Identify this oldish looking Craftsman on Craigslist?

[John W Henderson]

Ok, here's were I stand...

Talked with the gentleman who owns the "cabinet-looking" Craftsman (http://duluth.craigslist.org/tls/2514684574.html). Thick northern MN/Dakotas/Canadian accent The saw was his uncle's who bought it new. He inherited it about 6-8 years ago and said it works great. No blade guard, which was disappointing. He said he's been gradually lowering the price because he's moving and just needs to get rid of his bigger stuff. He said "the first one with cash in hand gets it, but I don't want to give it away, either." So... not sure how much I could haggle down for. I'd like to get a blade guard/splitter on this if possible. I guess the restored links above from Vintage Machinery don't show any with a blade guard... maybe they didn't have one.

So, you guys think this is a good investment? I'm pretty excited but am also back and forth between this and something more recent like a Grizzly G1022 or Ridgid 3650. Would anyone have any hesitations between this saw and those? My primary interest is robust mechanisms and alignment. If this saw has those, I'm getting it.

My wife is all in for a day trip to Duluth (2-2.5 hours away) to get it. Couldn't really believe it, but she's quite supportive and loved the restoration pics. I think that sold it to her, so thanks Bill Huber.

I'm thinking I'll offer $150 and see what happens. I'll complain a little about the non-original door in the back, no blade guard (safety card), and wife who doesn't want me to spend much.

Thanks for any final input. He works Sunday, so I'm waiting to see if his son will be around to sell it to me.

[NICK BARBOZA]

I have one I'm trying to sell. Its not the full cabinet but same style. I installed a 34" rip capacity Bies. on it. I was thinking of asking $200-250 for it....

But perhaps the market for these things is different here in Maine. It was a good saw and served me well while i was in college and getting my feet wet with WW. I have since bought a Sawstop ICS and kept the C'man in my shop for 2.5 years thinking a two saw setup was going to be a big time saver and add versatility to my shop. For me, it didn't; I probably used it 4 times since buying my new saw.

Good luck,
NWB

[John W Henderson]

I have one I'm trying to sell. Its not the full cabinet but same style. I installed a 34" rip capacity Bies. on it. I was thinking of asking $200-250 for it....

Do you have some pictures/the CL listing? I would figure with a Bies fence you'd get that price for sure??

Some questions:
- Is the saw accurate? Arbor runout? Anything getting loose such that you think these says have issues of losing accuracy as they age?
- What about blade guard, splitter, etc? What do you do for that? Is it important and if not, why not? If so, what are my options for this?

We might make a trip of going to see this on Sunday, so I'd really like to know how realistic this saw could be in terms of serving a hobbyist woodworker for say 5-10 years. Thanks!

[NICK BARBOZA]

John,

No pics since I hadn't yet posted it online. But I did sell it Saturday at a yard sale for $200. Probably could have asked more but i'm happy to pay it forward for some other woodworker's gloat worthy purchase. Lord knows I've received my share of those.

the saw is as accurate as you want to make it... I know that's kind of a BS response, but its true. I'm not the type so spend 6hrs setting up a machine dialed into the .001. just not me... The original fence was absolute trash, so I upgraded to the Bies, and it served me well for about 3 years. The saw as a whole certainly was not falling apart, but it was older technology, showing its age.

I did not have a blade guard or a splitter. Would have been nice to have in my early days of WW, but the few scary moments without them taught me some good lessons. Not sure of aftermarket options as i never researched it.

Overall the saw was good and worked for me, but I out grew it. My skills and expectations for the machine were beyond what it could provide. It did not like ripping 8/4 and hated ripping 12/4; both of which I use regularly. I know others have had this saw for 40 years and has served them well. I wanted more power, rip capacity and all around fit and finish. All of which i received from my purchase of a new cabinet saw.

If I were to do it again, the only thing I might do differently is buying the Bies fence sooner. The C'man carried me through my learning stages until i could afford to buy a new saw. My only other words of 'wisdom'; depending on where you plan to take this hobby/semi-pro/pro activity, you will likely upgrade to something else in time.

Good luck.
NWB

[John W Henderson]

No pics since I hadn't yet posted it online. But I did sell it Saturday at a yard sale for $200. Probably could have asked more but i'm happy to pay it forward for some other woodworker's gloat worthy purchase. Lord knows I've received my share of those.

Indeed -- congrats on the sale!

the saw is as accurate as you want to make it... I know that's kind of a BS response, but its true. I'm not the type so spend 6hrs setting up a machine dialed into the .001. just not me... The original fence was absolute trash, so I upgraded to the Bies, and it served me well for about 3 years. The saw as a whole certainly was not falling apart, but it was older technology, showing its age.

Sure. That makes sense. What part "shows it's age" or is "older technology" -- other than the fence, perhaps, or the 1HP motor if you wanted more?

Overall the saw was good and worked for me, but I out grew it. My skills and expectations for the machine were beyond what it could provide. It did not like ripping 8/4 and hated ripping 12/4; both of which I use regularly. I know others have had this saw for 40 years and has served them well. I wanted more power, rip capacity and all around fit and finish.

Fair enough. We'll see what I think of mine (just bought this on on Sunday!). I have hardly ever needed to cut 2" stuff, and don't think I've ever cut 3". I've been making mostly picture frames and cribbage boards, so more like 0.75 - 1.5".

If I were to do it again, the only thing I might do differently is buying the Bies fence sooner. The C'man carried me through my learning stages until i could afford to buy a new saw. My only other words of 'wisdom'; depending on where you plan to take this hobby/semi-pro/pro activity, you will likely upgrade to something else in time.

We'll see. It may do fine for my level of usage. Anything up from my current saw is an improvement. Heck, maybe I'll end up refurbing it, using it for a while, and then upgrading. We'll see. From what I looked at, I was either looking at a Delta/Ridgid/Grizzly contractor, or a cabinet saw with the same fence issues + needing refurb + about 3-4x the cost. So... for where I am and what I needed and how much I had... it was the deal for me

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[Curt Harms]

No pics didn't happen . Congratulations on your purchase.

[John W Henderson]

No pics didn't happen . Congratulations on your purchase.

Sorry... been kind of double posting as this thread and another converged. Nevertheless, I got the same request over there, so here you are: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...03#post1763503

[Jim German]

I use my grandfathers old craftsman saw from 1953, still has the original motor, which is only rated at 1.5hp, yet I've never had a problem cutting anything, goes through a 4" thick oak board without difficulty. The saw in general works great, although a nicer fence and bigger table wouldn't hurt.