deWalt help

[dickm]

(Not sure if this is the right forum, but it is a woodworking tool). I've now had two 18V deWalt Angle drills (marvellous for work inside cabinets) pack up due to faults with the reversing switch. Have managed to get one back to life with a lot of switch cleaner and patience, but the switch on the other was completely burnt out.
Just buy a new switch, I hear you say.
Problem is that, as far as I can find out, all the spares suppliers will only sell the switch along with the variable speed trigger, even though they are entirely separate entities. And the two together are eye-wateringly expensive. I've trawled all over the net to see if anyone supplies that particular 2p 2way switch, which I suspect is an off-the-shelf product, but no joy. Did find something like it from an ostensibly UK site which turned out just to be a front window for a chinese supplier who failed to supply the goods.
The complete assembly is available in the US for about half the UK price, so son-in-law could get me one to come over with daughter in March, and I could maybe then sell the trigger bit to someone with the opposite problem, but it seems a bit of a faff.
Anybody got any ideas, or ideally, a drill with bust trigger but intact reverse switch? The complete assembly is part number 152274-20; the first part of the number seems to refer to the trigger bit and the 20 says which reverse switch is paired with it.

 

[dickm]

Anyone??????

 

[Droogs]

have you had a look at either maplin or RS components to see if they have what you need?

 

[hawkeyefxr]

I know it's obvious but heres their contact details
http://www.dewalt.com/support/contact-us

You could mention that this is on forums and they are getting bad remarks about their products. To make you buy a part you dont need is a captive market and in my mind extortion.
Dewalt are good tools but there are many others now catching them up.
I have one of these drills, about 6 months old now, but if mine goes i will certainly be complaining.

See if they are on Facebook and have your say there, a lot of people use facebook and it is a good place to bring it to the attention of other like users.

 

[dickm]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. Have hunted through RS with the proverbial toothcomb but had not tried Maplin, so that's a possible. I've sent emails into the deWalt black hole, but it's behaved normally and nothing came out. Others such as Miles, ToolFix etc seem to have similar propensities. Facebook sounds an interesting idea - will look into it.
But agree wholeheartedly with the comment about captive markets. It's a neat way to get round any legislation about competition.

 

[dickm]

Just in case it jogs anyone's mind that they've seen one somewhere, here are some pics of the switch. Suspect the little box part is the off-the-shelf bit - the connecting lever is obviously special to the angle drill.

Thanks for your patience, folks!

 

[skelph]

Hi Dick,

This link to Miles spare parts lists might help -

https://www.mtmc.co.uk/Product.aspx?ProductID=97922&strReferer=search&PPGR=0 there are parts lists for other versions on their site.

skelph

 

[dickm]

Thanks, Skelph, but if you look, they are just like all the other parts suppliers and only sell the whole unit for £70, which is a lot more than you pay for complete, albeit, used drills. On top of which, they are distinctly unhelpful if you contact them. Rude, even!

 

[sunnybob]

If the value of the part you want in america is less than £35, you can order it with no import duties at all. Ask the supplier to post USPS (Normal US post office), NOT ups or fedex or dhl, and youll be fine.
Even if if its over £35 the import duty will only be 20% of invoice cost.

 

[Sideways]

If the value of the part you want in america is less than £35, you can order it with no import duties at all. Ask the supplier to post USPS (Normal US post office), NOT ups or fedex or dhl, and youll be fine.
Even if if its over £35 the import duty will only be 20% of invoice cost.

The problem is the several pound handling fee added by royal mail for collecting the tax and duties if you do go over the duty free threshold ... Importing can be worthwhile as long as you don't have to return anything (because the costs of sending it back are stupid), but check out the HMRC website for the fine print. Tools are subject to import duty of I think 2-3% in addition to the 20% VAT but it's the post office fee that kills it for smaller orders.

 

[sunnybob]

I used to import a lot of stuff from the states, all sizes and values. Royal mail never added charges on their own account. They WILL of course collect any customs or excise duty on behalf of the government.