Mastercraft Portable Table Saw, 13A
3
5
2
2
fence, rail, and angle cuts are never true
the fence mechanism is cheap and shifts on slight angles constantly, so a truly straight cut is almost impossible.
Also cutting anything at a 45 degree angle (either with the blade or the cheap rail attachment) will never actually be 45 degrees.
It's a bit of a nuisance.
October 29, 2012
Great for home use A few initial problems
I just bought this saw for light home use. I am impressed with the sturdy construction, portability, and it is easy to store.
I got it on sale for half the price of the DeWalt DW745 that I was also looking at. The DW745 has an impressive rack and pinion fence system, but I judged that the fence on the mastercraft with 5 inches of contact to square the fence against the table will be good for my requirements. Also the DW745 does not take dado blades, and the mastercraft will take 6 inch dado blades with the supplied dado throat insert.
I had 2 problems out of the box. The rear mount that attaches the saw and motor assembly to the bottom of the table was so out of alignment that the blade interfered with the throat plate. I corrected this by putting the table on its back, locating the 2 hex screws at this mount, loosen them, adjust the blade to the proper position then tighten. The other problem I had was the fence broke during one of my first cuts. I made the mistake of going to the store to get this corrected when all I had to do was call the 800 number on the owner’s manual and they sent another rip fence.
Once the blade was in place, the instruction book was good to follow for alignment. The offset cam adjustment to square the blade with the table was a bit confusing until I took this mechanism apart to see how it works. I have waxed the table.
I have tested this saw on 2x4’s 1x6 and composite flooring with both rip cuts and mitre cuts, and am pleased with the results. I can see if I want a very fine cut I will have to change the blade.
Hopefully this saw provides just as good service as the bottom of the line Canadian Tire 19 inch gas lawn mower I bought in 1983 and has been cutting my medium sized lawns for 28 years. It was bought in the days of leaded gas and I now use a lead substitute in the gas.
September 14, 2011
