DeWalt table saw quality going down hill?

[DaveOnSea]

Hi there!

Wondering if anyone has bought a DeWalt table saw recently and if they have had any issues.

I recently bought a new DeWalt DWE7492. It had several faults: the saw height adjust mechanism seized half way, the fence rack and pinion was misaligned and kept slipping, the cast aluminium table bowed in the middle. All were obvious faults that should have been spotted if there was any QC checks at the factory before shipping. There was no sign of shipping damaged.

Obviously this one went straight back and I got a replacement. The second one had a bent rack and pinion shaft, but I was able to encourage back to true with a hammer! The table was slightly down in the centre (about 0.4mm), but for a site saw I thought this was probably just about acceptable. After a few weeks (and maybe due to colder weather), this dip in the table grew to around 1.25mm. This one too has now been sent back.

I really like the design of the Dewalt saws- the rack and pinion fence is a key selling point for me, but if quality is low at the moment I may just keep my money for a bit and go for a budget cabinet style saw instead with a cast iron table that is going to stay flat.

As an aside, Howe Tools customer service has been excellent and returns/replacements were handled efficiently.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[johnnyb]

try an older 745 these were fairly well sorted.

 

[Stevebod]

..probably gone over to the well established "chinese cheese" method of variable production so loved by some other manufacturers?

Always seems odd to me that many (many) years ago the Japanese were generally considered crap, but then they introduced some world class processes with quality control and the rest is history, just surprised the Chinese have yet to catch on to this last phase?

 

[JoeS]

My 745 has a noticeable dip in the worktop. I posted about it recently - but it’s now too well used to do anything about.

 

[DaveOnSea]

My 745 has a noticeable dip in the worktop. I posted about it recently - but it’s now too well used to do anything about.

I was very disappointed by the thickness of the cast aluminium table. It's got some support ribs and edges to it, but these are thin and shallow. No surprise I guess that they sag over time under the weight of the motor hanging off the middle.

Only really matters when cutting rabbets, so maybe most customers don't notice.

Anyway, got my money refunded from Howes no problem. Might be worth you contacting DeWalt about yours, or could probably rug up some additional supports under the table to force it back to true.

 

[Blister]

Sadly it's a way of the world now , Designed by accountants = max ££ and less quality for the end user
Mostly made in the far east , SOME quality does remain but it costs

 

[JoeS]

Yes it was whilst cutting rabbits/rebates I originally noticed the issue. David Charlesworth has instilled a passion in me for checking things with straight edges!