Changing blades on Dewalt 788

[harrisg]

I love my Dewalt 788. By the way it says "Type 2". Does anyone know the difference between this and Type 1"? Anyway, my main problem with it is difficulty attaching the lower part of the blade under the table. Because of this, I'm a bottom feeder since using the blade's upper attachment is a snap. I'd really like to be a top feeder as it appears to be easier to put the blade in the hole from the top. However, attaching and detaching the bottom of the blade is a pain.

I'm curious, for you who have a Dewalt 788, if you are a top feeder, with all the holes we put our blades through, how do you do it? Don't you find attaching the blade under the table uncomfortable and difficult? Does it slow you down?

Harris

[Neal Moore]

Finding the bottom clamp

I have the same problem however I suppose if I forced myself to feed the blade from the top all the time it would soon become second nature to attach the bottom clamp with ease. I've fed the blade through the bottom of the work for so long now it has become "the way to do it" and I'm just too stubborn to start another learning curve. Either way gets the job done so just do what you're most comfortable with. I just can't deal with wasting time poking the blade around under the table trying to locate the clamp when I can be cutting!!

[lucky788scroller]

I too am a bottom feeder,and like Neal,it works well for me,I see no reason to change.

[bearfretworks]

another bottom feeder here....

Tried to topfeed, but gave up too quickly. As stated by others, I'm sure it would become second nature if I would have kept at it. I was getting frustrated by the downward pointed teeth trying to "cut" as I fed from the top.....

As for Type 1 vs type 2 - I have no clue. My best guess is Type 2 is a newer "improved" model, complete with a curved instead of flat table.....

[harrisg]

Now that comment about type 1 vs type 2 is funny. why didn't I think of that? I guess based upon your responses, I'll keep on repeating my life style before I retired and stay a bottom feeder.

Harris

[William Young (SE BC)]

I tried and tried and tried different times when I had a DeWalt to top feed both with and without the Jim Dandy lift bar but it was just too slow and awkward for me so I continued bottom feeding 99% of the time . Then when I finally wore it out and got my P-20 Delta Industrial saw with lifetime warranty , I bottom fed for half an hour or so because that is what I was used to doing and then I decided to try top feeding. That was when I realized that the P-20 is the easiest top feeding saw on the market bar non and I have never bottom fed since that first half hour.
I have many thousands of hours on it now and it still runs as good as when I took it out of the box over three years ago and has not cost me a nickel in repairs or a minute of down time. .There is absoloutly no comparison in the two and I could not imagine ever going back to bottom feeding again.
W.Y.

[Mike in Nanaimo]

Harris;
I have had my Dewalt since 2000. It is an excellent saw. About half of our club members have Dewalts. I have many hours on mine and do top feed with no problems. I average about a 7 second blade change and it is very easy to do with very little practice. One thing to do is remove the lower blade gaurd off the saw and you will find it much easier. Whatever saw you use you will find it just getting used to. I have done demoes at the Victoria Woodshow for the last 3 years. I have tried the Delta for the most of the day on the Saturday and could not get used to the blade change on it. The worst thing I found with it was the bottom holder flips over and I found it slow to get the blade back in it. Goes to show how different saws take different techniques. Wm. Young is a good friend of mine and I have seen him saw. I know he is very fast on the Delta but couldn't get used to the Dewalt. Both the Delta and Dewalt our excellent saws. Practice your top feeding and it will become 2 nd. nature and is well worth the practice.
As for type 1 or 2 I would think likey 2 is a newer model. As for the table top being curved of flat, I have never heard of that. I wouldn't see any reason for a curved table top. In fact it would create lots of problems sawing. They should all be perfectly flat and if it wasn't I would be sending it back to Dewalt.
Wm Young also has one one of the best scroll saw forums on line and you may want to check it out. There are many top scrollers there that could likely answer some of your questions. Contact Bill or myself and I will give you the URL.
Cheers
Mike
HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!

[jttheclockman]

This too is one of the top scrollsaw sites on the net and if any questions are needed just ask away.Take a look at the names that visit this site. Alot of the top designers.

[PiALaModem]

All the DeWalt tools have Type numbers; as revisions mount up they will issue a new type rather than mess with the model number. When ordering parts, you have to specify the type as well as the model number (for some parts, it makes no difference, but just be prepared by knowing the type number). I think this is a pretty good system, as long as they don't take it too far. If they do a major change in a product they should give it a new number. I work part time in a store where we often order parts, and the highest type number I have seen is 3.

I'm a top feeder with my DeWalt with the Jim Dandy. Like Mike, I switch in just a few seconds, but I never removed the lower blade guard. I do it by feel with one hand. If you're trying to learn this, just don't look under there. You can look at the top clamp and relate that to what you're feeling underneath the table, since the two are the same. Of course it takes a little practice, but I really mean just a little. As long as you decide you're not going to bend down there and look, getting the feel is not that difficult.

