Dewalt DWS520 plunge saw problem

[Silas Gull]

For sometime now I had been noticing that the black splinter-strips on our workshop saw tracks have been getting thinner and thinner. A more detailed examination revealed that there was a lot of play when the saw was mounted on the rail, but relocking the widgets that cancel the play only pulled the blade even closer to the splinter strip. In fact it is now only clearing the aluminium guide by half a mill. What would the point be, I was now wondering, of replacing the splinter strip? The blade would chew most of the visible portion off at the first pass!
An inspection of the channel on the saw' s baseplate shows two critically worn surfaces, one fore, one aft, which would ordinarily allow the base plate to be be set so as to allow a good 1.5 mm of visible splinterstrip to remain between the inside surface of the blade and the guide. It seems extraordinary that these aluminium surfaces have worn down faster than the opposing plastic eccentric cams, but they plainly have, and if we carry on regardless, the blade will eventually chew up the edge of the guide rail.
The only solution is to replace the baseplate at a cost of 60 quid before renewing the splinter strips. Whilst this will solve the problem, there is the disappointment of knowing that a tool that is held in such high esteem has this detrimental flaw.
Do any other DWS 520 users experience a similar problem?

 

[Teejay]

Wow, no one ever replied to this? What did you end up doing?

I haven't had this problem specifically but do find the ends of the splinter guard get chewed up when using the saw before it locks onto the rail with both points of contact and at the other end when one point of contact is lost.

This is extremely annoying because it basically means that you cannot use the ends to line up with any line syou have drawn to cut and rely that it will cut along that line.

It also means that you don't have a splinter guard along the whole length and if you join two rails together for a long cut, it will lose that splinter protection in certain places along the rail.

Maybe I am doing something wrong?

I'm also wondering if it is my imagination or reality that cutting a bevel removes some of the material from the splinter guard, again meaning any cuts wont line up perfectly with your pencil lines.

Lastly, I think that when you cut a piece of wood, the splinter guard will be the correct distance of the blade and not get cut up but the pieces of rubber not held down by the wood being cut can potentially get caught by the blade, meaning that the splinter guard will not be straight and again cuts can end up being off.

I hope that I am wrong but I can see something has gone wrong at some point because I have now had to replace the splinter guards and am trying to get clarification to avoid it happening again.

 

[Distinterior]

If you are using a single guide rail, you can not use the full length of the rail for a cut.....If your rail is 1500mm long and the base of your saw is about 250mm long, you will only have about 1100mm of cutting length.
Both of the adjustable gibs have to be in contact with the spline on the rail at all times....

I'm not specifically aware of the details of the Dewalt rails and saw as I have the Festool versions, but the principle is the same for all rail saws. You must start your cut with both saw gibs on the spline or you will have side to side movement, which will indeed wear the splinter guard strip unevenly.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

The OP hasn't been here for the better part of four years.

 

[Distinterior]

The OP hasn't been here for the better part of four years.

I realise that,.....but I was replying to Teejay's problem

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Sorry. My comment was really directed at him not you.

 

[Teejay]

If you are using a single guide rail, you can not use the full length of the rail for a cut.....If your rail is 1500mm long and the base of your saw is about 250mm long, you will only have about 1100mm of cutting length.
Both of the adjustable gibs have to be in contact with the spline on the rail at all times....

I'm not specifically aware of the details of the Dewalt rails and saw as I have the Festool versions, but the principle is the same for all rail saws. You must start your cut with both saw gibs on the spline or you will have side to side movement, which will indeed wear the splinter guard strip unevenly.

That's what I thought, but when people do tutorials on cutting the splinter rail on these saws they start at the one end and finish at the other. They don't talk about this issue at all.

I had come to this conclusion and it meant I actually marked out where the saw should start and finish on the rail but wanted someone to set me straight given that it is not something people have talked about in their videos/is the opposite to what they demonstrate.

What about potential problems cutting the rail guard in the unsupported areas at the end of a workpiece within the allowable areas of the rail where both gibs are in contact with the rail? The same for cutting mitres?

 

[Distinterior]

On a new rail, or when I cut a new splinter guard strip for the first time, I place the rail on a sacrificial surface and set the plunge depth at about 5mm deeper than the rails thickness. This will leave a small amount of the splinter guard left uncut at each end of the rail. The distance between these 2 points is the usable cutting length of the guide rail.

When you join 2 or more rails together to give you a much longer cut, you will trim the small uncut amount of splinter guard away where the 2 rails are butted together. At no point would you be using the rail and saw with the splinter guard unsupported....!

Again, I'm not familiar with the set up of the Dewalt saw, but I assume when you set the saw at 45 degrees, the saw cut should cut along the splinter guard in exactly the same place as it does at 90 degrees. If for some reason, your saw is not doing this and the 45 degree cut is re cutting your splinter guard, then you need to adjust your saw accordingly to ensure that it does.

