table saw purchase

[buckwheat]

thinking about buying this saw

the price is 650 for the saw and 150 for the JessEm 07500 MAST-R-SLIDE

[Bill]

I seem to recall that not all of the early reviews of the saw were great (I could be mistaken). You might want to look up some of them and see. I think the model you are looking at has been recently redesigned.

[Leon]

IIRC the earlier reviews of Grizzly in general were a direct result of the condition that the saw was in when delivered. Basically it was seemed rare for one to be delivered upright. It was a very common occurrence to hear of one being delivered laying on its side or even upside down. Chances are good that if there is nothing wrong with the saw it will remain that way.

[Bill]

I definitely agree with that! That just means he should do his "due diligence" (which may be easier said than done).

BTW, Amazon marked the Forrest WWII blade down to $110 today, so I ordered one from there since I had a credit.

Bill

[Leon]

Exactly. That would go for Unisaws built around the new millennium too. There was an excess of reports of ones with broken trunnions. I once saw on setting on the floor of a dealer with a broken trunnion.

You are going to love it! I remember buying one about 10 years ago for $89.

[none]

On Wed, 07 May 2014 07:22:44 -0500, Leon

What?!? You mean that cast iron can crack??? (Evil Grin)

[Jim Weisgram]

I have that saw and use it and like it. 10 years ago it cost me about $950, fence and shipping included. Multiple reviews at the time considered it the best buy available, not quite up to the level of the Unisaw and Powermatic but capable of real work.

My main complaint is the handwheel on the front is a solid disc and blocks the view of the tilt angle indicator.

I would buy it again, except now I would spring for a Sawstop instead, all political posturing aside.

Fit and finish is acceptable but not at a professional level. The table is quite flat, a bit smaller than some. I can't measure any runout, runs like new. The 3 HP motor is plenty of power. You will need 220V to operate it. The fence is a decent Biesemeyer clone if a bit rough around the edges.

It adjusts / aligns like any other cabinet saw, you can dial it in for perfect results with the right jiggery and dial indicator.

I have the shorter rails, it seems like the one in the photo also has the shorter rails. Pro saws would have longer rails that can handle the full width of a 4x8 sheet. I don't even want to try doing that, but if you had the space, the motor can handle it.

Typical of the vintage of this saw:

Dust collection was marginal until I upgraded to 6" ducting and had to make my own dust port. My 2 HP Grizzly dust collector with Wynn Environmental filter really cleans it out now but I still get dust escaping off the blade.

The blade guard / splitter is crap.

The miter gauge eventually got replaced by an Incra when the center post developed some slop and could wiggle even when tightened down.