Overhaul or buy new

[Joey]

Hi,

I have the dewalt s/s #788 and it is 10 yrs. old and starying to show its

age. I talked to the dewalt people and they suggested I get it overhauled

at their nearest service center. Has anyone had this done,where you happy

with the results? Or should I just buy a new saw?

Thank you,Joey

[Travis]

I'd check to see what something like that costs. If its going to cost you $300-400, you might want to just consider buying a new one.

[WolfmoonCT]

Yeah, but if they do an overhaul for like 100-150, you can't beat that. A new 788 will cost him like $460 the cheapest i've seen it. If you get it overhauled, does it come with any warranty on new parts or do they guarantee anything on how it runs after?

[PawPawRay]

I haven't had one re-built but bought my DeWalt from factory rebuilt for almost half the cost of a new one with a new warrenty and it has run like a champ for over 3 yrs.

[Joey]

Hi All,

Just got off the phone with my local repair shop. Worse case scenario would be

$261.99 plus tax. With a 2 week lag time. I just might do this.

Joey

[amazingkevin]

Glad to hear the long run time of the dw788.I loved to scroll 8 hours a day and wore out many machines doing so.Wish i could scoll like that again.New is allways nice.Hope you kept a back up saw!i have a dw788 type 1 now ,used and love it.Wish it had the the blade clamps my old craftman 18 had .Mad it easy and fast to secure any blade ,spirals with twisted ends especially,they locked in the first try instead of spining out with thumb screws .

[Joey]

Hi Folks,

Sorry it's taken me awhile to get back to you on this subject. My computer crashed--it is either the video card or the mother board. The computer being 6 yrs. old, I was

advised to ger a new one. The scroll saw, I took it to a factory outlet to have it overhauled. They could not find anything wrong and asked me to bring in some wood I was using.

I did and showed the tech what I was working on and made the saw act like it was lagging or slipping. The tech ended up calling DeWalt they said I should not be cutting 1 inch oak

on the saw and that was the problem. Cost $54 and change. Have not used it yet when I do i'll try a little compound cutting with a liter wood.

Joey

[Travis]

Hmmm....cutting 1" oak isn't what I would consider beyond the ability of a scroll saw. Heck, my Craftsman 16" will do that. In fact their listing on Amazon states: "The saw relies on a dependable 1.3 Amp motor for the power you need and delivers a variable stroke length between 3/4 inch and up to 2 inches deep." Sounds like they are making excuses so they didn't have to fix it.

[longrifle]

I'm with Travis on this one. I have a 788 and have cut 1" oak without a problem. I cut

1" and thicker walnut and cherry on a regular basis. Occasionally I encounter the

taper problem when cutting really thick stuff. Like close to 2" but if i take my time

and watch what I'm doing it usually makes good cuts. Sounds like somebody that

didn't know what was going on was grasping at straws.

Rick

[Oges]

Joey,

What size blade are you using when cutting the 1" oak, and what speed are you running the saw at?

[Joey]

Oges,

The speed was full blade was # 3 or #5 reverse tooth.

Joey

[Joey]

Travis & longrifle,

That is exactly what I thought. When I get back to cutting I will let you know how the saw performs.

Joey