One thing to bear in mind Teejay is, that these strips are sacrificial and do wear out over time with usage. I use my saws professionally and the strips on my most frequently used 1400mm & 1900mm rails get changed twice a year to ensure accuracy.

 

[Teejay]

Thank you for your detailed reply.

I do not use mine professionally and have already changed mine twice in two years of very infrequent use. I knew that they would need to be changed occasionally but not like I have been needing to.

This is a rough sketch of what I was talking about in terms of some of the rail not being supported by something. I might add bits to the very ends to add support but there could be a part that is not supported other than that.

In the spaces I work in, it's not always possible to support the ends of the rail, especially when breaking down a large sheet of MDF or plywood. At those lengths, surely I don't need support at the ends anyway? It's just a question then of whether the saw is chewing up the splinter guard on the uncompressed parts.

I would be interested to know if anyone else has encountered these problems that does have the Dewalt saw as well.

 

[Distinterior]

Do the Dewalt splinter guards compress when you place your rail on your sheet material due to the weight of your saw...??.!!
Do they hang down when that part of the rail is unsupported? Surely, they are adhered firmly to the underside of your rail.

The Festool splinter guard is a hard plastic about 2 or 3mm in thickness.

If your Dewalt splinter guard is moving in any way, this could well explain the problems you seem to be having.

 

[Teejay]

I could be imagining it but I can't think of many other reasons that what I have described could happen.

I do wonder if a hard plastic would have been better. I have decided to upgrade my splinter guards after watching a video explaining that thicker, more rigid rubber works better and further minimises tearout on things like plywood and melamine to the point where any tearout is almost microscopic.

I've applied a 3mm thick, 25mm wide solid neoprene rubber strip with ATG transfer tape as a replacement for the original (the measurements for plunge depth will be slightly out, but I can compensate). For reference, the original tape used is Nitto No. 500 Double Sided Tape, 13mm wide like that found here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6mm-9mm-12mm ... 1682298663. The width of the original tape is not really enough to properly and reliably hold the splinter guard in place. It should ideally be oversized at 19mm , overlapping the edge and cut down with a sharp knife once in place. Also for reference, the rubber originally supplied is 2mm thick, 19mm wide.

To make up the difference between the thickness/height of the outer strips (which are more rigid and grippy) and the inner rubber that is supposed to support the centre of the rail, I will be removing the existing foam and fitting 4mm thick, 20mm wide single sided sealing shockproof EVA sponge tape.

With the new rubber I have found, I should be able to replace the splinter guards more cheaply in the future rather than relying on the Dewalt ones.

I just want to be sure that I am not going to end up in the same situation as before with a splinter guard which is visibly wavy along its length when put next to a straight line, which is why I came here to discuss it.

 

[Distinterior]

If you don't mind me asking,....How much play do you have when you place your saw on the track and twist it front to back?

I'm just wondering if you have too much play between the adjustable gibs and the spline?

I set my saw gibs until they are really snug and the saw is very difficult to slide, then back both gibs off until the saw moves freely but with no discernable play when twisted front to back.

I cant understand why you seem to be getting excessive deterioration of your splinter guard strips. Are you using all the same width blades...? With the same blade and kerf thickness...?

 

[Teejay]

Just tried it and there is absolutely no twist from front to back. Side to side there is no twist as long as pressure is applied in the correct place whilst moving along the guide.

The saw still grabs the rail really well and it's impossible to move it backwards with the anti-kickback feature working properly.

I haven't changed from the default blade so that shouldn't be the problem.

 

[Bodgers]

Wow, no one ever replied to this? What did you end up doing?

I haven't had this problem specifically but do find the ends of the splinter guard get chewed up when using the saw before it locks onto the rail with both points of contact and at the other end when one point of contact is lost.

This is extremely annoying because it basically means that you cannot use the ends to line up with any line syou have drawn to cut and rely that it will cut along that line.

It also means that you don't have a splinter guard along the whole length and if you join two rails together for a long cut, it will lose that splinter protection in certain places along the rail.

Maybe I am doing something wrong?

I'm also wondering if it is my imagination or reality that cutting a bevel removes some of the material from the splinter guard, again meaning any cuts wont line up perfectly with your pencil lines.

Lastly, I think that when you cut a piece of wood, the splinter guard will be the correct distance of the blade and not get cut up but the pieces of rubber not held down by the wood being cut can potentially get caught by the blade, meaning that the splinter guard will not be straight and again cuts can end up being off.

I hope that I am wrong but I can see something has gone wrong at some point because I have now had to replace the splinter guards and am trying to get clarification to avoid it happening again.

