New Sears Table Saw

[mrmortise]

Hi Guys, New to the group, but wanted to say.... I took the plunge and bought the new 0922124N saw! I have been following this thread for any info and it wasn't until this week that my Sears outlet finally got all three set up on display. I have been using an old 10" 113.298720 from the 80's and I was about to go crazy with the horrible fence and the 1 hp motor. I knew I needed a new saw. But which one? Like many of you, I don't have a huge budget for tools and I like to get the most bang for my buck. I'm not a pro, so I can err a little on the inexpensive side, but I don't want to buy something and be dissatisfied either. I wanted the closed cabinet for obvious reasons and above all a decent fence. power is an issue, but frankly, after using a 1 horse. This should be adequate for my needs. After reading up, I figured it was between the Grizzly 1023, the General 50-185L or the Delta 36-650. Each of these had their own set of issues and it is hard to find the Grizzly or the General without a concerted effort. My other option was to go for a Vega fence set up and maybe try a new motor. Then I thought. Dumb Idea! waste of money. I called this am to try and find a Sears outlet that had the saws and, lo and behold!, they had em' in my local mall. All three models to be sure! The 04N wasn't even on my radar, but the 14N appeared to be a fairly well made machine and I considered it for a few moments. The set up was poor though and they had set the wings with a good 16th of an inch ridge all along on both sides. The fence was so so but , again, set up poorly. I was not impressed at all. It didn't ride smoothly on the track and seemed very sloppy. The micro adjust wasn't even set up apparantly. It didn't seem as good as the older Align-a-rip fences I have seen. But overall, this saw would have been a huge improvement over the one sitting in my shop now! After a little deliberation I was offered the 10% Craftsman club discount and an additional 10% today only discount on top of that and this definately sweetened the deal. The Beismeyer fence was very nice, Heavy weel machined smooth top. Rear steel extension looked good, locking wheels. Dust collection much superior. etc. etc. I know I was impulsive, but for $760 this saw will be a huge improvement for me. $40 bucks for delivery to my door.you can't beat that! Another $39 for two year service including set up help if needed. I can't wait to get it in my garage and see how she performs! I'll accept delivery next Friday and will keep you posted! MrMortise

[mrmortise]

Received the new Craftsman 922124 saw today! As I said before in my last post, it was to be delivered today, Friday the 18th. On Wednesday, I was called by Sears with some bad news that It was impossible to deliver my saw because they are all (at least the west coast varieties) shipped from LA warehouse and they were back ordered. I was told by the salesman, whom I purchased it from, it was in stock and delivery to my house no problem. Well, needless to say I wasn't exactly overjoyed. When asked when I could expect shipment. I was told "I can't tell you that"..."I have no idea"! This just didn't seem right, so I ranted a bit and expressed my disatisfaction at the level of service. If you have one in stock here less than five miles from my home , why should it be shipped all the way from LA? And furthermore, why, after shelling out over $800, should I have to wait and suffer less than adequate service? I proceeded to call the manager of the store, where I bought the saw and explained to him my dilemma. He, surprisingly, understood exactly what I was talking about and agreed to look into the matter right away and call me back within an hour. He kept his word and apologized for the whole mess, stating that the salesman was incorrect in his assesment that A unit was in stock. He did promise that he would get one to the store by next Friday and he would have one of his own guys deliver it to my home free of charge. Sounded reasonable and I appreciated the Manager's taking immediate and decisive action! Then on Thursday I received another call from the manager, saying that a unit showed up at the store and Voila! iIt would be delivered as planned originally. Free to boot, as he credited my $40 delivery charge! The delivery guy....Andre the Giant....must have been, as he did it by himself... all four hundred pounds! He left it on my driveway right next to the garage doors. I really wasn't too worried about someone hauling it off in their pickup! I got home a half hour later and started in uncrating. Came all trussed up in a steel cage with lots of plastic wrap and foam cusions etc. Very well packed from China. By the way I still haven't found out who is building these saws. It isn't in their book yet! Maybe one of you might know? I got the most of the plastic off, the cast iron wings out and was left with the cage and main saw. Unbolted the saw and used two-by-fours to walk it onto a mobile base. Highly recommend one , because this saw isn't moving anywhere otherwise! Two of us could just barely get the thing on the stand. Attached the wings fairly smoothly. Some of the nuts weren't milled right making it a bit laborious switching wrenches to turn every half turn, and the cabinet shroud makes for little clearance to the end nut on the right wing. Top was nice once we got it aligned. The Beismeyer fence part went fairly easily , although the instructions leave a little bit to be desired. The only part of the process I was unhappy with is the attachment of the melamine wood table between the rails. You need to drill the holes and It is tough to do by yourself. I got mine with a lot of fussing. Suggest this a two man job.I got the whole thing together and adjusted and was cutting some test cuts after about five hours of hard work. Don't expect to unpack and go! Motor nice and quiet, smooth cuts through some thick oak and the blade supplied cuts a jointer smooth edge. The dust collection set up is great. The overall quality of the machined parts was good. Now the real test can begin. It is a big improvement from my old Craftsman saw and I know it should serve me well. Have the Mahogany for my next project and a free weekend!

[Wm Gardner]

Let us know how it goes, would ya? Much to my own surprise I am finding myself looking at this saw. Seems to be between this, the DeWalt, and the Supersaw. Have a couple of things I dislike about each of them so I am really struggling. Frankly, if it were not for the well known quality issues with the Sears saws, I would probably not be so challenged here......

By-the-way, how long is the laminated extension. If I understand the specs correctly there is a 12" cast wing on each side and an additional MDF wing on the right. I have a CI router wing on my current saw, wondering if it would fit there.

Thanks in advance and hope you enjoy your new toy......er, tool I mean :)

Bill

[mrmortise]

Hey Bill, The melamine extension is 12 x 27....exactly the size of the cast iron wings. Was out in the shop all day and am very happy with the saw overall. The miter extension adds so much control with a positive stop etc. very nice. Very smooth cuts and nice and quiet. The fence is adjusted and seems to be making perfect cuts exactly where the cursor reads the mark. Why didn't I do this sooner? Now I have to figure out what to do with the steel cage. Might make a tall work table and storage unit or a piece of rusted lawn art! Any ideas?

[Wm Gardner]

Hmmm, do you or SWMBO grow tomatoes? ;)

Find your experience, thus far, to be encouraging. It will likely be a month or two before I get a new saw though. Will keep my eye open for additional postings you may have. Really appreciate your information.

Enjoy!

Bill