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After carefully following the instructions and making some very fine adjustments, (10th of a turn on the allen screws) cuts accurate to a 64th of an inch (without using the tape measure) are now routine. After some creative maneuvering, the driver had the trailer positioned, but he had no way to get the 400+lb pallet off the truck. It was an honest oversight and Delta quickly corrected it. Packing, fit, finish, and ease of assembly were all first class. After final cleaning with some 409, I used some paste wax on the surface of the saw table and the fence surfaces.
The saw showed up on a 28' semi-trailer. Different models/configurations come with legs, some don't. After using cheap table saws for years, I was amazed. In the end, the free shipping tipped the scales in favor of the Delta. All I know is you need to have a plan for dealing with this thing when it arrives.
I am completely satisfied with this machine and would recommend it to anyone looking for a first class saw for the serious woodworker.The first time you turn it on - you will see what I mean. In my case, I live in the country. I can't wait to see what it will do with a Woodworker II blade.As a footnote to all this praise, I would add that the Biesemeyer Fence system does exactly what it claims to do: set it and forget it. For the longest time, I was determined to buy the Grizzly.
This really improved the operation of the fence. The saw was missing the two legs that support the extension table. Like most folks who post these reviews, I too spent quite a while researching my table saw purchase.
The box is the same. I cannot imagine what I would have done otherwise. Fortunately, I have a tractor with a front-end loader and was able to easily move the saw from the truck into my shop.
It glides across the saw with ease.I will close this review with one caution: MAKE SURE you thoroughly coordinate the shipping of this behemoth and verify the shipper has a way to move the pallet this saw comes on off of the truck and into your shop. I echo the other reviewer's comments about the quality of this machine. Even with the junk saw blade included by Delta, this saw powers through hardwoods with ease.
Assume the truck driver cannot unload it, and prepare accordingly. The hardest thing about using this fence system is getting used to not using your tape measure to set up your table saw cuts.Though not recommended by the instructions (fire hazard), lacquer thinner works great to remove the thin film of packing grease on the saw's table top.
Unloading this beast was not the chore I thought it would be. Also I have one car space of my garage for woodworking. The table board is nice, the lamination is slick and level enough with the cast iron table. I used the ones supplied and they worked fine.
The adjustment was simple, and my cuts are quite nice.Some of the reviews mention the flatness (or lack there of) of the table. I like `um.I have used this saw to make 2 projects and some jigs. I would have preferred a 2nd cast iron wing. The rest of the assembly went well.
I chose this one. They are made of cast iron, and have a solid feel. Some of the reviews lead me to believe that they were cheesy. I purchased bolts referenced, and found that the head was proud of the angle iron support.
I was able to move the cabinet off the pallet and onto the mobility base using the 1x3 southern yellow pine pieces delta used for packaging support. The cuts are oo-so fine. After assembly, the fence was a bit out of parallel with the blade and needed to be adjusted. With this modification the splitter/guard is nice and I think it meets my needs.I make a bookshelf out of plywood and oak using this saw. Mostly I don't make wide rips, so a 30" rip capability meets my needs.I purchased the saw from Amazon. However I don't use much plywood and the footprint of this saw leaves a room to move in my one car woodworking space.I was pleasantly surprised about the handles. However it is flat enough for square cuts.The few I have a few complaints. The on-saw storage is OK.
The splitter and blade guard are annoying to remove for non-through cuts, and the rear support for the splitter/guard gets in the way of out feed support.I found an article on the WoodCentral web site that showed a couple of ideas how to modify stock guard/splitter to make it easier to remove and preserve the guard (the URL is http://woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl.dir=powertools&file=articles_234.shtml). When reducing the plywood I found the height of the saw was good for manhandling the sheet. Like all of you, I looked in the woodworking magazines, reviews on Amazon.com, talked to my friends and looked at saws in the store. I used two 8' 2x12s as ramps, and my wife, son and I unloaded it from my truck (2 pushed the saw down the ramp and one worked on the down hill side to keep it from getting away). I wanted a good table saw with better good collection, and a good fence. The instructions were straightforward, with may be a couple of steps omitted, and the fence instructions referenced some bolts, that were not supplied. The 2 wrench blade change is nice. The dust collection works like a champ (for the dust in the cabinet).
I also see the attraction of a 50" fence. I picked it up at the ABS freight terminal. I checked the top with my tri-square ruler, and its not perfectly flat. I plan to buy an aftermarket gage. The miter gage is not so hot (but no one expects it to be).
The first unisaw was made in the late 1930's and parts for most of the versions can be had with minimal trouble. The motor doesn't slow at all no matter what I throw at it.I also recommend the Delta mobile base. I haven't done the nickel test, but I don't think I need to. Why not get the original and skip the potential headaches. I bought this saw as a replacement for my Powermatic 63 after I couldn't get replacement parts from Powermatic since the saw is no longer made.
I'm using a Woodworker II and between the saw and this blade, it's a winning combination. I looked at the Grizzly and the Shop Fox but given my Powermatic 63 parts experience I didn't want to go through that again and with free shipping on the Unisaw the price difference wasn't as big anymore. From the moment I fired it up for the first time, it's been the best woodworking purchase I've ever made. I used the HTC base on the Powermatic and the Delta blows it away, no rocking or needing to turn the feet down by hand to stabilize the saw after rolling to a location, just hit the foot pedal and start sawing. The motor fires up instantly and is so stable.
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