Advice on potential table saw buy -- Delta Model 10

[Geoff Barry]

Late to the party, but here' my $.02:

I got 4 or 5 years out of a cratsman 315.228310 el cheapo contractor saw I picked up for $100 at a garage sale. Of course, first thing was to get a decent blade on it. But it worked fine for a few years. I eventually upgraded the fence, and it worked even better, but it was *adequate* with just a decent blade. Its lack of power (1 hp) helped me keep it aligned, as when the blade stalled, I knew the fence was no longer aligned right. Oh, and I knew NEVER to bevel the blade, as that messed up all alignment. But 99.9% or what I did used the blade at 90 degrees, so that was less of a hassle than you might think.

Eventually, of course, it's limitation grew more and more annoying, so I kept an eye on CL, and this summer was able to pick up a new (never uncrated) sears 22124 saw for $450, which will serve until such time as I can go to a 220v sawstop . . .

My point being, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Get a cheap, but decent contract saw for as low as you can, get a really good blade, and, only if necessary, get a new fence. I got a Grizzly bessemeyer clone for $220 or so on sale, and it was great (I liked it better than the actual bessmeyer that came with the 22124). Adapt to the saw's limitation, and one day you'll see your mythical $500 unisaw on CL and it'l be time to upgrade

[Jerome Hanby]

Amazing how expensive those mythical $500 (or even better $350) Unisaws become! I haven't even dug into mine yet and it has racked up the round trip cost for a trip to Nashville from Birmingham. Glad I made the trip with gas about $2 a gallon instead of nearly $4!

[David Hostetler]

I am curious. Maybe I misread the OP's post, but he was seemingly bothered by the lack of dust collection on a contractor saw, and then proceeds to dig into contractors saws...

I am not sure what your budget is, but I chose the saw I did, and sacrificed a bit in the table itself (aluminum versus iron, and shallower than a standard saw) to get the dust collection and riving knife of my BT3100. Those features were and continue to be critically important to me.

If I had it to do over again, I would still not chose a contractor saw due to the lack of both of these features. But rather I would plunk money aside for a hybrid or cabinet saw with a riving knife...

NOW, having said that, I understand that the **** is on the market, and there are ways to mostly enclose a contractor saw cabinet for dust collection, and THAT would get me looking at a contractor saw for sure. And IF I could address those 2 major issues, I would be well on my way to looking into one of the Emmerson / Ryobi TTI built contractor saws...

[John W Henderson]

I am curious. Maybe I misread the OP's post, but he was seemingly bothered by the lack of dust collection on a contractor saw, and then proceeds to dig into contractors saws...

You may have. I searched every page and only found one reference to dust, where I said:

I built my own mobile base for my current saw just so I could get it out of the way and clean up the saw dust without having to drag the thing.

Not bothered by dust, just bothered by dragging a saw around to clean it. Hence I built the mobile base so I didn't have to waltz it around my garage. Now I just roll it off to the side, sweep, and roll it back. Not a big deal to me. We don't have anything nice in there so a later of sawdust hasn't bothered anyone yet. I mentioned that in the context of not wanting to deal with a cabinet if it doesn't move, as I typically move my saw out to work, and then back out of the way since it's not a dedicated shop.

I am not sure what your budget is, but I chose the saw I did, and sacrificed a bit in the table itself (aluminum versus iron, and shallower than a standard saw) to get the dust collection and riving knife of my BT3100. Those features were and continue to be critically important to me.

Dust collection is not as much of a concern for me, but the riving knife, guard, and perhaps anti-kickback pawls would be very welcomed, as my current saw doesn't even have a guard.

...and there are ways to mostly enclose a contractor saw cabinet for dust collection, and THAT would get me looking at a contractor saw for sure. And IF I could address those 2 major issues, I would be well on my way to looking into one of the Emmerson / Ryobi TTI built contractor saws...

Good to know; I'll keep that in mind and have seen some people's saws on CL with what looks like plywood finishing out the innards to seal them off. For anyone who's done this -- does the dust just pile up in there or does one typically make them with a door that can be opened to pull out a bag or something?

[John W Henderson]

My point being, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

What a great line. Thanks for that.

Get a cheap, but decent contract saw for as low as you can, get a really good blade, and, only if necessary, get a new fence. I got a Grizzly bessemeyer clone for $220 or so on sale, and it was great (I liked it better than the actual bessmeyer that came with the 22124). Adapt to the saw's limitation, and one day you'll see your mythical $500 unisaw on CL and it'l be time to upgrade

Thanks for the advice! I'll keep that in mind.

[John W Henderson]

...i'd say you couldn't go wrong with either of the 2 ridgids pictured above by scott spencer. judging from the samples of your work you've posted, the two ridgid's would be enough saw to last you a long, long time (apologies here to the "ya gotta have a unisaw "old arn" table saw or ya just cain't get anything done" crowd). with the proper blade, my lowly 2412 has yet to meet something it can't handle.

Good to know. How do you tell an Emerson built Ridgid? Is that the item # starting with 113.xxxxx that was mentioned? Or is that only for Craftsmans? I don't know Ridgid's model numbers very well...

