DELTA 36-821L Special Edition 10-Inch Left Tilt Arbor Unisaw with Biesemeyer 50-Inch T-Square Commercial Fence

by Delta

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

This edition of Delta's highly acclaimed Unisaw features a left-tilt blade--which makes beveling both easier and safer, because material can't get pinched between the blade and fence (a recipe for kickback). This Unisaw packs a 3-horsepower, single-phase induction motor, so it's powerful, smooth, and quiet. Adding to the saw's smooth operation are the burly cast-iron trunnions. This saw is built to snuff out vibration. We also like how the triple V-belt drive eliminates belt slippage without minimizing the power from the motor. One of this saw's main selling points is its 50-inch Biesemeyer fence. The fence rides smooth, stays parallel, adjusts easily, and clamps down securely for hard-to-rival accuracy (Biesemeyer features a solid, cam-locking lever). There's also a hairline pointer and built-in tape measure. Hand wheels make blade height and angle easy to adjust--though, we must admit, it'd be nice to have a bit more knuckle clearance. Also, the included blade is fine for cutting salvage lumber--but, to do the saw justice, most users will want to upgrade to a better blade. --Jon Groebner

Amazon.com Review

Among serious woodworkers who demand top quality tools in their shop, there's no debating the desirability of a Delta Unisaw. It's one of the few cabinet-style table saws still made in the USA, and the benefits show up in the quality of the tool's workmanship and finish. The Unisaw's smooth operation can be traced to the widely spaced, massive trunions which are machined from fine-grained cast iron and are completely adjustable to ensure the best possible alignment. The heavy cast-iron table adds to the saw's stability and features a 3/8-by-3/4-inch T-slot on each side of the blade. Include the two extension wings and you have a generous cast-iron table surface of 36 by 27 inches.

The single-phase, 3-horsepower induction motor is housed in a dust-sealed, fan-cooled enclosure, and power is transferred smoothly and efficiently via a positive-traction three-belt V-drive system. The motor cover has handy storage slots for your miter gauge and table inserts, but more importantly, the inside is designed to maximize the airflow for dust collection and, in conjunction with the redesigned cabinet interior, funnels all the dust efficiently to the 4-inch dust port without a hitch.

This model comes with a 50-inch commercial Biesemeyer fence system and accompanying table board. While the basics of this popular fence design have been copied by competing saw and fence manufacturers, there's still nothing quite like the original. The Biesemeyer is made of the heaviest gauge steel we've seen on a T-square type fence, and the fence face itself is made of laminated 9-ply Finland birch, glued solidly in place--a construction method that eliminates warpage in the fence line that the bolts or screws used in competing systems can cause. The fence locks to the front guide rail using Biesemeyer's three-point locking system and automatically aligns the fence parallel to the blade when the lever is tightened down, providing reliable accuracy every time. --Brian Trinen

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Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 6.2 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000022344
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: 36-821L
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #803,574 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Upgrade from contractor to cabinet saw, August 2, 2000

By 

Martin,D (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: DELTA 36-821L Special Edition 10-Inch Left Tilt Arbor Unisaw with Biesemeyer 50-Inch T-Square Commercial Fence (Tools & Home Improvement)

I must say that I am more than impressed with this saw! Alot of investigation and homework went into the purchase of my cabinet saw. Once the wife said "go ahead" I looked at all the possibilites, Jet,Powermatic,General, and Dewalt. I went on the internet, called manufactures, read every woodworking magazine I could find, and played the each saw to get a feel for them. Finally I spoke to my friend who has been teaching woodshop since 1966 and he told me that he has a Powermatic in his shop. He expressed to me the problems he has had in the past and the 3 motors he has had to replace. He recommended I consider the Delta Uni-Saw. I began talking to more professinal woodworkers (8 to be exact) and each of them said "buy Delta". After 9 of 9 experts endorsed the Uni-saw I went ahead and bought the Delta. I have now owned my saw for 6 months and I can say I am happy I chose Delta. The saw came nicely package on a crate and arrived without a single dent or scratch. Set up was easy and the instructions were very easy to read and understand. The saw came perfectly aligned out of the box. The rip fence took only minutes to align and it was only a off a 64th". The surface of the saw as completely flat. Once the saw operational, I ripped a 3" piece of maple with no problems. I then checked my freshly cut piece with calipers and it was dead on. My question is how could you not chose the Delta since thay have been manufacturing this saw since 1937. I only have 2 negative comments about this saw. First the blade it came with. It was really "cute" and was the same quality as a "Craftsman" wall clock I got for x-mas where they used a saw blade as the body of the clock. Second, I still can not find the dato insert as it is different for the left tilt than the right tilt. Its ok, I just made my own. Hope this was helpful!

