Porter Cable table saws, model PCX362010, are being recalled due to a fire hazard. There have been 61 reports of the table saw motors overheating and causing fires. No injuries have been reported, and there was one report of smoke damage to a home.
About 258,000 units are included in the recall, and another 990 units sold in Canada. They were sold exclusively at Lowes from June 2016 through September 2018 for between $100 and $180.
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If you own one of these table saws, discontinue use immediately and contact the manufacturer for a refund.
You can contact Chang Type Industrial Company LTD, of Taichung City, Taiwan, at 877-206-7151 from 7 am to 6 pm CT weekdays, or visit http://www.recallrtr.com/PCSaw.
More Info(via CPSC)
Recall Page
FAQ(PDF)
Jef
At $100…. I guess it was a fire sale!
I’ll show myself out the door.
Aaron
Well, that’s the only news Porter-Cable will be in for the year, because God knows it isn’t going to come from new tools.
The What?
As if sbd couldn’t ruin porter cable’s reputation more than they already have. It’s a damn shame that out of all the brands that sbd owns, pc has been the redheaded stepchild since they bought them back in the early 2000’s. The brand has consistently gotten worse every year. That’s a shitty way to do the brand that invented the circ saw and electric sander and was once a formidable competitor in the professional tools market. There’s no denying sbd single handedly ruined everything that was good about porter cable. The funny thing is that the same shit is eventually going to happen to craftsman. Mark my words. They sure did a great job, didn’t they? I guess they decided to phase them out in the worst way possible. What an accomplishment.
fred
From the looks of the recall info – this was not an SBD built Porter Cable Tool – but one that they licensed the name to Chang Type Industrial – the Taiwanese based company that currently owns Delta. In any event – it is too bad about what happened to Porter Cable.
Meanwhile getting back to fundamentals – if Lowes can sell a table saw for $100 – getting in shipped from Asia where Change Type Industrial assembled it – including its motor – and everyone along this supply chain made money – then what could the motor have cost? At that fractional cost of the $100 saw selling price – does one actually expect a high quality motor that has been factory tested for longevity and subjected to a high degree of QA/QC? As long as we keep demanding the cheapest possible goods – we can expect some recalls like this one. Its amazing to me that we actually don’t see more recalls.
MichaelHammer
I often wonder where that tipping point is with cheap vs expensive. What am I really getting for my $600 portable saw? Is Festool worth it? Milwaukee? Harbor freight is booming. I had a Chicago Electric jack hammer that lasted five or six years. I can just keep buying new ones and never get anywhere near the price of Bosch or Makita over the course of my career. Keep in mind that even top, reliable brands have recalls.
fred
You are right. After some price point – with most items – you are paying for something beyond workability. I was in Modena earlier in the year and was not tempted to buy one of the fine cars produced in that city – thinking that my Hondas are fine for what my wife and I need in a car. Not that it’s bad driving in my neighbor’s Bentley – but I prefer to spend my money elsewhere.
Buying tools for a business – may add another dimension to the cost/benefit calculations. It is tricky – and I’m not sure how to adequately assess the probability that some tool might fail in the middle of a job – and cost you money from lost productivity – or worse yet cause an injury. As you say – it may be hard to tell if some Mafell, Festool or Hilti tool will fare better in this regard than a Bosch, Dewalt, Milwaukee or Makita – and then to compare those to house brand or Harbor Freight tools – gets tougher yet.
In one of my business endeavors we undertook risk assessments from time to time with the goal of risk avoidance and management in coordination with our ISO 9000 certification. But we never applied the same sort of rigor to what tools we bought in the plumbing or remodeling businesses.
Stuart
For portable table saws, I think that $300 is a good starting budget. For smaller budgets, I might be up for giving Ridgid’s seasonal “special buy” a try.
When you spend more on something like a miter saw or table saw, you often get better materials, more rigidity, more power, more and easier adjustments, and a better user experience, or at least a balanced combination of these and other factors.
Consider woodworking chisels. At entry-level pricing, you get tools that can do chisel work, but the steel might be a little softer, the backs a little uneven, and the handles of basic quality. Spend more and a chisel might have better steel and a better handle, but still be in need of some adjustments and flattening. Spend more than that on a more premium chisel, and even the most discerning users might only need to do some final honing of the edge. Spend more than that, and the upgrades are much smaller.
