Customer Reviews

Delta Industrial 36-412 12-Inch Dual Bevel Compound Miter saw

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am a tool columnist for two boat-building magazines. I have never seen a non-slider saw with this cutting capacity! Delta has an actuation geometry that allows their 12" saw to even out cut the only huge 15" name brand miter saw. The blade is very good with a non-stick coating for smooth cuts all day long. The fit and finish is superb and the new crowns molding flip-up adjustable stops are a feature every saw should have.

The price of this saw makes it a fantastic deal. This saw should give any woodworker an edge because it is consistently on the money. I know several carpenters who do not have room to put a sliding saw in their truck. They have been dealing with saws that could only cut a diminutive 2"X8" board at 90 degrees. This new Delta has given them the freedom to cut much larger crown molding.

Now Delta has also provided the largest line of accessories for any compound miter saw in the industry. They have a complete selection of biesemeyer extension tables and great clamps to make sure your project stays on the table. Delta has accessory blades, mobile stand, flip stops and gang stops ready to put the finishing touches on an already super saw.

I also put my dial indicator and machine squares on this fantastic machine. Everything was perfect, even the dramatically new double blade guard. The adjustments for the sliding fences will make you flip at the ease of use. So if you need more than your moneys worth buy the Delta 36-412, it has my highest rating.

John Cupp

I bought this saw to do precise molding work. The saw has the capacity that Delta states, but, here are the negatives:
The miter table was not flush with the base. This creates a problem when making precise cuts. I mentioned this to Delta and they felt that the saw was in tolerance. So I went to Lowe's and put a square on all of the miter saws displayed, about 4 Deltas, 3 Hitachis 4 Dewalts and 1 Makita. All of the Delta miter saws resulted in their miter tables not being flush with their bases. All the other machines were machined near perfect. My two other complaints are simple. The (what I call, for a lack of a better term) "tear drop" bevel pointer was very difficult to read when positioning the bevel to other degrees than 0, 5, 10, 20, etc. Lastly, the saw is quite heavy. To some, this may not be a problem, however, for on site work, it may become an issue.

Like another reviewer I too researched a lot of saws. I didn't need the slider capability, but did want max capability short of the slider. After looking at various brands, I found that on several (Dewalt the worst) that the table lifts slightly when the mitre knob is tightend. I found all the new Delta models to be dead on, regardless of what setting you select and tighten the knob down. The 36-412 is dead on.

I suggested this saw as a birthday gift to my lovely wife who decided to give me one. I have only had it a few days, so this review is first impressions.

Most adjustments were dead on out of the box. Only the L & R 45 detends needed a hair of an adjustment. This is easy to do with the cam adjustment mechanism. A brillant idea. Beats most of the other methods I have seen.

This saw is amazing. All controls are upfront (except for the Bevel stop over rides), and easy to use. The scales are large and readable. The miter scale has a 1/2 degree vernier, that with some practice could give 1/4 degree accuracy. The capacity is excellent. The trick for cutting the 9" high stock on the fence is the articulated rear guard moves up as needed. Really slick. The 60 tooth blade that comes with it is excellent for general carpentry, but I plan to replace it with a Forrest blade in the near future for furniture work. No laser, but that is a "nice to have", that I can live without.

Overall an outstanding tool.

I looked at all of the mitre saws that were available for sale at the local home depot. I evaluated power, cutting capacity and my impression of the engineering involved in the design of the saw.

I think that the delta was the most well thought out machine. Compared to sliding mitre saws with 12 and 13 inch capacities, this saw was more compact, and I don't like the sliders because the arms on all saws flex considerably when making a long cut. I make fine furniture (this is my full time career) and this is a serious issue for me.

I read other reviews on this site before making my purchase and the saw's centre section is slightly higher than the sides of the table - but I built my saw into a bench that is the same height as the centre section of the table - so although annoying, it is not a significant issue for me.

Dust collection on the other hand does seem to be an after thought in the design of the saw. My 2 HP collector - 1600 CFM collects approx 60% of the dust - MAYBE a little more, but again, not super annoying. I could probably improve this by making a well designed dust pickup vent behind the saw.

I even managed to get the saw to cut more than 9.5" by making a raised table that raises the work closer to the center of the blade and so now I can make some cuts longer than 10" when necessary.

Sometimes I think that the saw might be underpowered at 12" with a 15amp motor. Before this saw I was using a 14amp ryobi 10" and a 13amp makita slider and neither seemed to show mercy no matter what I was cutting, but sometimes the delta sounds like it's having a hard time keeping up with a cut - especially with a fine finish blade.

