DW 788 Owners....

[bearfretworks]

Help!

A maintenence question for you: How do you get the bushings out of the motor to check for wear????? I can unscrew the caps, no problemo, but how do you get the bushings out........

Thanks!

[Marsha]

Hi Barry, are you talking about the bushings that are here?
( 1st pic)
DW788 Bushings 001.jpg
When you take the screw out there should be a small spring mechanism that looks like the 2nd pic, that retangular metal piece attached to the spring is the bushing, it should come out very easy, when you put it back in make sure it goes in the same way it came out. When you replace them, you replace the entire piece, spring and all.
DW788 Bushings 002.jpg
These are the only bushings I'm aware of, so if it's not them, then I have no clue what you're talking about.
I apologize for the quality of the pics, I have a very old camera, and I'm hoping Santa sees fit to bring me a new one.

Hope this helps
Marsha

[Trout]

don't you just love it...

Marsha posting up pictures of bushings..
you got the motor off the saw?
I wish my bushings would go out....I take that back, I can't afford a new saw..

good luck...

Trout

[gmackay]

Hi Marsha,

I have owned two DW788 the old type 1 and the newer type 2. I think what you are referring to are the motor brushes. My DW788 instruction manual says to inspect both brushes, by removing both brush caps (front & back of motor). It says to replace the brush if it is worn down to 3/8". This should be DeWalt item 117, part No. 286346-00, qty 2, Brush.

Hope this helps as they don't seem to include a parts list in the newer DeWalts.

Gary

[Marsha]

Gary, yes you are absolutely right, what I've shown are the brushes.
Trout, no you don't need to take the motor apart to change what I've shown.
Marsha

[William Young (SE BC)]

Yes, those brushes are very easy to replace and last a long time . I only had to replace mine a couple times after all the thousands of hours of use I put on my DeWalt when I had one.
I just got them from a local motor repair shop that stocks all sizes rather than order them from DeWalt. They cost about $3.50 for the pair of them.
W.Y.

[bearfretworks]

Marsha, you are psychic! Yes, I meant "brushes", not bushings......

Mine must be plenty good as I can't figure out how to get them to come out Gently pry - nothing.......gently push in, they just go in.......

[lucky788scroller]

I havent ever pulled mine out and checked them.With all the hours on my saws, I better make sure I check them too. Let us know how yours look, and roughly how many hours are on em. Dale

[Marsha]

Dale,
I don't think the brushes wear out very quickly. The guy at my friendly tool repair shop, claims you can use the saw every day, several hours a day, for five years and you won't wear out the brushes. I've been using my saw over 4 years now and the brushes look the same as they looked when I first got the saw.

Bear,
I'm not sure why you're having a problem getting the brushes out, they should pop out as soon as you release the screw. I'm not phsycic, I just knew what you were talking about cause I always call them bushings and someone is always correcting me about that.

Good luck with this
Marsha

[Neal Moore]

Motor Brushes

Just a note about the brushes. When you remove them for inspection, try to put them back exactly as they came out. The brushes wear down as the saw is used and fit themselves against the commutator (that's what they're supposed to do). If you get them mis-aligned when you reinstall them they will wear much faster. And yes, small motors such as those on the DeWalt 788 can run for years and years of normal use and show very little brush wear.

[lucky788scroller]

Thank you!

[ozarkhillbilly]

Being a fairly new DeWalt owner myself, I was wondering what other, if any, periodic maintance I should perform to insure many years of faithful service from my saw?

[Forester21]

I haven't done much of any maintenance on my Dewalt - its over 7 years old now. I have found that I have to move my tension farther and farther to the "5" to get the blade right. I'm at "4 1/2" now, and don't know what to do! Is there a way to adjust this?? I am mechanically challenged so please keep that in mind if you have advise!! LOL
Theresa E