Power Saws Reviews

My boss purchased this saw as an extra saw on site. Most of the crew own DeWalt circular saws, but quickly found faults with this one. First, as mentioned, the base is missing a corner for some unknown reason. Second, the base is cheap plastic, and I can guarantee that it won't last more then a month or two. Third, it won't cut straight due to the slight wobble of the blade. Last, but not least, if you use the saw for more then 30 seconds, it smells like burning wires. I'm shocked that DeWalt puts their name on it.

This is CERTAINLY not a saw that should be used by professionals or anyone who needs to rely on their cuts and the saw that makes them. This is really not much more then a weekend do-it-yourselfer's saw.

The 369 doesn't do anything exceptionally well, but it does everything well. After much hands-on testing against the Bosch, Milwaukee and Porter, the DeWalt turned out to be the best compromise. It is light. It fits small and medium hands better than most. It has a blade brake. Excellent line of sight to the blade contact point. It has a small footplate with the left rear corner cut out. This makes it very maneuverable in tight spots. Yes, it will not follow a fence as easily as a saw with a long footplate, but a good carpenter will have no problem with this. The only thing I totally dislike is the spindle lock. It is a crude metal part with a finger-unfriendly shape and it requires a bit of pressure, so changing blades is unpleasant. Overall, this is the best circ I could find for my needs (remodeling contractor).

No compaints at all with this saw. It's lightweight (composite guide), does not scratch or mar the material, and powerfull enough for what I was doing (3/4" maple plywood).

Robert Bosch Corp., (yes, same Bosch)owns Skil. Skil tool power plants, cordless and corded alike are designed by Bosch engineers and built under contract at Black & Decker, who just so happens to be the parent company of DeWalt. Skil is merely a company in name only anymore, much like the cb radio giant Cobra. Cobra, once a stand alone manufacturer now exists in name only, with all of their products built and designed by Uniden but still sold under the Cobra name. Same thing here. Anyway, I enjoy the combo set immensely. I have cut 59 2x4's on a single charge. I cut 12ea 2x6 rafters, including peak rake and bird's mouth, 10 2x4's for blocking,etc and crosscut 4ea 7/16 4x8 OSB on one battery charge. It will take you four solid charges to get the battery ready to accept a full charge and you should always completely discharge the battery each time. My only dislike is the sliding feature and general design of the battery. Oh well, I have many tools and this set has earned its keep. Do yourself a favor, bypass the other sets at $500 or more and spend the $180 for this one. You'll be glad you did.

O.K. this is not going to rival a 500.00 cordless set but for the price and for an occasional user this is pretty good stuff. Unlike some of the other reviewers I would rate the circular saw as my favourite piece. The blade has to be sharp and you need to take it easy and let the saw do the work. The paper work suggests 70, 2X4's can be cut on one battery and this seems in the ball-park. Someone wrote that they could only go through 5 2X6's before running out of juice..there must have been a serious problem with the batteries or saw if this was the case.

Mine has lots of power for general building and more than enough battery juice to complete the small home reno stuff I do. The first few charges the batteriesare at about 80% and then full power is attained.

The soft sided bag is a good idea but a padded, pocket for the batteries would have been a nice touch. There are many nice touches though... the stud finder slips on top of the drill and is easily detached and works very well, the light on the drill is a good idea for those over 40, the reciprical saw has on board blade storage for two blades, the base of the circular saw holds a wrench for blades changes, the gauge on the battery makes running out of power less of a surprise.

I think upping the price and including 4 batteries would be something I'd pay for but all and all; good stuff.

I am very happy with the Skil 18V set. I have purchased a third battery from Skil so that I always have a spare on-hand during my heavy usage for home remodelling reengineering projects.

Based on other on-line reviews I purchased an RS830 from Delta and received it on 10/21/2005 with a missing part (the work surface, or board as Delta calls it). It is now 12/07/2005 and I still have not received the missing part after 4 calls to the 800# for customer service and several e-mails to customer care (as they call it). I would like to use the saw some day instead of tripping over it in my workshop. It better be more reliable than their customer support which has gotten me to the point that I will probably never buy a Delta product again.

