Delta 34-670 table saw...

[peter slamp]

Wondrin' if anyone has any knowledge of this saw. There's a reasonable price for one near me ($135) and was lookin' for some input. Couldn't find much info on the Delta site. I was able to download a manual and all I could tell was that it was belt driven, that's good I think, right? (noob) No other specs available. The owner said it was 15 amps. Would this be okay for hobby woodworking? Any info greatly appreciated! Thanks, Peter ;)

[Kent Fitzgerald]

Hi, Peter, and welcome!

This saw has a universal motor, which means it's loud, the table is fairly small, and I doubt the fence is great. I think you'd do better to hold out for a full size contractor's saw with an induction motor.

[peter slamp]

Thanks! That's what I needed to know.

[Paul Mayer]

Peter,

I owned one of these saws for about 7 years, and built numerous pieces of furniture with it until upgraded to a Unisaw a few years ago. It is indeed loud, and the fence is not on part with higher end fences, but it is many times better than a typical portable table saw, and if you are just getting started in woodworking I wouldn't hesitate to buy this saw. I have since given it to my dad who has really enjoyed it as well.

This saw has slightly less power than a contractor saw, but if you put a decent thin kerf blade on it you will be happy with the quality of the cut as well as the power.

The saw is essentially the same thing as the 36-600 which I believe is still available. The only noteworthy difference is the fence, which is slightly improved on the 36-600.

The bottom line is that this comes down to a budgetary consideration. If you are pretty sure you are going to really get into woodworking for the long haul, and you can comfortably afford a contractor or cabinet saw, then go that way. If you are not ready to invest $400 - $2000 in this hobby yet, then I doubt you will regret buying it for that price. I can't imagine that you would ever have a problem getting your money back out of it when you sell it.

[John Callahan]

this saw has a universal motor, which means it's loud, the table is fairly small, and i doubt the fence is great. I think you'd do better to hold out for a full size contractor's saw with an induction motor.
........... +1

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

I agree with all of this. I have this saw - see my other thread about fixing versus replacing. FWIW, it's served me well.

The saw is small and does not have a lot of power. The stock fence sucks. However, for "getting going" , with some minor improvements, it's a usable saw. I added an aftermarket fence, built an extension table, added dust collection (basically made a port on the back to connect my DC), made sure the blade was || to the miter slots, and use a cross-cut sled. Thin kerf blades are a must. Not much you can do about the noise.

I suppose you can say that it is "belt driven", but the belt is an integral part of the motor assembly - not sure if that still constitues 'direct drive' or not.

$135 doesn't seem like a lot, but I would add in the cost of some necessities (e.g. new fence system) when comparing it to prices for other saws.

[Brandon Rollogas]

I agree with all of this. I have this saw - see my other thread about fixing versus replacing. FWIW, it's served me well.

The saw is small and does not have a lot of power. The stock fence sucks. However, for "getting going" , with some minor improvements, it's a usable saw. I added an aftermarket fence, built an extension table, added dust collection (basically made a port on the back to connect my DC), made sure the blade was || to the miter slots, and use a cross-cut sled. Thin kerf blades are a must. Not much you can do about the noise.

I suppose you can say that it is "belt driven", but the belt is an integral part of the motor assembly - not sure if that still constitues 'direct drive' or not.

$135 doesn't seem like a lot, but I would add in the cost of some necessities (e.g. new fence system) when comparing it to prices for other saws.

John,

I have this saw too and just bought an aftermarket fence for it. I didn't realize that the depth of the saw was as short as it was until I noticed how far the end of the fence hangs off the end of the saw. It has presented a problem now b/c now it can't ride on the rear rail. I figured now is the time to build an extension table to solve that issue.

Do you have any pictures or can you provide any advice for doing this? Can you be more specific on your after-market fence and how you installed it?

Thanks,

Brandon

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Brandon - I think I have some pics somewhere of the installation of the fence rails and also the extension table. I'll try to dig them up.

I have a Biesemeyer fence. Although there are front and rear rails, the fence secures to the front rail and does not need to "clamp" on the rear rail. So even though the fence hangs quite a bit off the back, it's not an issue.

The instructions that came with the fence were quite good. To install the fence, I clamped the rails (did one at a time) to the top, adjusting it all the while to get them 'just so' - had to be level with the surface, and also had to be at the right height. It came with a small cardbaord alignment card that showed the height from the top at which the rail needed to go. Then I drilled through the rail mounting holes into the top. They were "through" holes (no tapping required) since they went through and into ribbing/open areas under the table top. Drilling CI (cast iron) is very easy - just go slow, take your time, no oil/lubrication required. Then the rail was just bolted on. After the front one, I did the rear one.

Once the rails were on, extending far to the right of the table, I sized up and built a frame out of 1x3 maple for the ext. table. I used a few crossmembers forr additional support, since the table is fairly long. I rabbeted all the pieces before assembling the box, and used 3/4" plywood and then 1/4" hardboard for the surface (Note - I wish I had gone with laminate for the surface, but I couldn't find any other than a full sheet, and that was a waste of $$). I clamped the table to the front/rear rails and marked it using the holes in the front/rear rails. I drilled the holes a little oversized, so I could adjust it and then bolted it all to the fence rails. You'll need a long straightedge to get it set up.

I'll post pics tonight if I can find them.