Customer Reviews

Porter-Cable 3812S PC Job Site 15 Amp 10-Inch Benchtop Table Saw with Stand

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

 

 

The soft start and electric brake are nice features. The folding stand is stable and reasonbly solid. The 3812 uses a T slot for the miter gauge which is helpful in crosscutting wide stock- the miter gauge stays in the table instead of trying to fall to the ground and it's a feature the Bosch 4000 and DeWalt don't have. And it costs less too. UPDATE: it's been 3 years now, it's held up well and am still pleased with the saw. I've tried a coworker's Bosch 4000 but prefer the PC because of the t-slot and more precise bevel adjustment- I think it's the better saw.

I have owned this saw for just about two months now and have used it heavily in building finished stairs and installing trim in a new home. The saw has worked perfectly. I am very surprised at the amount of power the saw has and especially pleased with the rip fence. It works perfectly. The saw arrived in perfect condition and the packaging has been improved greatly since earlier reviews I have read. All accessories store neatly on the saw for easy transportation.

The only negative I could say about this saw is the soft start feature. When the saw is turned on it hesitates for a split second and then growls to a start. This hesitation is just enough to wonder if the saw is plugged in . I have adjusted to this, however, and would clearly buy this saw again.

I had ordered this saw just before the 4th of July holiday. It wasn't supposed to arrive for almost a week, but I wasn't in any hurry. The saw arrived on July 5th, 2 days after I ordered it, and that includes a holiday...Now, THAT was fast! I opened the box and made sure everything was there, and that nothing was damaged. The saw was pristine, nothing missing, and no damage whatsoever. The stand came pre-assembled: All I had to do was pop it open and it's ready. Although it doesn't look it, the folding stand is very stable. This saw is designed to be portable. It has an aluminum table and rip fence (I THINK they're aluminum...they're NOT magnetic, I'm sure of that). Before using the saw, I had to make sure that it was aligned properly, and the rip fence was also straight to the blade. The manual had said that all this was calibrated at the factory...I checked it anyway. The saw was a little off (about 1/16th), when measured against the miter slots. The manual described how to loosen the trunnion bolts and get the motor straightened out. It was a bit of a pain, but I managed to get it done, with a little persuasion. I then turned my attention to the rip fence: It was also "calibrated at the factory", but it was also a little off. A simple turn or two of the alignment screws got it running parallel to the now-straight saw blade. Next, I checked the miter gauge. This miter gauge has "positive stops" for 45 degrees (both sides of zero) and 90 degrees. Also "calibrated at the factory"...Also a little off. Two out of the three positive stops were not "dead-on", but it was a simple adjustment. The blade insert was also not level with the table. A couple of slight adjustments with an Allen wrench got it flush. The saw blade included is a 24TPI blade. Fine for rough work, but get yourself a different blade or two for more finished work (check out the Porter Cable 100VT50 Razor: I bought it to go along with this saw, and also wrote a review for you). OK, let's check out the performance: The 15-amp motor gives me plenty of power for the types of projects that I do, which is nothing "heavyweight", like a building contractor would do every day. The soft start is something I'm still trying to get used to. I like it, but the saw fires up about a second or so after you flip the switch...Just long enough for you to wonder if there's a problem. I can overcome this with time, I'm sure. I like the brake on the blade too...speeds things up and is a great safety feature. As far as accuracy, once you tweak it a bit (and mine needed tweaking) you'll find yourself quite contented. I recently had to rip down just a shade over 1/8 inch from an oak board. When I ran it through, I got a paper-thin strip of waste left over. This told me that the saw is VERY accurate, provided that you "accurasize" it, as I have described. Now, any experienced woodworker worth his salt WILL check, calibrate and "tune" the saw and accessories before use. All I'm saying is: don't expect the saw to be ready to go "out of the box". So, if you're not too familiar with these "tune-up" procedures, you'll need to brush up. Once you're done, this is a great piece of gear to work with. Remember how to tune it, because you should tune it up occasionally anyway. Personally, I don't have too much use for the extension wings. I'm presently building a router table attachment on it to increase my capabilities in the small space I have for equipment. The saw is a little noisy, but that's to be expected with a direct drive. Belt drives are more forgiving. For the money (I spent about $250 for the saw; not too happy with paying another $100 for freight, but it was STILL a good deal) I'm very pleased with this purchase. I've never gone wrong with Porter Cable tools. The only reason I don't give 5 stars is for the "tweaking". If it says "calibrated", it should BE calibrated. But don't let that stop you from adding this to your workshop. It's light enough to be portable, but heavy and stable enough to be safe and accurate. Glad I bought it...Would buy it again.

