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Anyone Still Use a Delta Sidekick Saw?

basswood | Posted in Tools for Home Building on September 16, 2008 05:42am

Just spotted one on CL for $150.

What can it do that my 10″ slider can’t?

Has it gone the way of the RAS? or is it still useful?

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Replies

  1. hvtrimguy | Sep 16, 2008 06:01am | #1

    I have and use mine often. works great for small moldings. belt driven and quiet. high rpms for a nicer cut. Only complaint is the saw is bouncy when released. I'm guessing that is why it was discontinued.

    "it aint the work I mind,
    It's the feeling of falling further behind."

    Bozini Latini

    http://www.ingrainedwoodworking.com

  2. Jay20 | Sep 17, 2008 04:49am | #2

    As I recall the travel is pretty long. I always liked that saw for outside trim work. I was looking at one on ebay but the sale price went to high. Think there might be issues with replacement parts.

     

    1. ClaysWorld | Sep 19, 2008 02:42am | #4

      Just curious? How high did it go$

      1. Jay20 | Sep 19, 2008 04:21am | #9

        My partners and I split up they got the saw.

        1. ClaysWorld | Sep 19, 2008 07:10pm | #10

          OK I was kinda curious what it sold for?

           I have one and was gonna list it. Just trying to figure a ? range.

          I bought it in 83 and I think it was like 465 back then.

          I like it for rough work but my finish trim work went up a couple of grades when I got a 1033.

          Edit- and it was the sawbuck not the sidekick.

          Edited 9/19/2008 12:11 pm by ClaysWorld

  3. User avater
    G80104 | Sep 17, 2008 06:36am | #3

    We got the Delta SawBuck. Always comes out when we start a new frame. Think it at least 25 years old. Love that saw!

    1. Mytrkut | Oct 01, 2008 06:00am | #21

      Yea, mine is a Rockwell sawbuck and I still get it out for stair treads and skirt boards....I drilled a few holes in the sub fence, tapped it out and ran some bolts in just touching the fences, so that where ever the angle is there are several points of contact and support of the fences instead of just the one place in the middle....made a big difference in accuracy....Alex     I too love that saw and don't understand why in the world the stopped making it.....Kinda like my Honda Magna, no longer making um...

      1. joeh | Oct 01, 2008 07:13am | #22

         don't understand why in the world the stopped making it.....

        Maybe cuz they weight half a ton?

        Mine rolls one way, if it needs moving anywhere but straight ahead it's a pain in the buttt.

        Joe H

  4. User avater
    Sphere | Sep 19, 2008 02:58am | #5

    I'm cornfused, you mean the "Sawbuck" I think? I have a 10'' Side Kick, but it's just a chop saw, single bevel. I have had it forever it seems, since I dumped a cast iron Ryobi ( xcellent saw, just too damm stout) for the "New" lightweight Alum.

    I used a saw buck once ( a circsaw type deal, on a rail on a base stand) and wasn't impressed that all the feeding was from the sides.

    Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

    Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations

     

    They kill Prophets, for Profits.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj_oEx4-Mc4

     

    The world of people goes up and
    down and people go up and down with
    their world; warriors have no business
    following the ups and downs of their
    fellow men.
    1. User avater
      BarryE | Sep 19, 2008 03:08am | #6

      You would have had to be using it before sliders became popular to really appreciate it. :)Mine's probably at least 20 years old. still haul it to the job once in a while

      Barry E-Remodeler

       

      1. User avater
        Sphere | Sep 19, 2008 03:14am | #7

        I seem to recall it was a deck we were building and one of the other guys brought it out. I think stuffing 16' wet 2x6 from the end was my exp. and I said 'The hellwith this" and grabbed my old circsaw and speed square..Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

        Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations

         

        They kill Prophets, for Profits.

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj_oEx4-Mc4

         

        The world of people goes up and

        down and people go up and down with

        their world; warriors have no business

        following the ups and downs of their

        fellow men.

        1. User avater
          BarryE | Sep 19, 2008 03:25am | #8

          Yeah, probably faster way to do a bunch of straight cuts. Mine was used mostly for interior trim work, worked great on 16" shelving. Also worked pretty good on vinyl siding except when the temp dropped below freezing :)usually set it up in the garage with a table on one end to store and slide the longer stock in. Once the dual sliders came out the sawbuck became mostly a backup.

          Barry E-Remodeler

           

    2. User avater
      basswood | Sep 19, 2008 08:07pm | #11

      Might be mislabeled. Here is the listing:http://lacrosse.craigslist.org/tls/839773931.html

      1. User avater
        Sphere | Sep 19, 2008 08:15pm | #12

        Yup, thats a sawbuck.

        I have this.

        View ImageSpheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

        Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations

         

        They kill Prophets, for Profits.

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj_oEx4-Mc4

         

        The world of people goes up and

        down and people go up and down with

        their world; warriors have no business

        following the ups and downs of their

        fellow men.

      2. sisyphus | Sep 19, 2008 08:45pm | #13

        I'm not sure what that saw is called but it is substantially more compact than mine which is a "sawbuck" that I bought about 25 years ago. Mine has the same twin rail carriage as the one you have linked but the folding base/stand,  which is an integral part, is much larger.

        The main advantage of my sawbuck is the 16"+/- crosscut capacity and the solid carriage. Moving it is a chore (it rolls through any standard 40" doorway with ease, LOL) and as mentioned by Sphere sliding large pieces in from the side is a hassle.  Looks like the model you have linked has addressed the portability issue.   

        1. User avater
          G80104 | Sep 19, 2008 09:18pm | #14

          Am with you, My SawBuck is a lot larger then that one. It takes a 8 1/4" blade. They were the bomb before SCM hit the trades. If I remember right my saw Buck replaced a 10" craftsman saw that was a mix between a chop saw & an arm saw. Craftsman saw could not handle the everyday use of framing & I think a 2x10 was the widest you could cut on it.

          Still like using the sawbuck, cuse were upright when cutting not bendover like when using the Worm burner.

           Old & slow thats how we do it.

          1. User avater
            Heck | Sep 19, 2008 09:43pm | #15

            I had one of those 10" Craftsman saws. Got it about 1979 or 1980, I think.

            Sold it/gave it  to one of my employees about 15 years later, still running then. 

                   

          2. User avater
            G80104 | Sep 19, 2008 10:06pm | #16

            Can't remember what they call the thing Radial arm miter saw maybe?

          3. User avater
            Heck | Sep 20, 2008 02:05am | #17

            Hmm, don't remember either. 

                   

          4. dovetail97128 | Sep 20, 2008 03:12am | #18

            P.O.S. ?
            They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.

          5. User avater
            Heck | Sep 20, 2008 04:13am | #19

            Well, it wasn't all that bad for the time. 

                   

          6. sisyphus | Sep 20, 2008 06:16am | #20

            I also like using my sawbuck, its a good tool. Moving it irks me. The combination of size and weight, either of which is manageable on their own, makes it tough to carry solo.

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