Northern 14" Dry Cut Saw

[Rambozo]

In case anyone is on the fence like I was, this saw is on sale for $199 with free shipping until the 19th. You need the link from their email to get that price. I'll post a review after I get it. Just tired of all the abrasive saw grit and burrs, etc.

This LINK might work if you don't have the email.

[Gerry]

I just ordered 1 tonight.

[youngnstudly]

That's a fair price. Wish I had the money and had not just bought my Dewalt saw 6 months ago....Of course I didn't have the money at the time for the dry saw anyways. Plus I don't like the idea of the blade cost being $100-150 (or possibly more depending on quality). They do work well though and the blades last quite awhile as long as some dum-dum doesn't use it to cut something it's not meant to cut!

[Gerry]

Mine showed up today, un-boxed it checked and made sure the blade was on tight and turned it on and ran it for several minutes. Need to wipe off the excess grease that is on it and find a place to store it till warmer weather comes around. It is very heavy, should have a hand cart to move it around. Guess I'm getting weak in my old age. Very nice make saw for the money.

[Rambozo]

I have to wait until Monday for mine to get here. I have a little stand with wheels that my chop saw is mounted on that I might use for this saw instead. Or maybe I will make a stand that is the same height since I have a bunch of roller stands to suit. I was thinking I might leave my chop saw at 45° so I don't have to keep setting the vise. I am curious as to the quality of the vise and if it lends itself to adding stop pins for 90°, 45°, 22.5°. I always planned on making a new vise for my chop saw, but just never got to it. It's kind of a pain to get set accurately, so I never want to change it.

[Glassbeaver]

Wow... Missed this by like 2 hours... Stupid eastern time

[Blaster]

I ordered one too, the LINK worked Fine while the sale was on - Thx Rambozo!

I intended to give it as a gift but, maybe I'm Keepin' it if it's as nice as you guys say....

[Gerry]

Who missed the 10 dollar free gift card like I did ?
.
There is a pair of gloves in the box with the saw, an man do they STINK, Hung mine out in the garage for the winter

[Rambozo]

Like Gerry, I also got a set of slightly moldy gloves in the box. Don't know whether that goes in the plus or minus column.



My initial take on the saw is that it's going to work out fine for me. First the good. The base is a die cast aluminum not a stamping, but it is pretty thin. The vise jaws are cast iron with machined faces. With a few holes for different locations, including one set that isn't drilled and tapped. There are also angle graduations at two locations, with an adjustable pointer.



There are lubrication ports for the pivot.



Came with an extra set of brushes. I have a drawer full of them from many tools over the years, but have never needed any. Also there is a nice hex key that is long on both sides for the vise and the blade retainer.



The blade wrench storage grommet is also a spare cord strain relief.



The acme threads on the vise are crisp and well formed, and the moving jaw rides on a steel plate to reduce wear on the base casting. The vise handle is cast iron, as well.



As with all things lately, it has a bunch of stickers warning me of the dire consequences of failing to follow all the safety proceedures and telling me not to put my hand into the blade. Well, there goes my plans for using this to also trim my fingernails. Good thing I read the labels. I think there is just enough room to add a few more about not using it while intoxicated, or while taking a bath.
Now for some of the not so good.

No spindle lock, so you have a pin spanner to hold it when you change blades. I notice that several brands of these saws have blade vibration dampers in the guard, this one has holes for some, but none are installed.



The halfnut for the vise is more like a quarter nut or a third nut. Since the threads are good I think it will hold up. Only time will tell. Also in the standard position the jaws only close to about 3/16" or so. Not so good for cutting 1/8" flat bar. Would it have broke the bank to make the screw a little longer?



No bushings for the pivots, the shaft rides right in the aluminum casting. If well lubed it should last pretty good, and I can bore for bushings if it ever gets too sloppy.
The hole in the vice for the pivot is a little oversize, that combined with the poor fit of the threds for the pivot bolt makes the vice pivot too sloppy to use with index stops. I belive there is a fix for this, as I would really like to have 90° and 45° stops and there is an area in the vise jaw that looks like it was made for a stop pin to ride in. Either a shoulder bolt or better yet a shoulder stud can replace the pivot bolt. The thread fit bothers me, but often it is the bolt that is undersize and that's easy to fix. I haven't measured anything yet to confirm. The cast bosses are a bit small to fix with a thread insert or a larger bolt. These are all pretty small gripes.

Here is the first cut compared to an abrasive chop saw. While not burr free like a cold saw, the burr is only a few thou, nothing like the chop saw cut, on the right. I still have to square everything up and see how accurate the pivot is to the base. I am very pleased with everything so far. For the money this looks like it will more than do the job for me. I've had more than enough of breathing that chop saw dust or cleaning up all the grit. Now I just need some of those diamond grinding discs, for angle grinders, that Jody showed a while back, to rid myself of the other abrasive grit generators.

[Gerry]

Very Good Review. I think the saw will hold up for a long time.

[Depdog]

That is a nice cut, will have to wait for this to go on sale for $199 again before I can get one. Miller makes a nice one too, don't know how much it is though.

Very well thought out review with great details.

Glenn

[Depdog]

If this deal ever comes back up, please post it again.

