Accessories

Good Product
We acquired this machine as an upgrade from a 100 bucks black & decker® table saw. We were primarily looking for a table saw that had more power and wider ripping capacity than the 13 inch from our old black & decker® .
This table saw is very solid, it doesn't move an inch; without the wheels it is impossible, it doesn't vibrate when it's turned on and the Biesemeyer ® fence is solid as a rock.
The only complaint we had is that the blade splitter is very difficult to align parallel to the blade, and it's a critical symmetrical component that has to be aligned, you don't want a jammed blade in a middle of a cut because of the splitter being misaligned.
The blade guard also has a defect it gets stuck sometimes when cutting wider lumber at the beginning of the cut, anyway those defects can be easily fixed by buying a blade guard upgrade from Delta ®. Great machine we recommend it to anyone. We upgraded the blade to a Forrest Woodworker II and the finish is almost like run the wood thru the jointer.

First Table Saw
This is the first table saw I have purchased. I chose the Delta after doing a significant amount of research. Needless to say, I am very happy with the saw. Assembly wasn't difficult, but it wasn't entirely a breeze. Several nuts on the stand can be tough to place and tighten. Once assembled I checked the accuracy of the mitre slot to the blade and it was perfectly parallel. Adjusting the fence to be perfectly parallel was also a simple task.

I only wish it had come with a dado insert, but that wasn't enough to warrant knocking a star off the rating.

Table is dished, blade goes out of parallel when lowered
I bought this saw a year ago before I had good measurement tools. I will take a dial indicator, precision straight edge, and other tools with me next time I go shopping for a TS.

A contractor's saw can be aligned in many ways by its owner, but one type of adjustment isn't possible, and a saw is useless to me if it isn't built correctly to begin with here. The axis of the pivot that raises and lowers the blade needs to be perfectly parallel to the axis of blade rotation. If it isn't, the blade will not stay in the same plane when the blade is raised and lowered. This has nothing to do with aligning the blade to the miter slot at 90 degrees and then discovering that it goes out when tilted to 45 degrees. That can be fixed. This is aligning the blade to the miter slot with it raised to 3" and then discovering that it is no longer aligned when lowered to, say, 1". This is caused by warped cast iron or holes bored out of parallel, and it can't be adjusted for by messing with trunnion alignment or by doing any other user tweak.

My 36-982 also has a severely dished table--over .013" in the center when measured diagonally.

I would not buy this model saw again for any kind of precision woodworking unless I could take measuring tools with me to the store and measure the very saw I was taking home.

The table needs to be much flatter, and the blade needs to stay in the same plane when raised and lowered.

Great Saw. Good Price
Ive owned this saw now for a few months,and its 1 of the best ive used. Set-up was a breeze. Hardest part was puting on the fence. All together about 4 or 5 hrs.. And that bies fence, well what can i say, its a biesemeyer.(need i say more). All and all. 10 out of 10 for me

Assembly nightmares
I own three generations of DELTA power tools, but this will be the last DELTA machine I buy. I inherited my grandfathers drill press and jointer (1930's vintage) and I love to use them. In many ways they are far more precise and flexible than the newer tools.

The positive: This particular table saw runs very well and the 1 ½ HP motor made cuts through 3 inch thick oak and 2 inch thick ash without hesitation. The Biesemeyer fence is smooth and easy to adjust.

However despite how well the tool runs I won't buy another DELTA until the design team at DELTA issues a home video of the team putting the saw together using only standard shop tools and their "fine" instructions. They have to follow every step and can't skip steps. I think it would air on the comedy channel.

Why do I say this? Simply put the directions for assembly were probably outsourced to a third world country and translated using the least expensive translator on the market. I had to back track three of four times to correct the installation. In addition I believe only the smallest and most nimble of fingers could reach some of the bolt locations. Oh, and make sure you have long arms and at least two friends to help if you plan on installing the dust collection hood!

The cast iron tables were precision ground and level, the sheet metal on the other hand must have +/- 1/4 inch tolerances, which is very disappointing. I had to go out to the hardware store and replace both leveling feet as the threads were damaged in shipment and event with a tap and die I was unable to rethread the post and remove the bow.

Overall if you want to retain the majority of your hair, I would steer clear of this saw and any DELTA tool that does not come assembled.