Maybe you'll get lucky, but I tried twice with this saw and both units went back. The construction of at least some of the parts is cheap and not precise. Both units that were delivered to me had poorly made bases. The arm and column attach to a base that supports the table. This base is formed from two identical metal pieces which resemble squared off "C's". These are butted together and then welded into a rectangle. On the first unit I got, one long side of the base was bent inward about an inch near the middle. The second unit was misformed or damaged at a corner. The short fasteners for the legs weren't long enough to work at the damaged corner without bringing the base back into its intended shape.
Worse than the base problems perhaps, are the poor materials used on the short shaft which locks/unlocks the arm swivel. After attaching the table legs and standing the unit up, the shaft just fell off. Upon closer examination, the shaft -which outwardly appears to be a solid piece of 3/8's inch thick black steel - is nothing of the sort. Mine had sheared off exactly where it meets the column exposing a cross section of the now broken shaft. It is formed from a hollow black metal tube into which a "filler" metal is poured. This filler, so far as I can tell, is simply cheap "pot metal" of no real strength. I surmise it was designed to have enough strength necessary to take the normal screwing motion for the lock/unlock of the arm, but no attention was paid to it's strength should ANY angular force act on it (the same motion as turning on your car's turn signal). I'm not saying one should be able to hang by the shaft or misuse it, but it seems it doesn't have enough strength to stand up to normal wear and tear. Adding insult to injury, the assembly instructions are clearly erroneous in describing leg attachment: they instruct you to put a washer onto the bolt and then put the bolt thru the hole on the base. But the washer cannot go on first or the bolt won't seat properly.
Maybe if you're fortunate enough to get a unit from a good production run AND fortunate enough to have it get thru shipping unscathed, perhaps it will make decent cuts. But I never even got a chance to turn the machine on.

This is one great saw. It takes awhile to set it up. Once it is set up, it's a very accurate machine. I mean dead on accurate at any angle!!! This saw is built like a tank, yet simple so it should last many years. Like I said, It's a great saw. Possibly the best!!

While sawing a 2x4 stud a knot in wood came out and lodged shearing and twisting motor shaft into. This saw may be ok for small work such as picture frames etc. but would not recommend for heavier work.

I am a woodworker by hobby, and a part time weekend warrior light contractor. I bought this saw actually used at auction, but it had apparently very little use. As I do with all of my tools, I immediately gave the saw a good inspection with a square and by making test cuts. It was out of square, but the simple adjustments for the fence made correcting that issue easy. With the original blade, the saw makes nice cuts in hardwood without issue. I like the combination of smaller blade and sliding function, and I feel that is more accurate than the wobble i've seen from larger blades.

I think this is a good saw for the money. Downers are the non-standard trigger lock that makes you think consciously about turning the saw on, but once you've had it a while, its a non issue. One other thing is the miter adjustments are cumbersome at first to get used to as well.. The combo wing-nut and flipper are, however effective and easy to use once you get the hang of it.

A good saw.

I bought the saw because of the price of all the "Big Saws" out there. I have to say for the money I have not been disappointed.
I did take off the lower blade guard right away so as to make the blade visable for fine cutting. I have no trouble operating the saw left or right handed, it has plenty of power to cut 2x material, and the crosscut will cut a 1x12 no problem. I have operated many saws in 20 yrs of construction, and I believe this to be good value for the money. While it is not a 5-600$ saw, it sure gives them a run for the money. I have used it to install crown and trim, and cut shelving, all with no problems, although I would suggest a better Freud blade for this kind of work as the stock one is more of a cross cutter not for fine trim. It beats the slop on the blade that you can get on the bigger saws by keeping the blade to 8.5 inches, the only one better that I know of in this class in a 7.5 inch makita that has a 6,000 rpm motor that cuts like a razor, but then you are back up there in price again, so the choice is yours. I do like the lightweight but very stable base to the saw also, it makes it real nice on jobsites. I do not take lightly buying tools, they are an investment and if taken care of will make you money many times more than their price, and I believe this saw will do the same.

Perhaps my experience is an anomoly, but I had major trouble running this off a 20 amp, 120 volt circuit. I had to replace two shut off switches, and today the motor died.... I was happy with the other details, though the 30" fence is frustratingly small. My other complaint is that the phone reps, although initially responsive, blamed me for the failure of the saw. I've never had any other problems like this, and babied the thing... I'm replacing this with the unisaw...

I did not purchase this saw from Amazon. I bought it from Rockler for a price that was too incredible to pass up - especially when you add in the free mobile base and stool they gave me. The saw also had an upgraded fence. It went together easily. No gobs of grease to remove like Grizzly products. Lots of power to spare. HEAVY machine and solid, well finished castings. Much better deal than contractor saws.

I gave this four stars for two reasons: It did not come with a saw blade and the right table board was not included on my saw. If not for that, I would give it 5 stars.

Do yourself a favor and buy this saw.

