Power Saws Reviews

Milwaukee has two 14 inch Abrasive Cut-Off Machines. This is the cheap one that's not even a real Milwaukee. TTI has taken over Milwaukee and anymore they are "Made In China, but in red" tools. The 6180 is better made, but it won't be long until they trash it up too. I do NOT recommend buying this model. As someone else said, look at the other brands and study them before you buy.

The stamped steel back half of the vise is not true vertical, so it's okay for 90� cuts. I needed 45� cuts on square stock and the cuts were oblique. I returned it and got the 6180-20 for $40 more. The base is cast aluminum and solid, but the vise is cast iron and therefore machined and square. The motor has more power, too, and the handle is a better orientation. It's worth the extra. Yes, of course it's made in China. Isn't everything?

I have had my saw for a couple years now and have not had a problem. Seems other people have had switch problems but mine has worked fine and I have gone through around 30 abrasive wheels. I was disapointed to find that milwaukee just stamped there name on a foriegn tool. This tool is not the quality I would expect from milwaukee, I think it is as good or better than any of the other entry level abrasive saws. If you want the best for your money I recomend milwaukees 6180-20, this is a nice saw. Another option is the dry cut saw which I'm upgradeing to but it is expensive.

I had a $48 QEP saw before this wildly overpriced Porter Cable [one] and the $48 saw cut tiles more efficiently and accurately than this garbage. The bearings on my ...PC saw stripped within 6 months and I was told by my PC dealer it had to be caused by improper use, not faulty bearings. ...I will never buy a PC product again. Lousy saw and even worse customer service support. Buy it if you have to have lousy durability with a Proter Cable tag glued on it.

I've had this saw for over a year and have cut a LOT of tile with it. I've been pleased overall with its performance. The only complaints I have is the noise (ear plugs definately required) and my tabe is very sightly warped (because it sat out in the sun for a week). I would prefer a metal table with a miter attachment but I'm not willing to pay hundreds more for that. My table rolls smoothly and the cuts are always clean and accurate. Other tile cutters in this price range can only rip 12" tiles which is what ultimatly led me to buy the Porter Cable.

I have read many of the "so called" reviews of this wet saw and those folks don't know squat. I have a more expensive Fleker wet saw that I have used many years, that got some electrical problems, I did not have time to fix for my current projects at home. Anyway, I bought this Porter Cable Wet saw since I had good luck with their woodworking type tools. (Yes I am a wood worker too, and Electrical Engineer by trade). The wet saw cuts extreemly well, and accurate. You can cut to within a 1/16 accurate all the time. I read one of these reviews on the noise of the saw as being loud. Well, all the Wet Saws I have ever used were loud, this one was no different. My old Fleker is still better then this saw, but then again when I bought that saw 10 years ago, was $900 bucks. For the Money, the Porter Cable is worth it. Easy to use and easy to clean up...

When I read a review prior to ordering this dado set, I was encouraged by the claim it cut perfectly flat bottom dados on a radial arm saw setup, just what I planned to use it for. It did not cut flat enough for my liking at all. In fact, it was a rough bottom that I had to go to a great deal of time and trouble to clean up. I was better off not using it. Now I have to see about returning it and trying a different, and not all that more expensive brand.

This is a great buy works very well. Only one thing to be carefull of is that the chart enclosed with it that tells how to set up for different widths is not 100%. You have to play with the shims to get it just right. Other than that buy it.

I had a slight problem that was resolved in a 5 min. call to Avenger. The person who handeled the call was very curteous and gave me excellent support.

The idea seems alright but the tool, especially a heavier tool like a drill, bounces in the bungee when you walk. The plastic belt clip also feels like it digs into your waist. The big lug hook is better because you don't have to search for the holder (especially while wearing a coat) like with this one although the hook is a pain sometimes because it tends to catch on things when it is empty. The big lug 2 obviously does not have this problem.

