Cheesiest little chop saw ever…I love
Just picked up a second chop saw. Actually…a compound miter. Have been wanting something smaller/lighter after 3 jobs in a row were trimming out master baths…cutting upstairs right in them…..but all being on the second and third floors.
Then a bit after that..had a job adding scotia mould all the way around an inset flat panel column base I’d built. Lotsa little pieces of little trim.
Got tired of hauling the big 12″ DeWalt up stairs or out for the van for small stuff.
I found the “better way”.
Picked up a 8 1/4″ Delta CMS at Lowes for $90! Thing weighs only 15 lbs. Seems sturdy enough to hold true. Standing up…tallest it’ll cut is 3.5″…good enough for basic base and casing. Looks to cut around 5 or so inches on the flat.
It’s model 36-040. Cut a 1×2 poplar to play with it tonight…..cut fine with the crappy blade they give ya. For the trouble of changing the blade…I shoulda put a good one on as I was putting the thing together. Oh well….something to do tomorrow at lunch.
I think I’m gonna love this crappy little saw. I won’t ask much….. but I see it coming in handy. I amost bought a cordless one for way more loot. But if I’m trimming……there’s power..and this tiny thing weighs even less.
So cute…I might have to name it!
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery…..While U Waite
Replies
btw,,the title should end with......"it".....
musta run outta room.....
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
My first chop saw was a Delta.
But it wasn't light!
Since this one is so light it could fly,
Name it the Delta Wing Dinger
I'll be interested in hearing more after you too get to know one another..
Excellence is its own reward!
Bought one of them for my wife to use in her stained glass studio. She hates it! I wish I had known you were in the market. I would have sold it to you and shipped it for under $90.00 just have her stop complaining about it!
Dave
Does she complain about the quality of the cut ? Have you thought about putting a 64 or higher tooth blade on the saw ?
I bought one for my wife when we started framing our house. I didn't want the "good" saw to endure all of that wear and tear, plus the "old" saw that I use for framing no longer has a safety guard on it and I wanted her to be as safe as possible since she was going to do the lions share of the cutting. Now that we're done with the house I've got a decent little chopsaw in the garage for day to day use. Saves having to drag the good one in from the van!
got one too for small jobs especially plumbing a kitchen sink, it cuts abs pipe perfectly
Ok..so here's the question....
where the heck do I find a good 8 1/4 blade?
Haven't even used the thing yet aside from playing with it.......
have looked a few places....no blades yet.
Have a materials run tomorrow morn....will do last ditch attempt at both HD and Lowes....
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
I think you can but an Irwin Marathon in 8-1/4". That would be my first choice.
Jeff, just looked tool crib has a bunch, but the most teeth per inch I could find is 40.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/field-keywords%3Dsaw%20blade%208%201/4%26index%3Dtools%26field-product-group%3Dhome%5Fimprovement%26search-type%3Dss/qid=1044429904/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4_etk-tools_all/102-5522855-0884143
Jeff, if your willing to spend some $,
http://www.stores.yahoo.com/forrestman/chopmasblad.html
Sears 8-1/4" & Delta 8-1/4" x 60T x 5/8" BoreView ImageSale Price: $116.00View ImageMall Special: $104.40
Sorry for all the edits
Edited 2/5/2003 2:42:47 AM ET by CAG
Edited 2/5/2003 2:48:47 AM ET by CAG
Edited 2/5/2003 2:49:48 AM ET by CAG
Freud has 8" saw blades - I think Trendlines sells them.Sign outside a country shop: "We buy junk and sell antiques."
freud makes great 8 1/4 inch blades both rip and fine cross cut
Jeff,
I got the same one for about 8 years now. Great little thing. Small enough to fit into one of those rolling tool bags, along with a bunch of other toys. I looked at the new cordless ones recently and came to the same conclusion as you.
I made some fence blocks to allow vertical cutting of taller pieces. They work well for mitering baseboard. I think it gets about 5" tall. I remove the guard when I need the most height. The main trouble with the saw is that it is a little flexible so you need to be gentle when bringing it down on a miter cut to get an accurate miter. It's all in the wrist.
Hope you enjoy the new toy. Rich.
Hope you 2 are happy together..............(-:
If you can read this, I can hit my brakes and sue you.
I have the Ryobi version from 15 years ago. Great little saw!!
I saw a little chop saw advertized for 78.00 [dont believe it was sliding] in a sale paper. It was a Delta. I had the same thoughts as you . I thought it would be a handy small job or framing saw. Cover it with a peice of plastic and leave it .
Tim Mooney
$90 bucks,eh? I must have one! (was gonna have a CD player put in my F150, priorities) Don't use the compound slider feature of my Makita most of the time, but it keeps my muscles in shape carrying it around...now the blade search begins.