Glenn

[Depdog]

Scratch the last comment, apparently Northern is killing off their brand stuff in favor of "Klutch" brand items. I'm guess it's just their stuff in a rebrand. None of the GA stores have the Northern Industrial Tools Dry Cut Metal saw in stock. Its still on the site though.

Glenn

[mliebs]

I bought the same saw when it went on sale locally and I couldn't be happier. I've cut a ton of 3/4", 1", 1 1/2", and 2" tubing with it and it's still cutting like new. The only thing I don't like (beside the rough castings) is that the saw throws small hot shavings back at you sometimes and I've actually had a couple of them put little burn marks on my neck. For $200 I'd buy it again.

[Blaster]

Yea, I really like mine too!

Also, not sure why, but the vice in mine clamps a piece of paper tightly. Not sure why Rambozo's doesn't, maybe in a different position? (there are like 3 positions - right?)

[Fusion]

Where is that Northern Industrial Tools Dry Cut Metal Saw made?

[Rambozo]

Where is that Northern Industrial Tools Dry Cut Metal Saw made?

At this price, China, where else.

Yea, I really like mine too!

Also, not sure why, but the vice in mine clamps a piece of paper tightly. Not sure why Rambozo's doesn't, maybe in a different position? (there are like 3 positions - right?)

Yeah, there are several positions, but this one gives room for wide cuts and it's just so close, but not quite able to close the jaws.

After using it more, I really like it. Initially the blade did have some vibration that effected the cuts a little, but that has gone away now and it cuts very smooth. Maybe due to some breaking in and some operator practice. I expected it to be great on tube, but wasn't sure how it would do on thicker items. Well it is fantastic on the thick stuff that gives an abrasive wheel fits. I cut a bunch of 3/8" wall mechanical tubing and 1/2" plate slick as can be, then tackled a 2" solid steel bar with no trouble. I put a little Saw Stick dry lubricant on the blade to extend the life and keep aluminum from grabbing or welding to the blade. Of course it goes through aluminum fine, too. Because it's handy, I imagine I will be cutting all kinds of stuff, just because it's right there. I used it to cut some 2" PVC pipe, and there was no chipping. I know it requires a different blade for stainless, but so far I do so little of that, I doubt I will get one until I have a job that requires it, to bill it against. Still haven't made a stand. The one I have for my chop saw isn't made anymore. I bought something like it, but I will either have to modify it a bunch or just start from scratch to get what I want. I know getting it down lower will also help the hot chip issue that was mentioned. As long as you stand out of the plane of the blade (good safety practice anyway) it's not really that bad, but you'll still catch the occasional hot one.

[Fusion]

At this price, China, where else.

I bought a Pro-Point brand a couple of weeks ago and it is made in Taiwan. I was wondering if they are all made by the same manufacturer because the Pro-Point and Jancy Slugger saws are 100% identical other than the handle on the vice screw.

The Pro-Point...


The Jancy Slugger...


I have to say that the quality and finish of the made in Taiwan Pro-Point saw is tops and not what I expected.

[Rambozo]

BTW Taiwan is China and has been for some time now. How they label and where things are actually made is quite variable. Machine tool makers have taken the route of putting "Made in Taiwan" on a lot of products to trade on the better reputation of products made there. When the actual machines are in fact produced all over China and either assembled in Taiwan, have office space in Taiwan, or not even that. Duncan from Everlast Canada travels to China quite a bit and has some interesting anecdotes about some of the questionable business practices there. These days you have to judge each product on it's own merits. Company reputation does factor in, but I have seen great products come out of companies that usually turn out crap, and vice versa. With many things subbed out to different factories, it even comes down to sample by sample variations. We got two copies of the same CNC mill only a few months apart. About the only thing they shared was the nameplate and control. The quality on one was first class, while the other one was a pile of junk.

I am very happy with the saw and feel it was worth the price. I will probably take it apart soon, and give it a once over. I have found that QC is one of the things that is lacking in a lot of products, and just by inspection, cleaning and lubrication, you can often fix a lot of issues. I look at it as buying a kit, that might require a bit of sweat equity to complete. I have done this with a lot of lower cost items for my own shop. Same with buying older used US items and rebuilding them. My shop would be pretty sparse otherwise.

As this saw was less than half the price of those two saws, I would expect a little less quality. But as long as it does the job for me, I am happy. But it sure looks like they are all copies of each other, with only minor variations.

[Fusion]

BTW Taiwan is China and has been for some time now. Machine tool makers have taken the route of putting "Made in Taiwan" on a lot of products to trade on the better reputation of products made there.

I know. Maybe, but I haven't seen or experienced that. Maybe because the vendors are clued into that and order accordingly to meet their expectations.

I've seen the difference inside and out between a made in China vs Taiwan lathe. Of course you can get back to me with an example or two with the opposite, but generally there is a big difference. Things in time will change. I come across the odd tool made there (stuff from Harbor Freight, for example) where I am super impressed but that is as rare as Halley's comet.

These days you have to judge each product on it's own merits.

I went to see it in my local store before ordering it from them on-line and on sale with free shipping (go figure). Top notch construction, castings, finish, etc. I am damn picky and I was impressed by the quality and the packaging.