Delta/Porter Cable Miter Saws

I don’t know but you should take a look at a Bosch I think they are a better saw.

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

Who knows what Black & Decker has going on, whatever it is, it probably isn’t good.

One of the product designers from Delta/ Porter Cable told me and my guys that Delta is done with the shop master line and they are going back to their original focus…Machinery. So as of right now they will not be producing Miter Saws, Mini Lathes, etc.
In regards to a replacement miter saw I personally would recommend the Festool or Makita. They are both manufactured very well and have known for their quality and longevity. The difference between the two is the price…Festool is much more expensive.

-- Don, Utah, www.toolsandmachinery.com

I actually discovered that myself a little over two years ago now, when I decided it was time to replace mine. Delta’s selection was down to one 12” lower cost model from one or two 10” models and I think three or four 12” models, now there appears to be none.

Black & Decker has put the first nail in the coffin IMO, a fact I was afraid of with the acquisition. I do not associate quality with Black & Decker, I associate cheap, for the masses. They have chosen to drop the Delta and Porter-Cable line of these saws and push their DeWalt line. A fact that in my opinion should have been the other way around if they took an unbiased look. Don’t get me wrong, I like DeWalt, I have a lot of DeWalt tools, including I believe the 705 which served me well for 12 years or more which was the one I was replacing.

When shopping for a new saw I hit Blain’s Farm and Fleet, Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, Ace, Woodcraft, Rockler, and Neu’s (after impulse buying and getting burned I’ve learned to do a lot of research and not get caught up in gimmicks) looking at all manufacturers and models. After looking at the then current Delta offerings and the previous generation Delta saws I had to ask myself why I didn’t get a Delta in the first place.

I opted for the second last generation Delta, a 36-255L I believe, purchased April 2007. It was hard to find. My favorite Ace had one and Rockler had one Porter-Cable variant of that model, that was it. I opted for the second last generation verses the current generation because I saw differences in the casting’s thickness and in some of the stamped parts too, thinner. I attribute that to all manufacturers effort to lighten the weight of the saws to make the contractors happy. A fact I know to be true by talking to the manufactures reps at various trade show.

In fact when I was doing this shopping at my favorite Ace I was talking to a manager working out my deal on the saw when I asked what they were going to do now that Delta and Porter-Cable weren’t making the saws. He was surprised and didn’t know that. The owner of this Ace chain happened to be in that store that day so the manager asked him about it. So the three of us got into a conversation and it turned out the owner was surprised by this news too and said they’d have to look into it. Well, I bought their last remaining Delta Miter Saw that day and couldn’t be more happy with it.

Even the laser. I was not a fan of these lasers, having had one on my DW705, I just didn’t find it accurate enough for my liking. So I didn’t put faith or rely on the one on this Delta or even care it was there. Oh sure, for rough cuts I’d use it, but not for finish cuts. Then I noticed my rough cuts were coming out pretty darned good. So now I tend to trust it and haven’t been burned yet.

Now, if I was in the market for one, knowing what I know now, I’d even consider picking up a used one of these.

-- -Curt, Milwaukee, WI

Blankman, the hardware store I worked at none of the other employees could tell you which way a nut spins onto a bolt. Even the local Contractor/woodworking tool supply store doesn’t appear to stay updated on info much. I’ve finally come to the conclusion that in retail it isn’t what you know about the products or how to use them, it’s about how much crap you can take from customers and what little you’ll take in wages. It kind of amazes me. I’m waiting to see how many bugs are in the new Unisaw. I also remember a couple years ago all the hype about the new Delta 20” variable speed drill press, the release date got pushed back so many times that I think alot of people lost interest and bought something else, I’m guessing the Powermatic 20”. I know of a guy that bought a 20” Powermatic and he took it back and was starting to look for something else.

I was just research to get a 12” CMS and was set on a Delta 36-412 since it can cut a 2×10, only to go on Delta’s website and see no mitre saw under Delta/PC. I guess BD move all that to Dewalt now, but Delta seem to have a good design going. Too bad

-- Ed

Hey Khop
I recently had a porter cable dual laser 10” chop stolen from my truck and went on line to see what It was worth. There are some still out there on line for about a 1/3 third of what they use to be for this particular saw.

http://bistools.com/product_info.php?products_id=903&osCsid=179c6e0d3ac2c3e065fa294bf8f06391

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

I love my Hitachi 10”. It is super accurate pulled all the way out and the laser really works and is easy to adjust.

It is amazing that the cut capacity on the 10” saws is mighty close to that of the 12” models anymore.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com