All in all, it's ok but the bouncy tool thing is the worst part of it.

good for a great variety of power tool, even I prefere a hook for my cordless drills

I don't normally write these things but having noticed a couple poor review when i went to purchase these as a gift for my brother and having two clips and 6 bungee loops already myself I felt i need to adress the two poor reviews. I am a professional contractor, these clips are the cats meow and I recommend them to everyone I know thats in the buis. They work very well...even with large drills and air tools or framing guns. The thing to keep in mind ie: mr used them with 28v hammer drill... is that the tool your using is has a small grip area...so put the ball tight to the bottom...and they will be out of your way. And to the person who was complaining the clip came off his belt...he must have been using a regular dress belt and not any type of construction tool belt. So is there a down side..yes. With heavy tools the clip will dig into your side or try to roll your belt...constrution type or not. I notice this most with my framing nailer and coil nailer(hose tension makes this even worse when roofing) The solution is to tuck the clip into the widest part of your gear belt or to use a side protector like on the bucket boss brand belt units. Also keep the hose tension to minimum by keeping some slack near you. ... Keep in mind a framing nailer (porter cable 350mag)loaded is almost 10#s plus the weight of the hose assembly and tension...but for anything else...especially cordless....no worries and worth the money.

The good news is that the RAS was promply delivered (purchased via Amazon). Also, the documentation is very good and its pretty easy to follow the instructions to set the RAS up and get good square cuts.

The bad news, however, is that the RAS motor ran maybe 30 seconds before it quit! Big disappointment here as you can understand.

More good news: Called the Delta customer service line and got to talk to a live human (with only a minimal delay while listening to elevator music). After maybe two conversations where they gave me things to try, it was determined that the best course of action was to take the motor to a local (about 20 miles away) authorized service center. Turns out that the switch was defective from the factory (contacts fell out). The service rep had the switch on hand and fixed it while I waited. Saw is running fine now.

Another positive: I contacted Amazon (via Email) and they were more than willing to send a truck to my house to pick it up for a return with full refund or replacement.

I'd rate the Amazon and Delta service as excellent ... but the quality control at Delta factory as poor.

The cast iron arm and vertical column are very rugged. I'm extramely disappointed, however, in the sheet metal stand. There is a considerable amount of flexing where the column attaches. With very little force I am able to deflect the saw blade by 1/16? Also, the angle brackets that attach the table to the stand are not bent at 90 degrees. When I clamp the table down, the angles force the table to bow by about 1/8" in the center. I just purchased some steel channel and plan to fabricate my own stand that has some structural integrity. The other problem I encountered was the ability for the stop clamp to maintain position. I had a very difficult time squaring the blade to the fence until I realized this clamp was slipping. I've tightened the clamp as hard as I can and it is easily displaced with the slightest jolt from rotating the arm from 45 degrees back to zero. I plan to disassemble the machine, clean out the grease around the clamp and rough up the surface of both the clamp and the column. Once I've fixed the clamp and have built a new stand I'm sure this will be a nice machine...however, with the amount of money spent I shouldn't have to do this.

the delta 10in radial arm saw is one of the best on the market,one big factor is ,how easy and quick you can square the saw.this is the most important factor,on a radial arm saw,a out of square saw is useless.the saw is quility made.all steel no plastic.made to last a live time.

I love this saw. I have used it to make hundreds of cross cuts and done some molding miter cutting with it. I've put a lot of use on this tool for a do-it-yourselfer. I remodeled a 1947 house with this saw. I gutted several rooms and finished a basement. I put a deck on the back of the house and cut pile of pressure-treated lumber. I even used the saw to cut up the painted, near-pertified wood for scrap. After a lot of abuse the original blade is still sharp and the saw is working like it was new.

I sold that house and I'm onto a new house, but the Delta is coming with me. I'd really love a compound miter saw, I just can't justify replacing this one yet.