I recently purchsed this saw to help in my ongoing quest to control dust in my home / garage workshop. I use one side of my garage to park my car in and back it out for larger projects. This saw is what I have been looking for, all the weight, power, and mobility advantages of a contractor saw with the stability and dust control of a cabinet saw. I have a complete woodshop now, and most of my tools are mobile so I can easily expand into the parking space when necessary. Getting a cabinet saw that runs on standard house current fits all of my mobility needs. I sold my Jet Contractor saw to buy this saw, both are great saws, but this one is a step up! Most of my shop activity is making furniture using hardwoods and exotics. As with some of the other reviewers, my saw came with the micro adjustable fence and a free mobile base. I made my own extension table from wood and laminate that looks more like it was designed for the saw than the one Jet makes. No saw blade included? Most cabinet saws do not include the blade, as the specific use for the saw is not usually as clearly known as with contractor style saws. I also got this saw for a GREAT price! I can only see one improvement to make - but not an urgent one, I plan to replace both belts with link belts for an even better ride. If your needs resemble mine, this saw has all the power and performance that you will ever need in most home shops. I give it 100% of 5 stars!

After using the Super Saw for 7 months I have mostly negative observations. The few positive observations simply do not outweigh the myriad negative, thus the two star rating.

First the negative:

1.)The fence is not flat, does not stay aligned, and has a large amount of deflection with even moderate pressure. The deflection problem was noticeable even just after each adjustment. Four adjustments were required in a month and were not noticeably prolonged when the bolts holding the adjustment were tightened very tight. Lastly, I used several precision rules to check the fence for flatness. Enough variation was evident to make me worry. I ended up purchasing the Vega fence and have been quite happy since. I suggest anyone considering this saw do the same.

2.)Dust collection does not work as advertised. After a great deal of searching on the net and several calls to Jet I finally took the plunge and enlarged the holes in the base of the cabinet. Dust collection is better but not great. Considering I have a 1 � horse power dust collector 8 feet from the saw, I expected much better results.

3.)Saw table and wings are not flat. Granted, they are not out by much: .005 to .007 at the maximum. But considering what I paid for the saw I expected tolerances to be somewhat higher.

4.)Timing belt broke within the first 3 months. This is the belt controlling blade height. I was surprised at how hard the belt is to get to and was not happy with the quality of parts. I can see this being a problem in the future.

5.)Accessories are hard to come by. In particular, the distance of the miter gauge slots from the saw blade makes 3rd party accessories unusable. For example, I have yet to find a tenoning jig that will fit this saw. Also, my choice of fence was limited by the location of the fence bolts and by the configuration of the saw. My preference was the Incra fence, but the manufacture advised me that it would not fit even thought is advertised as fitting almost any saw.

6.)The blade guard and kickback paws need some work and are hard to remove. In addition, no third party options (that I know of) exist.

7.)Lastly, Jet service is sporadic. Depending on who you are connected with, you may or may not get good information.

On the positive side:

1.)Motor runs well and does every job I have asked of it. Including, cutting 2 � inch hardwoods like maple and oak. Just make sure you have a sharp blade.
2.)When you do get a good Jet rep on the phone service is quick.

3.)Saw is quiet and smooth.

I think you can see, considering all the negatives I don't think this saw is a good buy. At some point in the future, when the problems are fixed, it will be worth a look. Until then, stay clear and don't be fooled by a feature list that does not deliver.

I really like the design of the saw but the quality control and customer service leaves a lot to be desired. The sliding table box was missing the hardware kit, the little bag of nuts & bolts to attach it. I called Jet 3 weeks ago and they promised to send a replacement, but today they say the parts are back-ordered and it will be *another* 4 weeks. And the fence locking handle broke right off under normal hand pressure! Not only are fence handles back-ordered for at least 4 weeks, but the ones that are due in are all spoken for already. Apparently they've been breaking a lot of them and I'm not expecting the replacement to be any more durable. It's going to be at least 2 months from the time I bought the saw until it's actually usable! This seems like a great design and that's why I've given it 3 stars but I'm really disappointed in Jet's low quality and poor service.

Really 4 1/2 stars.

The all cast-iron construction gives quiet and smooth operation that has to be heard to be believed. Smoooooooth. The motor's power is very good for 120v. The table is dead flat, but the fence is not, not even close. Laid the fence on the table for use as a straight edge as instructed in the manual; wobbles like a hobbyhorse. Contacted Jet, they sent a new one that is just as bad. But at least it locks down better than the old one. However, if you push firmly on the rear of the fence, it moves and stays there.

The cast iron wings have a sharp 90 degree edge on the front, they ought to match the nice bevel on the main table. And a very minor problem: the miter assembly hold-down bolt threads were defective, Jet sent a new one.

