Dewalt 788 update

[Garyrenee]

Well I got my pegus blades and they are 5”. To clarify…..I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck. I’ve been scrolling for a couple years so when I say the tension is off….its off. I’m going to try and attach pictures so it will give you folks an idea what I’m up against.

[kmmcrafts]

Just looking at the first photo I can see the upper arm is going up on a slight angle.. Looks to me like the tension rod is turned in to far and it needs adjusted..

It's pretty simple to do but I guess you need to decide whether to take it back or to a service center or tackle it yourself.. 

[rjweb]

Did you try leveling the arm with the table top, should be parallel, RJ

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Listen no one here is accusing you of anything. We gave ideas what to look for. It is a brand new saw you decide what you want to do with it. The extending the rod is a simple fix. Go for it. My point was people hate to make phone calls for some reason. What would it hurt to call either the place you bought it or Dewalt themselves and let them tell you how to fix it. I was never one to shy away from the word NO. Someone tells me no I could care less it does not hurt my feelings. At least I tried. The ball is in your court.  Dewalt saws are known for problems ever since they hit the market weather they were built in Canada or Tawain. Quality control is lacking more and more in all tools.  

[Garyrenee]

I apologize if I have offended anyone. Not my intent. Nobody here knows what my mechanical background is so when I keep getting asked the same question regarding tension I take it the wrong way.SORRY. I’m very comfortable taking this thing apart if need be but it has been mentioned by a couple of people that the tension rod is probably the problem and after looking at a parts diagram I tend to agree. It doesn’t appear to be that big of a deal to do. If anyone has any pointers or things to watch out for,I’m all ears.

 

Regarding phone calls in today’s world. I would sooner chew my arm off than try to talk to a REAL person. Frustrating at best. Much sooner fix the problem myself thru the use of these forums that are full of people who want to help. Thanks again to all and again I meant no disrespect.

 

Gary

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

1 hour ago, Garyrenee said:

I apologize if I have offended anyone. Not my intent. Nobody here knows what my mechanical background is so when I keep getting asked the same question regarding tension I take it the wrong way.SORRY. I’m very comfortable taking this thing apart if need be but it has been mentioned by a couple of people that the tension rod is probably the problem and after looking at a parts diagram I tend to agree. It doesn’t appear to be that big of a deal to do. If anyone has any pointers or things to watch out for,I’m all ears.

 

Regarding phone calls in today’s world. I would sooner chew my arm off than try to talk to a REAL person. Frustrating at best. Much sooner fix the problem myself thru the use of these forums that are full of people who want to help. Thanks again to all and again I meant no disrespect.

 

Gary

https://www.scrollsaws.com/SawReviews/DewltTuneUp.htm

Scroll down to tensioning rod. It show you how to take front cover off and what to look for. one or two turns on the rod should be enough. I do not have my Dewalt any more so can not take any photos. But it is not hard to do. Maybe someone else has a clear photo but in that link you will see it. It use to be the wedge was mis manufactured on some saws and they were too large. I would have thought that problem is all gone by now. 

Edited January 10 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[Garyrenee]

Thanks John I’ll give that a try. 
 

Gary

[barb.j.enders]

Odd thought here,  could it be that the screw on the back is too tight.  I know some people would tighten it to be able to have the arm held up.  If it is too tight, then the arm might not be in its lowest position.  

[Garyrenee]

Nope. Checked that too and the arm moves freely.

Ive done what John suggested regarding the tension arm. Two turns in was no where near the amount. I finally settled on 10 turns clockwise and I can now see about  1/16-1/8 of blade above the set screw on the top and bottom.

 

Upon doing more research it turns out that all of the latest batch of 788 scrollsaws have an improperly machined wedge at the back and all the adjustments in the world aren’t going to fix the distance between the holders. Like mine which is 5 inches, they are supposed to be 4 1/2 max which gives you the wiggle room required. Now it all makes sense. 
 

The issue now is trying to get Dewalt to send the appropriate size wedge.

Thanks to all for the input

Gary

[kmmcrafts]

1 hour ago, Garyrenee said:

Nope. Checked that too and the arm moves freely.

Ive done what John suggested regarding the tension arm. Two turns in was no where near the amount. I finally settled on 10 turns clockwise and I can now see about  1/16-1/8 of blade above the set screw on the top and bottom.

 

Upon doing more research it turns out that all of the latest batch of 788 scrollsaws have an improperly machined wedge at the back and all the adjustments in the world aren’t going to fix the distance between the holders. Like mine which is 5 inches, they are supposed to be 4 1/2 max which gives you the wiggle room required. Now it all makes sense. 
 

The issue now is trying to get Dewalt to send the appropriate size wedge.

Thanks to all for the input

Gary

Well, I'm glad to hear you at least got something figured out.. shame that so many of these saws go without some sort of quality check and end up in consumers hands.. while frustrating as it is for you, I'm glad you at least have some scroll saw experience.. imagine a brand new scroller trying to figure all this out? They may find themselves giving up on a great opportunity of scrolling fun just because they cannot figure out how to mount the blade all because of a faulty saw.. Those DeWalt saws are awesome to use once they get dialed in and add some sort of arm lifter.. I had a Jim Dandy Easy Lift on my old DeWalt and man did that change my scrolling experience.. 

