Delta Sidekick vs. sliding miter sawa

[David Kosenko]

Some time in the coming year, I am probably going to plop some money
down for a cutoff saw of some sort. Up to now, I had been primarily
considering one of the sliding compound miter saws out there (offhand,
I know Makita, Ryobi, and Hitachi all have comperable models). I recently
got a look at the Delta Sidekick Frame and Trim saw, which appears to
be much like a portable RAS, in that there is no "chop" action to
the cut. Since it swivels on two planes, it would seem to give more or less
the same compound cut capability as the SCM saws, with what appears to be a
wider cut capacity (10-12", depending on the angle cut). It also has a
better price than the SCMs (which go for about mid $400s) at $367.

My question is: does anyone have any opinions on the relative merits of these
saws? Has anyone actually used the Delta Sidekick? My main concern is that,
being billed as a frame and trim saw, its accuracy may be poorer than those
of the SCMs.

Dave
--
Disclaimer: These opinions are not those of Informix Software, Inc.
**************************************************************************
"I look back with some satisfaction on what an idiot I was when I was 25,
but when I do that, I'm assuming I'm no longer an idiot." - Andy Rooney

[Scott C. Crumpton]

In article <1992Dec17.1...@informix.com>
da...@informix.com (David Kosenko) writes:

>...

>My question is: does anyone have any opinions on the relative merits of these
>saws? Has anyone actually used the Delta Sidekick? My main concern is that,
>being billed as a frame and trim saw, its accuracy may be poorer than those
>of the SCMs.

Dave,

I bought a Sidekick about a month or so ago after posting an info
request on this list. The only response I received was from someone
who didn't have one but felt that the construction of the saw
precluded accurate cuts. He may have been correct, I can't say. I am
quite pleased with my saw. It is accurate enough for my work. I am
still a bit unsure of the molded resin construction, guess I just like
large aluminum castings.

Some specific points to consider:

Replace the stock blade with a good Carbide crosscut blade. Get an
anti-kickback blade that limits the rate of cut. Treat this saw like
a RAS, it will tend to pull itself into the work.

Since the rotating table on this saw is quite large, the angle markings
are very easy to set. They are almost 1/4" per degree. The stops are
not precise, set the angle by the pointer.

The saw as purchased needed some tuning. Getting everything aligned
took the better part of 2 hours. The Heal adjustment is particularly
hard to get to. There is no adjustment for the mitre angle, it's fixed
by the resin casting.

It takes an 8" blade. There doesn't seem to be all that much selection
in 8" blades. I tried a 7-1/4, but the saw can't be lowered enough.

It sprays sawdust all over the place. The dust comes off the work and
travels down the slot in the table under the work to hit the back of
the saw, making quite a cloud. I can't see any good way to use a dust
collector that would not cause problems rotating the table to 45deg.

The saw requires only about 2 square feet of space in my garage when
not in use. Make a bracket or something on the wall to tie it to so
that it doesn't fall over. Also attach a peice of wood to the wheel
end so that the resin casting doesn't get damaged by scraping on the
concrete floor.

Cutting accuracy is far better than I was ever able to accomplish with
the handheld circular saw. I work mostly in pine.

The price you mention is about $100 less than I paid and I got the
saw at $100 off the store price.

Hope this helps. Email if you wish to discuss this further.

---Scott. s...@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu