Customer Reviews

DELTA 36-717 Hybrid 10-Inch Left Tilt 1-3/4-Horsepower Intermediate Saw with 30-Inch Biesemeyer Fence, 2 Cast Iron Extension Wings, Table Board, and Legs, 115/230-Volt 1-Phase

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I purchased this to replace an 14 year old Craftsman that I had tricked out with a Vega fence, knee operated STOP switch, wheels, outfeed table and dust collector.

The saw arrived in a slightly damaged crate but no damage to the product. I lifted it off the pallet with a come-along attached to the rafters in my garage/shop. The same technique was used to set it on the mobile base (more later).

I used paper towels to remove most of the grease from the table top and wings before cleaning with paint thinner.

Installing the belt is simplified by using the triangle shaped packing foam to block the motor up in position.

The arbor showed a runout of 0.00075", perfect. The table had a 0.008" dip in the center but was flat side to side. The wings were flat to within 0.005". Having said that I'm not sure what is really required to do quality work, but I believe this will do just fine.

The trunnions were off with the blade out 0.014" back to front.

I found it a pain to align until I realized that by leaving one trunnion bolt somewhat tight I could pivot the whole assembly around that bolt. Then it was relatively easy and it settled at 0.0015" off. I detect no vibration except a tiny bit just before the motor stops; I can't imagine that will cause a problem.

Using a workmate table to hold the wings in position for installation was a big help but shimming was required to make them flat to the top. The wooden extension table goes on easily and certainly does not seem to need the legs supplied with the saw.

The blade guard pushes the (red) table insert foward making the holdown screw hard to install. I filed the guard a bit to improve the fit. Replacing the two bolts used to install the guard with wingnuts means I never have to use the poorly designed 'wrench' supplied with the saw to mount or remove the guard.

The guard is designed so that it is not possible to keep it "open" (off and away from the blade) when you want to check the blade height or distance from the fence. I'm sure this is thought of as a safety feature but it made me want to work without the guard; not a good idea! I used my Dremel to notch the guard so that it can now 'lay back' out of the way.

The miter guage was right on.

The Biesemeyer fence installed easily with the included guage but the instructions are not completely accurate. The fence itself was defective in that the laminated wooden faceplates extended too far below the metal body of the fence so they dragged on the table and caught in the miter slot. You cannot adjust the faces but Biesemeyer replaced the fence and it is a solid, easily adjusted dream to work with. It's a shame Delta does not see fit to update this workhorse with easily adjustable/replaceable faces. It could also use some attachments similar to the Vega product. Oh well, it's a challange to dream up some jigs.

I used the Delta mobile base (lot's cheaper from Hechingers), the same one that fits my bandsaw. It is very sturdy and works well. As noted by others it requires some shimming to keep the saw from sliding around in the oversized base. That was easy to do.

The first project for this saw involves 9/4 steam dryed beech. I could not make long (7 foot) cuts because the wood 'closed up'on the blade after a couple of feet but the saw cuts well with my Forrest blade and has plenty of power at 120 volts. (I wound up making three shallower cuts to get through.) The beech makes a very 'stringy' sawdust and I found the stuff piled up behind the motor (even with a 4" dust collector) and had to be vacuumed out through the access door to keep from filling the cabinet. Interestingly it also wedged into the space in the trunnions that is normally occupied by the mechanism when the blade is dropped. After a time (100' of cut) I could no longer drop the blade below the table surface! I had to reach in through the door and poke out the shavings.

With all of that I think it was easy to assemble. Probably took me eight careful hours of thinking and doing.

It runs like a charm, seems to be very sturdily constructed, is accurate, easy to set up cuts (as modified). The Biesemeyer is solid, easy to align to the miter slot and impossible to budge once locked down. The cursor hairline is down on the tape to minimize parrallax(?) and is very accurate. The storage (racking)provisions for the wrenches, fence and miter are a plus. The two wrench approach to blade replacement makes it a lot simpler than having to wedge the blade and use a single wrench. The stop switch location is ideal for a 'No Hands' shutoff. I use a hex-key to 'lock' the switch in the off position preventing careless accidents.

Overall, after a week of cutting, I think this will serve me well for many years. Only time will verify the quality but I am very happy using this saw.