While you shouldn't have to pay for the part being it's a brand new saw.. but when I had my saw and needed to replace the bearings and bearing sleeves I had great experience with getting the parts from www.ereplacementparts.com

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

That problem has been out there for some time now. I would have thought they fixed it by now. It was manufactured as being too big. 4-1/2" is what it should be. If they send you the new wedge you will probably have to readjust again. But now you know how. If you break down how those saws are made when you take the side cover off it is really pretty easy to replace just about anything. Another problem  that has been circulating with the wedge problem is there is a wire that comes off that board easily. Not sure which one but seem the connector is too loose that slides on to the blade on the board. Just something to keep in back of mind if saw stops working. or looses speed control. But again this goes back a few years now. Back in the day those directions in that link were because of Knocks. That was the huge problem and sure Kevin and anyone else who had an older one knows about that. 

[kmmcrafts]

I don't know what the size of the wedge is supposed to be but if you have a good belt sander or grinder etc.. being it's too big you might be able to file it down to make it work as well.. easier to remove more material than add it on something like this. Just shouldn't have to be doing this stuff to a new saw... but then even getting the new part might be the wrong size too.. so you may have to resort to filing it down. 

[Garyrenee]

I’m imagining fixing it myself. As I mentioned before about trying talk to a human being at any level in today’s world I would sooner chew my own arm off.  CALL A MEDIC I was on hold at dewalt for 2 1/2 hours thru a series of recordingsI have given up for this week. I will try again on Monday but I’m not very hopeful. As mentioned by others “ this is NOT a new problem “

Has been an issue as early as 2006. Makes me think seriously about a pegus saw. Be very difficult to justify the cost though being just a small hobby guy.

Thanks again to all

Gary

 

 

 

[OCtoolguy]

20 hours ago, Garyrenee said:

I apologize if I have offended anyone. Not my intent. Nobody here knows what my mechanical background is so when I keep getting asked the same question regarding tension I take it the wrong way.SORRY. I’m very comfortable taking this thing apart if need be but it has been mentioned by a couple of people that the tension rod is probably the problem and after looking at a parts diagram I tend to agree. It doesn’t appear to be that big of a deal to do. If anyone has any pointers or things to watch out for,I’m all ears.

 

Regarding phone calls in today’s world. I would sooner chew my arm off than try to talk to a REAL person. Frustrating at best. Much sooner fix the problem myself thru the use of these forums that are full of people who want to help. Thanks again to all and again I meant no disrespect.

 

Gary

On that we agree. Everytime I have to call any form of customer service, my call is routed to a center in the Phillipines. I always ask to be routed back to a U.S. rep but now they are refusing to do it. Or when they do do it, I get another foreigner here in the U.S. This multi-national thing we have going here in OUR country is maddening at the very least. It's time to get our American work force back in line.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Can I ask where did you buy the saw? 

 

https://www.ereplacementparts.com/wedgetension-p-67056.html#compatibility

 

How about trying here? https://www.dewalt.com/support

Again does not hurt to try and maybe you can get an avenue you can pursue. I would not let Dewalt beat me in anyone's world. I do not care how long I have to stay on a line. What bothers me is if they did not replace these than how are others having no problems. Maybe they made the repair as you did and are happy with that. I would want to know why they did not correct this problem. Or maybe they are sending them out of shop with the correction of lengthening the rod already as that seems to correct it. Quality control has gotten bad in everything we buy today. Look no further than new cars.  See to me now this would have become a mission. That is who I am . 

Edited January 11 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[Garyrenee]

As a Canuck we deal with the same people as you. Pretty sad. I bought the saw online thru Home Depot. They aren’t interested in any problems thru their online depot. Take it up with Dewalt…

Gary

[Bill WIlson]

20 hours ago, Garyrenee said:

I’m imagining fixing it myself. As I mentioned before about trying talk to a human being at any level in today’s world I would sooner chew my own arm off.  CALL A MEDIC I was on hold at dewalt for 2 1/2 hours thru a series of recordingsI have given up for this week. I will try again on Monday but I’m not very hopeful. As mentioned by others “ this is NOT a new problem “

Has been an issue as early as 2006. Makes me think seriously about a pegus saw. Be very difficult to justify the cost though being just a small hobby guy.

Thanks again to all

Gary

 

 

 

Most of us are small hobby guys.  Justifying the cost of any new tool is all about the satisfaction and enjoyment it will bring to the hobby....At least that is what I tell my wife.  

[Garyrenee]

Well guys and girls I took the saw apart ( not for the faint at heart ) kidding….it was fine. FOR ME taking it apart showed me how the wedge worked and I’m not convinced that increasing or decreasing the tension has anything at all to do with changing the distance between the blade holders. It’s back together and working fine with minimal blade showing above the holders. Made some Birds Eye maple trivets the other day and the blades never popped out so I’m done worrying about it.

Thanks to all who jumped in on this and offered advice and hints. Very much appreciated 

Gary

[OCtoolguy]

13 hours ago, Garyrenee said:
Well guys and girls I took the saw apart ( not for the faint at heart ) kidding….it was fine. FOR ME taking it apart showed me how the wedge worked and I’m not convinced that increasing or decreasing the tension has anything at all to do with changing the distance between the blade holders. It’s back together and working fine with minimal blade showing above the holders. Made some Birds Eye maple trivets the other day and the blades never popped out so I’m done worrying about it.
Thanks to all who jumped in on this and offered advice and hints. Very much appreciated 
Gary
If you took it apart far enough you'd have found that the sliding wedge that is moved by the tension rod either allows or hinders the movement of the upper arm. If the arm cannot drop down far enough then the blades won't fit correctly. Its a simpIe mechanism. Without a blade mounted, lift the upper arm enough to take the weight off of it. Try turning the tension lever in both directions. It should move easily through the entire range. If it doesn't, then you have a wedge problem. Either its stuck or way out of adjustment. Many saws leave the factory with little or no lubrication in the many spots where it should be. The sliding wedge needs to be well lubed. I put lots of synthetic grease on mine.