Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Home Tile Installer, January 7, 2005
I just finished a bathroom consisting of 160 sq ft of tile and the MK-370 EXP did an excellent job. The tile was nearly 1/2" thick and the saw cut quickly with minimum effort and the motor did not bog down. The saw was a little loud while cutting tile, but was not disturbing. Saw will cut a full 18 inch tile. The saw has some minor problems which is why I gave it 4 stars. The table travels on an exposed rail/bearing setup and the splashing water washes away the grease quickly so you need to regrease often to prevent binding (silicone grease will help). The water pump is awkwardly placed and large tiles catch the hoses. The water outlets in the blade cover seem to clog easily as well. The little cast aluminum fence piece was not square to the table and the table has notches across the rear ledge that in certain positions will not allow the fence to be attached. This was a problem when I had to cut about 1 inch off of a dozen tiles--and I couldn't move the fence to the other side of the blade because there wasn't enough clearance with the saw support column. The water tray does not have a drain plug (you could drill a hole and buy one) so you have to lift the entire tray to empty. All in all, for the price and capabilities, I'm very pleased with the saw and its performance.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Diappointing saw from a typically solid company, January 22, 2006
While I am glad to hear others have had good luck with this saw, I certainly have not. The first one I had ran (literally!) for less than two minutes before quitting for good. Thinking I just got a lemon, I replaced it (Amazon was kind enough to do this). I use the second for just over a year, cutting less than 100 linear feet of tile before the motor began to smoke and make even more noise than the ear-splitting screech I had gotten used to. Finally it sounded like metal grinding against metal, and after taking it apart I realized that was the case. The 90 degree gearbox transferring the vertical motor shaft to the horizontal blade shaft was filled with metal shavings - what used to be gears. In addition to this, the motor itself wouldn't run, even when disconnected from the blade shaft. As it was just over a year old, I contacted MK, pointing out that their literature doesn't state "this saw is designed to just outlast the warranty," but rather says it should provide "years of service." I was basically told "tough luck" but the service rep did finish by asking if there was anything else he could help me with(!). My suggestion is to avoid this saw. I would like to suggest avoiding MK products in general, but I ended up getting a MK 660 - a bit more $$, but the direct drive is amazingly quiet and (so far) it has performed flawlessly, and without the annoying problems accurately pointed out by other reviewers (such as hose placement, inadequate water pump and tray binding).
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2.0 out of 5 stars
Good saw, bad pump, June 12, 2008
The "Little Giant" pump that is supplied with the saw did not work when it was brand new. It is supposed to be able to pump water to 4 feet of head, but could only manage about 1 inch of head, not enough to pump the water from the tray up to the saw blade guard. Instead of purchasing a new pump, I purchased a hose adapter, bushing, and brass nipple at my local home center so that I could connect a garden hose to the 3/8" vinyl tubing. Those three parts along with a garden hose Y connector with flow valves (that I already had) allowed me to supply the saw with a controlled amount of fresh water. Other than the pump problem, I think the saw is pretty good so far. I don't have many hours on it yet, but it cut granite tile for my bathroom with ease. The saw was aligned properly out of the box. While I did wear hearing protection while using the saw, I didn't find it to be excessively loud like some reviewers claimed. I wonder if other peoples' pumps weren't supplying adequate water which makes the blade and saw work much harder. I did notice that the table didn't slide as easily after making many cuts. I had lubricated the slide and wheel with WD-40 before I started, but next time I think I will try giving them a blast after each 5-10 cuts. If MK had supplied a suitable pump with the saw I probably would have given it 4 stars, but after wasting hours trying to get the pump to work, calling both MK and the pump manufacturer to no avail, and spending more of my money at the home center to make the saw usable, two stars seems appropriate.
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