I’m falling into yet another case of tool lust, and I’m searching for your impressions and opinions of a new piece of equipment. Delta introduced the 36-655 tablesaw to the Canadian market recently. As you can see from the picture in the link below, it is an impressive looking piece of equipment for around $700 US. The saw seems to be designed to compete with the hybrids sold by Jet and Dewalt, as the base is fully enclosed and the motor hangs directly below the blade. This allows for a 4″ dust port at the back of the unit.
Specs (the few I have) are cast iron wings, 30″ rip capacity to the right and 24″ to the left, a solid fence which slides easily and doesn’t seem to deflect when locked down and a magnetic starter switch. I’ve looked the unit over in a local hardware store here in Ottawa and I’m seriously considering selling my current old Craftsman and springing for this new kid on the block. However, I have not been able to find any reviews on the Web, and Delta doesn’t list it on their site. I was able to find a French instruction manual for the saw on Delta’s site published in November of 2003 http://media.ptg-online.com/media/dm/OwnersManuals/20040206122253_Fr%201238007%20-11-01-03.pdf but nothing in any of the wordworking magazines or Web sites.
Has anyone else seen this saw or used one?
Regards,
Ron in Ottawa
Replies
Looks like a heck of a hybird saw. In fact it looks like a cabinet saw with the trunion attached to the table, in the fashion of a contractors saw.
700 sounds like a good price to me.
Mike
It's basically the same saw Delta sold in the 90's, but was then a 36-751/752/755. It was 2 hp then, and came with either a Biesemeyer, Unifence, or Jet Lock fence. It's the contractor saw on a full cabinet.
Be seeing you...
I have to believe that the Delta is a better saw than my 25-year old Craftsman "Professional", which has a 1-horse motor, stamped table extensions and a throughly lousy splitter/guard. I replaced the fence with a Ridgid unit (works very nicely),built a rolling base incorporating dust collection and shelving units and replaced the table inserts with zero-clearance ones. It's been a good unit for me, but as I've progressed in woodworking I continue to find things I need to work around. The most annoying aspects are the lack of power and dust collection.
Since posting my original note, I've spoken to the largest Delta distributor in our area. He says that he has numerous backorders for the machine, but the next shipments aren't due until April! He said he received 6 units, but sold them immediately. He also said it isn't a Unisaw, but it's better than any previous version of the contractor's series he's seen.
Thanks for your input!
Regards,
Ron in Ottawa
Jet made this same saw also. I bought mine about 10 years ago (blue paint). It had a 2 hp motor at the time which was downgraded a few years back to 1.75 hp. It is exactly as described (trunnion mounted to table top, not cabinet). It is beefier than a contractor saw but not much. I was fooled by the "cabinet saw" look when I purchased mine. I would purchase it over a comparable priced contractors saw, but I wasnt looking for a contractors saw. I thought I was getting a cabinet saw, nope. Next purchase will jump to the big boys i.e. Oliver, Northfield, or other comparable 2000 lb beast.
Brian
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