Blew Out/Burnt Up My Miter Saw - Suggestions Wanted

Great! You got a slick saw. I'll personally be interested in hearing you thoughts.

Reply to
Leon
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DerbyDad03 wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

I noticed at Lowe's the DW735 kept getting cheaper and cheaper and then I bought one. The next week, the price went up!

I figure they lowered it until they sold one, then started all over again.

Puckdropper

Reply to
Puckdropper

Lowes still has the Bosch for $549, at least for the time being. Earliest availability is 2/1.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

They must be using the same pricing model as the airlines. If they have a lot of activity looking at a particular flight the price can go up.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

...and now it's back down to $549.

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Reply to
DerbyDad03

Every time I looked at Amazon it has been as low as $549.

So have you got any comments about the saw yet.

Reply to
Leon

I wanted to copy the link and send it to my son. When I checked Amazon on the night of the 17th (the day I received the saw) and then again on the 18th, it was $598. Surprised, I checked Lowes and it was still $549 there. When my son replied to my email and exclaimed "$600!" I told him that the price went up and that I paid $549. So, at least one other person saw the $598 price. :-)

First, let's talk about the installation.

As I've mentioned, my shop is pretty small. I am also pretty small: 5'4". This saw is pretty big. That is not a great combination. ;-)

Here are the 2 saws side by side. Note the height of the handles on both saw. You will notice that the handles are basically at the same height. This was not the case until last night.

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When the old saw was in use, that 2-piece white counter top was a single piece. The cabinet was as tall as the dresser and the old saw sat where new saw sits, but was about 4" higher. When I needed to cut long boards, I used those 2 supports you see to the right of the old saw in the 2nd image. Inside the cabinet is a mini shop-vac for dust collection. The white unit on the side of the saw is the remote control for the shop-vac.

(I should mention that that counter is not the main workbench. The main workbench is perpendicular to that counter top, along a shorter wall to the right.)

When I put the new saw on the original counter top, 2 things were apparent:

1 - The handle was way too high to be used comfortably by a 5'4" person. 2 - The saw was much wider and stuck out beyond the front of the counter top.

Now, based on the fact that the old saw sat on the same plane as the "extension table" things did not have to be perfectly level, but they were very close. I had wooden shims under the dresser and cabinet to get the counter level with the main workbench, etc. However, since the new saw was too high, I needed to make some modifications.

First, I cut the cabinet down by about 4". Then I cut the counter top so I had a section the same width as the new saw. I then installed leveling legs on the dresser and cabinet so I could get everything dead nuts level. Next, I slid the saw's counter top section forward so that it fully support ed the saw and screwed it to the top of the cabinet. Finally, since the cabine t was now front-heavy and I got a little movement when the glide mechanism was extended, I used a large L-bracket to secure the cabinet to a stud. Now everything is level and secure.

While the counter top on the dresser (the extension portion) is recessed compared to the front of the saw, it is fine for boards up to about 7-8". For wider boards, it can be slid away from the wall and clamped down to provide support.

Now, for some comments on the saw itself.

Out of the box, the saw needed very little adjustment. The 90°-to-the- fence needed a slight tweak, which was very easy. There are 4 screws recessed int o the miter scale. When you loosen these screws, you can rotate the table unt il until the blade is square to the fence(s). On the Delta, you adjusted the single piece fence which tended to move when you tightened the bolts.

90°-to-the-table was fine. I haven't played with any of the bevel feat ures other than to ensure that the saw does indeed tilt both right and left.

Having all controls upfront is nice and they all seem really smooth althoug h the tilt release handle is hard to operate. If you watch the video on Amazo n, at about 48 seconds you can see how much strength the presenter puts into lifting the handle. OK, so maybe you can't see it, but I can since I own th e saw. ;-)

The miter gauge detent override could be useful when cutting angles that ar e very close to a detent stop, causing the saw to want to pop into the detent . There is a depth stop so that (supposedly) dados could be cut, but there is far too much vertical play in the head assembly to get anything near a smooth bottomed cut. Even the manual states (twice) that the groove cutting feature is simply a "convenient alternative" when a table saw is not availa ble.

Convenient Alternative Good Alternative

There is also a lock lever that locks the head assembly at a couple of front-back intervals for "maximum capacity chop cuts in up-right material and crown molding".

Miter cuts go up to 52° left, 60° right.

Dust collection is much, much better than the Delta, but that's all I have to compare it too. Reviews say it is so-so. I will probably add a surround like I had for my Delta just to keep the excess contained.

I'm not impressed with the Bosch 60 tooth blade that came with the saw. I seem to get a lot of tear out at the back of the cut, but I haven't added a zero clearance fence yet. Changing the blade requires the removal of a "knob" (removed from the saw body but captured in flat bar so it is not a loose piece) and the loosening of 2 screws. The Delta only required the rem oval of 1 screw, so it's a bit more work to change the blade. The Bosch comes with an allen wrench that is used for all adjustments and blade changing an d the saw has convenient place to store the tool on-board.

Even at 64 pounds, the saw is not that bad to carry. With the head assembly set at 45° the carrying recesses on the base work really well. Althoug h it's heavier, it's actually easier to carry than the 53 pound Delta.

The sliding operation is very smooth, the cuts are square, the saw is quiet er than the Delta. There is about 1/8" of front-back play in the head assembly when it is locked in the fixed position. I don't know if that is common to all sliding saws or just the glide style or maybe just this particular saw. The locking mechanism is nothing more than a flat bar that pivots into a slot in one of the glide hinges. That's where all the play is. There does n ot appear to be any adjustment that can be made to eliminate the play. It's no biggy, it's just "different" than the Delta. I plan to call Bosch on Monday just to check.

That's it for now. Once I get busy working on the bookcases that SWMBO want s, I'll know more. If anyone has any specific questions or techniques that the y want me to try, let me know.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

On 1/21/2017 1:32 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote: Snip

Remember that other retailers sell this saw on Amazon, MAYBE that got mixed up. Right now I see $549 from Amazon Prime all the way up to a whopping $1139. + $82 shipping. LOL

FWIW the saw is not tiny and I was beginning to think that it was bigger than I realized. I went to a new Lowe's yesterday, actually the very first day the store was open, All of the sliding saws were enormous. Oddly they had no Bosch miter saws.

I did see that but I is should stay put. ;~)

It is unfortunate that miter saws come with blades. It would be nice if you could buy the saw with out.

I

I understand that there is a black piece in the middle of the hinges that you can adjust to increase or decrease the amount of effort to slide the saw.

Thank you!

Reply to
Leon

I was not impressed with the blade on my DeWalt either. A friend wanted to cut quite a bit of laminate floor. I figured correctly it would trash the blade so he would pay for a new one for use of the saw. When done, the blade was horrid.

I was going to buy a new one but decided instead to send it to Ridge Carbide for sharpening. It came back and WOW, what a difference. Much better than new. Still using it.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

To be fair these saws were designed for rough carpentry and trim work by the guys in the trades. I think the Kapex is probably the only one designed for a wood worker that deals mostly with hardwoods. So the stock blades are probably fine for those applications. I would put the Bosch miter saw up there as being more suited to the hardwood woodworker.

I used to buy Systematic blades and directly from the guy that sharpened my blades. He highly suggested sharpening a brand new blade before it left the store. There was a big difference.

Reply to
Leon

replying to krw, ariachris56 wrote: I hope you got your solution because all suggestions are quite good.

Reply to
ariachris56

"posted on January 13, 2017" DerbyDad03 must be very patient if he's still looking for comments to something he said 3 1/2 years ago.

Reply to
Just Wondering

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