My new Dewalt 788 went bonkers

[harrisg]

Here I am again at a crossroad. First I bought a Delta SS350. It gave up the ghost in about 3 weeks. Then I bought the Dewalt 788 on 12/9 and shortly thereafter had to exchange the table for a flat one which took a week, so you see I haven't had it a long time. Tonight, It started to make noise like something was loose and then shut down while scrolling. I turned it off, then on again and it ran for a short time and while I was turning the variable speed, It quit running again.

My dilemma is, do I return this for another Dewalt or try the Delta P-20, which I hear doesn't cost that much more. However, I'm not sure who stocks the P-20 in the Portland, OR area. Decisions, decisions, decisions. All I know is, I'd rather be scrolling....

Harris

[CanadianScroller]

Sorry to hear about your saw problems, it is frustrating to say the least.
I have not heard too many bad things about the Dewalt, other than the dished table.
I think I would take it back to the shop, it is still under warranty. You should get an over the counter replacement.... as long as the new table is true!

If the company you bought the Dewalt from is worth any weight they will swap you. If they are not then perhaps it is better to try another store.

I do like the Delta, but I think you should give the Dewalt a chance.

[William Young (SE BC)]

Harris;
So sorry to hear about your dilemna. That is just too much bad luck for a guy that wants to get scrolling.
All I can say is that there are thousands of happy DeWalt owners and I was one of them for awhile. I am not trying to discourage you from trying out another DeWalt . Can't really go by my experience with DeWalt because I wore one out in three years but it was due to heavy use that was probably above and beyond the construction limits of the saw.
But I have had a P-20 for the same length of time now with more use on it than my previous saw and I have only heard a few complaints on the sites with them . Some of those complaints were operator error and some were legitamate. I have never spent a nickel on repairs or had a minutes down time. Of course there are Dewalt owners that can say the same thing but hours of use and type of sawing also has to be considered. I have heard a few reports with various makes of saws that have had them for ten years with no problems but then again that reverts right back to if they were used a lot or just occasionally and if it was just light sawing or heavy stack sawing..
I know that my P-20 will outlast me and probably whoever it is handed down to as well . And it is a joy to use with many more features than what I had been used to.
I would hate to say sure . . get a P-20 and with your recent luck get one with something wrong with it even though it has double the warranty. No brand name is excempt from an occasional one that slips through quality control that never should have due to a defect.
It is a decision that only you can make and whichever one that is I wish you the very best of luck because you sure deserve some better luck after what you have been through.
W.Y.

[lucky788scroller]

Wow, you have had bad luck havent you? I been very fortunate, both of my saws get quite a bit of use, and Ive had no trouble except the dust in the switch trouble on one of the saws one time.With the 4-H kids using them quite a bit, I was always afraid they might mess things up on em, but they are a pretty decent bunch of kids,I cant complain about them. I would say like canadian scroller stated, the dealer pretty much owes it to a customer to make things right, give them one more chance.That is, unless you will forever wonder and worry what might go wrong, that wouldnt be good either. If switching to a P-20 would totally ease your mind, then thats an avenue you might want to take, just even if for peace of mind.And BillY is right to, you do deserve better luck then you are having.

[Greenfield_Bob]

Harris
I have a P-20 or I should say this is the 3rd one, first one went bad in a week, the next one went lasted 1 1/2 years. The one I have now had to have both blade clamps replaced and now "fingers crossed" is working OK.
I sounds like you and I have the same luck, maybe we should try something else. LOL

Bob

[William Young (SE BC)]

WOW ! ! Bob;
Sorry to hear that.
That is the worst report I have ever heard on a P-20 on any site on the internet. Most I have ever heard have been very minor problems.
They did put a few out near the start where the arm would not drop down freely because the tolerances were to too close in the moving parts under the service cover at the rear of the saw. That made it difficult for ones that prefer top feeding but meant nothing for bottom feeders.
I notified Delta about that over two years ago and they said they were glad that I gave them a heads up on that and they were going to open every box in the warehouse and correct any ones that needed it. . Can't beat customer service like that.
But like I said earlier, no matter what make it is there will always be some slip through the cracks that were not in perfect condition.
Heck, I have even seen horror stories on both the Hegner site as well as some other sites about those saws and they are considered by some to be a top notch saw.
I totally agree with you that luck certainly can play a part in any purchase for some people.
Beleive me, I have sure had my share of bad luck with some purchases over the years but I have been one of the lucky ones with scroll saws.

I never knew you had one replaced after 1 1/2 years . Now arn't you lucky that you had a two year Delta warranty instead of a one year DeWalt Warranty.

W.Y.

[William Young (SE BC)]

Hey Bob;
You have been holdding out on us
I checked the archives of a few sites including my own Woodworking Friends site where you are an Honorary member and daily contributor and I could find nothing to the effect that you had a Delta P-20 replaced after one and a half years. All I could find was what I have included here. Maybe you just forgot eh ? or perhaps you could post something from where you had previously talked about it. As such an active member in the sites as you are I was surprised that I hadn't seen anything about a third one anywhere.
W.Y.

