New member intro

[BARCODE TEST]

Just signed in. I'm a rank amateur with 2 years of scrolling and some hand-carving. Learning with every project. Lots of questions. I'm feeling limited by my fairly new DW788 and looking for advice. I like close, complicated cutting and find the DW a bit hard to control. Th blade seems to flail around until I engage it in a cut which makes predicting where it will land an uncertainty. Also difficult to control on tight curves and corners. Welcoming ideas and opinions.

[Dak0ta52]

While I have no knowledge about the DeWalt, I feel your biggest issue is experience... and possibly saw setup. When running the saw, the blade should be running straight up and down. If not, it is possible some tweaking may be necessary. Others in the Village with this brand of saw may pipe in if this is the case. As far as control in turns, slowing down your push into the blade, or on sharp turns, slight back pressure, seems to work for me. I also like the intricate projects and depending on the thickness of the material and blade choice, I've found you can cut pretty delicate pieces with everything tuned right and patiences.

Welcome to the Village. There are a lot of great people here with a vast amount of knowledge. I've only been scrolling for a few years where others here have many, many years experience. Don't hesitate to ask questions and we love photos. Great work on your bowls and tree of life.

[Bill WIlson]

The Dewalt will cut more aggressively than some other saws on the market.  Unlike some other saws of similar design, there is no way to adjust the vertical stroke to be less aggressive as can be done on an Excalibur, Pegas and some other brands.

That said, don't despair.  All is not lost.  First, I would try using the smallest blade that will readily cut the chosen material.  Smaller blades, with higher TPI count will be less aggressive.  Also adjust the blade speed down a little.  Don't go too slow, as that will cause its own set of issues, but find a slower speed that you can saw detail comfortably.

One last thing, related to the saw set-up, that might help; when looking at the top & bottom blade clamps, see if the blade is aligned vertically.  There is a set screw on the left side of the blade clamps.  It should protrude into the blade slot an equal amount in both the top & bottom clamps.  If they are not in alignment, the blade will lean slightly to the left or right and when in motion, appear to wobble or "flail" about.

Looks like you are doing well for a "rank amateur".  Keep at it and the comfort level will come.  I had a Dewalt for several years and eventually got used to the aggressive cutting motion.  I replaced it with an Excalibur a number of years ago and have it tuned for the least aggressive cutting motion.  I've gotten used to that now and when I go back to cutting on a Dewalt, it feels much harder to control.

Good luck!  Hope this helps.

[Scrappile]

First, welcome to the forum. I'm Glad to have you join us and hope we can help you.  From what you describe I feel it is a blade tension problem.  Before you start the saw and after you set the tension on, do you get a nice ping when you pluck the blade?  It should be like a high "C" note, I think they say.  Blade failing and no real control when cutting could well be, not enough tension.  DeWalts are good saws, many have them, I had one years ago and it treated me well.  If you can and have a means take a video while running it.  That could really help to determine the problem.

[daveww1]

welcome to the village

[jerry walters]

Welcome from Colorado.  John you will get a lot of good information from the folks here.  Very helpful, Very knowledgeable. Read through past posts.  A wealth of information is stored.

Jerry

[Randyw81]

I'm not sure about what you describe as flailing, but I agree that the DW788 has an aggressive cut.  I had difficulty with that when I first got mine. I found a YouTube video by Trevor Carter on reducing the aggressiveness of the Dewalt.  It is a simple modification where you enlarge the lower arm mounting holes slightly to help it cut less aggressively.  I couldn't believe the difference it made with control in tight cuts and turns.

 

[JJB]

Welcome to the village! I have a Dewalt and I noticed the same problems with mine. One thing I did was change out the original blade clamps with the Pegas replacements. Then I made sure the fine adjustments on the clamps enabled the blade to move directly up and down, square to the table. It took me a while but I finally found the sweet spot and now it seems to be working well.

[Denny Knappen]

Welcome to the Village forum from Tennessee.  All good answers.  As a Pegas distributor, I may be able to help with blade questions.

[Joe W.]

Welcome to the Village from Delaware.

[Dan]

Welcome from Ohio.