Customer Reviews

Delta 36-426 Limited Edition 10-Inch Contractors Saw

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Pro: The cast iron deck, left attachment, and the saw itself is square and cuts accurately. Even tilting the blade to 45 degrees the cuts are very accurate. If you buy the complete kit with dado, extension, roll around base etc. you get good value for the money. The roll-around base is very well made and fits the saw well.

Cons: The right hand extension (laminated particle board) is neither square nor flat - making the fence diffcult to slide accross the top and also making the fence inaccurate when positioned on the extension. The laminated particle board extension is also only laminated on one side, so it is not flat, making it impossible to align with the cast iron deck. The next problem is the blade guard (kerf guide) which is very difficult to align with the blade. I finally cut a jig and clamped it to the deck to help line up the blade guard - you will waste a lot of time when you switch between dado blades and saw blade and have to re-align the dang blade guard. I felt that Delta could have done a much better job with this package.

Summary: Good value for the dollar - an accurate cutting saw, but some of the accessories were poorly designed or of poor material.

I purchased this saw at a Woodworking Show recently and I thought this saw had the most bang for the buck. I considered the Powermatic A64 but it was not represented very well. The set up was really straight forward, the directions were clear. I read the review from Brian below and have no idea was he is talking about in regards to attacthing the front fence rail. It should have taken about 10 minutes. The assembly time should take you 4-5 hours without interruptions. I ended up rewiring the saw for 220v and the difference in power is a very noticeable improvement. Love the fence. It is rock solid and accurate. The laminate table I had a little trouble leveling it to the table. I am happy with it though. I gave it a 4 because it is hard for me to give anything a 5 just on principle. I am going to purchase a power link belt to reduce some of the vibration, and a new blade because I am not happy with the performance with the one that came with it. I would reccomend this saw to a friend. Definitely.

The saw is everything I expected.

To assemble easier don't follow the instructions to lift saw on to assmbled legs.

Leave the saw upside down on its pallet and assemble the legs to it up side down, than lift into upright position. I was able to do this alone without any trouble and only minor grunting.

Andy

(... The parts) went together without much trouble, though lifting the cast iron table onto the base can be a problem. Everything lined up perfectly. Only one problem, and thus far that problem has not been rectified. Delta sent the Biesmeyer fence table insert instead of the Unifence table insert. It's the only wooden part of the saw and, unfortunately for me, there is a difference between the two table inserts. The Biesmeyer will not fit into the Unifence set up without substantial modifications, which, since I paid for the right one, I wasn't in a hurry to do. So, while I wait for the table insert (too lazy to make one and not crazy about the extra work), the rest of the saw is set up and working very well. Get the mobile base and make your life easier. Hopefully you'll get the table insert you ordered, though, as you can see, this identical saw comes with the Biesmeyer for the exact same price, so maybe the error is more understandable, though the delay in rectifying it is still not acceptable.

I stated off wordworking using a Delta cabinet saw, and quickly learned that I was spoiled. Using this saw, I can get just as accurate cuts, though. Only bad things are: base should be enclosed for dust collection, blade is hard to get to 0 degrees.

Just received the saw and found set-up to be a pretty difficult process. The instructions are sometimes confusing and the diagrams are not very detailed. It tool me 3 nights to set this saw up, but I was able to complete the process single handedly. Here is what I found to be most difficult:

(1)Attaching left cast iron extension wing. Getting it mounted on the saw is easy, getting it level with the base of the saw table is difficult and I found it impossible to get dead-on accurate.

(2)The particle board extension wing is a nightmare. I have a diminishing small gap between the unifence front rail and the particle board extension table at the transition point from the saw table to the extension wing. At this point, I don't know whether this will cause any problems. As another reviewer stated, I don't believe the table is flat or square. I have gotten pretty close to level, but still not dead-on.
(3)The thin metal plate that attaches to the right side of the saw to connect the extension wing creates a very slight lip from the saw table to the extension wing. I will have to machine it down or drill larger holes in the saw top to be able to adjust it down.
(4)The instructions for the saw and the separate unifence instructions conflict as to whether you need to take off the on/off power switch and place a bolt for threading the unifence
front rail on. I called Delta and they said I did not. I therefore have three bolts holding the rail in place.

