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Power Tool Part Frustration!!!!

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bfr57

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Joined
May 31, 2013
Messages
133
Just gotta vent some frustrations on our throw away society.....

I have an older, well functioning Delta miter saw that has a broken saw blade safety cover; manufacturer says "No longer supported". So I use it as is, chance getting cut, or spend $$ for a new one? Come on!!!

My Dewalt 1/2" hammer drill, model DW512, just broke the trigger. Again, "No longer supported". Throw away a great working tool for a trigger?

I'm getting really tired of having to buy new **** because a $5 part breaks and they didn't have any foresight to build long lead parts for replacements, especially a trigger!

Since all this stuff is becoming disposable and not repairable, why should I continue to buy higher priced tools? Might as well buy a crappy tool that'll only last a few years and keep buying new; probably cheaper in the long run......Thanks for the vent.
 
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Richard Cranium

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Joined
Apr 22, 2011
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18,552
Location
central Washington
I know what you mean, I have a craftsman drywall screw gun that the little nut that holds the bit in has broken, No parts available, other then buying a rebuild kit for 20.00. I then went to a Black and Decker parts house and got the parts I needed in stock also for .29 each, So I purchased 5 of them plus 10 O-rings that goes into the nut. I am supplied for life.
 
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Elsinore13

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Sep 20, 2017
Messages
504
Don't get me started on cordless tools and replacement batteries when they $hit the bed at 12-24 months. I see people who rarely use tools buy battery powered and I know good and well that the next time they go to use it the battery most likely won't be any good. Unless it is something you use on a daily or consistent basis, I have zero desire to buy a battery powered tool. I hate throwing things away but sometimes the pile gets too big.
 
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metalmad

Active member
Joined
Dec 6, 2014
Messages
32
Another way to get parts like triggers is to look for any numbers on the side of the trigger switch, often they are bought in from another company, and asking that vendor if they still supply it / does it cross match to a newer part
I take it that its a brushed drill?
 
C

catron44

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Joined
Feb 8, 2017
Messages
159
Location
CT
I have a lot of Dewalt power tools that I've repaired. There are times when even though the part is listed as obsolete, there is a replacement part that works. From my experience its been a part used on another brand as mentioned above.
 
J

jismay

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Joined
Oct 6, 2013
Messages
96
Another way to go can potentially be a 3d-printer.

Granted, it takes the ability to reverse-engineer and model a replacement part, or the luck to find a freely available part model online that someone else has already done the grunt work on.

Depending on the complexity of a given part photogrammetry can even be used to generate a model, theres quite a few free software packages out there.

Can be lots of effort, but the results in the end can be very good.
 
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metalmad

Active member
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Dec 6, 2014
Messages
32
Not be possible to make a safety guard out of polycarb? It generally bends well when heated and more than likely be possible to make something better than the factory compromise...
 
M

Musicinabottle

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Jul 24, 2016
Messages
3,371
Richard Cranium said:
I know what you mean, I have a craftsman drywall screw gun that the little nut that holds the bit in has broken, No parts available, other then buying a rebuild kit for 20.00. I then went to a Black and Decker parts house and got the parts I needed in stock also for .29 each, So I purchased 5 of them plus 10 O-rings that goes into the nut. I am supplied for life.
Click to expand...

This is the way I roll.
 
M

Musicinabottle

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Jul 24, 2016
Messages
3,371
Elsinore13 said:
Don't get me started on cordless tools and replacement batteries when they $hit the bed at 12-24 months. I see people who rarely use tools buy battery powered and I know good and well that the next time they go to use it the battery most likely won't be any good. Unless it is something you use on a daily or consistent basis, I have zero desire to buy a battery powered tool. I hate throwing things away but sometimes the pile gets too big.
Click to expand...

No cordless tools here at my place.
 
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Musicinabottle

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3,371
metalmad said:
Another way to get parts like triggers is to look for any numbers on the side of the trigger switch, often they are bought in from another company, and asking that vendor if they still supply it / does it cross match to a newer part
I take it that its a brushed drill?
Click to expand...

I bought a can of "Contact cleaner and lube" from Radio Shack, and lubricate all my triggers on a regular basis.
 
C

CR888

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Feb 19, 2017
Messages
1,198
You have to own 'some' cordless tools these days as they can make jobs so much easier but I sympathize with the OP and detest the throw away products and no support. I do however like my pneumatics and corded tools the most.
 
T

the gypsy

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Mar 13, 2013
Messages
1,780
Location
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Sometimes the old model number is no longer supported but the saw may have been replaced by a newer slightly modified model which may be very similar and therefore maybe you can used the part from the newer model. I had purchased a fifty or sixty year old drill and discovered that the model I bought was discontinued in the 1960 or so but was replaced and produced under a different number till the 1990's. So after some research I was able to buy the parts I needed and some parts I wanted like extra brushes
 
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pilotmotor

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Mar 13, 2018
Messages
88
I just recently repaired a Milwaukee drill that had a bad trigger , didn't want to pay the $40 + dollars for the correct switch so I bought a $10 Milwaukee switch from a non reversing drill and simply cut the reversing part off the original switch that was still good and glued it on top. Sometimes the parts are sourced from other suppliers like switches , bearings and such and you just have to be a little resourceful. I've also fixed many VSR switches by dissembling and cleaning them over the years.
 
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WWheeler

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Joined
Jun 23, 2015
Messages
4,105
Location
Middleofnowhere USA
Elsinore13 said:
Don't get me started on cordless tools and replacement batteries when they $hit the bed at 12-24 months. I see people who rarely use tools buy battery powered and I know good and well that the next time they go to use it the battery most likely won't be any good. Unless it is something you use on a daily or consistent basis, I have zero desire to buy a battery powered tool. I hate throwing things away but sometimes the pile gets too big.
Click to expand...
I have 18V nicad Dewalt batteries & tools that are 15yrs old and 18V Firestorm & tools that are older and all still work great. The batteries don't hold a charge near as long as they used to, but still long enough to charge one while using the other. Only reason I haven't gotten rid of them is they all still work.

I have never had a battery only last a few years. I have always religiously ran nicads all the way empty and then fully charged them. Doing the same all the time is actually bad for lithium batteries.20180412_113953.jpg
 
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Z

zendriver

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Dec 10, 2014
Messages
29,824
Location
Indiana
I'm not an expert on business, but if I owned a power tool company wanted to make profits and compete in the global economy, I think I'd much rather sell a new $129 drill than a $.29 part to fix one, that someone has used for 29 years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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