Also, because the blade is HUGE I am sometimes terrified of making precise cuts on small material without building a jig to keep the work VERY SECURE - the saw often grabs small work and just tears it apart and leaves my fingers numbs. For this I miss the ryobi, I could cut 3/16" dowel with total control, but this saw grabs the dowel and just devours it and it really frightens me. I think it largely has to do with the tangent of the blade against the material on the fence - in other words, I think that if I build a fence or spacer that pushes the work closer to the bottom of the blade, instead of the rear of the blade, it may cut with more control because it is not trying to lift the fragile and very flexible work that I am cutting.

Overall, I am very very happy with this saw. It feels great to use and the cutting capacity is really great. The bevel gauge is a little annoying to read sometimes because the sawdust seems to collect there, but a little blast of compressed air fixes that too. I have owned this saw for approximately 2 months and if I had the choice, I would buy this saw again.

I had done a lot of comparison shopping and price was not really an issue. I looked at sliders, regular and everything in between. For me this saw will do probably 99% of everything I need it to do. For that other 1% I have other power tools to handle those tasks. Capacity is great and the fence adjustment is slick. Mine was set up pretty good right out of the box. Everything checked perfect with the exception of a minute adjustment to the right hand fence. Not an issue in my opinion.

I was torn bewtween this and the Delta TwinLaser 12". I wanted dual bevel more than the lasers...although I bet they come out with that combo soon! Unfortunately I just couldn't wait. The crown stops are also nice. They will speed up your cuts dramatically.

Works for me.....

Great Miter Saw, Only problem is the saw dust shoots straight up in the air getting in your eyes. Called Delta they said no fix for that yet. Watch the saws in the stores to see if there is a fix. I did not like that for a answer,

This is a great saw and you can't go wrong purchasing it. I bought one to do a crown molding project in my home. The crown is 6" and the capacity of this saw is so large there is room to spare. The fence, miter and bevel settings were all dead-on out of the box, so I didn't have to make any adjustments.

The built-in crown stops work great with the large crown I am working with. They pop up when needed and tuck out of the way when you don't. The 60-tooth blade cuts a nice clean cut on MDF, but seemed to struggle a little on thicker hardwoods.

The only negative to the saw is the override handle that you press to change the miter is a little thin, so it is easy to bend if you don't hit it right. The lockdown knob is great, but the override handle could have been made a little stronger. Not a big issue, but considering everything else about this saw is beefy and solid, it was a surprise to see this piece built this way.

Overall an amazing saw and I would highly recommend it. I compared this unit to competing models by Bosch, Porter Cable and Dewalt aned the Delta came out on top.

the delta 36-412 is a beast. unique features including the front bevel lock mechanism and the quick grip sliding fence make the saw a treat to work with. it cuts smoothly and efficiently, and is the only 12" saw that can cut a 1"x8" upright. the dust port is too small, and the secondary blade-guard is a liability--a 90-tooth blade throws the dust into the guard and showers the operator with dust. I removed the seccondary guard after a day and haven't had any problems since--mind you I run a dust collector on-site non-stop.

cut and dry; professional trimmers who frequently cut base over 5" would be advised to follow my lead and invest in "the beast"

I've been considering which 12" duel bevel saw I would purchase for about 6 months. I finally decided on the delta and am glad I did. It's a smooth operating piece of equipment. Solidly built. All gauges we're accurate from the start. I love the in-front bevel lock. The quick tightening mitre lock is nice as well. Overall, I'm thrilled with the purchase. It's worth paying a little more for.

I'm a professional woodworker and own a half dozen miter saws and several different brands. Like many other people, I feel the sliders are great, particularly if you are doing carpentry. But, they can be a bit cumbersome to move in and out of the truck and job site and most don't come close to the accuracy and the excellent features included in the 36-412. For doing crown and cornice molding this unit really does the job nicely. For those that may not be aware, many of the problems you may be having can be simply solved by fastening up to a 3/4" x 4" MDF chip breaker to the fences that will adjust independently along with each fence/back stop and can be trimmed and adjusted as needed. This will help you visually line up your cuts and put the work piece closer to the center of the blade arch. If the fences aren't quite true, you can always slip paper shims in between the aluminum fence and MDF as needed. This is actually a very handy trick for most saws that have sliding/adjustable fences. We found the unit to be true out of the box as well and were immediately impressed with the thoughtful design and quality of the sliding fence lock and crown stop mechanisms.