I recently purchased the Delta 36-717 cabinet saw, and after sorting out a few issues, I am very happy with the performance of the saw. I would have given it 5 stars if the set-up had gone smoother.
My first concern was with the extension wings. One had a .010 dip in it; the other had a .021 dip. Delta told me that the tolerance for flatness on the table/wings is .012, and offered to replace the bad one. However, I wanted better than that, so I took them into work (I'm a machinist) and ground them myself - they are now both within .001. I should mention that the main table was very good - within .003, and the finish of the grinding on both wings and the main table was absolutely superb. Contrary to what the manual says, I decided to check the trunion alignment before installing the wings and fence rails because access to the undercarriage is a lot easier without them installed. Trunion alignment was off by .012, so I loosened the 4 bolts and adjusted it. The bolts are fairly easy to reach, and in about 20 minutes I had it within .001. It was not hard to do. While I was under there, I checked the drive belt pulley alignment, and discovered that it was out about 3/8". I tried to loosen the (small, metric) setscrew on the motor pulley, but the head immediately stripped! I had to remove the motor and drill out the setscrew. I then installed a larger ¼-28 setscrew in the pulley and re-assembled everything. At this point I decided to run the saw and see if there was anything else that might need tuning before installing the wings. The saw ran fine, but on shutdown the whole saw would develop a shaking motion before coming to a stop. The motor bolts to a cast iron plate, which pivots on 2 pins. I found there was excessive clearance between the holes in the plate and the pivot pins (.012 on one, .018 on the other). Delta tried to tell me the shaking is from the belt, and the clearance is there so the motor can rotate up and down freely! Freely is one thing - sloppy is another. Anyway, I removed the motor (again!), removed the plate and the pins and wrapped the appropriate size shim stock around each pin that would eliminate the play and still allow it to rotate. I carefully re-assembled everything and tried it again. WOW! What a difference. The saw was now rock solid. Now confident that everything was all right, I installed the extension wings and the Biesemeyer fence.
The miter gauge that came with this saw is very good. It has a locking finger (much like a miter saw) that engages at all the common angles each side of 90 degrees, and the engagement points are all adjustable. The saw is not noisy (as tablesaws go), and it has lots of power. On one of the woodworking forums someone was questioning the 3000 RPM blade speed as posted by Delta. All I can say is the label on my motor states 3450 RPM, and both pulleys are the same diameter (2"), so unless the motor is labeled incorrectly, the blade speed is 3450.
For the gentleman who found the blade raising mechanism to be stiff - the engagenent of the pinion in the rack is adjustable - it shows you how to make the adjustment in the owners nanual.
With the saw now running so smooth I decided to give it the nickel test. It was no problem at all to get the nickel on it's edge with the saw running. Feeling confident, I shut the saw off, and the nickel never even flinched! I then restarted the saw - no movement at all. In short, with a nickel standing on it's edge I've started and stopped the saw so many times I've lost count, and it won't topple over! Very impressive.
I don't know if any saw is 100% perfect out of the box, but I feel I had to do more fine tuning with mine than I should have. However, I now have a saw that is a joy to use - quiet, vibration free, accurate, great dust collection, an excellent fence, and I even like the paint color! I'm very happy with the saw.

I bought this saw a week ago and it is still not running correctly. The front Biesmeyer fence bracket had one hole drilled incorrectly and had to be replaced. The back bracket interferes with the blade gaurd. The whole thing vibrates enough to put waves on the surface of a glass of water placed on the table. Delta says the belt just needs to be worn in. I think it's a faulty motor, but I have to humor them by running it for hours to convince them. There is no mobile base available for this saw yet.

If you want to troubleshoot and tinker with a saw that is still really just a prototype, you'll love this saw. If you want to actually use a saw though, forget it. I've lost a week of work screwing around with this dog. They make you assemble and adjust things they could have done just as easily at the factory. I don't want to work for Delta assembling saws. I want to USE the saw. I will never buy Delta again.

I worried over the reviews for this saw and the ones for a competing Jet model for weeks, maybe months. I finally decided to ask my local WoodCraft people which one's best. They helped me figure out that the Delta--at least, in the configuration with the best fence--cost less. Price wasn't my main consideration, but they also seemed slightly keener on the Delta.

So, I bought the 36-717 (with the Biesemeyer fence) there, paying $950 plus sales tax; one of the guys at the store actually delivered it to my house in his personal truck--that was after he spent an hour helping me decide. I had planned on purchasing it from Amazon, because it usually offers the best price, no sales tax, and free shipping, but I see lately that it's playing games with the prices, and with the shipping charges. And the WoodCraft rep earned my business, no question.

The crate that contained the saw was undamaged, and the saw itself had suffered no damage whatsoever; it even came with plenty of extra bolts. The wings are a pain to align correctly, but they did line up okay. Everything was perfectly aligned; measuring with a T-square from the miter slot to the front and back of the blade showed a slight discrepancy, but it turned out that stock blade was a little warped, and I wasn't going to use it anyway.

Like someone else here, I decided on a hybrid because I have to rely on 115 volts--I rent a house in the San Francisco Bay Area, and buying is stupid right now. This (or the Jet) was the most powerful saw I could get.

