New Skil Wormdrive SPT77WM with Magnesium body- shearing armature shafts - motor turns but blade doesn't

Almost two years ago I purchased a new Skil wormdrive saw 7-1/4” SPT77WM with the magnesium body. The saw has plenty of torque and never bogs down and I want to be able to love it but it’s not allowing me.

I’m preparing to replace my second armature within the saw. I purchased the saw ‘Factory Refurbished’, it arrived in what appeared to be extremely good condition, great condition actually, or so it appeared. No exterior blemishes, imperfections, dings or otherwise. Then it happened: I went to test the saw inside before I walked it out to the shop; squeezed the trigger….motor turned but output shaft did not. Things that make you say “Hmmmm”. Brand new out of the box and saw did not work.

So I played the game of service, sent it off, Skil made the appropriate repair and sent it back. Saw ran like a champ, plenty of torque, no bogging….smooth cutting.. felt nice overall and is/was a pleasure to use. I’ve only used it minimally since, cutting a board here and there. About a week ago now I was cutting a few pieces of 2x material…dry boards. For a split second, I heard a metallic mishap inside the saw and here we stand again…..blade not turning but motor did.

I knew it was the armature.

This time, I decided to dismantle the saw and repair myself so that I could inspect and diagnose for myself. Yep! – armature. The armature was sheared at the stepdown shoulder of the shaft [5/8” → 1/2”] Right there at that shoulder juncture….sheared completely in half.

This will make the second armature that I’m aware of which has sheared in this saw. Quite possibly the third armature—highly probable that was the reason for the Factory Refurbish prior to my purchase. Upon closer observation, the armature’s metal composition isn’t molecularly where it needs to be. One can actually see, the bonding locations at the shear point and it certainly wasn’t bonded thoroughly all the way through it’s cross section at the molecular level.

The armatures are obviously being made by the cheapest bidder and I couldn’t be more disgusted.

For all those that would—yes, I have sufficient voltage…no voltage drop. Using a short 10 foot, 12 gauge drop cord on 20A circuit. I even administered electrical tests to ensure no voltage drop at the shop under loads and through the cord…terminations….just to cover bases on my end. Sufficient sustained voltage and proper continuities. Voltage drops and/or improper amperage flow during loads ruled out.

But why would the first shaft be snapped directly from the manufacturer? My diagnosis is the metal composition at the pour….just cheaply wrought.

There could be good news, I suppose. The replacement armature which is enroute supposedly replaced ‘an obsolete armature’ for this saw. Could it be, the engineers caught on to the flaw and rectified it in this new armature creation? I don’t know. Perhaps. I doubt it but perhaps.

Like I said, I want to love the saw but it’s simply not allowing me. It’s certainly not your granddad’s Skil 77. Sad facet of the equation is, the armature windings, copper and even the field composure seem to be made of high end material. Seem to be made very well. (last two pictures)

I contacted Skil, they didn’t want to honor their product less than 2 years old and only used minimally. So I have purchased all replacement parts out of pocket and as I told the representative at Skil, “Oh it doesn’t matter that I paid $230 for a saw and it’s only been used a few days”. They simply were not willing to work with me or stand behind their product. I had attempted to have them send me an armature replacement but they wouldn’t. I also wanted to speak with the engineering tech representing that sector of the facility to no avail. Would like to have spoken with someone in the engineering department to converse regarding, to reach some sort of resolve to my musing. But—we are definitely not in the 80s any longer.

I’ll run this one with the new armature and see what happens. Anyone have any thoughts on Milwaukee or Dewalt in the event I need replacement entirely? Better yet, do you have an old Skil 77 you’d like to box up and mail this way. The old 4×4s…they were made right.