With an entry-level miter saw or table saw, it might be usable, but the question is how much time do you want to spend on your tool vs. using it?
JR3 Home Performance
Probably need a receipt to get a refund. Most of these probably were not bought by pro’s, registered, receipts maintained etc . It’d be fun to know how many refunds actually get issued.
Stuart
I couldn’t find details, but the FAQ references photos, which I guess would be of the saw and serial number plate.
Jon
I received a letter in the mail regarding this. They direct you to a website where you can upload a picture of the plate on the side that has the model number and serial number. They then want pictures uploaded of 3 main power cords being cut in half to show that the saw has been permanently disabled.
“No injuries, one report of smoke damage…” Eh… I’ve used mine maybe 3 times over 3 years. It’s been nice to have when I need it, but it’s only for the occasional home or hobby project. The refund is only for $75, which doesn’t cover the original purchase cost and is less than half of what it’d take to buy a new one.
On the one hand, the fact I don’t use it often probably means it’s worth doing the refund and then buying a new one when I have the funds (and need) to do so later… on the other, it’s tempting to just keep it for the light occasional use. I only use it outside or in the middle of the garage with nothing around me; seems like the risk would still be pretty minimal.
I’ll probably go ahead and do it since I don’t use it that often, but I’m disappointed that they aren’t fully replacing it with a newer model or refunding closer to the purchase price so replacing it is a bit more feasible.
LB SMITH
DETAILS ARE, FILL OUT A ONLINE FORM WITH PICS OF SERIAL NUMBER, CUT THE POWER CORD IN THREE PLACES WITH PICS, JUMP SOME HOOPS AND THEY WILL SEND YOU $75.00.
http://WWW.RECALLRTR.COM/PCSaw
Stuart
Yes, that’s the same link that’s in the post under “Recall Page.”
Kilroy
Am I the only one who instinctively shudders when I see table saws with a flimsy looking “TV tray” style stand like this? Doesn’t appear as though it would take much of a bump to send a spinning saw blade crashing towards your legs.
Josh
I have the dewalt DW745 and stand, and when it’s attached properly it’s remarkably sturdy. Never had a fear of tipping the thing over.
Flotsam
hard to believe this is now the same company that made the old Speedmaster circular saws, PC routers and the Porter Cable 314 trim saw. I guess to SBD there is little value to the Porter Cable name.
Flotsam
correct that I am thinking of those old Speedmatic circular saws. Back in the 60s my uncle who finished off our basement had one and i was fascinated by it.
fred
In that timeframe Black & Decker probably made the best sidewinder circular saw – the Supersawcat. I have both a Supersawcat (with electric brake) and a Speedmatic – plus several old (from the Rockwell International ownership days) corded Porter Cable tools (powered planes, routers, sanders and saws) that I still take out for specific jobs. Some still command some decent prices as used tools. We now don’t associate either the B&D or PC brand names with top-of-the-line tools that once were part of their lineups
Mike
I bought the same table saw I got for 100 dollars but I bought knowing what it was capable of occasional usage and not heavy usage, it’s not designed to be a jobsite saw although everyone probably used as one. What SBD should have done with Porter Cable is kept it a Contractor/Pro level tool there’s nothing wrong with having 2 pro level tool companies in your camp
Altan
I noticed these things happen with cheap products, one of my friends’ (ex friend) flat got burnt because of a Beko fridge, Beko is a Turkish brand and is sold in the UK, I am not sure about the US, some of their fridges have some issues and they start to burn and make fire, I never buy anything from Beko even though I am ethnically Turk!
The What?
These aren’t knock off porter cable table saws. Sbd are the ones who are ultimately responsible for choosing who they license their brand to and who they choose to build their tools and its their responsibility to make sure qc protocol is done properly before an item can be sold by them regardless of who made it. Even if it wasn’t made in an sbd facility, it’s still an sbd product. And this wasn’t a freak occurrence. This could have been catastrophic had someone’s house burned down or worse. People’s safety and property were potentially jeopardized because sbd decided to cut corners for the sake of the dollar. There’s absolutely no excuse for it. And the blame can’t be laid on Chang type industry because sbd are the ones who instructed them on how they wanted their product built. I haven’t heard anything about delta table saws catching on fire. The definitive red flag was the hundred dollar price tag which is unheard of. Electrical fires are the number one cause of house fires and structure fires. Maybe there needs to be a fire Marshall involved in the manufacturing of these products. Just because receptacles are safe doesn’t mean what you plug into them are safe.
