For want of a screw (not that kind)

[MJ]

I have a Dewalt 321 top handle jigsaw. Over the summer, the screw holding the foot came loose. I thought I scooped up all the parts, and it appears I did but the damn screw, wasn't with the parts!

I decided the other day to put the foot back on the saw and searched all over for the screw, but I didn't have it. Damn it.

Took the saw today to the local ACE. They had a ton of choices, but no screw fit the hole. Ok, went on-line and it seems that most of the parts dealers have it, but I'm sure I'm going to pay $5 to ship it to me!. ARGH!

There is no Dewalt service center nearby within a 25 mile radius, but I'll keep trying.

Looking for suggestions. I don't know the thread or size of the screw since DeWalt doesn't list them on the part number. Fastenal has it, but the local one didn't have it in stock.

Frustrating, to say the least.

MJ

[Keith Nuttle]

Assuming this is a small set screw not something huge.

Have you tried the electrical outlets like Radio Shack? Electrical components seem to have their own thread sizes for circuit boards, etc.

Several times I have found small screws and nuts there I could not find elsewhere.

[Leon]

How much gas have you burned looking for that $5 screw?

[Bill]

Yep, like Leon said. This is where you should have cut your losses. Did you check whether a DeWalt service center would help? In Indianapolis, the DeWalt service center and the Delta service center are combined and they have treated me very nicely!

[Dave]

On Sat, 03 Nov 2012 23:10:19 -0500, Leon

Who cares if he spends $50 for gas and uncounted hours finding the right screw? It's not the gas or money cost that's important, it's the principle of it.

:)

[Dave]

On Sun, 4 Nov 2012 05:24:07 -0500, "Mike Marlow"

Of course. Anyway, we all know how single minded you are when you get your teeth clamped onto a problem.

[G. Ross]

Do you have a metric caliper? My 321 saw has a cheese-head machine screw, metric. The shaft length is 2.8 cm, diameter (across tops of threads) 2.8 mm. Looks like 9 threads /cm. Be sure to apply thread lock juice when doing final assembly. Harder to put back on than is is to take off!

I keep my metric screws in a separate compartment and found one the same other than the head and length. You can cut to length with a hacksaw . I generally use a jeweler's saw.

[RP]

I'm rebuilding a Dewalt framing nailer for a friend and all the screws are metric. Just a heads up.

RP

[MJ]

My rant really was against DeWalt for choosing an odd thread/size screw to begin with. I checked with Sears and they want $10 to ship a $1 screw.

There is a service center nearby, but I hazard that they they don't any repair work, they just send it out. I'll check with them in the morning.

I'll also might check with some machine shops.

MJ

[Leon]

Which begs the question, If you were having a smaller item than the screw shipped, say a 5 karat diamond, would you then think $10 would be too much for shipping?

[Larry Jaques]

Not quite fair. A screw could be secured to a sheet of paper and mailed in an envelope for a buck. A diamond couldn't, securely, anyway. Good vendors would consider the first and faint from the second.

-- While we have the gift of life, it seems to me that only tragedy is to allow part of us to die - whether it is our spirit, our creativity, or our glorious uniqueness. -- Gilda Radner

[Leon]

Exactly why would a diamond not be able to be securely attached to a piece of paper and mailed?

But to get back on track, why do people assume that it takes less man power and expense to ship an in expensive item vs. one of much more perceived value?

[Larry Jaques]

It couldn't be securely -mailed- that way, foo. ;)

I don't agree that the expenses for mailing are that high. I sell things myself and if I can mail it in an envelope, the customer isn't charged for the PM fees, ever!

Show me a company who has to _spend_ ten bucks to ship a little screw and I'll show you a company who overcharges for every item it sells. And I won't be a customer of theirs. The value usually isn't there.

LJ--cheap^H^H^H^H^Hfrugal bastid, and proud of it.

-- While we have the gift of life, it seems to me that only tragedy is to allow part of us to die - whether it is our spirit, our creativity, or our glorious uniqueness. -- Gilda Radner

[Leon]

Why not? Does tape not stick to diamonds? It happens every day FWIW.

Perhaps you mean to indicate that it would not be safe to ship a high dollar item in an envelope. Perhaps "security" might not be what you would be comfortable with.

