My Delta's a dud...what saw should I get now?

[miamw]

Well, after having trouble with my blade moving side to side this weekend, I talked with Delta today, they told me to call the service center. The service center told me to take the saw back to the store because it's under 30 days and it's probably defective. This is my second Delta in a month that is defective. The first one's variable speed control was stuck on full speed ahead. That went back the next day. Now, I figured out why the blade is going side to side. The top arm is moving from side to side. I tried to tighten it, but it's as tight as it will go.

So, after having two defective Deltas, should I get a third or should I move to a different brand? I'd like to keep the purchase price to under $300. Any and all suggestions will be appreciated especially since my daughter's and my scrolling has come to a screeching halt three days ago. We're now suffering from saw withdrawal...Please help!

[Rivari]

Mi9a, in that price range the only saw I can think of is the Dewalt, I personally don't own one but as popular as they appear to be it must be a quality saw.

Now I do own a Dremel 1800 which served me well with only minor problems which was more operator error than anything. It is a decent saw for the price, I still have it in the shop for my daughter to work with.

[CanadianScroller]

I wish I had an answer.
My Delta ss250 has been a good saw. I did get it serviced after about 4 years. It too had the sideways motion but doesnt now.
I have a friend who has the ss350 and he loves it.
I have my 18VS Ryobi and I love that but my old 16 Ryobi was a boat anchor.
The dremel is not a bad entry level saw.

You will find most people on here really like the dewalt. It is a little more than I have to spare but there haven't been too many complaints, other than an issue with the table.

Everyone says buy the best you can afford, and it is hard to argue with that.

[Janette]

Most people I know have been very happy with their DeWalt. I started with a delta and if I still had to use it now, I wouldn't be doing much scrolling! I've seen the DeWalts for $450 or less lately.

[Daryl185]

try Amazon.com and look for King Tools they have specials on remanufactured Dewalts all the time with full warrenty for close to 300 plus shipping HTH

[Steviegwood]

I hate to here that Mia, I have had my Delta 40-650 ( Q-3 ) since 1991. I have replaced bellows, blade holders, switches and one drive bearing but that is 16 years of useage and I have cut a lot. I hope that delta has not gone cheap on us. I have been thinking about a second saw but would like to find one with a deeper throat for larger projects. Steve

[workin for wood]

how about a used hawk? people are at war on ebay 24hrs a day for those machines. Call hawk first and see if they have any used machines, then start searching for one. All saws have their glitches, but the customer service at hawk is the best service I've ever seen with any company, tools or totally unrelated. If you had bought a new machine from them, they would have next dayed parts to you no questions asked and no charge...5 yr warranty.
right this minute there are 3 of these saws on ebay...one at 177.50 with 21 bids!

[madwood]

Daryl, Amazon is a good place to go for a DW788, however ToolKing has not had any refurbs for awhile. They seem to get in a few, then poof, they're gone.

John

[LouK]

I'm new to the post, but if you want my 2 cents. I love my Dewalt. For the money, it is a sweet machine.

Lou

[JimSawyer]

One more with a DeWalt. It's my second saw. I love it dearly. If you plan to do alot of blade threading, this is the easiest saw that I've used.

[Jeff]

What do you think of this used G4?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hawk-G4-Precisio...ayphotohosting

Jeff

[miamw]

Looks like a charm, but it's already at $456 (including shipping) and her reserve isn't met yet. I'll keep my eye on it, but not knowing what her reserve is kinda gives me the impression she wants close to what they paid for it and I don't have that much money. Thanks!

[Jeff]

[QUOTE=Jeff]What do you think of this used G4?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hawk-G4-Precisio...ayphotohosting

I meant to ask this of others on the Board, especially those familiar with these machines. For you, I think a used DeWalt would be a good way to go. That's what I did. Of course, there's the little matter of finding one...

Jeff

[PeteB]

Wow, DW788s are thin on eBay these days. Last year when I was shopping, there were many.

Mia, you might want to keep an eye on auctions, craigslist, local papers and trading rags, etc. My used Hawk was a fair deal (I was in a hurry and didn't hold out for a great deal) and was like new. There was one in California for $150, but the seller couldn't be persuaded to take it to UPS for me.

Pete

[Scrollhead]

miamw, if you don't need a stand, Grizzly Tools has just the saw for $419. Probably under 4 hours from your home. Unless you can wait for the June tent sale.

Scrollhead