Square Eye
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2006
- Messages
- 1,273
- Reaction score
- 13
1 year later, It's still a good saw. The twin lasers are great to work with. One on either side of the blade makes cuts on either side a breeze. The saw runs qiuet and starts without jumping. The blade guard is plenty adequate and the table is straight and square to the blade. A really nice saw right out of the box,,almost.
http://www.porter-cable.com/index.asp?e=547&p=5832
The saw took me about 40 minutes to set up correctly. The infeed table has to be installed and adjusted (most time consumed here). The upper sliding fence has to be installed. The lasers have to be adjusted. The blade guard mechanism has to be taken loose to install the blade. Then the kick in the pants that I didn't expect, You have to install AA batteries to make the laser work.
!
Using the saw after assembly takes a little getting used to. The switch for the laser has to be pushed and held down to work. I have very little trouble with it, but I've had people to try it out on jobs and here at the shop and some people can't hold it through a cut, some can't get it to work at all. The switch is stiff enough, then there's the weather guard (clear plastic cover) over the button that makes it even harder to push. As I said, I have very little trouble with it but I spent a couple hundred on the thing. I'm going to make it work. The infeed table also gives me fits. It was hard to assemble simply because it doesn't sit level with the table. The *outside edge* has to be adjusted high enough to support the material. The dust bag is best used unzipped, to simply divert the sawdust instead of trying to trap it. It jammed in the nozzle and clogged after only 3 cuts with the bag zipped. The trigger and handle mounting is a little on the light side. I've gotten used to my Dewalt, It has a really nice handle and trigger built into the motor cover. This saw has the handle and trigger housing screwed to the motor cover. And over-all flex of the saw is more than I expected. Side to side force on the handle will flex the saw enough to ruin a crown moulding cut.
It's good points outweigh the quirks pretty quickly when you get it out in the field though. The side to side flex issue dissapears when you fire it up and the blade falls through your cuts. The twin lasers are independently adjustable and can be adjusted to show EXACTLY where the blade will cut. The independent adjustment also allows you to set the lasers to match different kerf widths when you change blades. The miter scale is dead on and the bevel is also dead on. I've never made a bad cut that I can blame on the saw.
Overall, It was the best saw I could have found for around $200.00. I use it exclusively in the field with a custom miter station. The lasers do work best in the shade. I'm happy with it, now that I've got it set up and used to the little surprises. 1 year and on my third set of batteries, not bad.
Tom in KY, Your mileage may vary.
http://www.porter-cable.com/index.asp?e=547&p=5832
The saw took me about 40 minutes to set up correctly. The infeed table has to be installed and adjusted (most time consumed here). The upper sliding fence has to be installed. The lasers have to be adjusted. The blade guard mechanism has to be taken loose to install the blade. Then the kick in the pants that I didn't expect, You have to install AA batteries to make the laser work.
!
Using the saw after assembly takes a little getting used to. The switch for the laser has to be pushed and held down to work. I have very little trouble with it, but I've had people to try it out on jobs and here at the shop and some people can't hold it through a cut, some can't get it to work at all. The switch is stiff enough, then there's the weather guard (clear plastic cover) over the button that makes it even harder to push. As I said, I have very little trouble with it but I spent a couple hundred on the thing. I'm going to make it work. The infeed table also gives me fits. It was hard to assemble simply because it doesn't sit level with the table. The *outside edge* has to be adjusted high enough to support the material. The dust bag is best used unzipped, to simply divert the sawdust instead of trying to trap it. It jammed in the nozzle and clogged after only 3 cuts with the bag zipped. The trigger and handle mounting is a little on the light side. I've gotten used to my Dewalt, It has a really nice handle and trigger built into the motor cover. This saw has the handle and trigger housing screwed to the motor cover. And over-all flex of the saw is more than I expected. Side to side force on the handle will flex the saw enough to ruin a crown moulding cut.
It's good points outweigh the quirks pretty quickly when you get it out in the field though. The side to side flex issue dissapears when you fire it up and the blade falls through your cuts. The twin lasers are independently adjustable and can be adjusted to show EXACTLY where the blade will cut. The independent adjustment also allows you to set the lasers to match different kerf widths when you change blades. The miter scale is dead on and the bevel is also dead on. I've never made a bad cut that I can blame on the saw.
Overall, It was the best saw I could have found for around $200.00. I use it exclusively in the field with a custom miter station. The lasers do work best in the shade. I'm happy with it, now that I've got it set up and used to the little surprises. 1 year and on my third set of batteries, not bad.
Tom in KY, Your mileage may vary.
