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It takes about 30 minutes to assemble the stand and everything else together. I don't understand why MK, an American company risked the company's image of quality products and start manufacturing cheap tile saws made in china. I was quite upset when I open the MK 159943 MK-370 7" 1-1/4 HP Tile Saw box and saw the made in china sticker. The assembly was easy; however, when I powered on the motor, it made a loud cutter noise and the water pump sucks. I will not buy another MK product.
I purchased this saw to lay ceramic tile on the kitchen floor and backsplash. My biggest complaint would be the water pump. I ended up using a five gallon bucket of clean unused water that was siphoned out by the water pump to cut. The blade that came with the saw worked for the kitchen floor only. If you're working on a large job or several small jobs where renting a wet saw doesn't make sense, I would suggest this saw.but be aware that you will need to replace the blade quite quickly.so get a high quality blade.it will make a world of a difference. After that, I bought a high quality DeWalt blade. I also used it to cut marble for two bathroom floors and showers. Really cheap.but it does do the job.
Talk about a difference. Anyway, the saw works really well. This way, the pump never clogged with dirty water. And be sure to use clean water out of a separate bucket.that way your pump won't clog.
This is now a dry saw :-(((( Total tile laid since new = 500 Sq. It is prone to plug, and is junk on an expensive tool like this.I'm not sure I'd buy another MK product.
All except for that big "Made in the USA" sticker on the front. I guess maybe the tub was made in the USA, or it was packaged in the USA, but that's about all.Second, it's an okay tool, but this thing is not all that great.
First of all, let me say that for an American-made tool, A LOT of high-value parts say "China" on them. These are made to put into your BIRD BATH.
THIS THING COST ME $260 FROM LOWES, AND IF I PAID THE SAME FOR A SMALL TABLE SAW AND GOT THIS PILE OF PARTS I'D BE VERY VERY UPSET.Slide is fair - Plastic, sits on bushings that don't slide as smooth as you might think.Blade Fair - My blade lasted about 80 linear feet before I needed to start forcing it a bit and it started breaking tiles. Replaced it with a DeWalt that is doing great after about 250 linear feet.Pump is poor - This is a FOUNTAIN PUMP.
I think it will operate okay, but just don't like how many corners have been cut to produce this tool.*****UPDATE 12/29/2005 - The crappy fountain pump failed. Ft.*****
The motor is loud, but plenty strong. Like the 370, the 850 has a 7" diamond blade, a grinder motor, and a sled to feed the work into the stationary blade. It competes directly with the MK-370EXP and looks/works the same with a few exceptions.I needed a good tile saw to do several jobs and was willing to spend up to $300. The thing is really intellegently designed.
At the same time Home Depot did a 10% off sale, so I decided to try their Workforce THD 850. This is a review of the Workforce THD 850 tile saw that Home Dept sells for $297. Construction appears to be (other than motor and blade) pretty much all aluminum and plastic. Not a huge deal, but an index nothch would have made it easier. A small submercible pump floods the blade to cool/clear it.
There is a big drain plug to dump the sturdy plastic tub.I am almost finished with job one and am very pleased with the saw. 'Cource you can add an index notch with a file easilly enough. I was going to get a MK-370 for about $240, but the vendor (not Amazon) screwed up the order and pissed me off, so I cancelled. My only real criticism is that there is no index mark on the table nearest the operator to mark the blade position. Differences are the 850 has an aluminum table, not plstic, comes with a sturdy support stand (very nice)., and does 45 degree tilt.
The able is fitted with an oil port and moves smoothly. This means on a free-hand cut that you have to eyeball the path of the cut by pre-sighting along the blade. When I was shopping, I could find basically nothing about this saw and I hope this little review helps the next guy considering its purchase.
A pump that does not have a TOP feed would be most welcome. I had the opportunity to break in the MK-370EXP on a smaller job with pretty much satisfying results. The hose protruding from the top impedes table movement. I found a few ways of using this saw that were very helpful. The single complaint that I do have is the water pump. I will recommend this saw for most jobs. I am pretty satisfied.Kris WittlieffPinedale Wyoming
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