DeWalt 788 Table Issue

[superman0617]

A few weeks back I had a post telling about my new Dewalt 788 saw and the screwed up table. I contacted DeWalt and they shipped me a new table that day. I received the table yesterday 4-27-06. I'm not so much mad as I am dissapointed in DeWalt that they didnt double check their product before shipping it to an already unsatisfied customer. Yes, the NEW table that was sent to me has EXACTLY the same high spot in the exact same location on the table!!!
So I sent DeWalt another e-mail, and this was their responce......

Response (Larry) 04/28/2006 03:53 PM
Hello Corey, and thanks for using DEWALT's on-line support.
This is not a problem that I have been hearing and I thought a new table would take care of the problem. It would also be possible that a lot of our users are not stacking their material so that could be one reason we do not hear of this being a problem. I wish our service center would be closer but the closest one to you is listed below:

DEWALT Factory Service #027
14811 N E Airport Way
Portland, OR 97230
Phone: 503-255-6556
Hours: Mon - Fri 8:00am - 5:00pm
Sat - Sun Close

At this point I would suggest dealing with the service center to see if a repair technician would have a fix for your problem.

Sorry I could not be of further help on this end.

Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to serve you. If your question remains unresolved or if you require additional information please update this incident.

Sincerely,

Larry Wagner

Now that's nice and all but that service center is about 1hour and 20 minutes from my house (one way). I think I will just take the damn thing to a machine shop in the town THAT I LIVE IN and have them machine it for me. Cause for the money I would spend on gas to go up and back would be more than if I just had it fixed myself.

Over all I like the saw, just not pleased with the table. Either one of them!!!

[lucky788scroller]

well, I think thats just plain sh!++y of them. Im a double dewalt user, and love my saws, but I think thats terrible business to treat any customer that way!Shipping that table to the service center probably isnt going to get the situation fixed very fast, because what they will do is more then likely order a new table, again, not knowing what they will get.You are a very patient man, I will admit that.As much as I hate to say it, I would be inclined to ship the whole saw back to them and get a refund. Then, after you cool down, either reorder another new one, hoping for a nice one, or taking that money and looking at a few other brands near that pricerange.
Its a shame these companies dont follow these forums , they could forsee many things,possibly explain why things are what they are, and not only learn from the users that buy their products, but fix problems before they get to a point that a long term dewalt user suggests you look for a diffrent brand. I do hope SOMEONE from Dewalt reads this forum. Dale

[William Young (SE BC)]

What a crock them saying a lot of scrollers don't stack saw. Because on the other hand a lot DO stack saw. And eventually if they get into 1.5" to 2" sawing of 3-D projects that is not stacked but just single pieces, the warp in the table will cause havoc in the outcome of the piece. I know that from experience from when I had my DeWalt and they would not replace my warped table a little over the warranty period.

I agree that DeWalt should be informed of topics such as this so they can no longer say they have not been hearing of the problem when they know full well that they have been hearing it continuously for many years on both the type 1 and the type 2 saws.
It appears as if they are very long overdue for a total re-design in the manufacturing process of the tables they are using. Same applies to some of their other parts too but lets not go there . . . . .
W.Y.

[CanadianScroller]

A crown in a table will cause issues with all scrolling, stacked or not.
If the wood rocks on the crown then the blade cannot cut perpendicular.

As for Dewalt's response, I wonder if all the users of Dewalt saws, who had issues with the table or took offence to the support were to email the company directly, maybe then they would be more aware of problems and offer better solutions.

If you still have the original table as well as the new one I would get one machined locally. That way you always have the other as a back up.

Good luck

[bearfretworks]

That is flat out WRONG!!!!!

Lets do one better. superman0617 , please post Mr. Wagner's e-mail address or, probably better, PM it to me and some of the others. We can all e-mail him direct with a link to this thread, and explain why his company needs to fix THEIR problem.

Or just post the e-mail addy here...... knowing it may get deleted Monday when folks show up to work......

[TonyK]

If you have followed the forum for a while you will have seen where others have posted this same problem. I personally have had three 788's since Nov05 replaced because of the blade attaching issue. However, I did experience the same problem that you are with the table that I received on the first one. When DW replaced that one the table on the next was fairly flat (at least better then the first). But, it still had the blade attachment issue so I kept the 2nd saw table and exchanged it when I received the 3rd saw. I have spoke w/ Larry W on several occasions about these same issues and, he knows about this problem all too well. Maybe you need to file a formal complaint with the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division of the state that you bought your saw in and see what happens. Please keep us posted. Good luck!

[minowevie]

BOY can you just feel the tention in here today. I don't know anything about the saw you are talking about. but would it make you feel better knowing. they seem to be all the same , as far as fixing anything. I think , if we as scrollers. could have a BIG voice in the sales of any saws. to get the sellers to pay attention to us. seems like , they wont to sell the saws. but don't wont to fix the probleams that go with them. mmmmmmmmm guess we need to make some noise. you think. your friend Evie

[superman0617]

Maybe if a few of us email dewalt and let them know about THIS forum and the topics in which we talk about, cause according to Larry from Dewalt this is the first he has heard of a problem with the tables on the dewalt saw. Maybe their customer service would be a little better knowing hundreds of CONSUMERS and potential consumers come here and read about their product.
If anyone is interested, I dont have Larry's personel email addy but everytime I send an email to this address he gets it, so if anyone would like to send him an email here is his address.

support.dewalt@dewalt.com

Thank you all for your help!

[bearfretworks]

FYI, just sent this e-mail to the addy supplied by superman0617
_______________________________

Hello from Alaska!

I ordered a Dewalt 788 scrollsaw thru amazon.com in October 2005 to replace a Delta SS350 scrollsaw. The Dewalt arrived with a high spot in the center of the table, almost like the hole had been "punched" from the bottom up. I spoke to a Customer service rep and was told I could send the table back and a replacement would be sent upon receipt. That was unacceptable to me as I needed the saw to fill Christmas orders (the Delta was broken). So, I improvised and sanded it flat.

I participate in Scrollsaw Workshop Magazine's forum (www.scrollsawer.com). Ther are a few threads regarding defective tables on Dewalt scrollsaws. The most recent thread contains a copied e-mail from Mr. Larry Wagner, who's answer I found completely unbelievable, unless he just started working for Dewalt Customer Service.

DeWalt 788 Table Issue

Please take the time to review this thread. Join the board and post direct. There are members from around the world that participate on this message board and the most frequent asked question is "What kind of saw should I buy". Based on the apparent rash of defective tables, I have started recommending folks buy the Delta P-20 until Dewalt fixes the problem.

Thank you for your time,

Barry

Bear Fretworks

[superman0617]

Thanks Bear!!!