Bought it! (Hope I did right...)

[Joe Pack]

Thanks, or blame, to the folks here for helping me spend my hard-earned hobby money. I bought a DeWalt 788, plus stand, from Amazon.com. The saw was $419, the stand was $59. Shipping was free. Plus, they have a promo of $50 off a $300 purchase, making my DeWalt 788 and stand cost a total of $430.

I ordered an EasyLift, as recommended here from Woodcraft (had some other things to order, so shipping was already covered). I ordered a trial blade assortment from Mike's Woodshop.

So, I think I'm ready to go scrolling. Please tell me I did the right thing...that could have been fishing money.

[Carter-Johnson]

YOU DID THE RIGHT THING!

As you may know, I'm the guy who makes freehand-cut jigsaw puzzles. My advice, when you start scrolling, is to let yourself be free from patterns once in awhile as you learn. Visualize and then cut a giraffe, a tree, a car, a tulip, a lawn rake, a teddy bear, an arrow, anything you wish....in order to not get yourself locked into the need to always have a pattern....and to tap into your inherent creativity.

Have phun.....

Carter

[Gill]

Hi Joe

Look at it this way - if you haven't done the right thing, there's plenty of people around here who'll happily relieve you of a hardly-used second hand DW 788 for a reasonable price !

I'm sure you've not made a mistake, though, and I wish you much enjoyment of your new yellow and black friend.

Gill

[SharonW0111]

The only thing I can say is you didn't buy enough blades-And yes you did the right thing on all aspects- now go make sawdust and have a ball doing it
Sharon

[William Young (SE BC)]

Congratulations Joe;
I wish you many years of happy scrolling with your new saw.
W.Y.

[lucky788scroller]

Congrats Joe, you will never want to get up now. You will sit in front of that saw for hours , but dont worry, the hours fly by like minutes!! Have a blast! dale

[sheltiecarver]

Yup, Joe, you did good!
If you haven't much experience on the scroll saw, you'll do well to invest in John Nelson's "Scroll Saw Workbook" - you can get it a lot of places, this web site for one. It's almost like taking a class.
Congratulations on the acquisition of your new toys!
Sandy

[B Smith]

Bought it

Congrats Joe
You will have many years of cutting with the Dewalt .It is one fine saw . I have had one for 7 years with no problems.

[bearfretworks]

You should be happy with the DeWalt. Make sure to check the table for flatness when you get it. I think it was harrisg who noticed his was "off" - like the hole was punched thru from the bottom and left a small crown. After his post - can't remember where, I laid a flat dge on mine and noticed the same thing, although not as severe. Dewalt made good on mine and, I believe after a couple tries, his as well.

And Gill's right, someone will be more than happy to take it off your hands if you don't like it. I think lucky788 needs another one....

[Hobbyhorse]

Good work Joe!! You will never regret buying quality.

Rhys H.

[JTpcguy]

Thanks, or blame, to the folks here for helping me spend my hard-earned hobby money. I bought a DeWalt 788, plus stand, from Amazon.com. The saw was $419, the stand was $59. Shipping was free. Plus, they have a promo of $50 off a $300 purchase, making my DeWalt 788 and stand cost a total of $430.

I ordered an EasyLift, as recommended here from Woodcraft (had some other things to order, so shipping was already covered). I ordered a trial blade assortment from Mike's Woodshop.

So, I think I'm ready to go scrolling. Please tell me I did the right thing...that could have been fishing money.

Hey thanks for the heads up. After wanting one for over two months, my tax check came back so I headed out to get one. The local Chase Pitkins are all going out of business and I happened to find a display on sale for 246.00. This, after I had just looked at it 3 days earlier and it was 379.00. So I immediately jumped on the thing, it had no hold down, missing upper blad clamp thumbscrew, no allen wrenches and no book, full warranty I guess though. My oh so wise girlfriend suggested I try plugging it in before we left with it as they don't accept returns since they are on the way out of business. Wouldn't you know the dang thing was dead as a doornail. Wouldn't turn on at all. Didn't even look at fuse, guy said it had been on display for 8 years lol.

Went to Dewalt repair shop as they sell some stuff too and asked the nice older lady working if she had the "world famous" dewalt scrollsaw. She said yes! Asked her if I could see it, she said no! It's mine and you can't have it! lol...spoke to her some more, found out there are currently 11 parts for it that you can't order anymore. Also found out that the most it could cost to have it totally rebuilt end to end would be $202 plus tax. Seems like a great deal as I never forsee it requiring that much work if it breaks. Was all reserved to buy a refurb from toolking for 360 shipped then I saw your post here. Great deal, ended up 369.94 so 9.94 more for a brand new one...they also have a deal right now where you can get a free dewalt heavy duty reciprocating saw with 300 dollars worth of tool purchase but it wouldn't let me combine it with the 50 off. If anyone has a need for both, the reciprocating saw there normally goes for 75 bux. Thanks again for the heads up here, had I not checked here first it would have meant a used one for almost the same price!

[Rainman2014]

dewalt

Joe, You Bought A Very Good Saw. I've Had One For 5 Yrs Now. Read The Owners Manuel, You Will Need To Change Out The Brushes From Time To Time And Always Run Your Shop Vac Over The Switches To Keep Dust Out. Other Than That, Have Fun !

[jimp11]

yup you made the right choice

[lucky788scroller]

{{ And Gill's right, someone will be more than happy to take it off your hands if you don't like it. I think lucky788 needs another one....}} I always have room for another!! When the 4H group is over, they all love to jump on a scrollsaw!!

[B Smith]

dewalt

I have a foot switch for mine and leave the switch on the saw on all the time. Forgot that I did have a problem way back when with the saw not starting. It was sawdust in the switch so you may have to blow it out once and a while .Some folks tape a piece of a latex glove over the switch to keep the dust out. The foot switch also allows me to keep my hands on the piece being cut when I need to shut down.