delta table saw

[jeff oldham]

can anyone give me any info on the table saw that lowes sells,,its a delta 36-175,,,seems like a good saw,,any info would be appreciated,,,thank you

[Michael Costa]

I've been eyeballing this saw for about a year now. I almost bought it a few months ago but I was dumb and took the tip of my finger off with my jointer. Dont ask. I then figured if I'm capable of that with a jointer, who know what damage I can do with a table saw. So, I held off buying it as I think I should get a saw stop.

People have discussed this table saw here not too long ago. It seems like a decent machine and Delta has been making tools forever. I'd say go for it. My 2 cents... plus $600 in medical bills.

[Nick Decker]

While it's true that the name "Delta" has been attached to tools for a long time, that name is now owned by Stanley/Black & Decker. Many, myself included, don't feel the tools are anything close to what they once were.

[Dan Hall]

I agree with both Michael and Nick. While the when of the decline of American woodworking tools began is endlessly debatable there is no question in my mind that it did happen. I have a mustard colored PM-66 that I traded my pea green PM-74 for because I simply couldn't make the #74 work in my little shop. It is junk compared to the older, bigger saw. The same holds true for Unisaws from the olden days to the most recent ones. Tear one down and work on it and you'll soon agree. But that's not the whole story of course.

A very close friend of mine, who is a professional woodworker and capable of the best of furniture and cabinet making cut the ends off of two fingers a while back while using his Unisaw. He was ripping a piece of plywood. The doctors sewed them back on but the hand is now next to useless for gripping much of anything smaller than a beer can.

Every time I turn my saw on I try to remember that if he could do that I most certainly could. There will be a Sawstop in my future.

I am for sure sensitive to the price issue for many of us though. The Sawstop is expensive. I made a direct drive Craftsman with a cast iron table work for many years before I got my model 74 Powermatic. Though I'm not a professional I think for my work I could make the lower end Sawstop model work in the center of a well designed bench. So, if you are not going to get a Sawstop I would really recommend that you buy an older Delta or Powermatic saw and recondition it. It's not rocket science.

[Frank Pratt]

Delta tools have devolved to the point where they are pretty much in the 'home handy person' category. And their extremely bad history of nonexistent customer service & parts availability has them permanently off my list.

[J. Greg Jones]

While it's true that the name "Delta" has been attached to tools for a long time, that name is now owned by Stanley/Black & Decker. Many, myself included, don't feel the tools are anything close to what they once were.

Stanley Black & Decker sold Delta Machinery to a Taiwan company, Chang Type Industrial Co. some 8-9 years ago.

[Andrew More]

I think it's a good saw for the money, but I do not own one, since I found a decent used cabinet saw.

It seems a step above the job site saws, while not being a complete cabinet saw. It's a category which seems very lacking in options atm. About the only other option is the Home Depot rigid.

I like the cast iron top, built-in mobile base, and the fence seems really good. Between the rigid and the delta I think the Delta has the better fence.

[Steve Wurster]

I'm assuming you're talking about the Delta 36-725, which is apparently a Lowes exclusive. It looks very similar to the Ridgid R4512. I owned a Ridgid TS3650 for years before upgrading to a slider, and it worked really well for me. I think you would do well with either saw, but you might be able to find a pretty decent-shaped cabinet saw on the used market for similar costs, if you have the room in your shop and are willing to do any restoration. If I had to choose between the Delta and Ridgid, I would probably go Ridgid only because I had one of them before, and they have their lifetime warranty.

[Nick Decker]

Stanley Black & Decker sold Delta Machinery to a Taiwan company, Chang Type Industrial Co. some 8-9 years ago.

Thanks, Greg, didn't know that. Not sure whether that makes the situation better or worse.

You can put me in the camp of those that won't buy anything recent with the Delta name on it. I can't recall any cases of a big corporation buying another company's name, then improving the quality of that company's product.

[Steve Eure]

I have the 36-725 and for the money it is a good saw. With a few jigs and a good blade it does everything I've thrown at it. With the saw being 1 1/2- 1 3/4 hp it could use a little more umph on 8/4 lumber, but as said before, with a good blade it does fine. DC on the saw sucks though, and not in a good way. I have tried bags underneath and now have a TS DC plate underneath with a 4" hose coming out along with the 2 1/2" coming from the blade. That is the one flaw I've experienced with mine. BTW, the saw can be run on 220 and since I've got 220 in my shop I did the switch. Good saw for the money. Outside of the lack of DC, not regrets.

[Michelle Rich]

folks seem to like that saw, but I'd hesitate due to non existent customer service. Ridgid has a lifetime warranty and gets very good reviews. If I had to choose, I'd go with rigid. ( I have been using the same delta contractor saw for 33 yrs. ..it has been perfect, so I don't hate delta, but it has gone downhill)

[Charles Taylor]

What I've read from owners of current Delta-branded tools (and really, other than this saw, I'm thinking only of the floor-standing drill press) suggests that people are pleased with these machines provided they arrive in good working order. As of a couple years ago, owners were out of luck if a new machine had a broken or missing part: Delta just couldn't provide replacements. Whether that is still the case, I haven't heard recently.

I'm only passing along hearsay, though. All of the Delta machines I own are from the Pentair era or earlier.