Woodworking Friends :: General :: Scrollsawing :: P-20 Update


Author Topic: P-20 Update (Read 161 times)
GreenfieldBob
Honorary

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Joined: Apr 2005
Gender: Male
Posts: 718
Location: Central Indiana
P-20 Update
« Thread Started on Aug 31, 2005, 1:14pm »

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I have been having all kind of trouble with my saw, it was in the shop and they really didn't help it much, so I called Delta and they had a tech call me at home. The guy told me he owned a P-20, so I turned the saw on and let him listen to it on the phone and he said I had a problem. He had me try everything he could think of, nothing worked. I asked him if they would give me a new saw and he said OK. I called the place where I bought it and they ordered me a new one. I picked it up today. It seems work just fine (knock on wood), so I will see.

Bob
12.74.51.100

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Expert: someone who makes his mistakes unnoticed.

hawaiilad
Junior Member

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Joined: Jun 2005
Gender: Male
Posts: 36
Location: Big Island, Hawaii
Re: P-20 Update
« Reply #1 on Sept 2, 2005, 12:11am »

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Bob, I'm happy to see again "Big Business" came through. To many times we hear they are way to busy to help the little guy or gal. Good luck with the 2nd P-20. Allot of people sure seem to like that saw.
64.75.169.59

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Hawaii Lad
Larry

GreenfieldBob
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Joined: Apr 2005
Gender: Male
Posts: 718
Location: Central Indiana
Re: P-20 Update
« Reply #2 on Sept 2, 2005, 4:56am »

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Delta was very good about taking care of it. My hat is off to them.
This saw is like a dream after the last one.

Bob

12.74.49.151

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Expert: someone who makes his mistakes unnoticed.

[Greenfield_Bob]

Bill saw #2 was the one in the shop that they didn't fix. I then called Delta and there rep. had a new one sent to my dealer, that was #3.


Bob

[lucky788scroller]

Bill, Im curious as well after searching archives. Didnt you say you had no trouble at all with your p20 and never needed to test the waranty ? Is this you?
[QUOTE=William_Young_SE_B]I got a new Delta P-20 scrollsaw last Dec and recently I had a
chance to test their warranty. The little spring broke on the spring
loaded cap on the oil cup on the upper arm pivot.
Also, I noticed a very slight hairline crack in the table casting
right close to the hole for the insert. It would never have caused
any problem in a million years and the table was dead flat from all
directions but because it was a manufacturing defect, I asked my
dealer about it. He said give me the model and serial numbers.
Today an oil cup assembly and a brand new table top arrived (prepaid
express post) and they don't even want the original one back. That
is a big heavy dead flat cast table. Now I'm trying to figure out
what use I will put the original one to.
W.Y.
[/QUOTE I too did archiving. There isnt many postings about delta p20 problems is there?

[Greenfield_Bob]

You're right there aren't many and most of them are mine. But I have been lucky I have several Delta tools and no trouble with them.

Bob

[William Young (SE BC)]

Lucky 788 scroller. You are absoloutly right about that replacement and the reason I said I have not had trouble with mine is that when I ordered the new top right after I got my saw and it arrived , I took the original top off and looked at the underside and there was absoloutly no sign of a crack. Upon examining the top with a magnifying glass, what I thought was a crack was nothing but a scratch in the top side of the casting. It must have got scratched in the factory. I was so embarrassed that I called my distributor and told him what had happened and asked if I should return the one they sent. He said heck no . . the shipping is about the same price as the top so just keep it and use the scratched one for an anvil or anything I need a flat surface for. It has come in handy for lots of things like using the scary sharp chisel sharpening system where a glass smooth surface is used with various grades of sandpaper attached with spray adhesive.

As for the spring loaded oil cup that is practically a redundant and moot "problem" The second one lost it's spring action a month later and I have used it ever since like that and don't consider that a problem at all. . The lid closes perfectly to keep out dust . It just doesn't have a spring loaded action.
Tiny little springs like on an oil cup are part of what I mean about some of the reports I have heard with those saws that are either from operator error or something minor. In this case , I probabbly pulled back the cap too far when using an over sized oil can so that was error on my part the same as it was error on my part when I jumped to conclusion and thought a scratch was a crack in my table top. I know for sure some of the blade holder problems I have heard about are operator error and I won't go into that now . But fortunately the P-20 does have oil pots where needed while some others makes just have metal to metal moving parts which dramatically reduces their lifespan.
I can't say enough about Delta's service . They have always treated me with excellent service on any Delta tool I own. I don't know if they are that good for service everywhere but for where I live they bend over backwards to keep a satisfied customer.

W.Y.