cutting diagram 3-ft bookcase

At a Glance:
Pdce: 5500
Motor: 1'l- hp (15 amp) LLO/22W
Blade: 36-tooth catbidetipped
Blade Tilt: Right Warranty: 2-Year
In a tightly-bunched field, Deltat
new 36-650 brings home our
Editort Choice award by delivering
the best performance overall. It didnt
run away with any category but
offered that extra margin in a few
areas that pushed it over the top.
An exarnple of
--+d
this is the new
""*.t*
fence. It's a
no-frills model,
similar to the Jet. But this one locks
easily, and is very adjustable for rack
and toe-out. One quirk with this
fence is that the measurement indicator
is on the left side. I usuallv rio
Virtues: Competitive price; fence moves
and locks easily; quiet; well-balanced.
Vices: No leg levelers; flimsy blade guard
that won't stay up; cheap miter gauge.
Verdict: The 3G650 offers rock-solid performance,
but please Delta, give it a better
blade guard.
with the Gnce to the right of the
blade, which means that a workpiece
covers up the indicator. That
makes it tough to fine tune a cut.
I do like the power switch
mounted out on the front rail.You
lift up a guard to access the "on"
switch, but just push on the guard
with your hand or thigh to shut the
saw down.
The 36-650 also ran quietly, and
cut smoothly in every rype and
thickness ofstock I tried.
Delta does produce this saw
overseas, which helps make the price
one of the best in the test group.
The blade guard is this saw's
biggest disappointment. Itt flimsy,
and the guard can't be flipped it up
out of the way, which is a real hassle
when setting the blade height.
Overall, though, the 36-650 offers
the best combination of performance,
features, and price in this test.
rl
I
At a Glance:
Pdce: $525
Motor: 1'l- hp (18 amp) LL0/220u
Blade: 2&tooth catbide-tipped
Blade Tllt: Right Warranty: 2-Year
Check the charts on the nexr rwo
pages, and you can see that the Jet
nreasured up in alrnost every category.
Just a couple complaints
slipped this saw into second place.
Most notable is the fence. It
moves easily, and is plenty beefy. But
the lockine mechanism isn't
very positive. That
may be due to a
very short locking
handle that doesn't
offer much leverage.The short length
also puts your thumb close to the
lever's mounting hole, where it can
get pinched. The fence isn't bad, it's
VirtueS: Great fit and finish; convenient
height; smooth adjustments; powerful.
Vices: Open legs won't accept pads or levelers;
fence lock isn't positive.
Verdict: Ihe JWTSIoJF has been a top
contender in this category for years. ltjust
needs freshened up to stay in that spot.
just getting a bit long in the tooth,
and newer designs have gotten better.
I also couldn't get the fence's
measurement indicator to align
with the scale on the rail.
Apparently the scale was located in
the wrong spot.To fix the problem,
I had to cut a notch in the indicator
before mounting it to the fence.
The 45o and 90o blade stops are
also located under the table. Thatt
not a big deal other than during the
initial setup.
Back on the positive side, the
JWTS-1OJF does have good things
to offer. The fit and finish is great,
and the table suface is honed flat. I
also like this sawt low stance. It helps
you get leverage over the workpiece
The Jet's cutting performance is
also first rate. There's plenry of
power, and the cut edges are smooth.
In the end, the Jet landed into
second place by a slim margin.
52
woRKBENcH ! NovEMBER I DECEMBER 2OOO