[jttheclockman]

I am one of the stubborn ones that is and always will be a bottom feeder. But on that saw I have taken that bottom blade guard off because it serves no purpose whatsoever. It is a feel thig and your finger tips grow eyes in the ends and it will become easier the more you do it. One other thing being a bottom feeder this is not a problem because when I scrw the top thumbscrew in it pulls the blade into the clamp but being a top feeder when screwing the bottom blade holder thumbscrew in you pull the blade away from the clamp. Some people just hold it back as they are screwing and be done with it. But there are times when doing such you start to put a curve in the bottom of the blade and now it does not fit into the holes you drilled. So to get around this you can reverse the thumbscrew and put it on the left side which is also good if you are lefthanded. This way it now does what the top screw does. But warned if you do this you have to set the setscrew that is on the opposite side the same distance out as the thumbscrew is on the top so the blade travels straight up and down and not on an angle. Just some tidbits if anyone is interested.

[Sparhawk]

Interesting thoughts JT. I never thought about it.

I'm a bottom feeder and most likely I'm just too stubborn to try the other way more than the 2 or 3 times I did. It seemed a pain in the butt to feed the blade down through the wood and the small hole in the table especially if you had a thicker piece of wood. Not to mention trying to do the bottom blindly. Maybe my patience does have limitations.

Bottom feeding has been good enough for me so far so I'll stick to the old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

[William Young (SE BC)]

Steve;
I'm glad you mastered the top feeding with yours . I know many others have . I even removed the guard on mine to see if it would help . It was just the weight of that big heavy arm that was my problem and feeling like I needed three hands to do it that discouraged me. .
What makes it so much easier for people to learn top feeding on the P-20 is that it has a round removable plate in the center of the table instead of just a slot like on the DeWalt . So with the plate removed you can look through and see exactly where the blade has to be inserted . After half a dozen trys doing that you practice with the plate back in . It takes about 10 to 15 minutes to learn how to top feed with a P-20. That along with the fact that the top arm is so well balanced that it is just a matter of grasping the blade itself between thumb and index finger and move the blade and arm up with one easy motion and put the end of the blade over the next hole and let go and it just *drops* right through and then is attached on the bottom.

I would also like to say here that I have been slammed and slandered many times over the years from people that read my messages in a negative way about DeWalt saws. I had one for three years . I totally wore it out but that saw was subjected to very heavy use with a lot of stack sawing of 1/4" oak stacked 4 deep for making hundreds of clocks . So that saw didn't owe me a nickel and it is still a very good saw for the average hobbiest or for someone like J.T. who has three saws so no one of them gets overworked.
It is my personal feeling that the DeWalt is over rated but with so many people using them I wish them every success . They are just not a production saw from my point of view. . That was the reason I upgraded to my P-20 with many more usefull features for me and it now has probably more hours on it than my DeWalt did and with even heavier stack sawing than before and for me it has been trouble free and is still in the same condition as brand new.
So anybody that see's me talking about Dewalt versus P-20 , please don't think I am trying to belittle the DeWalt. It is a good hobby saw and I only speak from experience and I have no intention of discouraging DeWalt owners .
I only point out my personal experiences with the two in the hopes that it may be usefull information and that is what these forums are all about.
I don't ridicule anyone about any make of saw. We all have our preferences and experiences and the price range we want to start at. Upgrading can always be done at a later time if and when it becomes necessary.
Happy scrolling to all.
W.Y.

[lucky788scroller]

Is customer service good with delta,say,compared to Dewalt,assuming you have probably had some dealings with both of them throughtout your years of scrolling bill.

[William Young (SE BC)]

I have found Delta warranty and service to be excetionally good in Canada yet I have heard a few complain. I have not needed warranty service on my scrollsaw which was lifetime in Canada or two years in USA on the same products.
But my 22-580 , 13" two speed Delta Finishing Planer (also with lifetime warranty) blew a motor armature after three years of hard use planing oak down for 1/4" panels for clock making.
I took it to my local authorized Delta service shop and they contacted the Western Canada warehouse. They said that problem is so rare that they don't even stock a motor armature. So they faxed the factory in Guelph , Ontario and they had one shipped across Canada by courier and I had my planer back home in 4 days . They not only replaced the armature but they replaced the entire motor.
The entire job did not cost me a nickel apart from taking it to the service depot.
That kind of service is pretty hard to beat.
W.Y.

[lucky788scroller]

I thought you had a table issue with the P-20 shortly after you recieved it.I could be wrong though, my memory is about shot!