I was still worried that it might not have enough power, especially with a dado set, but I've had zero problems. I bought a Freud 8-inch dial-a-dado set, and it works wonderfully, even when set to a pretty aggressive depth and going through oak and bubinga. I do wish the arbor were a bit longer--the outside nut on a fully stacked dado set could be easy to strip if you get it on there wrong. But the motor is quiet (for a power saw), and very smooth, especially compared to my old benchtop model. Dust collection with a Delta dust collector is awesome, thanks to the enclosed cabinet.

I bought an Incra miter gauge, which is fantastic; I never even unbagged the stock gauge. Oh, I also bought the Delta 50-941 mobile base, which works very well and fits the saw perfectly, except that it doesn't support the out-table included with this version. No problem; because I'm moving it often, I decided the legs on the out-table were just getting in the way, so I just removed them.

I'm not wild about the blade guard; lumber fits very tightly between the guard and the fence when ripping, and that's with it adjusted as far away as I can get it. It's probably because I'm most often using a (Freud) thin-kerf blade, but there has to be a better way to prevent kickback. Yes, I would just take the thing off, but everyone--*everyone* will eventually have something flying back at them, and I need my eyes.

Overall, I'm very happy with the saw. I'm more than satisfied with the quality of materials and construction. I keep thinking, this 400-pound animal cost half what my 3-pound laptop cost. I'll need to replace the laptop in a couple years; the saw will outlive me.

I doubl if Delta's design engineer ever tried to put this saw together! Putting the belt on the motor is a half hour chore. The left extension wing on the table has a 20 thousands dip ground in. The right table mounting holes didn't line up. I had to elongate the holes to level the right wing with the saw table. It took 8 hrs to assemble the saw. The saw blade raising and lowering mechanism is difficult to turn.

I used the saw for two months when the 1 3/4 hp motor quit. This is a cheap motor and the wrong application for this saw. It is a capacitor start, which is fine, but it also has a capacitor for run-which means it has an internal switch- which can go bad. A saw is frequently turned on and off and so this motor should not be used on a saw. I have a Delta contractor saw I bought 25 years ago which has a 1 1/2 hp capacitor start motor. It is still running fine. This is what Delta should have put on this so called "Industrial" saw.

Well, it has been over two weeks since Delta said it would send a replacement motor - but they have no idea when! Just Great! What will they send? The same motor or one that fits the application? I will keep you informed, if Amazon permits.

Sad to say, this latest Delta saw is junk. I own 9 other Delta products and I can say without a doubt this machine is inferior. I originally ordered this saw in 3/05 as an addition to my shops Unisaw and was told it would not be delivered until late June. By late August with no saw in sight, Amazon cancelled my order and told me Delta was having quality issues with the saw and probably would not import it. One month later it was still in the catalogue so I ordered it again and actually took delivery of it. The shipping crate showed no sign of being miss handled so I accepted it. Upon uncrating it in the shop I was amazed by the amount of damage to the motor cover/access door. A crow bar and small sledge were employed to open the door and beat the cabinet back into some shape. This damage most likely occurred in the factory, due to the undamaged condition of the packing crate, and it was still shipped! The assembly instructions are inaccurate and incomplete, as were the instructions for the Biesemeyer fence. You are left to guess if you got the drive belt on straight, the "factory aligned" arbor was out by 5/32nds of an inch and I was not able to get it closer than 1/32nd of an inch. You can gain access to the rear bolts thru the sliding panel for the splitter and the front left nut buy using a 10" extension on a ratchet. Do all of this before you install the fence. To install the fence itself requires some ingenuity and thought as the instructions are not very clear and the holes and hardware don't match. All in all POOR! Try a Powermatic saw. The quality is stunningly poor relative to what I was accustomed to from Delta. I would have to think hard about if I would ever order another saw from them. Lastly, power is adequate at best. I was not expecting it to give my Unisaw a run for the money, but I'm glad I was only planning on using it for sheet goods. Think hard friends, and have a complete set of tools, before you buy this LOSER.

Took delivery of this saw on 02/03/06. It shipped in four separate boxes, all of which arrived unscathed by ABF Freight. I encountered some of the "problems" mentioned in the other reviews but this saw assembled nicely and runs like a top.

Before doing anything else, I installed the belt and started the machine. Belt installed in less than two minutes and pulleys were perfectly aligned. I then performed the nickel test, without the added benefit of the extension wings, and it failed 2 of 3 times on shutdown (which, as you are aware, would be after a cut has been made). However, while I am no expert (I am a beginner weekend woodworker and this is my first table saw), I believe most of the vibration was due to the belt. This is a heavy motor with a very thin, yet stiff, belt. After getting the machine completely assembled, the nickel remains standing. I believe the added weight (wings, biesemeyer fence and rails) helps significantly. Also, running the machine several times in the past three days has helped break the belt in.

The wings were hard to get adjusted properly but keep in mind you are installing a significant amount of weight with only three bolts supporting the weight. It is also recommended to have someone help you with this step. I did it alone and that added to the difficulty. But still, given the task at hand, the wings went on without much difficulty. Follow the directions when installing the wings. Run the bolts up handy then make final adjustment and tighten.

