I have a prblem with my DW 746 that i’m curious to know if anyone else has.
I have a hard time getting my blades to slide on and off the arbor. Didn’t start out that way, but got worse over time. I have mostly Freud blades including 6″ dado set. I thought it might be due to the hot weather this summer (ever notice how a ring slides off your finger when its cold but sticks when it’s hot?). Doesn’t seems to be the case.
I didn’t want to attempt to alter the arbor for fear of going too far, nor did I want to try to ream out the mounting holes on my blades. Never had such problems on my old Rockwell. Any way, because the fit was so tight, I got a dado shim stuck between the arbor threads, which caused damage to the threads when I tightened things down. I don’t live in a city which has a repair center, so the repair center in Richmond referred me to an independent repair contractor in my town.
It gets worse. The indy didn’t really want the job because he had to come out to my house to pick up my saw. He also went on about how he wouldn’t get paid for his effort. I finally got the repair center to lean on him and assure him that they would cover the work under warranty, but after waiting two months to hear from him I had to start all over again.
So he finally comes and picks up the saw and has it ready in about ten days. But when he brings it back it has gouges and scratches al over the cast iron table top. And the new arbor is just as tight a fit on my blades. Some of the gouges will definitely scratch any wood that passes over them. I called the indy and he says he will have to sand out the scratches. I’m concerned that he’ll ruin the table flatness. The repair center says they can have him replace the table top. Sounds like more trouble to me. The repair center says the table top can be replaced…will still have to use the same repair guy whom I do not trust.
Anyone have any advice or similar experiences. I’m disappointed in the warranty program and the service, and I don’t trust this indy contractor to take care of my saw..the new saw I’d waited nearly twenty to invest in.
Thanks for reading my rant.
dandorsey
Replies
Dan,
I suppose I don't know how tight the fit is, It must be pretty tight if you are willing to go through this trouble to fix it. First of all I'd take my blades to where ever you bought the machine or to Lowes and see if the fit is the same. If not have the arbor replaced. Or..... you could do it the Red Neck way and use a 1" wide strip of 180 grit paper, lube it with oil then slip it under the arbor (remove the blade) and fire up the saw. I've done simular "repairs" to my saw and was able to improve the accuracy. Yes it is potiently dangerous and could ruin the arbor,but I doubt it and would do it to my Unisaw in a heartbeat. Beyond that I am sorry that you have had such a horrible time getting it fixed.
Mike
If your table and fence is well tuned and cuts well. I would suggest you sand the top enought to make the scratches ineffective. With the blades being tight, this on my saw hase been down to buildup on the threads from the wood. Cleaned off with a wire brush with the arbor bladeless and running. With tight blades, Use a drimel with a sanding drum in it and "roll" it around the hole in the blade to remove the burr and open it up a touch (you only need .0005" clearance). Don't worry about removing too much 'cause your only cleaning up the hole.
Compensation for the damage from Dewalt? Tell tham to send you a blade or two and you'll keep the top.
Thanks for both your replies. I'm not going to send my saw back to the local repair center. Just don't trust him to get it right. Further inspection shows my front fende rail badly scratched as well. I sanded of the nibs from the table top scratches my self, although the deep gouges are still there. The new arbor is OK, and a little dressing the blade mounting holes helped in mounting and removing.
I'm writing to Dewalt corporate to complain. Will let you know if they do the right thing. Thanks for your advice.
Dan
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