If you're looking for a miter saw and don't want to spend several hundred $$ on one, you won't likely regret going with this one. I'm not sure about some of the earlier reviewers who felt it was underpowered - I have put mine through the paces and it has come out shining. For instance, it will cut through treated 4x4 posts with no hesitation.
Basically, I wanted a miter saw that would provide good miter cuts on moldings and cut 4x4's, and this one does both. I almost spent over twice as much on a 12" compound and now I'm glad I didn't. This 10" cuts 2x6's and 4x4's like I wanted and, after a little research, I discovered that the compound feature is rarely useful, and is actually only one more thing to worry about being aligned.
All in all, this has turned out to be a terrific tool, inexpensive or not.

I recently had my family room remodeled by a local contractor. When it came time to cut and fit moldings, door trim and the like, I noticed that the carpenter was using the Delta 36-070 for all miter cuts. I asked him what he thought of the saw and he answered, simply, that it performed well, is accurate, and is easy to lug from job to job at only 28 lbs. He admitted to having better miter saws, but when visiting 4 job sites in one day, this is the saw he uses.

When I happened across this saw at Home Depot for only $79.00 (US) I snatched it up. I agree with a previous reviewer...don't compare this saw with saws costing twice as much. It's not a valid comparison. I've used this saw considerably since I puchased it and have no complaints at all. As a home owner, I find this saw perfect for the weekend duties I ask of it and find it easy to move around and store away. Compound cuts? Of course not. Had I a need for that, I'd have bought a different saw. Then again, that would have cost me at least $160.00, be at least 45 lbs, and I might use the compound feature every few years or so....in which case my non-movable radial arm saw will fit the need.

Great saw for home owners at a great price. It has a good manual, comes with a carbide 40 tooth blade, and if you treat it well and keep it clean, you'll be giving it to one of your kids some day when 28 lbs feels like 56.

This was my first experience ordering 'heavy metal' (ie large stationary workshop tools) from Amazon, and I wouldn't do it again. Here's the good (+) and the bad (-) along with some tips if you get stuck too:

+/- Price: yes, with an Amazon sale I paid $589 and got free shipping, while at local stores, the saw was $699. But think about how much your time is worth when you have to resolve difficult issues yourself.

+ Shipping: can't complain. The fence came via 3 UPS boxes. The main (350#) saw came ABF motor freight, and the driver had a liftgate truck, pallet jack, and cooperative attitude.

TIP 1: although Amazon site says you can't track this shipment, actually you can! Just go to www.abfs.com and put in the reference number Amazon provides. I was able to schedule my delivery optimally.

--- Packing: the saw comes in a crate, and while there was no obvious external damage, once unpacked many problems appeared. The sheet metal motor housing was literally smashed, bending the cabinet base some too; corner of cast iron table was dinged; push nut missing from blade guard; some paint rubbed off cabinet from vibration in transit. The worst problem was gross misalignment of the arbor - more on this later.

(Yes, I know I could in theory have "returned" the saw if dissatisfied or filed a damage claim. But did I care to re-crate machinery or spend hours on the phone in pursuit of my hobby?)

++ Replacement parts: I called the Delta 800 number, told them about the smashed motor housing and missing pushnut, and they shipped the replacements without hesitation.

--- Alignment: Huge frustration, but finally resolved. The arbor was grossly misaligned with the blade over 1/8" out of parallel with miter slot. Loosening the trunnion bolts and trying to move the trunnions didn't begin to correct it.

TIP 2: Tie bar alignment. Go to Delta website, Tech Support>FAQ's>Contractor Style Saw. It explains the need to check parallelism of two tie bars. During transportation, even with the styrofoam packing insert, the motor's weight can force the tie rods out of alignment. THIS is what caused most of the misalignment, rather than the trunnions. The instructions are little help on how to fix it, though. So get a 15/16" box end wrench with standard 15 deg angled shaft (a socket wrench won't fit) to loosen the lock nuts at the rear of the tie rods. You can get the right one through the motor door; for the left, I had to remove the rear rail and pull three plastic pins holding the sliding dust cover. Pull or push on the motor until the tie rods are parallel and a flat piece of melamine no longer rocks when resting on them. Retighten.

