Well, a new Unisaw is out for that budget. You can get a Griz cabinet saw, about any brand contractor saw or the Jet hybrid saw. It's kind of a Ford / Chevy thing as to whats "best" but I would either advise to go with a Griz or start looking for a used Unisaw. Just out of curiousity, is there a reason your original post was sent to a photography group as well?
Don
Maybe he was hoping someone could send him pictures of saws too!!
Jim
Maybe this question might be better posted in alt.home.repair or a woodworking newsgroup. This is a photography group.
Ignore anything posted from dizum.com remailer. I'm just killing all of it. BTW best table saw is the Canadian made General-))
Nick
any cabinet saw built before 1970
I have the Jet Contractor saw w/ cast wings, 50" rails and super saw microglide fence. Its a very good saw.
I'll bite. Why?
I am currently looking at either a General 50-260 ($1300 + some shipping I assume) or a Jet 708663 with the router lift, router, etc. ($1700-$100 rebate-$25 Tool Crib rebate and free shipping)
I was about to write that I might lean to the Jet *if* Tool Crib ever shipped my DC-1100 and the $100 rebate that was promised.
But... as I write the UPS man just showed up with the dust collector :-)
I am concerned with and "price creep", wherein I get sucked into the "Oh well, it's only another hundred bucks for this feature and another hundred for that feature..." that goes along with the Jet purchase. I started out just wanting a 30" fence saw (better fits the available space). Also, the "3 hp" Jet motor isn't 3 hp.
However, reading the one review of the General I could find:
I'm gonna go put my dust collector together now, while you write back and give me your review of the General saw that I assume you own [g].
Wes
On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 11:39:49 -0600, Wes Stewart wrote (in message ):
This reference was towards the Canadian made General, not imported General International line. I just got finished ordering a saw after months of doing research. More than one person who sold General International told me the
50-250 was the same motor as their contractor saw as well as the overall basis for the saw. Actually this goes for several of the cabinet saws in the 1K and below market. Most apparently have their origins in a cabinet saw. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, and unless you are basically willing to part with double the money to get either the Delta X5 series, General Canada, or Powermatic 66, you get a cabinet saw that shares a lot in design and parts of a contractor's saw.Just my opinon after looking at most of these saws myself, but the Powermatic and General (and to some extent Delta's X5 line) are really in a class all themselves. The trunions on the Powermatic and General are very beefy. The X5 line isn't quite there in my opinion, but it's still ahead of the imports. Depending on where you live, General and General International are going to be very hard to find. I had to drive 100 miles to my nearest distributor and I live in a major city.
Wayne
|On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 11:39:49 -0600, Wes Stewart wrote |(in message ): | |> [snip] |>> BTW best table saw is the Canadian made General-)) |> |> |> I'll bite. Why? |> |> I am currently looking at either a General 50-260 ($1300 + some |> shipping I assume) or a Jet 708663 with the router lift, router, etc. |> ($1700-$100 rebate-$25 Tool Crib rebate and free shipping) | |This reference was towards the Canadian made General, not imported General |International line.
Well now, if you look at the "promotion" pages on their web site you will see "Made in Canada" on both the General and General International saws. Except in both cases it says this right under, "General 'something or the other' Fence System."
Whether this statement refers to just the fence or the whole damn thing is questionable.
But don't expect an answer from General about it or anything else. I wrote them the following in an email:
"Ladies and Gentlemen,
There has been discussion in different Internet forums about the differences between General equipment and General International equipment, specifically your table saws.
There is considerable information (and probably misinformation) given that suggests that GI equipment is lesser quality, has different motors, lighter trunnons, and so forth.
Can you enlighten me as to the differences, other than cost, between the General 650-T50 M2 and the GI 50-260 M1. I have examined the online specification sheets for each of these and have noted the obvious differences; I am looking for the more subtle ones.
With your permission, I would be delighted to pass on any information that you might provide to some of these forums.
Thank you,
Wes Stewart"
Because they didn't have the courtesy to even acknowledge my missive, I take it to mean that they don't care to have my business, which is just fine by me. Perhaps it's because I live in the US and don't speak French.
I cannot help but contrast them to Leigh Industries. A few days ago I inquired about their stuff and received data sheets in the mail almost instantly. Today, I received their video that I don't recall even asking for.
[snip]|Depending on where you live, General and General International are going to |be very hard to find. I had to drive 100 miles to my nearest distributor and |I live in a major city.
I live in Tucson. General's web site says that Scates Consulting/Machinery in Glendale (~100 miles away) is a distributor.
Scates' web site doesn't list General in their product line. I emailed them too to ask about this and they didn't answer either. I guess that means that they are a General distributor and operate their business in the same shoddy way.
There's more than one way to narrow down the field.
Yesterday, I picked up a GI 50-185 M1 in Windsor, ON. The fence is made in Canada, but everything else is made in Taiwan. Had to pay 3% duty on the whole thing. No way to break out the costs of what was made where.
When I e-mailed the company with questions, I got answers in a day or two.
Ed
|> Well now, if you look at the "promotion" pages on their web site you |> will see "Made in Canada" on both the General and General |> International saws. Except in both cases it says this right under, |> "General 'something or the other' Fence System." |> |> Whether this statement refers to just the fence or the whole damn |> thing is questionable. |> |> |Yesterday, I picked up a GI 50-185 M1 in Windsor, ON. The fence is made in |Canada, but everything else is made in Taiwan. Had to pay 3% duty on the |whole thing. No way to break out the costs of what was made where. | |When I e-mailed the company with questions, I got answers in a day or two.
In fairness to General, perhaps I was too hasty because I *did* finally get a very nice response from them, although it arrived at 11 PM last night and was "postmarked" at 12:09 AM, which makes one wonder how that happened.
The clarifying line was: "It wouldn't be fair to clump the General and the G.I. products together as one is totally domestic and the other is totally imported."
An attached article states that, "Our great dealers are well equipped to outline the differences that make the G.I. machines the best value in the market."
So my summary is that other than the color, they are entirely different machines and I need to talk to my non-existant dealer to find out how. [g]
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