Dewalt 744 portable table saw bites the dust

[Phil Landwer]

My Dewalt 744 table saw started smoking today, and making a real racket.
I shut it down right away, and the motor makes all sorts of noise when I rotate the blade by hand.

I used the heck out of that thing for about 7 years. I have no idea how many feet of lumber I ran thru it, including hard stuff like Purpleheart and Bloodwood, by the truckload.

So, now I'm in the market for something new.
I'm really strapped on money, so I don't have many options.
I'd like to investigate the minimum size TS that I can mount a stock feeder on.
Is this even possible around $500?

[Joseph Tarantino]

My Dewalt 744 table saw started smoking today, and making a real racket.
I shut it down right away, and the motor makes all sorts of noise when I rotate the blade by hand.

I used the heck out of that thing for about 7 years. I have no idea how many feet of lumber I ran thru it, including hard stuff like Purpleheart and Bloodwood, by the truckload.

So, now I'm in the market for something new.
I'm really strapped on money, so I don't have many options.
I'd like to investigate the minimum size TS that I can mount a stock feeder on.
Is this even possible around $500?

the stock feeder might be a problem, but this is my suggestion:

http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/R4510-Ta...w/EN/index.htm

and it can be registered with ridgid for their lifetime service agreement. if your current situation was with a ridgid instead of a dewalt, you could bring the saw to an auithorized ridgid repair shop and it would be repaired FREE (parts and labor). what's not to like about that? one of my sons is a journeyman plumber and he only uses ridgid, as do i and his brother. he goes through tools every 2 or 3 years, and he just keeps bringing them into an authorized repair shop and they keep fixing them. he kind of chuckles at his buddies who insist on dewalt and, after 3 years, either replace the tools or pay the repair bill when they break down. just my $.02.

[Matt Day]

I think you need to go the used route. I'd suggest a used cabinet saw - I got mine for about $300 and after I tuned it up it works great. You can get a great used cabinet saw for $500 or under, it just might take some looking. A power feeder is going to be tough, especially at that price I think. I don't have any experience with them though.

[Phil Landwer]

Also, I saw a TS that had a sanding wheel on the side....saw a picture and couldn't make out the brand....that would sure be nice, too.

[Phil Landwer]

What's the minimum size TS out there I should be looking at, to mount a stock feeder on?
I just hate my feeder sitting around, not being used.

[Don Jarvie]

Look for a Unisaw or Powermatic 66 or other heavy duty cabinet saw. You might need to so some clean up but it will be what you are looking for.

I've seen 66's with powerfeeders for sale on the list before so that might be something to look at.

Don

[Phil Landwer]

Wow, looks like that Powermatic 66, is like the F150 truck......it's everywhere, with parts readily available all over the place.

Sure wish I lived closer to Florida.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Powermatic-M...item2567e4eefc

[Phil Landwer]

Are the Powermatic 66's all 3 phase?

[Peter Kelly]

The 66 is or was available as 5hp/3phase or 3hp/1phase.

[Don Jarvie]

The older ones seem to be 3ph more than 1 phase, but 1 ph can be had. Cragslist will have better deals than the bay.

Thats a pretty good deal on the Bay but you will have to swap out the motor or get something to convert single phase to 3ph. Thats a 1980 saw.

[Dave Lehnert]

If you can find a used Shopsmith planer, that would be a good choice. I purchased one new ($849) 20 years ago. They run around $1,200 now. I see them pop up on CL for $300 to $500. Like the mark 5, they are built like a tank.

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/planers.htm

FSProPlaner.jpg