The blade guard is well designed except for the anti-kick-back-pawls, they are sharp enough to cut you and the spring is built for STRONG, certain to mar any wood it contacts. Overall, though, the saw makes most work easy and fast. And at this price I'm willing to put up with the fence, it's good enough for now. And if absolute precision is ever needed from the fence, then there are several replacements available.

If you own a Supersaw, or are just considering one, join the Yahoo Supersaw Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Supersaw

I ordered my first one in Jan. motor burnt apart by Feb. Now 2 months later,(with a replacement) the main bearing that drives the blade linkage, fell off the gear it was attached to and bent the blade drive shaft! I can't see these things lasting the 2 year warrenty!(unless you don't use it!)But ,it is a nice product, sure beats the push-pull type pruners, maybe I just got 2 bad ones!

Charge it for 2 full days and it can cut about 18 branches. But like the manual says, it only cut branches up to 3". So it's good for younger and regularly trimmed trees. I was able to trim all seven 6-year-old trees in 2 weekends and they were picked up by the sanitation dept. I'm happy with the product and saved $600 by doing it myself. It's easy to use and not as intimidating as a chainsaw.

We order this and if came very fast. WE love it.
It is the greatess. My husband trims alot of trees and it helps that he does not need to get on a ladder and reach.

I bought this saw as a compromise between the Makita level saws and the ten dollar junk. I should have spent the extra money and bought a Dewalt, Makita or Hitachi. The power level is ok, but cutting a straight line is a roll of the dice. Even when I use a speed square as a straight edge I get cuts that are not 90 degrees. The other problem is that the base plate will not stay perpendicular to the blade and the wheel to tighten it is in a terrible location and hard to use.

This is without a doubt the worst powertool I have ever bought and I will be replacing it in the next month.

I am sure this isn't the best jig saw out there (of course), but it more than meets my needs as a novice do-it-yourselfer. I got the most use out of this when cutting laminate flooring to fit around corners and obstacles. It did an excellent job and I think, for the price, I got exactly what I wanted. Yes, you get what you pay for, but you can take that saying too far. If I were a serious user, than I would agree, but for occassional use, buying a high quality tool would be a waste of money.

I'm very satisfied with my purchase. The Js600k ia a quality saw with a low price. Thanks to amazon.com's free standard shipping,the saw is the same price I paid for my (skil) jigsaw I purchased a few years back at a "big box store". Comparing the 2 saws is like comparing a cadillac with a bicycle. Thank you...DW.

I've Had this saw for about two years. I need to get something else. The thing that bothers me most about this saw is that theres alot of blade wobble. It drives me crazy. At the begining and end of every cut the board is narrower. I guess you get what you pay for.

I bought this saw and a Delta bench grinder from Amazon.com. They are decent tools for the money, but I found that they are not compatible with...well, anything. Can't be expanded, and don't work with any Delta accessories.

The tablesaw does the job, but I can see where corners were cut. For example, the blade opening is crudely machined and does not accept Delta inserts. The miter gauge has a *lot* of slop, and products that correct the fit (such as Fasttrak) cannot be used because the guide blade (aluminum) is thinner than standard--1/4" instead of 3/8".

Delta doesn't mention these low-end models on their website, and as far as I can tell, they are exclusive to Amazon.com. Usually such products are given a generic or house label--but then Amazon.com wouldn't sell nearly as many, compared with trading on the Delta name.

When considering this table saw, you do need to think about its price.....it's affordable, as far as saws go. Remember: it's a light-duty saw, for the weekend woodworker like myself. The set-up was quick and easy. This isn't a "monster" saw that will bring you 25 years of 50 cuts-a-day, never-miss plywood-ripping action, but it's a good little saw that'll let you do some home projects. I recommend it.

Reconditioned is supposed to be "returned to like-new condition". The saw I received does not look new to me, it looks like a used saw. Deep scratches in the table and some sawdust. For a bit more more, you can get the new version with extensions and stand. The money saved buying a slightly beat-up looking used saw isn't worth it.

Save some money and order this reconditioned saw. the one I bought had some little scraches on the table top but not a thing that would effect the performance of the saw. It seems to be working great for me. I built a play house for my sons and I did a lot of ripping of 2x4s and it worked out great. I own other bosch tools and they all have been reliable. I also own a 18v Skil high performance drill and saw and that works good too. Skil is made by bosch but not as expensive. Keep up the research because you will find what is the best buy for your hard earned cash. Amazon has been a good place to research products for me and to buy from.

I was very surprised and very happy to recieve my saw in new packaging and to see that it had been totally reconditioned. I couldn't find a mark on it. It assembled easily and runs perfectly. The motor has plenty of power which makes for very smooth, easy cuts. It is everything they said it would be.