Update on Dewalt and Dewalt table.

[harrisg]

To those who have been following my tale of woe, I realize no piece of equipment is safe in my hands. It's a crap shoot. I really appreciate the comments that were made to help me at my crossroad. I see that whether it's a 788 or a P-20, I may get a bad one and have to work with the supplier. Locally, in Portland, OR, about 50 miles to the south, Western Tool Has come through and given me an exchange on the non working Dewalt 788. Great people to work with. No one carries the P-20 locally so if there were a problem, I'd be in the hands of someone far away.

Now comes the next part. Since I'd already put 200 miles getting my original table top exchanged (2 trips) and had another 100 miles for the exchange, I had Western Tool open the box and check the table top in my exchange unit and guess what. It was distorted with a crown around the blade hole like the others. Western tool suggested that I keep the flat table I had worked so hard to get so I now have a new unit with my old table.

Does Dewalt have a problem with table tops? If my experience is typical it just may be. This makes 3 table tops that have had crowns around the blade hole. The original, The exchange and the demo unit that was on the floor at Western tool. If anyone reading this has any input with Dewalt, you may want to pass this info on.

Right now, I'm trying to get up the energy and nerve to set up the new unit AND START SCROLLING. This kind of stuff can wear an old guy out.

Harris

[William Young (SE BC)]

Harris;
I have heard that problem with them for many years . Even mine was warped but I used it anyway because I discovered it shortly after the one year warranty. I was hoping , for the good of all , that the ones now being made in Taiwan would have had that corrected.
I am not sure how much truth there is in this but from what I understand , a lot of those tops were casted (as in cast iron) and then just polished . Mine had a smooth polished surface and maybe that was why it wasn't flat. Just polished after the casting but not ground like in a automobile head planing fashion to make it perfectly flat.
I have heard some say that they have swirl marks in the table top which would indicate that it has either been planed flat the way it should have been or just roughly polished. but mine was just very smooth
On my P-20 the swirl marks are so deep in the table top that what I did and what most other people do is use very fine sandpaper in a ROS and sand the planed table top down smooth right out of the box before ever using it. The swirl marks from the planer are still quite deep and it is obvious that it has been planed and not just polished but the surface is flat smooth and I use paste wax often on my table top to facilitate easy spinning of the work piece so the machined swirl marks are not a problem at all . They just fill up with wax.
I am curious to hear others views on this because this is the way I have had it explained to me by some that seem to really be in the know about it.
W.Y.

This Is An Edit;
In my above description of the swirl marks from planing/machining of the cast iron table I didn't want anyone to think that these were humongous deep grooves that would fill up with sawdust or anything like that. So I went out to my shop and took a picture. This type of picture on a shiny metal object was difficult for me with my limited photography skills but I managed to get an acceptable picture that shows what I was referring to. To run a hand over that table top it feels as smooth as a baby's bottom.
I have done considerable engine overhauls over the years and those are the same type of swirl marks I have seen after getting cast iron heads planed at a machine shop. Hence the need for a head gasket which generally has some copper in it to seal the head to the block.
While I was out there I used my straight edge and checked the table top for flatnes. It is dead flat in every direction and with it being three years and two months old I don't expect it is ever going to change any.
W.Y.

[harrisg]

All three had the type of swirl marks that you mention. as well as my flat one from the parts center Having been a purchasing agent for cast and machined parts for a number of years, this one baffles me. It doesn't seem like the tops are "warped" in that sense since it happens only around the hole. The area around the hole is cast also but it appears from the crowning that some process, perhaps a punch press operation to finish the hole may be what is distorting the top. All the other areas that we checked further away from the hole were perfectly flat. If I were buying that table for Dewalt and there was an ongoing problem, I would have been to that vender in a heartbeat and shut them down until they corrected their process.. Oh well, it's not my job to figure out what their problem is. I just want to pay my money and get a quality product.

Harris

[William Young (SE BC)]

Hey Harris.
You may just have hit the nail on the head . Perhaps the hole was not casted into the top but put in with a punch press later . As we all know cast can crack fairly easily under a severe blow but I suppose if it was supported well enough from underneah it would stand the force of the punch without cracking but could possibly cause some distortion in the table.
I wonder if we will ever get to the bottom of this puzzling problem and find out for sure what is causing so many warped ones .
I sure like to get to the bottom of things but this one has had me baffled for years.
Seems like head scratching and pulling at straws has not worked so well on this one (yet).
The mystery continues.
W.Y.

[JNewell]

The area around the hole is cast also but it appears from the crowning that some process, perhaps a punch press operation to finish the hole may be what is distorting the top.

Oh boy, bet you're right...or certainly could be.

We (my two boys, my wife and I -- all together! ) are attending a class at a Woodcraft store next weekend. They have four of the DW788s in their shop and more for sale, so I'll see what I can gather.

Sure would be silly to cast a part, grind it (as these appear to have been), then punch a hole out of it...very poor production planning...

[jttheclockman]

JNewell

For JNewell

Did you check your Private Messages?

[JNewell]

For JNewell

Did you check your Private Messages?

Received, will follow up and report (class is 1/15). I have a 2" square that I'll take with me.

Tks
John