Thread: Dewalt 7491 table saw clunking when lowering blade

Get the refund. Even if they fix it again, based on its history, it will be back like that in a short time me thinks.

I'm with Lappa. Hard to believe there's not something broken in that mechanism. If they won't replace the whole saw and want to fix it I'd be asking them to show me what the problem was and explain to me what they did to fix it. I can't see a 'clean and lube' fixing that problem.

Alright, thanks guys. It seems like everyone agrees this is not normal behavior from this saw. I will ask for a refund this afternoon.

I will buy another the same and if it behaves the same as this, will just deal with it (or more likely try to adjust it myself).

Originally Posted by doakwolf

I will buy another the same......

Is that wise?

I've only found a couple of people online mentioning the same issue in the hundreds of Amazon reviews so I feel it may just be a bad one. Each of those mentions were in regard to the cheaper 745 model too - I haven't yet come across another 7491 owner mentioning the same.

I really like that it's portable, lightweight and doesn't take up a lot of room in my small workshop.

Do you have other suggestions for something similar?

EDIT: the only other one I found is the SawStop but it's literally double the cost. I'll read up some reviews on that one. The Dewalt shop and Carbatec are literally within 50m of each other so it's no hassle to go take a look - assuming they have one in stock.

I don't have an alternative for you, as I have a Hafco panel saw.

However, if I had a problem from a new piece of equipment, I would be inclined to look elsewhere for a substitute. Hope it works out for you.

I think I will take your advice and have a look around. I just spoke to the Dewalt service tech directly and he said to me "that is normal for every Dewalt table saw".

I'm still not entirely convinced though. I just don't see how that level of noise/clunkiness could possibly be normal and accepted by the bulk of their customers - nor ever mentioned on any reviews that I've seen.

Thanks again!

If you're having a look around, see if you can have a look at the Metabo TS254. It falls short on the DeWalt in rip capacity but makes up for that in other ways. Mainland retailers are selling this for less than the Dewalt. And there's a 3 yr warranty if I'm not mistaken.

Thanks for the idea/input richmond68. I will take a look, though I'm not sure we have any retailers around here.

I got a refund from Dewalt yesterday. Apparently the store talked to Dewalt AUS about it and they also confirmed this is expected behavior from all of their table saws. That said, when the guy at the shop witnessed the clunking for himself, he seemed shocked. He didn't say much but his body language suggested he really doesn't think that could possibly be normal. After examination he's confident he can see the cause of the fault too - a loose nut on the rack system - but claimed to not be allowed/qualified to attempt repair. So we did the refund.

I'm going to check out the SawStop portable if Carbatec stock it. They seem to get good reviews but lack the fantastic rack and pinion fence system of the Dewalt.

Thanks all

If you can afford one, I'm sure you will be very very happy with the fence on the SawStop job site saw

Originally Posted by ian

If you can afford one, I'm sure you will be very very happy with the fence on the SawStop job site saw

I just demo'd one at Carbatec... I think I'll pick one up tomorrow!

It feels far superior in quality. The fence system felt just slightly clunky to set (in comparison to the Dewalt which we all know is class-leading) but it wins in every other aspect (apart from rip capacity - not a big deal to me). When I say clunky to set, I think that's really only because I'm not used to it and again, only when compared to the micro-adjustable Dewalt rack & pinion system. I'm sure I'll love it within a week. I was also worried about the small amount of flex in the fence but not any more. I think you'd have to be doing something quite wrong for it to become an issue.

It's going to end up costing $600AUD extra out of my tool budget though which means no jointer any time soon.

I will think about it some more overnight. Dewalt's rack & pinion fence is fantastic for when you just want to take off a hair and then another hair (cutting housing dados etc) so I may miss it.

If anyone was watching the thread for their own interest in these saws or happen to stumble across it while researching the higher-end jobsite saws, I figured I'd give my initial thoughts after 1 day owning the Saw Stop jobsite saw. I don't always trust the Youtube reviewers because I don't know if they're simply selling a product for a sponsor so I hope this helps someone.

In Tasmania, the price was $1950 for the Saw Stop. Dewalt is $1100 plus about $300 for the wheelie stand so we'll call it $1400. I'm kind of on the fence as to whether I made the right decision and that's really because of the fence system. Once locked, it's solid enough, but I already miss the fine adjuster on the Dewalt and it was so much easier to set it to a precise measurement. If I'd never known any better though, I'm sure I'd be happy with the Saw Stop T lock system.

