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I will probably just build my own and be done with it. Great saw and worth the 15 years I have been doing without it. Very easy to assemble and the cast iron tables were straight as an arrow out of the box. Overall worth the wait and everything I was expecting the saw to be. The extension table to for the fence is worthless(bowed and crooked).
The blade height and tilt controls operate easily and precisely which is a big improvement over my old Craftsman table saw. Bottom line is that I believe Delta has a very good design for this saw. The people at Delta were polite and sent me the parts without question. While the performance of this saw is meeting my expectations, I did experience several difficult problems during the assembly and set up steps. After two calls to Delta, I now have all of the missing parts.
The outside edges of the wings were about 0.030 inch lower than the table top. The measured distance between the blade and fence did not match the reading on the scale and making the adjustments suggested in the instructions did not come close to correcting this problem. This machine is a real pleasure to use. Unfortunately this bag included the assembly instructions and parts list so determining exactly what parts were missing was difficult for me. I built a new piece of furniture recently. They agreed to send me a new scale for my fence which I can mount in the correct position.
Unless you have your heart set on a Delta saw, you may save yourself some trouble by considering another brand. The operation of the dust collection system while not perfect, is also much better than the Craftsman system. It is a great tool for building cabinets and fine furniture. I have not yet received this part. This problem was caused by a.003 runout across the thickness of the wings on the edges that mate with the table.
3.My saw is equipped with a BC50 Biesemeyer fence. The powerful motor can easily handle the tougher woods and the saw is massive enough to dampen out vibrations that can cause inaccuracies. This saw made the job much easier and the whole project more enjoyable for me. I have been using my new Delta X5 table saw for about a month and I am satisfied with the function and performance of this machine.
1.A bag of parts was missing from the saw shipment. I really hope to have many trouble free years of use from this saw but I'm concerned that other quality problems will jump up and bit me later on. However in my mind, Delta's manufacturing quality is questionable because I experienced so many factory caused problems while assembling my saw. I called Delta again and they concluded that the scale had been installed improperly at the factory.
The mobile base that I purchased with the saw allows for easy movement of this heavy equipment around my shop. However, my complaint about the missing pieces did not seem to be a surprise to them and they treated my case almost routinely which makes me wonder if my problems were just part of a bigger quality issue at Delta.2.The wings that attach to the table were not level with the table top. However, it seems to me that I should not have to make these kinds of corrections on expensive new equipment like this saw. I was able to make the wings level by adding shims.
I've never had a table saw before and decided that I would just go for the kill and get one of the industry's best saw right off the bat. When I got home, I backed the truck close to the shop, unlatched the ramp so it extended into the shop, climbed into the moving truck and positioned the palette over the middle of the ramp (the forklift operator positioned right in the center for me so it made it easy). Thread the bolt by hand to the saw's main table, getting it hand tight. So I rented a 16' u-haul type moving truck (from Budget Trucks) with a ramp that pulls out and secures flush to the truck bed. Now all you have to do is rotate the wing and do the other two bolts and get it level.
Here's how to handle this by yourself too: hold one of the wings with both hands, go down on one knee, and place the wing end (the long end) resting on your other knee (actually, the top of your thigh). But don't worry, because the palette will not glide down by itself (unless you're parked on a steep incline), you need to constantly push it to keep it moving. The last thing to do with any considerable weight was to install the cast iron wings. First of all, this is one fantastic saw. The freight dock forklifted the palette into the truck no problem and off I went for home (just make sure you use tie downs inside the truck, because it will move around and if you stop suddenly, it becomes a massive missile). All I did then was push the whole piece down the ramp and into the shop; but before you get to the bottom of the ramp, you'll need to actually switch position and instead of pushing, you'll need to pull it off the ramp. Hold it there for a moment with one hand, insert the bolt through the CENTER unthreaded hole of the wing, now slowly lift that knee with your toes and/or foot so the middle hole of the wing lines up with the middle threaded hole of the saw's main table. I positioned my mobile base right underneath it, held the mobile base in place with one foot, and gently tilted the saw down and pulled it onto the mobile base.
But I was determined to get this saw home and set it up by myself for some reason. Believe me, I'm not the hulk or anything, and this was easy to do because the palette acted like skis on the ramp. Complete the rest of the setup and enjoy. Next, I took all the wrapping off, unbolted the saw from the palette, and pushed the saw to one side of the palette.
