Chapter Two
Alignment & Treatment of a DeWalt Saw —
"If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can waste a lot of time. There is a definite sequence of steps to take."
I remember the first time a DeWalt was delivered to my home. It came in a very big box…
…and, in those days, they were all put together and “factory-aligned” before they were shipped.
The box was so big that the trucker and I carried it into our living room and set it down—and there it stayed for the next week. He went his way and I managed to get it out of the box by myself. It had no legs or cabinet under it—just the beautiful machine, sitting down on the floor.
I was so all-fired anxious to use it that I plugged it into the nearest outlet and started cutting wood right there in the living room. (My wife’s been putting up with that kind of nonsense for years!)
Today, there’s another kind of pleasure that’s just as great. Whether it involves a vintage car, an early plane, or Grandma’s old cupboard…
It’s a wonderful thing to “bring it back to life” — to mint condition — and to use it.
The reward comes in several forms: There’s a great feeling of accomplishment, a pride in the finished product—plus, there’s a great increase in the dollar-value of the item.
I predict the “original” DeWalt will be manufactured again! Some very wise fellow is going to end up with the original moulds, go into production, and make a fortune.
More power to him! I’ll be the first to applaud.
How much will it cost?
The DeWalt motor is very special, for example. For it to have a flat bottom (for more depth of cut), it’s not “just another motor!” I know that, today, that motor would have to sell for $750.
In the “old days,” it was common knowledge that the motor represented half the value of the machine. So—it will be no surprise at all for a new machine price to be $1500. (The “new” price for the 1-1/2 hp model, today, is $1400—and $839 for the 1 hp model.)
This comes as quite a jolt to us “old duffers” who remember paying $229 for the smaller machine…
Now that’s just an excerpt…
You’ll want to get my book to read the whole thing.