiny roller bearings in each joint. I did a bearing service on mine, using synthetic grease, and after putting it all back together, it seemed like every joint was tighter. I fully expected to have to replace some of the bearings and sleeves but luckily, they were not worn enough to require that. These are great and very durable saws if maintained properly.

Ray

[jerry1939]

10 hours ago, OLD WORMY said:

If you are talking about side to side movement in the blade holders with no tension, this is normal. The movement will go away when tension is applied. If you are talking about side to side movement with tension, then this can be corrected by adjusting the set screws in the blade holders so that the blade will be centered in the holders.

I found that on my Delta, I do not adjust the set screws to center the blade in each holder.  In 1 holder, I have the blade to the right & in the other, to the left. Take a scrap, cut the width so that it just fits on edge with the blade down.  I cut it to a point where it touches the blade.  Next, raise the blade & see if blade "moves sideways".  That helped mine.  Good Luck Friend.

[OCtoolguy]

20 minutes ago, jerry1939 said:

I found that on my Delta, I do not adjust the set screws to center the blade in each holder.  In 1 holder, I have the blade to the right & in the other, to the left. Take a scrap, cut the width so that it just fits on edge with the blade down.  I cut it to a point where it touches the blade.  Next, raise the blade & see if blade "moves sideways".  That helped mine.  Good Luck Friend.

Your method sounds interesting but for the life of me, I can't decipher what you mean. I guess a picture is worth a thousand words for someone as dense as me.

R
 

[jerry1939]

19 hours ago, octoolguy said:

Your method sounds interesting but for the life of me, I can't decipher what you mean. I guess a picture is worth a thousand words for someone as dt NOT centerednse as me.

Rwhen it is running
 

My Bad.  A poor job of explaining.   Originally, with the saw running & the blade tensioned. the blade appeared wider than it is, indicating some side to side movement.  Perhaps the easiest way to envision this is to exaggerate the heck out of it.  Envision 1 clamp set over 10, 20,........ ?  degrees over from the other clamp.  Now with the saw running, the blade would "look like" it is very thick when it is running.

I dismantle my saw annually & grease it.  It has a few really thin spacers that someone probably placed randomly side of a few bearings at the factory.

To check yours, I would now suggest a different method.  With a tensioned, stationary blade way down, set a credit card up against it & tape the card down.  Raise the blade way up and see if there is now a gap.  In the event that the blade now puts pressure against the blade, remove the tape & put the credit card against the blade when it is way up.  Now lower the blade & check if there is a gap.

I played with the set screws by trial and error until I had an identical clearance with the blade both up and down.  Now the blade runs true, but it's not centered in the clamps.

[OCtoolguy]

7 minutes ago, jerry1939 said:

My Bad.  A poor job of explaining.   Originally, with the saw running & the blade tensioned. the blade appeared wider than it is, indicating some side to side movement.  Perhaps the easiest way to envision this is to exaggerate the heck out of it.  Envision 1 clamp set over 10, 20,........ ?  degrees over from the other clamp.  Now with the saw running, the blade would "look like" it is very thick when it is running.

I dismantle my saw annually & grease it.  It has a few really thin spacers that someone probably placed randomly side of a few bearings at the factory.

To check yours, I would now suggest a different method.  With a tensioned, stationary blade way down, set a credit card up against it & tape the card down.  Raise the blade way up and see if there is now a gap.  In the event that the blade now puts pressure against the blade, remove the tape & put the credit card against the blade when it is way up.  Now lower the blade & check if there is a gap.

I played with the set screws by trial and error until I had an identical clearance with the blade both up and down.  Now the blade runs true, but it's not centered in the clamps.

Thanks for an excellent description. I can envision it like you are here. Ok, I get it. And, I see no reason to have the blades centered in the clamps. As long as the blade is straight and is running perpendicular to the table. Thanks for taking the time.

 

[kmmcrafts]

2 hours ago, jerry1939 said:

My Bad.  A poor job of explaining.   Originally, with the saw running & the blade tensioned. the blade appeared wider than it is, indicating some side to side movement.  Perhaps the easiest way to envision this is to exaggerate the heck out of it.  Envision 1 clamp set over 10, 20,........ ?  degrees over from the other clamp.  Now with the saw running, the blade would "look like" it is very thick when it is running.

I dismantle my saw annually & grease it.  It has a few really thin spacers that someone probably placed randomly side of a few bearings at the factory.

To check yours, I would now suggest a different method.  With a tensioned, stationary blade way down, set a credit card up against it & tape the card down.  Raise the blade way up and see if there is now a gap.  In the event that the blade now puts pressure against the blade, remove the tape & put the credit card against the blade when it is way up.  Now lower the blade & check if there is a gap.

I played with the set screws by trial and error until I had an identical clearance with the blade both up and down.  Now the blade runs true, but it's not centered in the clamps.

My set screws are the same way.. I did this when I first got my saw.. and do it to any new saw I have had since I figured this out.. sure makes sawing a lot easier and smoother running when a saw is tuned good..

[amazingkevin]

On 12/19/2017 at 9:29 AM, jbrowning said:

Hello everyone, well I finished up with all of my cutting for the year and now I have a question.

I have noticed that on my Dewalt 788, there is some side to side play in the upper and lower arm. I am wondering if this is normal? I have never checked that before, so maybe there is supposed to be some play in them. I haven't taken the time to measure the amount of movement yet.

Thanks

Jim

 

All my dw788's have alot of blade holder slop.but under tension it cut straight as an arrow with fd blades.guess it doesn't matter.