On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 15:57:46 -0500, buck wrote:

Well I guess you better be careful for what you wish for.... Just picked
up the Delta TS300 from Lowes today. It was the last one and discounted
to $220. I have it sitting in the garage until I read through the
manual. Most of the reviews appeared to be good. I bought it because I
needed a hobby/home type saw and couldn't pass up the price. I do
realize that this saw is not to be confused with one of the great table
saws but hope it is adequate enought for what I need. Any comments from
owners would be appreciated. Think I also will need to get a mobile
base for it too.... Any good sources?? -Thanks for any help!

For the past 3 years I've owned one of the older Delta benchtop saws that
is now discontinued. I'll be looking to upgrade in the next year, but my
current saw has far exceeded my expectations. I recently completed a pair
of Stickley nightstands in solid walnut and a third in cherry. They
turned out excellent. The joints are tight, the casings are square, and
the drawers slide well (on wooden slides on grooves in the drawer sides).
My point is that you can do good work with your inexpensive saw.

Here are a few pointers that should definately make things easier.

First, pitch the blade that came with the saw and buy something good. I
have a Freud combo blade on mine. I think I payed about $50 for the blade
at Lowes.

Second, build yourself a crosscut sled. This will allow you to basically
pitch the miter gauge. The gauge that came with mine was a piece of junk.
I constructed my sled with a 3/4" plywood base and 8/4 pine scraps for
the fences. I used steel bars that are sold at HD and Lowes for the
runners. The runners were a royal PITA, but well worth the trouble once
they were square. I don't know what kind of miter slots your bed has, but
my saw has non-standard T-slots. I had to stack two steel bars to make
each runner - one for the narrow part of the slot and one for the wide
part. Most plans for sleds that I've seen use hardwood runners, but I
could not get those to work well with the smaller slots.

Third, don't buy a mobile base. I built a platform for the saw to sit on
out of two layers of plywood, and used my circular saw to cut out a hole
in the middle. The saw is bolted to the platform, and the platform gets
bolted to a couple of sturdy sawhorses. I find this arrangement to be
plenty stable. The only time it doesn't work is when I'm doing something I
shouldn't be doing (like trying to rip a board with twist, which causes
the whole contraption to wobble a bit).

Fourth, don't forget about your delta warrenty. I burned up the motor in
my saw right at the end of my two year warrenty. I took the thing to the
nearest delta service center and they replaced the moter, no charge, and
no questions asked about what I had done (actually, I started to explain,
and the guy cut me off and said it didn't matter).


I hope that give you a place to start. If you've got more questions,
ask.

Chad