Thread came back from the dead...

I have the DeWalt. The DeWalt has strips on both sides of the track, unlike the Festool, which is a mistake IMO.

I just ripped the strip off one edge of my tracks and use that to do all the aligning/squaring. You can't rely on the splinter strip anyway really - too rough.

Sent from my Redmi Note 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Teejay]

If you have ripped off one of the rubber strips then surely your rail is now unbalanced and therefore wont cut at 90 degrees? There are many reasons that the design of the rail used by Dewalt is supposed to be superior to the others, like being able to cut both ways (I read about someone who had to stand at the top of a ladder and run the saw down using one of the other brands). It is also supposed to mean that you could technically use two different blades with varying kerfs.

Has anyone else had a similar experience to me and found a solution? WHat are other people's experiences of cutting mitres and have you found that this cuts into the splinter guard?

For information, after experimenting, I have found that 98cm of the 1.5m rail is usable. This will be useful to know when considering what size to cut my new one down to.

Has anyone else cut one of these down and if they have, what size did you cut to and for what applications?

 

[Bodgers]

If you have ripped off one of the rubber strips then surely your rail is now unbalanced and therefore wont cut at 90 degrees? There are many reasons that the design of the rail used by Dewalt is supposed to be superior to the others, like being able to cut both ways (I read about someone who had to stand at the top of a ladder and run the saw down using one of the other brands). It is also supposed to mean that you could technically use two different blades with varying kerfs.

Has anyone else had a similar experience to me and found a solution? WHat are other people's experiences of cutting mitres and have you found that this cuts into the splinter guard?

For information, after experimenting, I have found that 98cm of the 1.5m rail is usable. This will be useful to know when considering what size to cut my new one down to.

Has anyone else cut one of these down and if they have, what size did you cut to and for what applications?

Nope, I initially removed it and moved it back behind the face of the track.

I now have an MDF strip on it.

If you want to preserve a complete 100% zero clearance strip, you will have to have two tracks with the different settings/cuts into the splinter guard

I have never had an issue here as I found the difference between the splinter guard being completely 100% zero clearance and having a tiny fraction trimmed off due to a odd 45 Deg cut is minimal in surface quality with decent sheet goods like Birch ply.

If you a cutting something like laminated chipboard it is probably different, but I never do that.



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[Teejay]

Could you please share some photos of your rail so I can see what you mean?

Also, does this mean you use a piece of MDF to line up with the cut? If not, how exactly do you do it?

 

[Bodgers]

Could you please share some photos of your rail so I can see what you mean?

Also, does this mean you use a piece of MDF to line up with the cut? If not, how exactly do you do it?

No it is all behind the face of the rail. The point of this being is that you use the aluminium track itself for alignment and squaring, exactly like you would do with a Festool track.



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[Teejay]

I've been watching YouTube videos and no one talks about lining up with anything other than the rubber splinter guard. There are even reviews which specifically mention it. I found someone mentioning it on a review website:

http://toolsinaction.com/dewalt-flexvol ... aw-review/

The genius of a track saw is the way a cut is made. As the name implies, in order to use this saw accurately, you need to run it on a track. When you place the saw on the track, the saw blade runs right along the rubber edge of the track making cut setup a breeze. Once you plunge the track saw into the workpiece, the track that the saw is attached to keeps your saw in a straight line yielding results good as or even better than a table saw.

It's supposed to be easier and quicker to use a track saw and get accurate results than a circular saw.

 

[Bodgers]

I've been watching YouTube videos and no one talks about lining up with anything other than the rubber splinter guard. There are even reviews which specifically mention it. I found someone mentioning it on a review website:

http://toolsinaction.com/dewalt-flexvol ... aw-review/

The genius of a track saw is the way a cut is made. As the name implies, in order to use this saw accurately, you need to run it on a track. When you place the saw on the track, the saw blade runs right along the rubber edge of the track making cut setup a breeze. Once you plunge the track saw into the workpiece, the track that the saw is attached to keeps your saw in a straight line yielding results good as or even better than a table saw.

It's supposed to be easier and quicker to use a track saw and get accurate results than a circular saw.

The problem with doing this is that at some point you are going cut through the splinter guard and then make readjustments to the toe in or cut at angles through it that mean eventually the end of the splinter guard is not a true reference point. Yes, you might not ever do that I suppose...

But what if you want to use a framing square to make sure the guide rail is square to edge of the actual work piece? Yes you could measure end to end to get it square but that would take a while. Butting a framing square up to the guide rail edge and the work piece is faster.

Look up how the Festool MFT works with the tracks against the dogs - it certainly isn't using the splinter guard as a reference point. There is a reason why only one side is useable and the other is 100% flat surface.

Anyways, you pursue what feels right to you. I certainly won't be doing it