You are looking at the small picture. The special screw cannot be had any where. The screw has to be stored in a building. People work in this building. People cost. Insurance, electricity, time. shipping costs.

Sure it would cost about 50 cants to throw the screw in an envelope and let the mailman pic it up to deliver it. You are forgetting all the costs to get the screw from the manufacturer to the envelope that is coming to you. Would you feel better about a $1 screw sold for $10 and shipped for $1?

And I will show you a company that is still in business. The value is there if it means being able to complete a job and getting paid. For the hobbyist, maybe not.

I agree that for many the price seem steep and for each instance the price may be high or a bargain. Hell $1 for a 5 cent screw seems high looking at it your way.

[Larry Jaques]

Pedantic much? Of course that was my meaning.

Give me a freakin' break, Leon. You can't bill everyone for every cost. Each one has its own, and that's why a penny screw costs a buck now. A box of old screws has a sunk cost, not a current, additive one. Hayseuss Crisco, get real, man.

If it were a much larger item, it might be subject to inventory costs, but most little things aren't.

Folks who gouge for shipping usually do go out of business. There is a strong sense of fairness in most of the American people. Perhaps not so much in Texas?

You bet.

-- While we have the gift of life, it seems to me that only tragedy is to allow part of us to die - whether it is our spirit, our creativity, or our glorious uniqueness. -- Gilda Radner

[Leon]

And yet in your first response, you wrote pointing out specifically that a screw could be secured to a piece of paper but a diamond could not be.

A screw could be secured to a sheet of paper and >>>>> mailed in an envelope for a buck. A diamond couldn't, securely, >>>>> anyway.

You compared the diamond method of shipping to the screw method of shipping, no change of reference.

Money/cash gets mailed on a daily basis, leaves less of a paper trail. I suspect diamonds are also transferred that way too.

I could not afford to loose a diamond so I would probably insure it and or use a different container. If I were wanting to hide the reoccurring movement of cash or diamonds and not want any one to know....

[Mike M]

I did service work for a major manufacturer of emergency backup equipment. There was no part including a washer with a price under $1.00 We did get them to start packaging installation kits so when you went into the field you had all the little parts. That was a win win as if it was warranty it saved them money as well. I know you don't like it Larry but while we were a service center we ran into some of those costs. 30 minutes dealing with people that didn't know what they needed to sell a $10 part. Its nice to be nice but you can't ignore overhead and operating costs. There were times we gave parts away just to save money, but sometimes the cost is subject to the customers attitude.

Mike M

[Leon]

Eggssacly! ;~) I think what most of the unknowing believe is that they are the only ones that are buying the $1 part so paying a buck or two for shipping is OK, no big loss for the retailer. What they don't consider is that this happens hundreds of times per day per location. So you hire "ONE" guy to sell, pull, package, and pay for shipping, 50, $1 parts. That is all he has time to do. I can assure you the profit of those 50 sales will not pay his salary for the day and shipping expense. Not to mention overhead, insurance.....

The multi-part repair kits make a lot of sense, but then you are going to have the guy that only needs one part that he thinks his particular part in the kit should cost 25 cents and whine because he has to buy the $5 kit.

I spent my most of my life in the service industry, wholesale and retail. With wholesale you don't deal with the one'z, two'z orders. Retailers have to deal with everything.

[Larry Jaques]

THAT I can understand. It's a $10 part but you want to charge $50 to the guy on the phone who doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground and kept you on the phone for so long. I call that extra $40 a training fee. ;)

-- While we have the gift of life, it seems to me that only tragedy is to allow part of us to die - whether it is our spirit, our creativity, or our glorious uniqueness. -- Gilda Radner

[MJ]

I want to thank everyone who responded, either to denigrate me for "whining" or taking this post way off base or trying to be helpful. It's been interesting.

To me the simplest thing would have DeWalt just tell me the thread/ size of the damn screw. I sent a note off to their customer service and see if they will respond. Their parts manual doesn't give any indication what the size might be.

Many of my fellow local woodworkers suggest I just tap out the hole and then put a more normal screw in. That might work in the end.

If I get a response from DeWalt, I'll let everyone know.

Many thanks,

MJ