A friend at work asked me if I knew anyone with an old aluminum top for a benchtop table saw. He broke his and didn't have the cash to buy a replacement. I told him I'd check. I had an old Craftsman benchtop that I had tuned and built a folding outfeed table for. It can pass the nickle test in it's current form.
So, since I haven't used it in years I brought it in and had him stick it in his van. I told him to just keep it and use it. He's a nice guy and I really didn't want to take his money for a Craftsman benchtop saw.
Then he tells me why he's so broke he can't afford an el-cheapo table saw. It would seem that he has been a sawyer for years and he just bought a new band saw mill. His plan is to sell hardwoods from logs he and his buddy have been harvesting for years. They have a pile of oak and walnut ready to cut and he said they had some really special logs that had to be seen to be believed. We have alot of really fine hardwoods locally but most of it is sold for export and it's hard to find a sawyer that wants to mess with small orders.
So, I have just traded a benchtop saw for a pile of log-run oak with some quartersawn thrown in. He's also going to be a good source for quality lumber for a long time.
Life is good...
Jim