My New Delta Unisaw Experiences

[Stuart Gardner]

My new Unisaw (model 36-L336) arrived a couple of weeks ago, so I thought it was time to put my thoughts online for fellow Creekers. I'm not even going to pretend that this is a complete review, and I've never owned a cabinet saw before, so I can't even compare it to other saws. So - here it goes.

I ordered online from Maxtools and got free shipping and no sales tax. Also bought the mobile base. With the rebate, the base was free. I wasn't going to get the mobile base, but am very glad I did. I probably won’t move the unit but once a decade, but when that time comes it’s going to be nice.

The shipping was great. Got the lift gate service for $45. The driver showed up with a powered hand dolly. Rolled it right into my garage with barely lifting a finger. Took me and two friends to get it off the pallet and onto the mobile base, though. Not a ding on the packing to be seen anywhere. ABF and RAC Transport were awesome.

My overall impression of the tool is that the saw is very well thought out, and very well machined and made. Every piece was well made and of the highest quality materials. I am very impressed with this tool, and it has earned its accolades. There are a few things that did irk me just a tad though. The screws that hold the fence caps on are torx. Come on. Not everybody has torx drivers. I had the right one on hand, but those screws really ought to be a hex screw like the rest of the fasteners. I really could have lived without the much hyped drawer. And the dust collection isn’t what I had hoped. I think I got as good of dust collection from my old contractor’s saw (with some buttoning up) and my shop vac. To be fair, though, I’m using the 4” hose that came with the recommended Delta 50-760 DC. I do plan to get a 5” hose.

I’m diggin’ the upfront bevel tilt wheel and dial indicator. Gotta be more accurate than the normal tilt indicator. I don’t even know what they call those.

Setup went pretty well. I spent probably six hours over two days getting it put together. I didn’t want to rush it. The riving knife took about 20 minutes to get correct. Don’t know why, it was just a little tricky for me. Watching the DVD before I started helped a lot.

So – bottom line, is it worth the price? In 1979 I spent $350 for my first Craftsman Contractors Saw. Allowing for inflation that’s a little over $1,000 today. But even as nice as I thought my Craftsman was, it’s a piece of junk compared to this new Unisaw. To me, I’d buy the Unisaw all over again in a heartbeat. But – the Powermatics look pretty nice. And the Sawstop. And the Grizzlies aren’t too bad either… Oh well. It’s nice to have choices. Sometimes.

[Van Huskey]

Glad your enjoying your saw. I went with the PM2000 but I have a thng for mustard...:D

There are only 3 table saws in the 2500-3200 dollar range I know without hesitation I would be completly happy with those being the PCS, PM2K and new Uni. They are all the same main course, just different flavors of sauce on the meat.

Even with the big cool dial get yourself a digital angle gauge, they are cheap and more accurate than even the Uni's scale!

[Stuart Gardner]

Wow - I got my $100 rebate in the mail today. Only took a couple of weeks from sending it in. That kind of rebate speed is just about unheard of. :D

[Van Huskey]

That is pretty crazy, I usually get a refund about a month after I forget about it entirely.

[Stuart Gardner]

Well - I've had the saw for two months now and I'm still loving it. I've built three kitchen cabinets and pretty zipped right through them. Having a nice saw like this really helped a lot. I did get a wixey digital angle gauge from Woodcraft, and the zero and 45 degree stops were both within a tenth of a degree according to the gauge, but setting the intermediate angles by the dial indicator were off by a degree or so. Perhaps some adjusting will take care of that, but I'm glad I got the Wixey.

I haven't gotten a 5" hose yet, but dust collection is better after I started adjusting the blade to only be half a tooth over the wood.

Bottom line, I'd buy it again. It was well worth it. :cool:

[Van Huskey]

but setting the intermediate angles by the dial indicator were off by a degree or so. Perhaps some adjusting will take care of that, but I'm glad I got the Wixey.

I :cool:


Even with the big dials of the Uni I would still just use the Wixey, it is just going to be more accurate and repeatable. No point not using it since it is so quick and simple.

[Stuart Gardner]

Well - I've had my unisaw for the better part of a year now, and still love it. I don't have much new to report, except that I never have gotten a 5" dust hose, which I still intend to do, but I've started setting my blade to just about a tooth above the wood, and that seems to have improved dust collection. Bottom line, if you're real persnickity about dust, you probably need one of those overarm dust collection gizmos. Overall I'm still thrilled with it. But I suspect if you spend between $2,000 and $3,000 on a saw, any one of the top of the line models out there will perform very well.

[Stuart Gardner]

I'm pushing three years now with my Unisaw and still loving it every time I use it.

Small gripe. Something on the fancy little blade locking mechanism broke, and now I have to pull it out. Some day I'll order a new part for it, but it's not too bad of a hassle.

The miter gage is really nice, but kind of irritating. The spring that operates the indent lock is really strong, and makes it hard to set angles that are close to the indented angles. I've finally had it and I'm going to get an Incra 1000HD. Those look very nice.

So - three years later. This saw is totally worth it and I'd buy it again in a heartbeat.

[John Piwaron]

I got one in May of last year. I love it. Agree with you about dust collection. I mean, it's good, but there's plenty that the saw can't get from the top. I don't have the drawer. I think it was supposed to come with it but I didn't care so I never called about that.

Nothing's broken on mine. yet. What fancy little blade locking mechanism do you speak of? The red button you push to hold the arbor when removing the nut so you can change the blade?

Overall, I love the power. And the blade is up to speed almost instantly! The only thing that I haven't figured out is why the riving knife doesn't come down far enough to use it during dado cuts. I think it's supposed to. But I don't see how that's possible.

