What do you think of the "WorkForce THD850" wet tile saw

[ecellis]

Hi everybody!
The Home Depot sells a wet tile saw called the "WorkForce THD850 Tile/Stone Saw." I read, in the Liberry, the post that talks about tile saws. Unfortunately this tile saw does not have the information on the serial number plate that the post talked about. The WorkForce saw says that it is 1.25HP 7A, 850W motor. It says it will cut up to 2.25" thick tile and cut 16" in length (12" diagonally). The no load speed is 6500 RPM. It will also do mitre cutting at 45 degrees (only 45 degrees or 0 degrees, nothing in between). It is the type that cuts from above and the table slides into the saw on a rail. It also comes with a folding stand and has a drain plug in the pan. Does anyone have this saw? If so, do you like it? I like the price! It is only $297 at Home Depot. I am not in the tiling business, I just plan on doing a bit of tiling at my house and I'll probably get stuck helping friends and family (especially since I don't lend my tools out because they always come back messed up.. Don't you hate it when you lend something out and the borrower doesn't take good care of it?!?!? :bang: ARGH!)

So if anyone has this saw, please let me know what you think of it!

Thank you!

Eric

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[tileguytodd]

Eric, I looked at that saw a couple months ago to see if it was worthy for a DIY er and determined it to be all show and no go.
The price is right for sure if it qualified as a decent tool.It doesnt!! It may hold up for awhile but its accuracy will fail first followed by its motor.It has no resale value once you have opened the box.
Buy the best tool you can afford,If you plan on keeping this tool and doing work over a period of years,Buy the best Felker you can afford.
Charge friends and family just enough to help offset the cost of the tool if you feel generous.You get a nice saw,they get thier tilework done for a significant savings and you have a saw that will last a lifetime.
You wouldnt buy a set of taiwan wrenches if you were going to be a part time mechanic would you(not if you like your knuckles anyways ;) )
Save yourself the frustration of dumping 300.00 into the same cheap wrench type Saw.Consider it an investment.I would bet you likely wont do a thing to a felker other than maybe a blade for the first 20 years you own it as a part time tileguy.
If you ever decide to sell it,you will get a return on your investment.
A 10 year old Felker will sell for more than a new workforce because its worth more!!!
Whatever you decide,I wish you well.
You can click on the link in my signature,it will take you to a page with alot of saw options including but not limited to Felkers.

[David Taylor]

I have to agree with Todd (he's twisting my arm). :D

99% of the time you have to ignore price and treat tools like investments - this is one of those times. If you feel like throwing money away (albeit $297), then get the WorkForce. There is better value for your dollar to be found out there - and investing in a good saw gives you piece of mind as well.

"Reliability is never a liability". Sure, Todd... you can use that one. Now let go. ;)

[Drivesme]

I'm going to chime in here and give my 2 cents.
Some friends and myself all have tile projects in the works, we help each other at no cost and we just have fun while we do it. (yeah we are nuts!)
One of us bought a small table top saw, worked fairly well but we soon found out that a bigger saw would be better, and we all like new toys! :)

We chipped in and bought the Workforce saw at HD. Now it is not a 'pro' saw but we are not pros.
Have done two jobs with it so far and it works pretty good, small issue with the water pump, no big deal.
The only other thing is the table seems to be binding up on one side and it doesn't slide smooth. There are some adjustments that can be made and before the next project we will sort that out.

Over all we are happy with the saw, it does what we need it to do and it works much better than the little one on the bigger tile.
None of us are going to earn a living with this saw, and I agree with the pros, if you are going to use this saw in that manor, get the top of the line.
For your average DIYer I feel this saw will fit the bill at an affordable price.
At 300 clams it will pay for itself in one or two projects and then it can sit in the garage as long as it wants, no harm no foul.
It's hard to justify 700 bucks or more for one or two projects.

As to charging your friends to use it, well thats up to you, but if I charged my friends to help them with a project my grandmother and my father would spin in their graves, I just wouldn't feel right doing that.

Just my two cents, and worth about half that!!

