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With my 8 1/4 inch Ryobi (RA202) being rendered useless with an unrepairable recall I was in the market for a new RAS. Also, be aware that the blade selection for a 12 inch with a 5/8 inch arbor is rather limited. It is really solidly built and something you do not see on a lot of woodworking tools today. As I mentioned, Forrest does make one with the WW1 model. I have not been disappointed. The Delta blade however emits a rather high pitch whine when the motor eventually reaches full speed. It does take a while to fully set up and run through the various alignment steps, but other than having to tweak the table runners to make the height consistent with the blade, everything else aligned right-on with a first pass. You will not be disappointed.Update - 04/19/2007 - As a follow-up I e-mailed Delta to ask about the "stop" time on the electric braking mechanism which for me was 18 seconds (from switch off to complete stop of blade rotation).
The response from customer support was this time was better than the factory specification which ranges from 25-45 seconds. I considered the 10 inch Delta, but after researching and reading many reviews I chose the 33-890. I must say I am very pleased with this machine. The saw was pretty much dead-on right out of the box. The thing that impressed me most about this saw was the quality of the construction.
All in all this is a great saw. I plan to order a Forrest WW1 blade with a dampener to eliminate that problem. With the market being so limited, I began looking at what was available with Delta, Craftsman and Original Saw (which was out of my price range). I mean everything on this unit is made of metal. So again, I am pleased with the performance.
I have run both the stock blade that came with the saw as well as a Freud 8 inch dado(model SD508) and both work very well with both pine and red oak boards.
I bought the earlier version of this saw from a carpenter friend of mine over 20 yrs ago, n he had it for 8-10 yrs. The only thing I might suggest is if your buying it for the 1st time, AND u don't already have a 12" saw, spend the bucks for the 16" saw, just because bigger always finds a way to be used. (built his house with it) and I just passed it on to my son. All it ever needs is an occasional cleaning and tune-up and it purrrrs like a kitten.
Solid as a rock, will be the last RAS I'll ever buy.
All cuts are precise once all setup adjustments are made. For the money, this saw is hard to beat. This is an excellent saw. No complaints here. Very sturdy throughout. The only saw that might be better, would be one made by the "Original Saw Company", and you will spend alot more. 10" saws look delicate next to it.
It has a very heavy duty frame and leg assembly. The motor has more than enough power for cutting dado's or making thick cuts. I'm very happy with my purchase. It's made in the USA, exhibiting excellent quality throughout.
I build furniture, and I had trouble with my old one staying square. The only complaint about the saw is the steel blade provided with the saw. I put a Forrest WW1, (12" 60T) blade on my saw and this is the best crosscut saw I've used. I replaced my "antique" radial arm with the Delta 33-890. It seems to me that for the money this machine costs, they could send a carbide tipped blade.
What a difference. The Delta is built like a tank and after initial setup and adjustment I've never adjusted anything and it's always dead square. It has plenty of power to crosscut 3" thick White Oak planks. I rip on a tablesaw so I can't say how it does in that operation.
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