Table Saw

[hdmundt]

I'm going to upgrade to a good contractor's saw, soon. I'm preparing to sell my Delta direct drive benchsaw. It makes a lot of noise. The instruction manual doesn't have a single word about how/when to maintain it, therefore, it received no maintenance for about four years. Is the Delta worth selling? Is it safe to sell? (There's only one place, locally, that services Delta products. The guy who runs it said he'd look at the saw but wouldn't quote me on maintenance or repairs.) Can it be better used in some other way, i.e., using the motor to run a small compressor???

[GTO69RA4]

It's worth selling, and safe unless something's broken. AFAIK, all you regularly do to these little saws is keep the sawdust out of the various large parts. The motor and gearbox should be self-contained like a circular saw. By that same token, the motor can't be used for much else.

Happy upgrading.

GTO(John)

[Carl McCarty]

[oboe]

I plan to buy my husband a new table saw for his birthday in a couple of weeks. I'll let him pick it out himself (that's half the fun), but I want to do a little research ahead of time. His current saw was one of his first shop purchases 21 years ago. Over the years his shop has grown in quantity and quality, but he still has the Craftsman Table Saw he bought when we were newly married. The thing he complains about most is the unsturdy table and crappy fence.

What would be a good step up for him? He likes to build things for us around the house. Construction projects, closet storage, cabinets, and occasionally furniture. He doesn't require top of the line professional .... but wants something sturdy with a good accurate fence.

Looking through recent posts I see talk about a Delta cabinet saw .... that looks more expensive than I was expecting. Can I get something good for $1000 or less?

[Mike in Mystic]

go with a nice jet or delta contractor's saw with a 2 HP motor, belt-drive and probably a 30" fence and your husband will never stop thanking you :-)

the Delta Unisaw or similar are the next step up, and you'll pay for it - they are heavier and have higher rated motors. Grizzly does make a cabinet saw that is liked by many, and I believe you can get for less than $1000 if you want to go that way.

Mike

[Unquestionably Confused]

on 3/14/2005 2:24 PM oboe said the following:

If you're going to pay for it too, how about dumping him and marrying one of us?

At the risk of being stoned for uttering the word "Craftsman" I would suggest that you take a look at their "professional" 10" table saw offered with the Beisenmeyer fence.

I saw one up close and personal in the store a couple of weeks ago and

1) it seemed to suggest that Craftsman is bringing back some quality offerings in power tools, 2) was quite solid and, while, not a Unisaw, did a passable imitation thereof, and, 3) if a quality fence is what he wants, he'll be hard pressed to find better than the Beisenmeyer.

All this for around $950.00 NEW. Look hard, get lucky and you might find a used Delta around for around $1000 or less.

While I thought the build on the new Craftsman saw was better, there are plenty here who would commend the Jet table saw to you.

Nice of you to think of him in this way, though. Good luck on your quest. I'm sure you'll get lots of advice and opinions here. All you'll have to do is sort them out

[Mike Marlow]

Yes. Lots of other folks will chime in with their opinions because this is one of our favorite topics to opine on. IMHO there are quite a few good saws out there today, but for the price range you're looking at you should go right back to Sears and look at their new saws. They've been reviewed very well, do not suffer the shortcomings your husband is frustrated by now, and seem to be a very good value. Watch for comments from Charlie Self - he's reviewed the new Sears saws for national publications and is one of the better informed voices here with respect to that particular saw. He's a sneaky one though, so make sure you keep him focused on saws...

[hikinandbikin]

seems sturdy and is less than a grand. OTOH I just bought a Powermatic 66 used. It is pretty old but is 5 HP and still passes the nickel test. My saw was $1000 and it came with a dozen blades, a 8x8ft outfeed table and a big crosscut sled. While this saw didn't come with the joy of a new fancy box it is one of the best saws available on the market and for the price the 1023 is not even close quality wise. Thats my $0.02 W

[Woodchuck34]

Does anyone know anything about this new Delta hybrid cabinet saw, model# Model 36-717. I just saw it on Woodcraft for $949 and it does come with a 30" Biesemeyer fence.

Chuck

[oboe]

Yes .... but he has a 21 year history of building things for me ... among other things

Wow, I didn't expect Sears to be one of the recommendations. Is the Beisenmeyer fence the same as the one offered with the Delta?

[oboe]

Cabinet saw vs. Contractor saw? What is the difference/preference. Portability? Our shop area is not large. My husband often moves his equipment around for better access. Would he be better off with the "contractor saw"?