Altogether, I'm still happy with the build of the saw. If anyone out there has any suggestions, please reply.

Brent

This saw has turned out to be a good saw. Assembly was very difficult though, mainly because of the front rail for the unifence. The manual shows a T-slot milled down the length of the rail. The idea is that you slide two bolts down this t-slot, then put them in two holes in the cast-iron top, then bolt from behind. That step, as described, should have taken 2 minutes. Instead, it took me about an hour. This is because they had not milled the opening to the t-slot. Instead, they drilled two holes designed to line up with the holes in the top. That means that you have to use this goofy piece of cardboard to hold the nut, then slide it into the slot from the end, line it up with the hole in the rail, then line that hole up with the hole in the saw, then run the bolt through from behind, all while holding up the assembly. Then you have to do it all again with the other nut, all while the manual taunts you with an easier procedure you're unable to perform. All this for a premium delta price. If I could do it again, I probably would have spent a little more and gotten one of the non-delta cabinet saws. This price isn't too far away from that.

Let's assume you are a typical dollar-minded woodworker who can't pull the trigger and justify the cost of a unisaw or powermatic 66. If that is the case, 3 stars is unfair because for a contractor's saw class, this machine is very good. It's a step above the typical bench-top machine. I have owned the 10" Contractor's saw for 2 years and have been happy with it's performance after putting it through the paces, BUT, the cantilevered motor design does pull the blade's angle off parallel with the fence when rotated for angle cuts. It's just the nature of the beast with these saws. Also, the motor will protest when ripping hard or thick materials; 1 1/2 horses can't quite cut the mustard, so watch your feed rate. Dust collection is fair, you will need to fabricate a tray at the box bottom for a 4" connection to catch the flyings; there isn't much you can do about the open frame in the rear where the motor is located. Unifence vs Biesemyer? I have used both, personal preference is definitely the unifence. Set it up square once, it will stay that way. Don't even think about buying the saw with the stamped steel extension wing, you'll hate it. I have the cast wings, and it's worth the slight cost increase.
It's a great job saw, general purpose machine for a weekend woodworker. Don't expect it to approach the performance of a saw that costs $700 more. You get what you pay for, in this case: if you want the performace, bite the bullet and buy a cabinet saw. For the projects I do, it will be worth selling my contractor's saw and upgrading to a cabinet saw.

Quick comment on Amazon's service - if you only care about the saw skip down. I ordered the Delta contractors saw from the Amazon web site and a Delta 14" bandsaw directly from Tool Crib. I paid some extra $$$ (not much) to get the band saw delivered Fedex and off loaded to my garage. Without asking, Amazon bundled the table saw into the same delivery arrangement with no extra cost. Don't know if it was intentional on their part but certainly saved me a lot of time and hassle. Everything arrived quickly and in good shape.

On the saw - I bought it a while back when they were they were including the sliding miter table for free. Looked at all the major contractor saws and after a lot of work decided they were all pretty similar. Chose Delta primarily because it was built in the US and because the sliding table was included. Also expect the resale to hold up well. Also went with the Unifence over the Bies - again, pretty torn but like some of the added features of the Unifence. Biggest hesitation was the asymetric setup, but switching over for a left side cut is pretty easy.

Assembly was very straight forward - only had one minor setback and that was due to my not reading the directions thoroughly.

Saw cuts nicely and is more than adequate for my needs as a weekend woodworker. I checked the runout when I first set up the saw - don't remeber the exact number but it was well withing the tolerance numbers I had seen in one of the popular books on using a table saw. Blade guard is terrible and not consistent with the overall quality of the tool. Table extension quality isn't great either, but probably similar to other CS.

I also bought the mobile base, which works great - just make sure you position the legs to the extension table right for the base.

Haven't assembled the sliding miter table yet.

This saw is not easy to put together, make sure to have a buddy help you lift the cast iron top (very heavy). It takes some patience to attach the table board, fence and rails to the saw body. It took me almost two days to assemble this saw, but the patience is rewarded with super accurate cuts every time. I bought mine local and all parts were accounted for and in excellent condition. I would recommend this saw to anyone who wants a excellent contractors saw and rock solid performance.