Help needed with saw cutting crooked base molding - Page 2 - Woodworking Talk

woodnthings · 07-28-2009, 05:13 PM

Are we to belive that they all are faulty, and there is no factory "fix" since you guys have tried all that? Is there a solution we can make ourselves? How do you tell gen 1 from 6? Anyone got ideas?

bill

**Leo G** · 07-28-2009, 05:49 PM

I would think that if there is a defect in the casting then all of them would be bad.

Julian the woodnut · 07-28-2009, 06:36 PM

I've been using my 12" slide for about 3 years with daily abuse trimming houses. I have always had problems keeping it square, but it's the nature of the beast I guess. It's pretty tricky doing cuts on 9" crown, but it can be done.

I think that if they were to make the saw beefy enough to not deflect and be accurate, then it wouldn't be as portable and not as appealing to the homeowners out there. It's sad but true that most of the tools we use are not actually built for us, but for the unskilled amateurs who don't know the difference of a square cut from one that's 1/2 a degree off.

woodnthings · 07-28-2009, 06:53 PM

So, I don't notice a half degree or even more sometimes.

Except when I fall and can't get up. Man, 9" crown, that must be fun.

On the flat or at the spring angle? Coped or mitered? And all overhead work. woah. You have my respect!

bill

scribbles · 07-28-2009, 09:35 PM

You can tell subtle differences, the earlier saws were heavier, the new guys hate carrying my saw, and they deflect less, gen 7-8 are getting really light, the new saw gen 9 is a joke. It is not a factory defect it just gets out of alignment. If you spend 1-2 hours flattening pieces and tuning it you can get it dead on, but over time it will not hold its set. Just so many moving parts. Remember I probley have 8-10k running hours on my saw, I have burnt out 3 motors. Try a Makita 10 slide, 100x worse; it is just the nature of the beast. My old Hitachi 8.5 has not been adjusted in 9 years and it is still dead on, but small blade, and no double miter.

rrbrown · 07-29-2009, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scribbles

You can tell subtle differences, the earlier saws were heavier, the new guys hate carrying my saw,

I remember about 25-28 years ago I was trimming houses as a teenager. I worked for my uncle and he had I think it was a 16" Makita monster miter saw. That damn thing was heavy.

Well it sounds like this is a common problem more then likely becuse of to many moving parts and to much moving of the saw from job to job. As I'm sure most of you are aware, it is next to impossible to keep the RAS aligned if you move it back and forth from angle to straight. Like someone said earlier it's the nature of the beast.

woodworks · 07-29-2009, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bearcreek

This is a problem that has been a thorn in my side with my Dewalt 12” double-bevel sliding compound miter saw for a long time, but it was such a small problem I never looked into it when doing general construction. But now that I am using it do do precision trim work it is a pain in the arse.

For instance, I just got finished putting some base around some cabinetry and ever time I swivel my saw to cut 45's I have to bump the angle a half degree +/- for each side. I have put my machinist square on it and it is dead on plumb when on 90. It just baffles my mind that I have to tweak this thing every time I swing it.

Anyone have any similar problems or suggestions?

Thanks

Tim

Yes I have a solution because I had the same problem. The base is out of wack. I bought one and for the life of me could not get it to run 45's the right way. Also on mine it wouldn't cut square on both sides. Either one side was square and the other was out or vice versa. Since I had purchased the extra warenty, I took it in and Dewalt was aware of the defect. They had been like that since the 90s and were still putting the bad bases on them. They had to install the new base that replaced the old one. Once I got it back and and started tweaking it, it is just fine now.

Dejure · 09-09-2009, 07:28 PM

Considering your post in conjunction with other's, it certainly sounds like you have a manufacturers defect. Obviously, the stated warranty against manufacturers defects is long since past. However, you have the right to expect what you paid for.

If nothing else, there is the old "do me good and I tell a few people, do me bad and I tell everybody" approach.

ihackwood · 09-10-2009, 06:35 PM

i bought mine when it first came out, i have trimmed many a house with it, i built a custom table for it and i didn't haul it stuffed in a p/u bed, i treat it like a precision instrument,

i adjusted mine perfectly, at both bevels it sucks to do but when it's right it's right, unless you stuff it into a p/u bed lol

Bearcreek · 09-10-2009, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ihackwood

i bought mine when it first came out, i have trimmed many a house with it, i built a custom table for it and i didn't haul it stuffed in a p/u bed, i treat it like a precision instrument,

i adjusted mine perfectly, at both bevels it sucks to do but when it's right it's right, unless you stuff it into a p/u bed lol

Aergo the problem senior...LOL

Handyman · 09-10-2009, 08:21 PM

I had the same problem with my bosses dewalt double sliding chop saw. I tried and tried to set the blade to the back stop using a tri-square. Then I found the trouble. Using an aluminum level against the back stop I found it was out. The level touched at both ends but had a gap on both side closest to the blade. The other thing I found was the plate under the table that the angles lock in to, was off just a very little bit. About 1/6 of an inch. I had to take the saw apart to make that adjustment. Now it cuts true at every angle. Funny thing is we put up with bad cuts for a long time and it took 20 minutes to fix.