Jen ;)
Bought one today at Lowes, and a Freud 8" blade to go with. Got it home, opened the box and noticed it already had saw dust on it. Tried it out, the braking system didn't work! The ####s had put it back on the shelf, looked at ME like I was trying to pull something when I took it back tonight. Was the only one they had. It did have a kick butt little motor though...might try to buy one somewhere else.
Jen
I thought people only took back used tile saws.
Found the freud 8-8/14 blade...
learned something there....I thought it'd be either 8 or 8 1/4....but guess this one can do both?
40 toother......40 teeth seem like a fair amount for an 8 "or so" blade.
Used it for the first time today.....looks like a little adjustment on squaring the blade will be in order........but cut just fine thru the 1x4 oak I was making thresholds out of.
Was a treat carrying it in from the van with one hand.
Really noticed how cheap the cord felt. My painter laughted at it.....then said he'd have to pick one up to replace the hand powered miter box he rides around with.
Just a few cuts today....but I think she'll do just fine. The blade if comes with is pure junk...so plan the price of an upgrade as part of the innitial cost.
Someone mentioned Sears..I found what I needed there....funny....when I first started in carpentry....I got all my tools at Sears....now...I forget they even have a tool dept!
Learned another thing too.....Sears carries lotsa different brands now....but prices looked high.
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
Sears carries lotsa different brands now....but prices looked high
Yeah sears carries a lot more then craftsman now, but you were 110% correct. At least everyone I have been to, the prices are off the wall. When I was buying a new recip last year I checked around for prices. Sears was 20$ higher then the rest of the box stores which were all within a few dollars if not the same.
Other then craftsman hand tools I dont shop there
Yeah, they are high, but they do price match other retailers with (I think!) a 10% of the difference discount. Just pays to shop around.Frank
When I have only a few cuts to make...say...under fifty and they're on simple moldings I use a "hand miter saw" that I paid $75 for. Doesn't shoot dust around...makes seriously clean cuts...weighs nothing and makes me feel like a real old fashioned carp....lol.....seriously..screw, choppers for small jobs up two flights of stairs. A real good "hand" miter box works awesome (no dust either). I'd probably spend a cpl a hundred bucks on one when my cheaper $75 one gives me problems.
Compound 12" saws like my DeWalt are great but theres a time and a place for everything....28 oz Estwing on a trim job or a .......ya know what I mean?
I think we lost sight of unpowered incredibly smooth tools.
I love my unpowered miter box
Be clean cut (HAHA)
Namaste
andy"Attachment is the strongest block to realization"http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
28 oz Estwing on a trim job
I have one and I dont like it, to damn heavy for almost everything
Besides what are you doing hand nailing trim anyway these days, dont you know a hammer is just for show anymore, they make nail guns for just about everything :)
Man your stuck in the dark ages with a hand miter and a hammer :) lol
I have a real nice miter box. Kinda a back saw that rides on 4 vertical rails....2 front..2 back. Cost over $100 at the time......but cuts real smooth.....well build rig. The saw even has a threaded rod to adjust the tension.
Now..the problem with that one.......it's gotta be secured. It's too light to stand on it's own..so I have to clamp or screw it down. Had used it on a few jobs where lack of dust was the main goal.....but a pain in the a$$ when I could have just set a small chop down on a tarp and cut away.
I also love the "three position cutting" available with a chop saw.
You know.....half a hair....a hair....a short 8th!
half a hair.....just touch the side of the teeth....fire it up and bring it right back down.
a hair.....split the tooth over the end of the piece...fire it up and chop down.
a short 8th....set the full tooth on the piece.....cut away.
With the nice fancy hand versions.....too hard to shave a hair.
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
My wife bought a little Delta for me for Christmas a couple of years ago and I love the portability of it. I just set a bunch of steel posts and dead mans to hang a couple of 16' driveway gates on. I used 2 3/8" drill pipe which is plentiful here in Texas. There was about a 1/4 mile of the pipe strung out from a pump jack across a grassy field and I had to reduce it to transportable sections. The guy who was doing my welding was running low on acetylene and we were concerned about toasting a couple hundred acres with a grass fire so I came up with a simpler solution. I ran down to HD, grabbed a steel cutting blade and bolted it on my little bad boy Delta. (Blade changes are a piece of cake on this baby) I pulled it out of my truck and the welder looked at me with one of those, "you gotta be kidding me" kind of snickery expressions and said, "you're going to use that to cut steel?!" We tooled out across the pasture, plugged it into the welder/generator and about 12 cuts later he was a believer. It would have taken him about 4 times longer to cut it with his torch.
Uneven ground, very heavy pipe, major torque load on the motor and it worked great! My biggest concern was warping the table but it held up well. My wife got one of those after Thanksgiving day- get here before 8:00am deals on it. Less than $80 with tax and it was small enough that she was able to carry it into the house by herself and hide it in our closet for a month without me finding it. Try any of that with a 12" compound slider.
Kevin Halliburton