Customer Reviews

DELTA 36-831LA 10-Inch Left Tilt 3-Horsepower Cabinet Saw with 30-Inch Biesemeyer Fence, 1 Cast Iron Extension Wing, Table Board, Leg Set, 230-Volt 1-Phase

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I wanted a good table saw with better good collection, and a good fence. Like all of you, I looked in the woodworking magazines, reviews on Amazon.com, talked to my friends and looked at saws in the store. I chose this one. Also I have one car space of my garage for woodworking. Mostly I don't make wide rips, so a 30" rip capability meets my needs.

I purchased the saw from Amazon. I picked it up at the ABS freight terminal. Unloading this beast was not the chore I thought it would be. I used two 8' 2x12s as ramps, and my wife, son and I unloaded it from my truck (2 pushed the saw down the ramp and one worked on the down hill side to keep it from getting away).

I was able to move the cabinet off the pallet and onto the mobility base using the 1x3 southern yellow pine pieces delta used for packaging support. The rest of the assembly went well. The instructions were straightforward, with may be a couple of steps omitted, and the fence instructions referenced some bolts, that were not supplied. I purchased bolts referenced, and found that the head was proud of the angle iron support. I used the ones supplied and they worked fine. After assembly, the fence was a bit out of parallel with the blade and needed to be adjusted. The adjustment was simple, and my cuts are quite nice.

Some of the reviews mention the flatness (or lack there of) of the table. I checked the top with my tri-square ruler, and its not perfectly flat. However it is flat enough for square cuts.

The few I have a few complaints. I would have preferred a 2nd cast iron wing. The miter gage is not so hot (but no one expects it to be). I plan to buy an aftermarket gage. The splitter and blade guard are annoying to remove for non-through cuts, and the rear support for the splitter/guard gets in the way of out feed support.

I found an article on the WoodCentral web site that showed a couple of ideas how to modify stock guard/splitter to make it easier to remove and preserve the guard (the URL is http://woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=powertools&file=articles_234.shtml). With this modification the splitter/guard is nice and I think it meets my needs.

I make a bookshelf out of plywood and oak using this saw. When reducing the plywood I found the height of the saw was good for manhandling the sheet. I also see the attraction of a 50" fence. However I don't use much plywood and the footprint of this saw leaves a room to move in my one car woodworking space.

I was pleasantly surprised about the handles. Some of the reviews lead me to believe that they were cheesy. They are made of cast iron, and have a solid feel. I like `um.

I have used this saw to make 2 projects and some jigs. The cuts are oo-so fine. The dust collection works like a champ (for the dust in the cabinet). The 2 wrench blade change is nice. The on-saw storage is OK. The table board is nice, the lamination is slick and level enough with the cast iron table.

I bought this saw as a replacement for my Powermatic 63 after I couldn't get replacement parts from Powermatic since the saw is no longer made. I looked at the Grizzly and the Shop Fox but given my Powermatic 63 parts experience I didn't want to go through that again and with free shipping on the Unisaw the price difference wasn't as big anymore. Why not get the original and skip the potential headaches? The first unisaw was made in the late 1930's and parts for most of the versions can be had with minimal trouble.

From the moment I fired it up for the first time, it's been the best woodworking purchase I've ever made. The motor fires up instantly and is so stable. I haven't done the nickel test, but I don't think I need to. I'm using a Woodworker II and between the saw and this blade, it's a winning combination. The motor doesn't slow at all no matter what I throw at it.

I also recommend the Delta mobile base. I used the HTC base on the Powermatic and the Delta blows it away, no rocking or needing to turn the feet down by hand to stabilize the saw after rolling to a location, just hit the foot pedal and start sawing.

Like most folks who post these reviews, I too spent quite a while researching my table saw purchase. For the longest time, I was determined to buy the Grizzly. In the end, the free shipping tipped the scales in favor of the Delta.

I echo the other reviewer's comments about the quality of this machine. Packing, fit, finish, and ease of assembly were all first class. The saw was missing the two legs that support the extension table. Different models/configurations come with legs, some don't. The box is the same. It was an honest oversight and Delta quickly corrected it. I am completely satisfied with this machine and would recommend it to anyone looking for a first class saw for the serious woodworker.

