Sunday, March 27, 2011

Day 16-27 of 180 Days of A/P Cars - #1 Flat Car- New Tilt Arbor Table Saw

Yeah!  Back to work on the hobby!  Sorry I've been out for a week.  I had to travel and the family has been sick.  My new Micro Mark Mini Tilt Arbor Table Saw arrived several days ago and I've not even been able to take it out of the box!  How sad.  Today...we play!

The saw came by way of Fed Ex.  It took about eight days from the time I ordered it to the day it arrived, which isn't bad.

 I was surprised to find out the saw was a little bigger and heavier than expected.  For some reason I didn't pay too much attention to the dimensions.

 The saw is well packaged.  Its a box within a box, and lots of padding.

 The instructions came in a plastic bag.  These are very important and I stopped unpacking to read them first.


The other objects I ordered were packed in the side.

I paid $349.9 for the saw.  To put it in perspective, I paid $350 for my full sized DeWalt table saw.  This is a LOT of money for a tool, and had it not been for my wife's encouragement I probably wouldn't have bought it.  Still, it will pay itself back in time.

The set up gauges allow you to precisely and quickly set up the width of the cut.  They weren't cheap either, being just pieces of brass.

Here are the blank inserts which allow for cutting smaller pieces of weed.

As per the instructions, I'll save the packaging material in case there is an issue or I decide to return the saw in 30 days.  That is a GREAT guarantee!
Now to the saw box.  The box is packed tightly and is in good condition.  Wait...there is a warning!

Both the instructions and the STOP! warning say to be sure to unpack the inner packing before using or moving the saw blade.

Nice corner edge padding protects the saw.  It is made in Japan.

This appears to be a sawdust vacuum adapter or spare drive belt.  I'll have to check the parts list to make sure.

There she is!  Except for a light coating of corrugate dust, she is in good shape. 


In the packaging there is a small access area where the extra pieces are packaged.

Inside are the blade safety, the fence and the miter.

Here is a top view.  The metal insert will eventually be replaced with plastic ones where the blade will be forced through so the gap is no longer there.  The aluminum finish is a bit rough.

On the front we have a power control knob, an on off switch protected by a plastic dust shield and the arbor tilt and raise lever.


On the right hand side is the access to the blade and the vacuum port.  There is also a storage area for blades and Allen wrenches.

On the back side of the saw is the sawdust vacuum port.

The power cord and the table extension is on the left side.

The instructions say to remove the inner packaging first, so we'll do that.  First we have to remove the access hatch using a flat head screwdriver.

Yup.  Lots of packaging cardboard.  The device you see in the middle is the motor that drives the blade.

Wow...lots of carboard!  I take it out very gently so as not to disturb the blade.  The carboard is very think and hard, so it could do some damage.

Wow!  Even more cardboard!  I had to get a pair of pliers to get this out.  It locks the arbor and motor into place.  Take your time getting this packaging out. 

I'll save this in case I need to send the saw back.

As I move the arbor, you can see the motor move...

There is ample room for movement, but I can see that I'll have to hook up a sawdust vacuum for any time that I use the saw because the dust will go right back into the motor housing.

I lock the arbor back into position.

Here is what the bottom of the saw looks like.  There are four mounting holes there...which is what we'll work on next!

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