[Teamcasa]

"oboe"

Oboe, Do you play the oboe or just like the beautiful music it makes when played properly?

As for the saw... If it stays put, the new Delta Hybrid (36-717) or the Jet (JWSS-10PF) will fit the bill nicely. The new Craftsman Cabinet saw (model #OR35504) is in the price range as well.

If he has to move it around frequently, say to God forbid, allow a car into the shop, or just doesn't use it that often, then the Jet Contractor saw (708300K) or the Delta Contractor (36-507X) will do nicely.

Dave

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[San Diego Joe]

Sure. Good of you to let him choose - you should always be careful about buying tools for guys. We know what we want! LOL. Anyway, there are several "contractor" saws out there that are very good and less than $1,000. I own a Powermatic 64A that I am more than pleased with. Jet, Delta and Grizzly also make pretty good saws. The a side benefit is, at least when I bought mine, that amazon.com sells them and had the cheapest price, plus shipping was free.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Either saw can work with a mobile base.

Cabinet saw is regarded as the "top of the line", most powerful, usually 3 hp. motors, three belt drive system. Called a cabinet saw as the base is enclosed in a cabinet. Think Cadillac

Contractor's saw is a bit lighter. has a 1.5 to 2 hp motor with a 1 belt drive. This is good service for 90% of us doing woodwork as a hobby. Think Medium sized Buick

Benchtop saws, low end direct drive saws. Think Yugo.

Most every brand name has a series of these in their lineup. At $1000 or so, you are going to get a good saw.

You do want to get a really good fence. If it comes with a Biesemeyer or Unifence, it is top quality.

[San Diego Joe]

I live in San Diego. That means no basement. I also only have a single car garage, that I used top be able to actually put a car in. Portability was a prime consideration for me. If I want to woodwork, I have to drag my stuff into the driveway. So my powermatic contractors saw was perfect.

[Phil]

Mine did the same for me about 13 years ago (on my birthday!), went from a Crapsman to a Powermatic contractors saw. She offered a Unisaw, and I just couldn't bring myself to say yes for the extra $500. I've kicked myself for the last 5 years, while my Powermatic is a great saw, I really wish I had gone with a cabinet saw. If you can swing a cabinet saw, do it.

Phil

oboe wrote:

[loutent]

Hi oboe,

My TS was sort of like your hubby's. I decided about a year ago to replace it and set out to research as much as I could on the best saw for me - a hobbyist with 16+ years experience. I wanted to buy a saw that would never need to be replaced. I would not say money was "no object", but I did not what to spend money for a "production" type saw like a Powermatic. I decided about $1K should get me a pretty good saw for my needs.

After reading a lot and following the threads here on the wreck, I decided on the Grizzly 1023SL. I have it now for about 3 months. It is an awsome table saw. I cannot think that your husband would not love it. The Shop Fox fence is first rate - on par with the Biesmeyer (I checked the Sears cabinet saw too and personally, I don't think that it compares that well to the Grizzly - opinions will vary).

It is a 3 HP saw so you might need to run a 220 outlet for it.

Once I ordered it, it took less than 3 days to get it. It does weigh close to 500 pounds, but you can get a mobile base to move it around if necessary.

Nice to treat your guy that way.

Lou

[Mike Marlow]

Your choice really, but if you go with the cabinet saw then for under $50 you can also get a mobile base for it that will allow him to move it around as needed. Go ahead and get him the best saw you can for your money and since the mobility solution is so cheap, address it afterwards.

[Martin]

I have a Delta Unisaw. No complaints. At times I've thought that a sliding table saw would be a vastly superior idea (certainly from the safety standpoint) but the space they take-up is prohibitive for most garage shops.

The one nice thing I like about Unisaws is that most accesories out there are designed to work with this machine first. Keep that in mind. At the same time, lots of other saw clone the Unisaw.

In terms of space, there are neat things you can do. For example, you can integrate your router table right into the saw table. Two machines in one space.

With regards to mobility. I have the rolling base sold by delta. It it a very simple matter to move the say anywhere within the garage or outside, onto the driveway. No problems there. It all depends on frequency of use. Some of us also develop a workplan in the shop, for example, if you are working with 4x8 sheets frequently enough you may have a prefered layout so that feed and output are ideal. You need to know a little more about his typical utilization, but, in general, wheels are good. Everything in my shop is on wheels, even the work tables.

If your husband does not mind getting a used machine I'd look into getting a second hand Unisaw. You'd be amazed how many people barely touch their table saws. I don't know if you could find one in a couple of weeks though.

-Martin

[Phisherman]