DELTA RS830 10-Inch 1-1 2-Horsepower Radial Arm Saw, 115 230-Volt 1-Phase

Customer Reviews & Comments
I debated for a long time on whether to get this or one of the compound sliding miter saws. I needed something to do rabbet and dado cuts on long pieces of lumber, for making shelves and other furniture, and this was the only real choice on the market. The larger radial arm saws are way too expensive, and from what I read, the miter saws are only good for through cuts, not measured depth cuts. A radial arm saw is also the only saw to buy if you're cutting oddly shaped items or doing really difficult cuts. It has adjustments on every axis, which makes it very versatile. I've seen people put a chuck on one of these and use it as boring machine and a router for odd shapes. Radial arm saws are almost completely off the market now, except for high end units, so this is the about average consumer's only choice for these kind of cuts. This came very well packaged, and was easy enough for one person to set up. I had a little trouble leveling the table, and it seemes kind of cheezy the way it is done, but I finally got it right. This saw generally has enough power, if you don't get in a bind with warped lumber, when it will stall out. This is probablly good, rather than a higher powered saw, which might throw the piece back at you. My main complaint with this saw is the difficulty of adjustments, especially the height adjustment. Strangely enough, it is easier to raise the blade than to lower it. It goes up easy enough, but trying to lower it back down is very difficult, like it is adjusted too tight. I actually lifted the saw off the floor trying to turn the height lever to lower the blade. Since you have to raise it and lower it everytime you change miter or angle of cut, this can be quite a hassel. There seems to be only a positive stop at 90 degrees, which I always double check, and the attached gagues aren't that accurate, so you've got to use a sliding protracter for any miter or angle cuts. The floating lower blade guard gets stuck sometimes, and I ended fixing it in place in its highest position. At least the whole blade guard isn't totally useless like what comes on table saws. Overall, a pretty good saw, but for the price I'd expect it to have better gauges and some positive stops, plus be easier to adjust. Sometimes I end up cutting a piece on the table saw because this is such a hassel to adjust. I've used this saw for furniture, and to rebuild my deck (a lot of wood hauling). For building projects, I may end up getting a 12" sliding compound miter saw yet. This is a good, but not great saw. A better one would cost twice as much. UPDATE 2009: I use this daily as my cross-cut and cut-off saw in the workshop, plus any rabbets and dados on long boards. After having this saw for almost 8 years, I still stand by the original review. However, I see the price has about doubled in that time, so it is no longer competative with one of the many miter saws on the market. If all you want is basic cut-offs and miters, go with one of those portable saws. For the price of this saw now, if you really want one, I'd look at the 12" model, which looks to have better adjustment measurments and controls. I finally loosened the screws on the shaft slightly to make it easier to raise and lower the blade, and that made a huge difference. I built a hood around it from scrap plywood, with a dust port on the side and a hose on the connector over the blade guard. While this doesn't get all the dust, it does keep it from flying everywhere. This is an issue with any radial arm saw or miter saw. All in all, a good saw that I've never had a problem with, other than the tightness raising and lowering the blade.