Carpenters as well as homeowners who care about quality tools will appreciate this saw for it's power and accuracy. I find this table saw easy to transport from truck to jobsite yet it's fullsize enough to handle every task needed. Table adjustments are easy and accurate. Some details could use improvement such as a storage bracket to attach saw cord for transport, an adjustable leg on the stand for uneven ground, and the black fence sometimes forbids good sight that the stock is flush to fence at all times. Comparing all portable saws on the market, Porter Cable to me is the best no frills or gimmicks, rugged, jobsite to jobsite saw available.

I use this saw every day on the job.Very portable easy set up and stable.Has good power, rpms a little slow but still does a good job. Fence is smooth,extention works good.The only problam is the rod that tightens the fence is to small. Broke it twice in 10 mons.@ about 20$ a piece to fix.

I've owned this PC saw for about a year and have no level of buyer's remorse. The saw is a workhorse and has no problem cutting anything I have thrown at it. The tabletop surface is flat and true, and the blade was straight to the fence right out of the box - no adjustments needed!

When I bought mine Amazon had a deal where they threw in a $80 Freud blade for free, so that was a significant factor in my decision to choose the PC over the DeWalt DW744. Admittedly, the DeWalt does have a superior fence, and all things being equal I would most likely have purchased the DW744, but the deal I received on this PC was a significant cost savings over the DeWalt plus the free blade....I just couldn't pass it up.

I did opt for the optional outfeed extension which makes cutting sheet stock much easier....I would recommend it to anyone.

Pros: Plenty of power, soft start motor that won't scare the life out of you when you turn it on, quality blade included, flat and true surface, straight and tight fence, large work surface.

Cons: The stand isn't as firm as I would like it to be and a bump to the saw could result in a less than perfectly straight cut. When ripping wider sheet goods the fence requires you to insert a angle bracket to hold the far right edge of the stock - the DeWalt is superior in this regard as it only requires a quick flip of the support bracket rather than the two hands the PC requires to make it work.

All things considered I would purchase this saw again and my complaints are minor ones. This is a quality built saw and has proven itself to be a valuable addition to my shop. I don't have the space for a full cabinet saw or even a contractors saw right now and this serves all of my needs and I haven't found a cut yet that I wasn't able to do with this saw.

I purchased this saw in 2005 after reading reviews of the DeWalt, Bosch and Delta. I'm a contractor, use this saw exclusively on job sites and have NOT been kind to it.

The fence locking rod has broken twice. As a result I keep an extra rod with the saw. The design for the rod could be better but I have since backed off the nut that adjusts the fence stiffness. This has helped the rod last longer.

I use a quality finish blade. This helps reduce the saw marks on ripped stock to almost non-existent. No wobble in the arbor after 4 years of use. Few saw marks is very helpful in my business - especially in finish work - just keep the stock moving without pausing and keep stock tight to the fence.

Connect a standard shop vac to the dust port. If not, it will clog within a day of use. The vac is plugged into a portable switch that I mounted directly onto the saw near the saw's power switch. Makes it easy to turn on the vac and then the saw.

The stand can be unstable with larger stock. My helper will be on outfeed and as I approach the saw when ripping, I'll place my foot on the stand cross bar to keep the saw from tipping backwards.

It's heavy to transport daily but I expect a durable saw to have some weight.

You won't be disappointed.

As with all Porter-Cable equipment this is a nice saw, but it did not work out for me. I thought I would write this review just to provide some additional information for those that may be considering this purchase.
I needed a small compact saw that one person could handle with ease, but had the power to work through hard woods. Amazon offered this as an alternative to the DeWalt DW745 for less money and with the stand. The added features of soft start and fast stop made it seem like the unit for me, but when the box arrived I was stunned at the size of the package. I returned mine and ordered the DeWalt saw. I gave this 5 stars because it is a nice piece of equipment, but please note it is a little larger then you may expect, if compact is what you need.

I've recently retired and needed a useable table saw that would fit in my smallish workshop. After shopping around and reading reviews, I had just about given up on finding a saw that would meet my needs at a price I could afford. I got this saw, delivered and on time, for a little over $300!

My experience is somewhat limited, so my technical review will be limited, too. The unit was a snap to assemble and was operational in much less time than the 30 minutes listed in the directions. The trial cuts that I made were repeatable and accurate, even with changes in blade angle. The blade supplied with the saw made smooth cuts in pine and birch. I suppose I may get a little more demanding once I gain experience, but that will probably be some time yet. Two small touches that I like are the on-board storage for accessories and T-slots for the miter guage.

Purchase this saw to replace an old Sears table saw that died after 20 years... LOVE the saw... the only reason I gave it a 4 star instead of 5 stars was related to the base... could be better...