[Chris Rosenberger]

The only thing that I haven't figured out is why the riving knife doesn't come down far enough to use it during dado cuts. I think it's supposed to. But I don't see how that's possible.

John, it will work if you have a 10" dado blade. The stock riving knife only lowers slightly below the top of a 10" blade.
You could get a spare riving knife & cut it short enough to work with the size dado blade you have.

[Stuart Gardner]

Yeah - the red button to lock the blade. Something with the spring broke, and now it doesn't stay out. So I just remove it and use it when I need it.

Some saws have riving knives for dado blades, but I really don't see the point. I don't see how a riving knife can possibly help with a dado blade. But I do use my riving knife all the time with a regular blade. It's one of the main reasons I wanted a new saw in the first place.

[Chris Rosenberger]

Yeah - the red button to lock the blade. Something with the spring broke, and now it doesn't stay out. So I just remove it and use it when I need it.

Some saws have riving knives for dado blades, but I really don't see the point. I don't see how a riving knife can possibly help with a dado blade. But I do use my riving knife all the time with a regular blade. It's one of the main reasons I wanted a new saw in the first place.

The riving knife is what sold me on a new saw also. I had read about riving knives but never seen one on a table saw. I had used splitters for years, so I thought they did the same thing. It was not until I saw the one on the new Unisaw that I understood how much better a riving knife is over a splitter.

[Jim Stewart]

Great saws! I guess we should form a club.....not that many of us out there. I have learned to love the entire guard system and I use it in most situations. I changed my dust collector to a Laguna 3hp a couple of years ago. That made a huge difference in the dust collection efficiency. It is still not perfect. but it gets most of it. If I could rig a hose to the blade guard that might get it near 100%; I worry that the hose would be cumbersome however. I am just a hobby woodworker so I don't use the saw a great deal. I am also trending more and more to the neander side but still go with the method that is the best. I still enjoy the thing a great deal. I have had no failures to date.

[richard poitras]

I have had one for a few years now and also love my saw...

[John Piwaron]

I rarely use my dado blade.

What I mean is that even when the riving knife is in the "official" dado position, it's still higher than any 10" blade I have. You might ask why that matters or what I'm doing. Well, I am taking all the safety advice I've ever read. Delta (and others) have put a lot effort and expense into improving the safety features of their tools. I'll use them. On this incarnation of the Unisaw, they're pretty good.

So, how this matters to me is in several situations. These situations are when I'm doing a cut that doesn't pass all the way through the wood. Like when I'm establishing the shoulders for tenons. I never use a dado to make tenons. I prefer using a tenoning jig when possible and cut the ends and cheeks with the TS. Or resawing. In regards to resawing, I'll saw about 1/2 way through then flip the work over and get almost all the rest. Leaving just a thin rib that I'll separate using a handsaw. Yes, those still exist. :)

It's in those situations where the riving knife not being below the diameter of the 10" saw blade that's the problem. I don't see an adjustment for that similar to the one that can be done to line it up with the blade. Nor do I see a way to lower the entire mechanism that clamps the riving knife in place.

I realize I could bring a riving knife to work and use a milling machine to cut off the amount needed to get it below, but that's likely to also cut off what's needed to hold the anti-kickback pawls and the guard.

[John Piwaron]

Yeah - the red button to lock the blade. Something with the spring broke, and now it doesn't stay out. So I just remove it and use it when I need it.

If that happened to my saw I'd be fixing it.

Essentially the exact same thing happened to my PC 890 series router. There's a pin on it that when it's depressed, locks the motor shaft in place. Then you use one wrench to release the collet. Unfortunately on mine the pin sheared off. Oops. Even worse, I see no way to repair it. Fortunately the router still has the usual "double nut" arrangement. A hex surface on the shaft to grab and the collet itself. But the router only came with 1 wrench. :) I happen to own another PC router and use a wrench from it as the 2nd.

[Stuart Gardner]

Aha - I see what you mean now. I can't possibly imagine what the problem is. The riving knife has two positions, which it appears you are aware of. A high position for regular through-cuts, and a low position for non-through cuts. The low position should work perfectly. Delta has gotten pretty high marks for customer service. Maybe you could try giving them a call.

[Chris Rosenberger]

Aha - I see what you mean now. I can't possibly imagine what the problem is. The riving knife has two positions, which it appears you are aware of. A high position for regular through-cuts, and a low position for non-through cuts. The low position should work perfectly. Delta has gotten pretty high marks for customer service. Maybe you could try giving them a call.

Are you saying that the riving knife does not lower enough to use it for non through cuts?

At the low position, the top of my riving knife is about 1/8" below the top of a new 10" blade. I do not see any adjustment to make it lower.

If a blade is 9 3/4 or less it will not work with the riving knife for non through cuts.
If a blade has been resharpened a few time, it is possible for it to be that size or less.

[Stuart Gardner]

Are you saying that the riving knife does not lower enough to use it for non through cuts?

At the low position, the top of my riving knife is about 1/8" below the top of a new 10" blade. I do not see any adjustment to make it lower.

If a blade is 9 3/4 or less it will not work with the riving knife for non through cuts.
If a blade has been resharpened a few time, it is possible for it to be that size or less.

You are exactly right about all of this. The saw is designed to work with a full 10" blade. The height below the blade (about 1/8") allows a non-through cut with a full blade. If you have a blade that's been sharpened more than that, you have to remove the knife or switch to a full blade. When you use a stacked dado head, you have to remove the riving knife. So - it sounds like your saw is working correctly.