New Crapsman saws any good?

[Silvan]

I was at the House of Crapsman yesterday doing some sh*pp*ng (yuck) to see what I could scare up to give Dad, for him to lose.

I picked up one of the old line Crapsman contractor's saws with the Align-a-Rip and waffle wings for somewhere around $3-400 last spring. The saw used to retail for around $580, I think.

I understood it was on closeout as part of an out with the old, in with the new deal, but I hadn't been back to Sears to look at the new until yesterday.

I didn't really crawl all over them and kick the tires and stuff, but they looked pretty damn impressive to me. I thought this one I have looked impressive nearly a year ago, but the new Crapsmans seem to be built out of a heavier gauge of steel, with much more robust fences (still two-piece rails though *) and just generally a surprising amount of ass to not be a Delta or a JET or some brand that the Wreck doesn't crap all over on a regular basis.

They even had a cabinet saw with a Biesmeyer fence. That really surprised me. Nobody sells cabinet saws off the floor around here, and I sure never expected to see one at Sears. It looked well-built, but then I've never seen any other cabinet saws that weren't serious industrial stuff, so I have no basis for comparing it to a Unisaw/General/Powermatic/etc. equivalent.

I figure since it's Crapsman, the Wreck won't like it a bit, so I thought I'd find out what people don't like about the new saws. I don't really care one way or the other, since I won't be shopping for a table saw again for years, if ever, but it's always good to waste time bitching about how tools that I can actually afford, which are actually available in person for cash and carry purchase are far inferior to things that are more expensive, and more difficult to buy.

(* I never have got the rails quite right on my saw, and the fence is still tilted imperceptibly away from the blade toward the top. The bevel wheel is hard to use because I can't feel what it's doing, and have no idea when it has hit one of the supposed stops. I've decided to stop fooling with the adjustments and just see what I can do with it though. So far, so good. It's immensely better than my Skil 3400 was, so as a question of perspective, I sure can't find much fault with my behemoth sized hunk of cast Crapsman iron, waffle wings, trifling adjustment problems or no.)

[Lee Gordon]

I am not an expert or an especially experienced woodworker and all I have to compare it to is my seriously old PowrKraft saw, but I bought the lowest-end of the 3 new Craftsman models and I like it just fine, especially since I put a WW2 on it. The fence seems pretty solid and accurate and not to fussy. The motor is fairly hefty and vibration is not an issue. Those Chinese workers did a respectable job of putting this tool together.

Lee

[Charlie Self]

Silvan asks:

I've got one of the Biesemeyer models. Come see it work.

Charlie Self "Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy." Edgar Bergen, (Charlie McCarthy)

[Mike Marlow]

Hey Charlie - just curious... why don't you review some of these tools when they hit the street? I don't really understand how your gig works, but it seems to me that manufacturer would benefit, especially with a new product like this, and of course, you'd benefit as well. I used one of your reviews when I was looking to upgrade my router and found it very helpful. Just seemed to me that something like the new Sears saws would be a prime target for a guy doing what you do.

[Charlie Self]

Mike Marlow asks:

Well, my review of this one should pop up either in WWJ or its on-line NL some time in the near future. As a freelancer, I have NO control over when something is published. Rob may be waiting for a bit more distance, because he ran the press notice when the saw was first introduced.

As you note, it is a prime target.

Good saw, too.

Charlie Self "Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy." Edgar Bergen, (Charlie McCarthy)

[Silvan]

I might not want to do that. I don't want to get tool envy. :)

I'm still planning to head that way one of these months though. Maybe 2007 or 2047, just as soon as I can find time and gas money.