65 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Poor Quality Control, HORRIBLE Customer Service, February 8, 2001

By 

Jim (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: DELTA 36-821L Special Edition 10-Inch Left Tilt Arbor Unisaw with Biesemeyer 50-Inch T-Square Commercial Fence (Tools & Home Improvement)

I purchased my left-tilt Unisaw late last spring. When the guard is folded back and the blade tilted, the splitter catches in the rear rail and jambs, damaging the splitter. I was having trouble getting a quality bevel cut and discovered that the blade went out of alignment with the miter slots when tilted. Delta says .015" is acceptable but mine goes out more. Test custs showed that even at .015, the cut quality was unacceptable. Generals and Powermatics seem to be within .001" at all settings from the factory. I ended up having custom table shims made to get it in alignment withing .001" at both 90 and 45 (it goes out about .005" between the two extremes).

Delta's machinist told me the miter slots were not machined right and their rep admited they had quality control problems with the wings resulting in excess shimming. Replacement tops and wings were sent and were either dished or were rusted and had to be replaced again. Biesemeyer has replaced the rear rail several times because of errors in drilling the mounting holes.

In DECEMBER, the situation was turned over to the local rep who insisted this would never happen if he had been involved from the begining. He finally took care of the top and wings but forgot to order a new guard. When he was reminded to get the guard, he ordered the wrong one. Still waiting for the right one. Also noticed Delta had completely missed a weld on the mobile base causing the saw to be unstable.

Delta had me take three vacation days to meet their machinist who said he thought the quality was unacceptable and I was not being unreasonable. Countless evenings and weekends later, we may be in the home stretch once the final parts come in...of course, now it's FEBRUARY of the following year.

Once all the major issues were corrected, the saw performs reasonably well. However, it seems if you want high quality, you need to buy General or Powermatic and if you want to save money, buy Jet or one of the reputable imports. Time is to valuable to be wasted like this.

68 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If only I had decided earlier!, August 4, 2000

By 

James R. Briant (Jacksonville, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: DELTA 36-821L Special Edition 10-Inch Left Tilt Arbor Unisaw with Biesemeyer 50-Inch T-Square Commercial Fence (Tools & Home Improvement)

I knew it was time to upgrade my Table Saw from a Conractor Series model but I didnt know who to believe. Was Powermatic and the extra bucks worth it or was Grizzlys or Jets low prices the best deal? I looked at just about every saw that was out for a solid year. I heard good and bad about Powermatic...and heard Grizzly was an import from a distant land BUT I never heard anything but good about Delta, especially the UniSaw. From amatures to the pros...they all said, If I were you Id get a Delta. Finally, I just decided to check out the ToolCrib Website and found customer reviews under many of the Models I was looking at. All other brands had comments about troubles except the Delta saws...other than it being hard to follow directions on building the unit. I bought the UniSaw! I just got my Delta Table Saw, Beisemeyer Fence System, and Delta Outfeed Table and it was a BREEEEZE to build. Out of the box, all items were perfect and easy to assemble. I actually enjoyed it! Now that Im sitting here telling you my review, Im thinking...Imagine how much better my woodworking would have been this year IF ONLY I HAD DECIDED EARLIER! Be sure and get the outfeed table too...its worth the [cost].

One negative...buy a new blade for your new saw. The one that comes with it is cheezy at best. I figured a saw this good ougth to have the top of the line blade since it a top of the line machine.