Bdawg
So don’t buy any SBD manufactured or licensed products and maybe your panty wad will subside.
https://toolguyd.com/tool-brands-corporate-affiliations/#sbd
Matt J
This looks unnervingly like the Delta Shopmaster s36-295 now sold at Lowes, and appears to have been licensed out by PC to be made by Delta’s owner, Chang. Also very similar S36-300 that I bought on clearance from Menard’s. I suppose as long as the motor was changed I should not be concerned — does anyone have any photos of the motor or other identifying info?
I’m a bit concerned as it seems the Delta saws did not sell at particularly high volume, and may not have the critical mass of issues like a seemingly identical PC branded saw to trigger a recall just due to the limited sales numbers.
Matt J
Customer service reply from Delta was underwhelming but expected. No confirmation that it’s a different electric motor. Confirmed there’s no recall on it. Suggested I return to Menard’s under their return policy if I felt it was unsafe.
Not exactly reassuring. But as I haven’t had issues yet and really like the feel and operation of the saw, I guess I’ll keep using it. Somewhat encouraged by the note on the recall website that no PC saws subject to the recall caused injury. Will try to stay away from flammable materials while working.
fred
Or take a few precautions like:
Vacuuming/blowing sawdust out from around the motor windings after each session
Not pushing the saw too hard on cuts beyond its capability that might stall the motor
Using thin kerf blades to make it easier on the motor
Using the saw outdoors when practical
Matt J
I do all of the above except for the thin kerf blade now. will look into that as well.
I’ve only used relatively low demand softwoods like pine and cedar so far. I had planned a few hardwood projects and was planning to use a combination blade in the 40 tooth range rather than the supplied 24 tooth ripping blade. Would that be harder or easier on the motor?
Daniel New
I cant get to accept my information , Is this a BIG SCAM?
Darlene Hernandez
Wondered the same here…. I was able to get in on my phone, and they want pictures of your power cord cut. I paid $140 and the site says we’d get back $95. ☹️
M N Suarez
They said $75 for ours. Does not even cover the cost that we paid.
Porter Cable Sucks
So your “refund” is calculated on when the saw was made, not when you purchased it. Paid $190 for the saw 18 months ago and they are offering me a whopping $75.00 refund. They will not ship a new saw. Lesson here DO NOT BUY PORTER CABLE!
Mike
I agree. I bought mine for light home use and have not used it other than a test cut when I assembled it. Now they want me to destroy he saw for less than half what I paid for it. The compensation is not equitable to the cost.
Carnell
Have tried to go to the online site to enter my info, and can get only 15% entered before it crashes and the number want allow me to talk to anyone. Has anyone experience this and how can I get around this and get registered and get my refund?
R Jose
Make sure your info is EXACTLY as printed on the envelope. Including a 9 digit zip code. It worked for us after figuring this out.
We got an error message that said our entry didn’t match their records. I assume our name and address were gotten from credit card records
Who knows.
Mark in Austin
I worked at Lowe’s when this saw was released, and after spending 5 minutes with it, I went out of my way to discourage customers from buying it. Setting aside the current issue, it is a dangerously unstable tool. The stand is an insult to common sense. Somewhere, some weekend warrior has tried to feed plywood on that saw and I pray nobody was seriously hurt.
Mo
The phone number on the recall notice is wrong! Correct # is 877-206-7151, but they won’t help you by phone and you have to have a computer to enter the info/photos.
PC will only refund $75 to me as well. Anybody have a photo of their cut cords they want to share? I haven’t used my saw yet yet and not about to cut the cords and not receive a full refund. I will use common sense in using outdoors, not over-using, keeping clean and unplugged when not in use.
Janet Russell
Is is possible to just replace the motor and keep using the saw? Seems as though that would be less wasteful than disabling the saw and throwing the entire thing away.