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General Scroll Saw Talk / DeWalt 788 blade clamp distance issue
« on: November 15, 2020, 08:44:40 pm »
Hi Folks,
Have had a DW788 for about 8 years (not as active in use as many on here!), and always struggled a bit when installing blades: distance between blade clamps just barely gets close enough when untensioned. Bought a different brand set of blades (Pegas, was using Flying Dutchman for some time) and now even more challenging. While reading online last night on various DeWalt issues and fixes, read that the standard blade clamp center-to-center distance is 4-1/8". Measured mine today and untensioned it's almost 5 inches!! (we'll call it 4.95"). Of course with 5" blades that barely gets the ends to the centers of the clamp screws if you're careful - which is why I found it frustrating that when installing a blade I had to get down on my knees with a flashlight to check bottom end in that clamp! I also measured some blades, and the Flying Dutchman I had been using are a bit longer at 5.1", the new Pegas just a shade over 5"
In my research I saw mention of an issue with the tensioning wedge being out of spec for a certain period. My saw is a Type 2 per motor tag, SN 200604-CJ14807 for those who may know how to decode this. I couldn't find specifics of what dimension(s) are out of spec and what nominal is. Could this be the issue causing my "daddy longlegs) blade clamp distance? Other thoughts?
Thanks!
Rick in Oregon
Have had a DW788 for about 8 years (not as active in use as many on here!), and always struggled a bit when installing blades: distance between blade clamps just barely gets close enough when untensioned. Bought a different brand set of blades (Pegas, was using Flying Dutchman for some time) and now even more challenging. While reading online last night on various DeWalt issues and fixes, read that the standard blade clamp center-to-center distance is 4-1/8". Measured mine today and untensioned it's almost 5 inches!! (we'll call it 4.95"). Of course with 5" blades that barely gets the ends to the centers of the clamp screws if you're careful - which is why I found it frustrating that when installing a blade I had to get down on my knees with a flashlight to check bottom end in that clamp! I also measured some blades, and the Flying Dutchman I had been using are a bit longer at 5.1", the new Pegas just a shade over 5"
In my research I saw mention of an issue with the tensioning wedge being out of spec for a certain period. My saw is a Type 2 per motor tag, SN 200604-CJ14807 for those who may know how to decode this. I couldn't find specifics of what dimension(s) are out of spec and what nominal is. Could this be the issue causing my "daddy longlegs) blade clamp distance? Other thoughts?
Thanks!
Rick in Oregon