The directions for installing the fence are not really helpful but studying the product for a few minutes you quickly figure out there is only one way to install it. You should also note that the switch will be finally installed to the table and fence rail so don't overtighten if you mount the switch before adding the fence.

After assembly, and a final check to make sure everything was aligned, I did a test cut. First piece was slightly out of square. I was worried that the blade was out of alignment. After confirming that the factory alignment did appear to be accurate I checked the miter gage. Turns out it was slightly out of alignment. The directions for adjusting the miter gage were very useful and was finished in about 5 minutes. That solved the problem and the saw now cuts beautifully. Note that I did install a Freud Diablo 80 T blade as opposed to the factory blade.

The only probelem I found with the saw is the blade guard. I had no intention of installing the guard but decided to do it anyway to see how it went. After about an hour of adjustment, I finally had it close but I just do not like the "rinky dink" appearance and quality. I know it is safer to leave the guard on but I do not want it in the way. I still rate the saw 5 stars. Of all the machines I looked at, including the General International, I never saw any of the lower end saws with a decent guard.

The bottom line is this saw was an incredible value and considering what it is, relatively easy to assemble. Take your time assembling, read the directions before and during assembly, and you will not be disappointed. Amazon has this saw at an incredibly cheap price and, for the money, there is no better value.

I read reviews of this saw on other sites, and "hinted" to my wife that I wanted one for Christmas...she got it, then warned me that there were bad reviews on Amazon. Hmm...

The saw arrived with the packing crate a little beat up, but no damage to either saw or the 3 Biesmeyer fence boxes. Uncrating and assembly were pretty straightforward, though the 2-3 hours assembly time they estimate are certainly on the mark if you take your time and are careful. I had none of the quality or assembly issues that others have mentioned (can't believe anybody's complaining about installing the belt, or that it took an hour -- you guys are kidding, right? Flip the motor up, seat the belt, let the motor down. Took all of 2 seconds, and had no trouble verifying the belt was properly seated...).

I'll admit the fence instructions weren't the clearest, but I really had no trouble getting everything correctly put together, squared & flat, and accurately adjusted. It passes the nickel test with flying colors. Initial cuts are smooth, straight, square. No binding in the adjustment wheels (you guys do know about grease, right?).

I suspect that because this saw is in a cabinet, some buyers think they're going to get a $4000 saw for under $1000. Not the case. What you do get is a significant upgrade from a contractor-type saw, a solid, stable, accurate machine with a great fence that runs like a champ. Take your time putting it together, and you'll love it as much as I do!

4/3/06 Update: I spoke with the Delta Rep at the WoodWorking show in Houston. He recommended setting the center bolt on the side wings FIRST! There is enough flex in the cast iron wings to bring the ends flush to the table if the center is tight. After setting up hundreds of saws for shows and dealer demos I'm inclined to believe him and attempt to reset mine using this method. Good Luck!

I did not experience many of the set up issues that others have identified. The only problem I encountered was the left wing not mounting exactly flush with the main top. A little more custom fitting was required that I would have hoped for. The Biesemeyer fence mounted easily and was a breeze to set on "0". Assembly with a buddy took about 3 hours, again, as expected.

This is not a Unisaw BUT neither is the price. I got more than I expected for the price. I expect this saw will provide years of excellent cuts for this weekend woodworker. By the way, do yourself a favor, get some high quality Freud blades as the general purpose blade shipped with the saw is only good for cutting rough stock. My first two projects utilized an ATB for the Birch plywood and a glue line rip blade for the solid stock, WOW what great cutting on this saw.

After reading some of the reviews I was a little concerned about this saw, however nothing in the reviews seemed like a show stopper. I placed the order with Amazon on Feb 24, 2005. The saw was delivered on the 3rd of March by ABF Freight.

There were 4 boxes and no apparent damage to any of them. Upon unpacking I found that the cover on the power switch was cracked, otherwise there was no concealed damage, well packed and good handling.

Setup was pretty simple, after reading the reviews I checked the blade alignment, it was out by 0.015". After loosening the 4 bolts a couple of gentle taps with a rubber mallet and retightening the bolts it was within 0.002", close enough.

Following the instructions about blocking the motor up with a wooden block is a good idea. The belt went right on with very little effort. The extension wings went on with no problem however it does take a little time to align them right. The left wing had a 0.008 droop to the outside. This was corrected by a couple of shims. The right was dead on.

The fence instructions worked well as long as you follow the section for the UniSaw. All the holes lined up and the only item that seemed incorrect was that the rear rail is supposed to be 1/16 inch below the miter slots, actually it is closer to 1/8 inch. The kit was short 2 5/16 inch hex bolts for the rear rail, otherwise every thing was supplied.