Table Saw Analysis Paralysis

[Rod Sheridan]

General manuals are , shall we say...............terrible.

I had a shop full of their equipment, and all the manuals were poor.

Have fun with the new saw............Rod.

P.S. Is it common to see General machinery at the stores in the US?

[Rob Steffeck]

P.S. Is it common to see General machinery at the stores in the US?

Based on my personal experience, I'd say no, but I'm sure someone will correct me. Although Woodcraft is an authorized distributor, I've never seen one on the floor in any stores I've been in. Even their website only lists one General International (foreign made) saw.

Fortunately, the only two authorized distributors in Oregon were both local to where I live. I got mine from an industrial machinery dealer that has a great variety of new / used woodworking equipment.

[Paul Ryan]

Rob,

After all of the posts in this thread. It is good to hear that you looked at the 3 saws in person and picked the saw that was best for you. Congrates I am sure you will love your new toy.

[Dan Lee]

P.S. Is it common to see General machinery at the stores in the US?

I'm guessing not common but Eagle tools in the Los Angeles area stocks some General and General Intl. along with PM, SS and Agazzani. I own a GI 10" jointer.

[Van Huskey]

Congrats, glad you finally decided, I overthink about ever purchase and when I do write the check it feels like a weight is lifted off me. I haven't been able to touch a General but have heard great things about them. They just aren't stocked many places in the Southeast. Along the same lines as you I think the Uni is the most over-priced of the premium 10" "American" cabinet saws, if Delta loosened their price regulation I think they would fall out below the PM/GEN/SS. Many cool features but the bean counters start to show as well, for me the PM hit that happy medium some neat new stuff but still enough of the old school heavy construction, from what you say the General has stuck with less glitz and stays built like I would think of a PM66. The SS is also at a price premium (but not like the Uni) but it has design, safety as well as top notch fit and finish, they forgo a lot of the over-built aspect certainly some for price and not to intrude on the ICS but they also only had to build a saw to handle 3hp, where the PM, Uni and General are built to handle a 5hp motor.

You will have to give us a review and pics when you get her in and tuned!!

[Rob Steffeck]

You will have to give us a review and pics when you get her in and tuned!!

I certainly will. Its the least I can do for all the help I received.

I'd also like to thank you for your tool gloat thread. I had to go to HD today to pick up the electrical supplies to run the 240v line for the saw and figured I'd check out the DeWalt sale you made reference to. For $250 (the money I saved by going with the General) I got three 18v cordless tools: drill/driver, hammer drill, and impact driver. Thats 57% off the best prices I could find online.

Coupled with the General, its been a good tool day.

[Van Huskey]

I certainly will. Its the least I can do for all the help I received.

I'd also like to thank you for your tool gloat thread. I had to go to HD today to pick up the electrical supplies to run the 240v line for the saw and figured I'd check out the DeWalt sale you made reference to. For $250 (the money I saved by going with the General) I got three 18v cordless tools: drill/driver, hammer drill, and impact driver. Thats 57% off the best prices I could find online.

Coupled with the General, its been a good tool day.

There is really nothing like the day you buy your "life" TS as a woodworker, not like completing a Maloof rocker but one I have done and one I will likely never do.


Glad it worked out for you, I had been following the thread about the deal in the deals forum here and on several sites, I new many people here would never see the thread in deals and they were such general tools that everyone has or needs I came up with a way to (for the moment atleast) squeeze the rules as much as I could to alert people.

[Ron Bott]

There is really nothing like the day you buy your "life" TS as a woodworker.

Seriously? My Sawstop felt like just another tool purchase.

[John Ricci]

Congrats on your purchase of a brand spankin' General! I have read this entire thread and refrained from any comment mostly because of the fact that I own a General 650R myself (I have one of the first 50 of them built) and really don't feel that any comment I could make should bias your personal choice of machine. You have to weigh the pros and cons of everything available to make your own decision. In my mind the General is the standard by which all cab saws are judged. I do have to admit that part of my own decision was based on it being a "homegrown" product being a Canadian but in the long run none of the others in the running stood up to the ultimate scrutiny of being my "lifetime" saw. Enjoy it for yourself and for the next couple of generations of your family woodworkers because it will very easily outlive you!

J.R.

[Van Huskey]

Seriously? My Sawstop felt like just another tool purchase.

See you picked the wrong saw, you knew the moment you bought it was just one step on the road to TS nirvana...










^ tongue in cheek.

[Glen Butler]

Years ago, I used to do a lot of bike riding. One of the helmet makers had this advertising slogan - "If you have a cheap head, buy a cheap helmet."

A modification of that is appropriate to the SawStop - "If you have cheap hands, buy a cheap saw."

Mike

All helmets have to be snell approved, the only thing that separates them is style (looking good) and airflow.

So lets compare that to the sawstop - "If you want your saw to look better and have more airflow, buy a sawstop."

With fear of sounding infallible, I honestly don't understand how people could cut their fingers off. I think there is a proper way to feed wood and apply pressure to the board so hands are thrown free in the event of a kickback. Even still there is a proper method for running wood so it doesn't kick back. In 20 years, I have never had a kickback on my cabinet saw. I have had one on a portable ridgid when I accidently dropped a sheet onto the blade after feeding it, but no hands were involved there. I am more afraid of falling onto the blade of my portable and giving myself "open heart surgery" than cutting my fingers off.

I agree in the safety features of the sawstop, and I would like one for my childrens sake. But for myself I would never buy one just for the break. It would come down to all the other features of the saw first, and the break would just be a bonus. But it appears sawstop has a top notch saw to boot.

[Ron Carlton]

I wonder if we had the same dialog when blade guards first came out.

[Van Huskey]

I wonder if we had the same dialog when blade guards first came out.

In that same vein we should consider how long it will be before there is a thread trying to hack the SS so the bypass is always engaged...

If I had a dollar for every TS cut I have seen made without a guard on the saw (not counting non-through cuts either) I could would buy an ICS then I could have a tank and a brake, not just one or the other.

[Brian Penning]

To get a true apples-to-apples price comparison on saws with 50" rails, I had to add in the additional ~$85 brake cartridge required for dado blades on the SawStop. The General came out the cheapest...about $300 less than the SawStop. The Unisaw was the most expensive...about $200 more than the SawStop.

It really was a toss-up between the General and the SawStop. I changed my mind at least a half-dozen times in the past 24 hours. Ultimately, I went with the General and placed my order for it this morning. I think it will be a saw that will last longer than the other saws for a bit less money. The simplicity and basic utilitarian nature appeal to me. The riving knife was a more important safety feature than the blade brake. If you could put a blade brake on the General, it would be hard to beat from any aspect.

IF the General and the SS had been the same price, would you have made the same choice?
BTW, I sold my General to get the SawStop ICS and there was at least a couple of thousand dollars difference in the two.

[mreza Salav]

Rob, I hope you never regret your purchase, ever! Congratulations on your new saw.
But if it was me I'd have happily paid that extra $200 for a SS.