TIP 3: Trunnion alignment. After careful analysis, I found out why I couldn't align the saw by nudging the trunnions. The trunnion bolts have the usual lockwasher/flatwasher combo, and the trunnions have oversize holes to allow some adjustment - in theory. In reality, the factory had overtightened the bolts, forcing the flatwashers into the trunnion holes slightly and deforming the washers into a cone shape. Result? No matter how much you nudge, when you retighten the bolt, the trunnion goes back to its original location! To fix this, I bought a PALS system ($20 from www.in-lineindustries.com) for the rear trunnions, and new, thicker flatwashers for the front trunnion bolts. Note: even with PALS on the rear trunnions, I still had to fix the 'conehead' situation on the front trunnions to be able to align the saw.

I happened to buy a bandsaw at the same time as this table saw, but went with a Jet model. Even though the Jet wasn't their top of the line, the quality differences were obvious. It was packed as if somebody really cared, the design had been thoughtfully executed, and alignment was dead-on right from the factory. Hmmm...

After using a Ryobi B-3000 for a number of years, I was looking for an upgrade that would be accurate and have more power. After reading the reviews of this saw, I felt that it was worth considering. I had looked at the Sears hybrid and was including it on my list of possibilities. When the price for the Delta went to $559 with a $50 coupon, it seemed to be a good buy.

As fellow reviewers have mentioned, the instructions leave a bit to be desired (particularly when installing the fence/rail). If your saw includes the wooden extension piece (right side), be sure to install it shortly after putting the steel wings (these puppies are heavy and you need an extra set of hands or some kind of support device if you are doing it yourself) in place (this needs to be done before you put the final front rail on the T2 fence in place). You also need to install the power switch during this sequence as well or you get to loosen bolts that hold the rail. Installing the belt was no big deal... getting the foam packing material from around the motor was more of a pain.

The fence needed fine tuning and adjustment as well but it is a fairly straightforward process. Make sure the fence is parallel to the miter guide slots... this will help check the actual trunion accuracy.

After firing up the saw and making a couple of cuts, I found that the trunion was definitely out of alignment! I was getting burn marks on the outfeed piece of material. This is not a fun adjustment but using a socket with extension pieces made it possible. A rubber mallet to administer a couple of pursuading taps helped! Once this adjustment was made, the saw accuracy was right on!

The saw is certainly a nice looking piece of equipment and runs very quietly and does not vibrate. I do recommend that you buy a wheeled base... otherwise you will need to have your wife move it for you!!

Two other accessories I would recommend: a zero clearance plate and an Incra miter gauge.

All in all, I am very pleased with this saw and look forward to having it for many years.

The other reviews were helpful in my decision to buy this saw so thought I'd also leave a response.
ABF Freight delivered the crated DELTA 36-715 in perfect shape only about a week after ordering. Took it off the truck and wheeled in into my garage - no problem. UPS delivered 2 of the 3 other items on time. Somehow lost the Fence Rails, but managed to locate and deliver the next week.
Set up was not hard, used two 2 x 4's clamped under, and extending past the main table to support & assist in attaching the cast iron wings. Using a Dial Indicator, checked the alignment of the blade Arbor to the table Slots and found them to be right on. Only had to adjust the fence itself slightly. By the way, the T2 Fence System is outstanding. Not sure the upgraded fences offered by Delta could be much better.
Using a Jet 708118 Moble Base, my saw is moved easly around the work space.
All in all, very satisfied with the product and Amazon. The money saved is worth the wait for delivery.

I have used this saw for many diferent projects around the house from fine coping to 3/4" plywood. I even used it with a masonry blade and a makeshift rip fence to cut an imitation marble vanity top to size. I have beeen very pleaed with the performance and durability of the saw. The only problem I have had with the saw is when I am cutting low radius curves. The blade often slips out of the groove on the roller and bends to the side. This problem is diminished with a narrow coping blade but still doesn't go away. Overall, I would recommend this saw.