[ecellis]

I seriously doubt I would ever charge my friends for my help (other than some pizza and beer) so I'd never make any money. I understand what you are saying about tools being an investment and to buy the best you can afford. I just can't really justify spending big bucks on something I'd hardly ever use. I thought that $300 was pushing it.

I purchased the saw a few days ago and finally set it up last night. I did find the same problem with the table not sliding smooth. I fixed this problem by taking the bracket off that holds the 2 rollers, and sticking 2 washers beween the bracket and frame on each bolt (2 washers on each bolt) to make the rollers stick out farther and actually ride on the metal guide. I'll give this saw a shot and if it really does stink, then I will return it to HD for a refund and look at some of the better brands.

I do thank everyone for their input and I appreciate your help!

Thank you,

Eric

[Drivesme]

Be sure to let us, or me at least, know the tray 'fix' worked.
Our problem isn't so much that the rollers don't meet the rails but they don't seem to 'rest' on the rails. There is a couple of allen screws on those brackets that I think can be adjusted.

Good luck with your saw!

[ecellis]

That's right, the rollers didn't rest on the rails. For me they were over pretty far to where only the edge of the rollers touched the rail. That was why I pulled those 2 allen screws out. I had to put a couple washers in there to make them stick out farther. If yours is meeting the rail, but not resting on it, you can loosen the 2 allen screws and adjust the whole roller assembly up and down so you could make it rest on the rollers rail. I also took apart the rollers and added a little white lithium grease (I got it from my local bike shop) that is water proof. It made the rollers run a lot smoother. Just make sure that, when you adjust the rollers, to put a t square on the table to the blade to be sure it is at 90 degrees! You don't want crooked cuts! It might take a couple tries but all in all it is a simple little fix. Just be sure that both of the rollers are adjusted properly and that the weight of the table isn't mostly on one roller. It slides a lot smoother when it is adjusted properly. I think they just throw them together at the factory and leave it up to the customer to adjust. I'm sure that if we bought one of the big brands we wouldn't have this problem, but I guess you get what you pay for..

Eric

[jdm]

If you are unhappy with the WorkForce saw, but like the design and features, take a look at the MK 370 EXP. It's about the same price (without the stand), but it should be better-built, and you will get much better support from MK and its dealers than you will from a Chinese factory and HD. Parts for the MK are available too, go to HD and ask how to order a part for their saw. :)

Check out the link to Construction Complete in the TYW store. They have good prices and good service.

[Drivesme]

Eric,
I was going to be sure to align the saw after the adjustments.
Don't know how hard that will be but I will find out!
Over all I like the saw.

[jgleason]

Will vouch for the Felker TM-75. Great saw, only about $300.

[Tazmanic]

I bought this saw two years ago for a replacement for my PlasPlugs Contractor bench tile saw. We were tiling a custom shower, jetted tub surround and a 9'x15' floor and didn't think the bench saw would be upto the task.

Anyway, bought the WF saw and it performed decently with all the angle and bevel cuts. The saw paid for itself on that job alone. Got it at the new HD that was opening in our town w/ 10% discount for applying for a new Contractor Card.

That was 2½ years ago. On my last tile job the switch fried out on the pump side. They don't make a replacement switch, (go figure!). I was told that the ony way to fix the switch, which still operated the motor, was to replace the motor for $200.00. Needless to say, the saw is still sitting in my storage garage.

[anorman]

I don't know anything about the Workforce model you're looking at, but I recently bought the cheapo $88 Workforce at home depot. I'm tiling my floor & backsplash. I was originally going to use a scoring/snapping tool, and was going to pay by the cut for the complex cuts I had, but couldn't find anywhere that would do that. Checked w/ Home Depot about renting and they wanted $65/day, considering I would need it at least 2 days I decided just to buy the cheapo. I figure if it gets me through the floor and backsplash I've gotten my moneys worth, anything more is just a bonus. Floor is done and I've started making cuts for my backsplash, and its working fine. It performs like a $88 wetsaw, splashes alot of water and cuts very slow, but as long as I have blankets and time it works fine. I guess my point is I think you can certainly get by with a cheaper model if you're not going to be using it on a regular basis.