Pros (in direct comparison to the Dewalt DWE7491-XE):

- Almost forgot this... One turn for full blade height. Fantastic feature. I never counted on the Dewalt but I suspect it was about 20 turns from memory.

- More powerful motor. Although I think they're rated the same, the Saw Stop definitely cuts with less effort. It also has a less violent (soft start?) startup. Oh, and it's heaps quieter to my ears. I'm stoked with the motor. To be clear on this, I would always switch between a 24T FTG for ripping and a 60T ATB for crosscutting on the Dewalt. The Saw Stop came with a 60T ATB and I've only used that one blade so far for both ripping and crosscutting. It really does feel more powerful.

- Miter slots were easier to setup with the Incra miter guide since they are a more regular width and more precise. The Dewalt had abnormally wide slots and I had to buy the Incra 1000SE model which has the expanding washers on both sides of the bar in order to fill the gap and remove play. With the Saw Stop slots I only needed the expanding washers on one side of the bar. This is a plus for anyone using a lesser model of the Incra guide or some other jigs with standard width bars. Machining/paintwork is better too. I had taken some wet n dry and flattened multiple areas on my Dewalt miter slots to allow the jigs to slide through smoothly. Not required with the Saw Stop apart from just a tiny thick spot of paint/powder at the very end (back) of the slot. Was a 5 second job and now the jigs slide through perfectly.

Another factor here is I actually never did perfectly square my Incra miter guide to my Dewalt blade because the slot was so far out of alignment with the blade, the Incra didn't allow enough adjustment. I got it close but never perfect. No such problem with the Saw Stop. Maybe I needed to get under the Dewalt and somehow adjust the blade angle to the slots? I'm not sure. I'll never know now.

- Changing blade angle is far easier on the Saw Stop and the fine adjustment is an absolute treat. I cannot believe how quick and easy it is to switch from 90deg to 45deg (or anywhere in between), whack the square on it and fine adjust ready for a perfect cut. If you tend to change blade angles often, the Saw Stop will make you happy.

- Knowing it won't take off a finger.

- Came with a very nice zero-clearance insert from factory.

Cons (in direct comparison to the Dewalt DWE7491-XE):

- Fence adjustment as previously mentioned. You really need to use two hands to slide it or it bounces around on the rail. No big deal but if you're fussy, it feels like a cheap tool at this point. But it cost nearly $2000AUD so ... it is far from cheap. For perspective here, a Makita saw with far more rip capacity costs less than 1/3 of that. So I guess the price is also a con!

- The ruler. When I extend the table out to wide mode it's out by 1mm. I suspect something in my table locking system is wrong because I also notice my max rip is 647mm, as measured. I'm going to have to look into this further but so far it's really annoyed me considering the price. I'd expect that only from a budget saw. This is a major con. I hope it's just me doing something wrong.

- Swapping out the riving knife for the blade guard can't be done without removing the table insert. That's fine, but after fitting the blade guard, it's just a little bit fiddly fitting the insert again. Not a big deal and someone else may say it's really easy. Again, only a con when compared to the Dewalt system.

Neutrals:

- Table isn't perfectly flat, same as most Dewalts and others in this class of saw. Setting the blade to 90deg on the left may be slightly out on the right. The good thing though is the micro-adjust I mentioned earlier. Makes it very easy to quickly adjust that out depending on which side you're cutting. One shouldn't buy a 30kg aluminum and plastic table saw expecting a perfectly flat top though (IMO). I look forward to the day I have enough space for a real cast iron table saw!

- Slight wobble when working - to be expected from such a light tool.

- It came with exactly the same POS plastic miter guide that Dewalt supplied. Straight into the rubbish bin for that waste of space. I almost fell over when I first saw it. C'mon Saw Stop, $1950!!! At least pay China a few extra bucks for something SLIGHTLY higher in quality?!

That's about all that comes to mind. If it were a couple of hundred dollars cheaper, I would be certain I've made the right choice. I think the day I make a mistake and set off the safety will be the day I am really happy I spent the extra dollars.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not unhappy with it but I need this ruler alignment issue sorted out . I'll have a closer look at that shortly. Keen for any advice on this!

Good review, I'm keen on upgrading my TS. I think I would go for the sawstop over the others with all you mentioned. There is always going to be pro's and con's with anything we buy, it's about what suits the individuals needs at the end of the day.


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