The threaded holes are covered around half way from the thickness of the wood table, so the wedge idea worked perfectly. I was ready to remove the rear support rail until I realized the directions are very vague at this point. I had just been given some free 4*8 MDF, so I made a ramp around eight feet long, supported by two 2*4's on the side and around 25" wide. Obviously, you still need to check for carton damage. This causes the fence to stick at this point, so you have to lift it slightly. This is my first Delta product.
Like another reviewer, a different carrier than the main saw shipped the Biesemeyer fence and extension table. In addition, they were offering 10% off all other tools, so the mobile base came down to $135 compared to Woodcrafts $200. If you are planing the out feed table, leave the motor cover off temporarily. You may want to read my review on the Delta Out feed table, and read those directions thoroughly. You don't have to take any pieces off of the saw once you have it together other than the motor cover.
This made getting it off the pickup truck and into my workroom rather easy. I could not pass up the Amazon deal. Let's see how long my idea lasts. I did the assembly myself, and it probably took six hours out of my Saturday. The hard part is getting everything level and in plane using multiple clamps and support boards as other reviewers have indicated.
I was then able to load it onto a friend's pickup truck without any lifting. Fortunately I was able to ship everything to our company's receiving area where they have a truck loading dock. I agree with a couple of other reviews that the side extension table is bowed in the middle. Obviously, it turns out once you start to level the extension table it's time. If you're concerned about shipping damage, pay attention to the RED tilt indicator on the main saw box. I have a Jet jointer and planner, but I am very happy with the fit and finish of the Delta saw. I then noticed the three threaded holes on the RH side of the cast end. Not sure why the threaded holes are there, but if you were planning on using them to secure the wood extension, you would have to cut part of the wood bracing underneath to gain full access to them.
I think you would still have a hard time bringing the table into plane without some wedge idea. This is a $550 item at Woodcraft. Was planning to buy at Woodcraft and spend around the same price once you add Amazon $200 shipping charge, but Amazon then offered to throw in the Jet 1100CFM canister dust collector. It's the main saw package that weights around 450 pounds on the pallet. Bought this as a retirement present. My son-in-law had a four-wheel dolly that handles 1000 pounds. Like telling you to wait before tightening the front fence support, but never telling you when to do it.
I found nothing I could complain about other than some poor assembly directions. Fired up the saw and realized I have a true professions piece of equipment compared to my Sears Contractor series that is around 10 years old. It's about the size of a credit card, and the little round window in it will tell you if the box was tipped over. You can't help but have a ridge next to the cast steel table on the RH side. I used this as a wedge in the middle of the extension table and was able to move the wood table up to be level with the cast table. I had a small piece of ΒΌ" wood doweling.
I was privileged to have a GREAT woodshop teacher (Bruce Kelly) and wonderful (Delta) tools at hand. The dust shoot works well and the stable mobile base that was included with my saw makes placement AND storage quite easy. As with many products over time, quality sometimes suffers. Almost two months later, I'm still like a kid with a new toy.42 years ago I had my first experience with a Delta Unisaw in High School woodworking class. My opinion is that Delta has their act together on the manufacturing once again and the statements in earlier posts, I feel, are not substantiated.With a Biesemeyer fence (now a subsidiary of Delta), Delta outfeed table that folds flat against the saw, removable splitter and overhead blade guard, this setup is just what I needed. When it came to table saws, bench top and contractor saws made the most sense, but the quality required in cabinet making took some real doing. I talked to fiends in the business and visited several local shops for advice. I originally planned on the five horsepower model and was told by others that three horsepower was more than enough unless doing production work.
My present profession as a remodeling contractor allows me to buy tools as I need them. No vibration and the setup and fine adjustments needed are nothing compared to the quality of the cuts made with this saw. I know there have been several corporate owners of Delta, and I know there was a period of dissatisfaction on quality. This made it easy for my wife and kids to shop for me; all they needed to do was get me table saw accessories.
After setup, (about 8 hours of time), I plugged her in. It was taken for granted that all machines were good. I purchased the Delta 36-L31X-BC50 X5 3HP Left Tilt Unisaw with 50" Biesemeyer Fence as a gift to myself for Christmas. I made a Grandmother clock and stereo cabinet that took state honors back in the sixties. Now after 25 years in the business, I wanted to get back to my dream of cabinet making once again.Spending close to two thousand dollars on a saw was a hard decision. Not with this saw.
The soft purr of the motor spinning a Woodworker II blade was music to my ears. For four years while in woodshop, I never really considered the quality of the shop machinery we had back then. Which one do I buy. I'm quite happy. Although more professional equipment was in use in the bigger shops, still there was a 10" table saw available for general use, and 9 out of 12 shops had a Delta Unisaw.This Unisaw is by far better than I remembered it some 40 years back.
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