BSSTone,
This thread is like a hundred others. Comparing the Delta to the Bosch is not apples and oranges. It is apples to plums. There is that much size difference and difference in what the skins are made of. What ify reviews on the Delta? I'm not talking about somebody who did a fly-by and made a comment. I'm talking about owner's reviews. That's what you're using for the Bosch. I have never seen a Bosch set up anywhere near correctly in a store. Who has really seen any saw set up correctly in a store? But you don't give a review on a store model.
OWNERS everywhere you look rate BOTH saws at 4 ½ stars. But you do have to read the reviews - to the end. Most of the sellers put the best reviews first so there is a lot of drudgery getting past the "I bought it just yesterday and I'm so thrilled" crap. Some places let you sort the reviews. I sort by reverse chronological because I want to see the latest product being offered. I don't want to read a bunch of irrelevant nonsense about a product sold 5-years ago. Heck all of the Bosch saws had a pretty good throat plate back then. Now the new 4100 owner's gripe about the flex in the plastic throat plate. And yes people comment about the 1/8-inch steel plate in the Delta too. This isn't me. I'm saying what actual owners of the current products are writing. As a woodworker one of the last things I would complain about is a factory "too wide" throat plate that I'm not going to use anyway - regardless of what it's made of. If I can't make a throat plate then I should probably call myself a house framing carpenter and stick to 2 X 4's.
What are owner's talking about?
Complaints about the Delta - owner's manual sucks for assembly (new manual with new saws now), sheet steel side tables and a 1/8-inch thick steel throat plate.
Complaints about the Bosch - "painted" table surface wears off quickly, can't lock the blade height, muscle adjustment to "good enough" on the angle, sloppy miter gauge, lead in distance to blade too short, noise level, vibration, and on. Read and you see all the same comments repeated. Conclusion predominantly given by owners - great gravity lift stand and you expect those other things with a job site saw. Give it 4 stars or 5 stars.
My point is that I am not praising ANY saw nor am I trashing ANY saw. The people who buy the Bosch know what they are buying. They list things as "wish is wasn't so" but accept them as normal for this type of saw and don't gig the rating. It's a great saw for its' intended purpose.
What complaints about customer service from Delta?
One guy writes in his review that the holes in the cast iron were not threaded to mount the side tables. Called Delta. New table shipped to him within 2 days. No charge. Keep the other table. Our apologies. I've called Delta on numerous occasions to get answers to people's questions and to learn myself. Hell, I think I'm on some frequent flyer program with them. They are always helpful. They never act like they are too busy. I'm always well satisfied. Every other person that has mentioned customer service regarding this saw has had good results.
Here's the bottom line. It's been said by others in many different ways- here and on many other posts. It's your money. Buy what you think will give you the most for your money under your circumstances. If your space is very limited then buy the Bosch or another job site saw. If you have the space and want to move up then buy the Delta or another contractor saw. Just be sure to spend your money on real investigations and reasoning and not opinions by others. The only thing you can be absolutely sure of is that you will find fault in whatever saw you buy. Know it and live with it.
This thread is like a hundred others. Comparing the Delta to the Bosch is not apples and oranges. It is apples to plums. There is that much size difference and difference in what the skins are made of. What ify reviews on the Delta? I'm not talking about somebody who did a fly-by and made a comment. I'm talking about owner's reviews. That's what you're using for the Bosch. I have never seen a Bosch set up anywhere near correctly in a store. Who has really seen any saw set up correctly in a store? But you don't give a review on a store model.
OWNERS everywhere you look rate BOTH saws at 4 ½ stars. But you do have to read the reviews - to the end. Most of the sellers put the best reviews first so there is a lot of drudgery getting past the "I bought it just yesterday and I'm so thrilled" crap. Some places let you sort the reviews. I sort by reverse chronological because I want to see the latest product being offered. I don't want to read a bunch of irrelevant nonsense about a product sold 5-years ago. Heck all of the Bosch saws had a pretty good throat plate back then. Now the new 4100 owner's gripe about the flex in the plastic throat plate. And yes people comment about the 1/8-inch steel plate in the Delta too. This isn't me. I'm saying what actual owners of the current products are writing. As a woodworker one of the last things I would complain about is a factory "too wide" throat plate that I'm not going to use anyway - regardless of what it's made of. If I can't make a throat plate then I should probably call myself a house framing carpenter and stick to 2 X 4's.
What are owner's talking about?
Complaints about the Delta - owner's manual sucks for assembly (new manual with new saws now), sheet steel side tables and a 1/8-inch thick steel throat plate.
Complaints about the Bosch - "painted" table surface wears off quickly, can't lock the blade height, muscle adjustment to "good enough" on the angle, sloppy miter gauge, lead in distance to blade too short, noise level, vibration, and on. Read and you see all the same comments repeated. Conclusion predominantly given by owners - great gravity lift stand and you expect those other things with a job site saw. Give it 4 stars or 5 stars.
My point is that I am not praising ANY saw nor am I trashing ANY saw. The people who buy the Bosch know what they are buying. They list things as "wish is wasn't so" but accept them as normal for this type of saw and don't gig the rating. It's a great saw for its' intended purpose.
What complaints about customer service from Delta?
One guy writes in his review that the holes in the cast iron were not threaded to mount the side tables. Called Delta. New table shipped to him within 2 days. No charge. Keep the other table. Our apologies. I've called Delta on numerous occasions to get answers to people's questions and to learn myself. Hell, I think I'm on some frequent flyer program with them. They are always helpful. They never act like they are too busy. I'm always well satisfied. Every other person that has mentioned customer service regarding this saw has had good results.
Here's the bottom line. It's been said by others in many different ways- here and on many other posts. It's your money. Buy what you think will give you the most for your money under your circumstances. If your space is very limited then buy the Bosch or another job site saw. If you have the space and want to move up then buy the Delta or another contractor saw. Just be sure to spend your money on real investigations and reasoning and not opinions by others. The only thing you can be absolutely sure of is that you will find fault in whatever saw you buy. Know it and live with it.