I have used this saw for many different projects around the house from fine coping to rough cutting 3/4" boards. I even used it with a masonry blade and makeshift rip fence to cut an imitation marble vanity top to fit into an opening. I have been extremely pleased with the performance of this saw and it seems to be holding up very well. The only problem that I seem to experience on a regular basis is when I am scrolling and I try to make a low radius cut, the blade slips from the channel on the roller and bends to the side. This causes a lot of problems with your cut. I can eleminate most of the problem by using a much narrower coping blade but it still happens from time to time.

I've been very pleased with the DW318 after only a few uses. I've not found the out of square problem that others have noted perhaps because I've only cut 1 1/2" RC Cedar which is very soft.

I am disappointed that the foot is prepared for a fence of some sort but none are listed in DW's accessory list. What's this all about? It would be nice if DW offered an adjustable radius cutting fence for repetitive accurate radius cuts.

Some good things:
- cost - good
- build - built solidly
- motor can power through thick oak.

Some not so good things
- Adjusting the blade guides is a total pain - to move the lower guides requies tipping the table up and jamming your hand underneath to loosen the hex bolts.
- Raising the cutting height, even 2-3 ", causes you to need to readjust all the guides.
- Tightening the guides changes their settings - need to guess to get it right.

This bandsaw will do everything you want and more. The main thing that could make it better is add a 3 hp motor for serious resaw work. The quality of the resaw work that I have done using cedar so far is perfect tracking with very little drift and plenty of power. However, I suspect if I resawed oak the saw may lack the power to saw a an economical pace. ( I'll edit this after I actually resaw some oak.)
The reason I only voted 4 stars is because the plastic insert at the rail opposite the locking cam on the fence fell out after a few uses. That could be fixed if they used an alternate method to attach it instead of the self adhesive.

I bought this bandsaw at my local Woodcraft and am in general very pleased. The saw unpacked and cleaned up easily (use lamp oil to clean up the table, then finish cleaning with alcohol), and fit's nicely in my shop space. It has so far done every task I've asked of it easily. Blades can be changed without removing the table, and the bottom guides are easy enough to set, so I'm not sure what the other reviewers were thinking.

Problems:
Well, problems are minor, and customer service was more than willing to work with me. A piece was missing from the fence, so it doesn't lock, and one of the upper guide bearings needs replaced. Jet said they'll send out replacements today.

On the whole, a very solid and useful tool. Quickly becoming the favorite tool in my workshop.

This saw is not an appropriate replacement for the model 743K, in fact its not even in the same league. After just 2 days on the job the keyless blade change broke rendering this saw useless, and the dust nozzle is too small .... all it does is stay hopelessly clogged. It works fine if all you do is cut perfectly dry lumber, but what contractor is able to do that on a daily basis? The rip guide attachment in only good to around 8 inches where as the model 743K has a 12 plus inch rip capacity with the exact same rip guide. Take a professionals advice and buy a 743K if you can still find one. Porter Cable really goofed on this one!!!

This saw was an impulse purchase based on frustration with an old right hand blade Skil saw that could not cut 3/8 paneling without twisting and binding and did not cut cleanly in 2" dimensional lumber.

While its billed as a framer's saw, it handles panels easily, from Chipboard to MDF, and the dust collection port works pretty well. The best news for me was that it seems to fit my hand, and being right handed, the blade was were I could see it as I walked down a long rip even in low light.

The integral blade changing feature is nice if you lose wrenches for tools as I do, but was not a decision point. The solid feel and strong bevel adjust makes this saw easy for me to drive straight and true.

Many negative reviews for Porter Cable MAG series saws here and elsewhere note the poor action of the blade guard. The entire line of MAG saws were recalled by Porter Cable in November 2005 to rectify this issue. I'd bear this in mind when comparing the "star" ratings of the MAG series with competing brands.

Personally, it came down to this model and the highly rated Milwaukee 639x series with the very nice tilt-lok handle feature. After reading all the reviews I could find, I took the time to physically handle and inspect all my candidates. There was no question this model was the most comfortable in my hand. If any of the MAG series are even close to the top of your list, I highly recommend checking them out in person; it's a highly subjective experience and your results will certainly vary but it tipped the balance for me. I have no doubt I made the right decision for my use.