The first time you turn it on - you will see what I mean. After using cheap table saws for years, I was amazed. Even with the junk saw blade included by Delta, this saw powers through hardwoods with ease. I can't wait to see what it will do with a Woodworker II blade.

As a footnote to all this praise, I would add that the Biesemeyer Fence system does exactly what it claims to do: set it and forget it. After carefully following the instructions and making some very fine adjustments, (10th of a turn on the allen screws) cuts accurate to a 64th of an inch (without using the tape measure) are now routine. The hardest thing about using this fence system is getting used to not using your tape measure to set up your table saw cuts.

Though not recommended by the instructions (fire hazard), lacquer thinner works great to remove the thin film of packing grease on the saw's table top. After final cleaning with some 409, I used some paste wax on the surface of the saw table and the fence surfaces. This really improved the operation of the fence. It glides across the saw with ease.

I will close this review with one caution: MAKE SURE you thoroughly coordinate the shipping of this behemoth and verify the shipper has a way to move the pallet this saw comes on off of the truck and into your shop. In my case, I live in the country. The saw showed up on a 28' semi-trailer. After some creative maneuvering, the driver had the trailer positioned, but he had no way to get the 400+lb pallet off the truck. Fortunately, I have a tractor with a front-end loader and was able to easily move the saw from the truck into my shop. I cannot imagine what I would have done otherwise. All I know is you need to have a plan for dealing with this thing when it arrives. Assume the truck driver cannot unload it, and prepare accordingly.

I've had this saw for just over three years and recently discovered that the blade has been shifting to the right a little every time I turned it on. It has always started hard, not like other older Unisaws I'm accustomed to, which I thought had more to do with my infrequent use and the belts holding their shape. The other day I started it up and the blade started rubbing against the throat plate on a 90 degree cut. I immediately shut the saw off and checked to make sure the plate was installed properly, which it was, and noticed the blade flush against the right side of the opening in it. I removed the plate and used the side of a ball pein hammer to gently tap the arbor and check for play. It moved quite easily. I'll repost after contacting DELTA about the issue.

Makes sense why the guy at Woodcraft said he could order it but I was on my own after that.

This is an excellent saw and was being phased out at the time of purchase for Delta's newer cabinet model and one I evaluated against many others on the market costing much more. If you can find a new unit, I would highly advise it's purchase, particularly if you want a reliably made table saw that's been proven over decades. This saw goes well beyond the hybrid table saws in both stability and usefullness (including little things like better dust capture and exhausting). The standard cast iron left extension along with the expanded work area to the right side of the saw provides more than adequate space if you do not need to cut a a width wider than 36" with guide in place. Other than having to add a 230 line to accommodate the saw's power needs, it took less than 3 hours to uncrate and put the saw together.

I have been using it for several months with only a couple of problems.

The control unit (for Power On and Off) protrudes beyond the front edge of the table and if a wide board slips off the front edge when positioning it, the board can fall and damage the red power off button. Most of the parts are hard plastic and can more easily broken. In my case, just a slight jar from a 1/4 inch piece of plywood (probably less than five pounds weight) was enough to cause the stop button retaining ring (what looked like chrome metal but was cheap plastic) to break in half which made it impossible to turn off the saw. This part should have been made from metal and would have cost maybe 50 cents, and should not have been engineered such that if it broke, the power control unit becomes virtually useless. Your only choice is to unplug the unit once on to stop the saw. (I have recently contacted support for a part). By the way, a new control unit is about $160 so fix it rather than replace it.

The only other annoyance is that the clear plastic blade guard would not stay in the up position. Because it is "slick" it would slide off the catch at the back when it was positioned in the splitter slot. This can be easily fixed by applying some clear polymer sealant at the contact point on the guard. This becomes more than adequate to let the guard stay where it is supposed to stay.

Otherwise, buy this 3 hp unit - you will save thousands off the newer model and have a saw that, with the proper blade, will cut through most hardwoods up to 4 inches thick without grinding to a halt. I see no reason to buy the larger 5 hp model, unless you are a production shop cutting hundreds of board feet of hardwood 2 inches or more in thickness, on a weekly basis.

As a accessory, make sure to order the table insert for the unit if you plan to use a dado. Amazon vendors have a high grade polymer insert for less than $35. By the way, make sure you get it with the upgraded "Biesy" guide as I did. It positions quickly (once adjusted)and has proven extremely accurate.