Question on the dewalt788

[woodwilldo]

Okay i have been doing some research on the dewalt, one question i have is what does the blade holders look like. Does the dewalt hold the blade in place by placing the blade between a clamp and then tighten the screw. that is what i have now and it works fantastic, or do you tighten the thumb screw right onto the blade. I had this before on my scroll saw and then it would twist the tops of my blades and break them off. I have not been able to locate a up close picture of the blade holder. I did notice on ricks website that you need to file the thumb screw to eliminate the twist. does anyone have any info on this. If you could take some up close pictures that would be nice also.

thanks
JEsse

[woodwilldo]

found one on ricks site if i would have just scrolled down some more. well my question is what prevents the blade form twisting when your tighten the screw. i used one like this before but the blade twisted on me.

JEsse

[Carter-Johnson]

I don't know what prevents the blades from twisting. All I know is that, in 12 years with my DeWalt, mine hasn't......Carter

[Marsha]

I'm not sure what saw you used before, but I agree with Carter. I've had my Dewalt for 6 or 7 years now and never had a problem with twisting blades. I do take the screw and clamp out periodically and give it a cleaning with a bit of sandpaper.
Marsha

[Bill Wilson]

Jesse,

I've had that problem with spiral blades on my DeWalt, but not regular flat blades. Are you referring to spirals in your post?

What I learned with spirals is that you need to take care to get the thumbscrew to clamp against a flat part of the blade. It takes a little fussing to get the blade positioned so that the screw doesn't crimp and break the blade.

If you are talking about flat blades, then I suspect that the issue may be regarding burrs that may develop on either the set screw or thumbscrew parts of the clamp. If burrs are present, then a light sanding or filing of the contact surfaces should eliminate the problem.

[Jeff]

The blade clamp screw on the DeWalt has an insert on the tip which pivots when the screw is tightened. This is supposed to prevent the screw from twisting the blade. Keeping it clean is probably the best thing you can do to ensure it works properly. You should not oil or grease it because that will find its way between the blade and the screw tip, causing blade slippage.

Jeff

[miamw]

You'll love this little video

Here, check this out. I just got my DW788 on Friday and think it's the coolest thing! This video may take a minute or two to load, but you'll like what you see. http://home.comcast.net/~michael124/OperationDW788.mpg

[Greenfield_Bob]

JEsse, what size and kind of blade were you using and how thick was the wood?

Bob

[woodwilldo]

i was using a spiral blade when this was taking place. I am really trying to get into the portraits and i see alot of recommendations for spiral blades for the portraits so i have been using them alot lately to try and get use to them. i was scrolling 1/2 inch with a tradesman (craftsman cheapie) but it has what looks like the same type of blade holder. i never did try to use a flat end blade with this holder i just went with the sears conversion kit that allows you to clamp the blade rather than have the screw directly onto the blade.

Jesse

[Daryl185]

hey Jesse thism is what I do to alieviate the blade twisting on my Dewalt I use FD blades which don't seem to break as much, I take a pair of pliers if needed and twist the bottom end of the blade as the top never seems to have this problem, once you get the feel of it you can tell if a blade is starting to bend as you tighten it HTH

[kerry_nf]

Sent ya a PM Mia.

[JimSawyer]

The DeWalt has a kind of a two piece screw assembly with a rubber bushing between the two parts. The screw turns into the bushing and the second part is like a clamp that the screw pushes against.
I hardly ever use spirals. I don't, (or haven't up to now, (these guys are inspiring me)) done any real portraiture. Fretted out designs, plenty. Inlay, incessantly. Roughing out carvings, often enough. But I haven't done any portraits. I am working out some designs from my own camera and Photoshop. I'll post when I finally get something made.
Mia, you're too funny. You've got a crush on your saw, don't you. I'll bet you write DeWalt all over your notebooks.LOL I knew you'd like that saw. I've had mine for 8 years and I still get excited when I'm going to spend time with it.

[miamw]

Mia, you're too funny. You've got a crush on your saw, don't you. I'll bet you write DeWalt all over your notebooks.LOL I knew you'd like that saw. I've had mine for 8 years and I still get excited when I'm going to spend time with it.

Oh, yes, I'm in love with my DeWalt...., he's so big and yellow and I can't stop thinking about him He's everything I need in my life, he doesn't talk back and I can make him more aggressive when I want and he doesn't talk back when I get mad.

Actually, I think my daughter's more in love with it than I am since she won't get away from it!

[snkysnake]

That's a great video Mia , and it looks like your daughter has the routine down pat !

[Rolf]

Mia ,
Keep those nails away from the blade or you will scroll neat patterns in them.
Hey now that may be a marketable idea, instead of airbrushing , scrolled.