PC 557 Woes/Rant/Questions

[Walt Pater]

I've owned a PC 557 type 2 biscuit joiner for several years now, and have been pleased with its performance. Recently, the right pivot (the black thing screwed into the side near the front which has a semicircular track in it to allow the fence to pivot down) became worn, with the result that the fence was no longer parallel with the blade. This severly restricted its use, since I could only use the base of the unit on a table to make cuts. I took it to my local PC servicer, who ordered the replacement piece. PC shipped the LEFT piece. When I pointed this out to my servicer, he told me that he had been in contact w/ PC, who told him that PC was no longer manufacturing the replacement pivot for the type 2 biscuit joiners, had none in stock, and that the pivot for the type 3 joiners was not compatible. The pivot cost $6.95. So now my $200.00 biscuit joiner is broken for lack of a seven dollar part. I e-mailed PC about this problem, who gave me a customer service number which has not gotten me a live person on the other end.

How can a company allow this to happen? I have assured PC via e-mail that I will not be replacing my biscuit joiner with a similar PC unit. (Hello Lamello!) As a carpenter I'll make up to, say, 50-75 biscuit joints a day, and the down-time is killing me (I'm luckily in a phase of a project which doesn't require biscuits.)

So does anyone know of a service center which might help me out here? Or does anyone have a type 2 biscuit joiner that they are parting out? I'd just as soon not spend the money on a new biscuiter, as the cost of the replacement part is so small.
Thanks for listening, Walt

[Curt Harms]

Hi Walt

I hope this isn't welcome to the NEW & IMPROVED Porter-Cable. I helped a buddy who had purchased a Delta 305 planer try to get a dust hood. He waited 2 months-somebody in Florida had one and was supposed to have shipped it but nobody could find it. We finally got some 4" PVC and made a dust hood. It works good.

This was during the parts switchover and I was hoping that screw-up was temporary. Your experience indicates Porter-Cable parts may become problematic-I Hope not! I wonder what the difference is between the Type 2 and Type 3 fence is. I know that DeWalt sued Porter-Cable over the fence of the biscuit joiner. It'd be interesting to compare the 2 types side by side and see if a type 3 fence part can be made to work.

You might try to call the factory service center in Willow Grove, PA. The managers name is Juan the phone is 215-658-1430. They have been helpful to me in the past. He was given some Black & Decker hedge trimmers to sell...Seemed thrilled to death :mad:

Curt

[Steve Rowe]

Walt - You may consider having a machine shop make a part for you but I would expect it to cost considerably more than $7 to make and may not be worth it. You may also want to check into what it would take to make your model like the current production model. Probably purchasing more parts but, hopefully less than the cost of a new jointer. I would hope that someone at PC would know the answer to this or at least be willing to research it. What you have observed may be the reason PC changed the design.

Steve