[John W Henderson]

Noticed you posted about the grizzly 1022 and wanted to give you my take on it. Mine was my grandfathers before he passed away. Since putting it in my basement, i replaced the fence (jet-lock, i believe) with a biese clone that i'm sure i overpaid for, but it made a world of difference. I don't tilt the blade often, but haven't had any issues with it being out of alignment when i get back to 90.

I'm a hobbyist and mech eng like you, and this saw more than meets my needs. If you have any specific questions about this model, let me know.

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind. May at least go and look at the 1022. Even if I'm not buying right now, I wouldn't mind looking more to really get the feel for what to look for and try to pick out different designs/adjustments. I have a great hardware store near me, Seven Corners, and they are generally pretty great about walking one through purchase choices if they're not really busy. Hopefully I could get a tutorial from one of them on what to look for as well, using the props in the store as teaching guides.

[John W Henderson]

In the price range you are looking I was going to suggest trying to find a Ridgid 3650 it is a good saw and can do most of the work a hobbiest would throw at it...I would try offering 250-300 for a Ridgid 3650 without problems, I would offer more for one equiped with an aftermarket fence. The saw is solid and I had no complaints.

Thanks for the advice. I'll keep an eye out for one to at least go see it.

[John W Henderson]

One thing that I don't think anyone has mentioned. Everybody is "cabinet saw is the holy grail". They're nice....I have a Grizzly 1023 which can be had for around $500+- used. It WILL NOT RUN on 120 volts. No way no how. Any cabinet saw is going to require a 230 volt 15-20 amp circuit so factor that in.

I'm actually in luck. We've been in our house for about three years and the previous owner used to do auto repair in the garage and has at least 220 plugs in there, so I'm pretty much set for either.

Some hybrid saws have the trunnion assembly bolted to the table, others are light-duty cabinet saw setups. Hybrids will run on 120 volts although you can't have 4 things plus the saw running on one 15 amp circuit. The discontinued Sears "Zipcode" saws are an excellent choice if you can find one. The trunnions mount to the cabinet no the top, like a cabinet saw. model 221xx e.g. 22124 comes with a genuine bies fence that's worth $200+ by itself. Steel City was selling a hybrid saw which was very similar to the Sears zipcode.

I looked at the Steel City website -- they have some really nice looking stuff. Their nearest distributor is quite a ways from me in MN.

[Jerome Hanby]

If I have all the player lineups straight, I think Rigid is Emerson, formed with Sears dropped them in favor of some cheaper OEM manufacturer for their saws. I think the trick is to identify which Craftsman saws were built by Emerson or Ryobi. Pretty sure my 315.228390 is a Ryobi. I've seen online someplace that the "113." prefix saws were Emerson but I don't know that for a fact. This link seems to backup that numbering scheme (and ID 315 as Ryan.Ryobi).

Good to know. How do you tell an Emerson built Ridgid? Is that the item # starting with 113.xxxxx that was mentioned? Or is that only for Craftsmans? I don't know Ridgid's model numbers very well...

[scott spencer]

Good to know. How do you tell an Emerson built Ridgid? Is that the item # starting with 113.xxxxx that was mentioned? Or is that only for Craftsmans? I don't know Ridgid's model numbers very well...

Emerson owns the Ridgid name, and built the Ridgid TS2412, TS2424, and TS3612 before contracting with TTI/Ryobi to build the TS3650 and TS3660. There's a bunch of different Craftsman models...those with the 113 prefix are made by Emerson, but not all with the 113 prefix are full size cast iron contractor saws with belt drive induction motors. If it's got the 113 prefix, is cast iron, and has a belt drive motor hanging out the back, odds are very high that it's a contractor saw of the same lineage that are generally considered pretty good saws. There were a few with shaft drive motors that I'd be less comfortable with, there were some that had direct drive motors and aluminum tops, and there could very well be other variations that I'm not familiar with.

[John W Henderson]

Sooo... I've been looking around on Search Tempest, a CL searcher that looks at local areas. Would these qualify as good deals?

- http://flint.craigslist.org/tls/2547623187.html
- http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/tls/2548555853.html (I'm anticipating warnings about the fence and suggestions to haggle)
- http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/tls/2525224826.html (perhaps the worst shaped one, but cheapest)
- http://springfieldil.craigslist.org/tls/2511814521.html
- http://stlouis.craigslist.org/tls/2432089574.html (pretty ugly)
- http://desmoines.craigslist.org/tls/2498133935.html (looks to be in amazing shape)

Just want to know what I should be looking for. Even from the above, there's obviously some crazy variation between them. That one for $600 that's newer looks fantastic. And one can see that some are charging just a hundered or two different despite one looking like it's pretty much ready to rock whereas others look like a really long restoration project ahead.

Are any of these good deals or is one really to wait for that mythical $152 unisaw saw (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...2-14-table-saw)?
-

[Tim Morton]

that $600 unisaw on top seems like a no brainer...it will probably be sold by the end of the night....if you want it and have the cash..go get it.

The others could be good deals as well, but i am no unisaw expert....

[scott spencer]

That $600 Uni with the Unifence looks like a really nice deal if it's in as good a shape as it looks, and if you've got $600...if you don't have $600, get $600 and buy it! I'm not a Uni expert either, but I suspect that will go fast.

[Mark Engel]

Yes. Buy the Unisaw in Flint.