Question about your Table Saw

[Dave Hammelef]

I have seen lots of people ask about table saws just wondering how many people would not recomend there saw to someone.

Please specify Cbs (cabinet Saw), Cns (contractor saw) , Dds (direct drive saw).

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

I only answered the poll once, based on my Xacta saw...which I recommend without hesitation.

But we also have a Grizzly 1023ZX at the mesquite outfit that I would not recommend.

KC

[Bart Leetch]

I need to qualify my yes I would recommend my Craftsman contractor saw.

It was made in 1997 by Ridgid When I set it up I used locktite on the screws that hold the fence to the guide shoe that rides on the guide rail. This is where everyone seems to have had a problem with this fence I've never had any problems with my fence or any other part of the saw since I set it up in November of 1997. So if you can find one of these saws & set it up this way it works great.

However you cannot use a stack dado on this saw the arbor has a area right next to the arbor flange that is 5/8" the rest of this arbor is smaller so the chippers & right side outside blade may not be in line with the left outside blade & make a flat dado.

Thats ok I have a set of 9 router bits from Woodline Inc. that will cut 1/4",1/2", 3/4" or plywood width dadoes or melamine width dadoes cost about $43 with shipping & I ordered them on a Wednesday & had them Friday.

I can use a wobble dado if I am doing a lot of dado's to hog them out & the flatten the dado bottoms with the router.

I hope to some day have a Grizzly G1023SL.

[Bart Leetch]

Originally posted by Kirk (KC) Constable
I only answered the poll once, based on my Xacta saw...which I recommend without hesitation.

But we also have a Grizzly 1023ZX at the mesquite outfit that I would not recommend.

KC

Why not???

[Dave Avery]

Dewalt DW746...... like it very much

[John Christiansen]

I am one of the negative votes for the contractor saw. I should qualify that vote by saying, I have had this saw and it has served me well for many years and will probably continue to serve me for years to come, but it is not without it's problems and shortcomings. The greatest being a lack of horsepower. But i'm the kinda person that just won't invest in something new untill the old is a complete goner. I drive my vehicles until they can't be fixed anymore and I keep my tools until they can't be restored to serviceable condition. Then I brag about how long they lasted.

That being said, I still spend a good amount of time looking at tools and drooling over the thought of owning this that or the other one. And after looking at most of the popular or should I say "more well known" cabinet saws out there (this does not include the big old iron or the european models) and makeing three trips to springfield to caress and slober all over the Griz 1023. I am at a loss, where the other companies display anything that can justify the cost of their saws. fit and finish, trunion strength, fence, horsepower, whatever. I just don't see what is so much better about the other brands, that can command twice to three times the price of a Grizzly.

Someday, should I outlive this old Craftsman I got now, there will be a 1023 sitting in my shop. I just gotta get a few thousand more feet of lumber through this old junker.

[David Rose]

I have other". My bandsaw suffices, thank you very much.

Sorry, couldn't resist. :-)

David

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

Hey Bart...see my response to the 'cabinet saw purchase' thread.

I get in trouble every time I specifically don't recommend the 1023Z. A few of you have met me, and a few have actually been to either my place or the mesquite outfit to visit. Those that have know without question that I am not a tool 'snob'. I have a lot of JET stuff at home, but I've also got Delta. And when I get around to buying a big planer and a bigger jointer, Grizzly is what I'll get. I've been very pleased with the planer/jointer, and sing their praises on a regular basis.

The Grizzly will surely do 'everything the more expensive one will do'...but it simply doesn't 'feel' like the same caliber saw while it's doing it. It doesn't 'sound' like the same caliber saw, and the adjustment wheels don't adjust as 'crisply' as the more expensive saws. I say these things based on personal experience, and frequently using the Grizzly and JET within an hour of each other.

KC

[Bill Grumbine]

I have a Delta unisaw which was built in 1954, four years before I was built. I love it, and would not hesitate to get an older saw like this again. It was not my first saw though.

My first table saw was an 8" Black and Decker direct drive table top saw. I thought it was the greatest thing, and I used it heavily. For years though, I lusted after a bigger saw, and after a long time, finally got the $395 to buy an AMT 10" contractors saw. I thought it was the greatest thing, and I used it heavily.

After using it for some years, I started "tweaking it out". I put a Vega fence on it, I swapped out one wing for a Bosch router table, I put a link belt and turned pulleys on it, and a good carbide blade from Freud. I thought it was the greatest thing, and I used it heavily.

Then one day I saw an ad in the paper for this used unisaw. I had the money, but I did not have the room for it. I bought it anyway, for the day when I would have the room. It took me over three years to get the room, but then I got to set it up and start using it. You might think I am going to write "I thought it was the greatest thing, and I used it heavily." Well I'm not.

It is far and away the best saw I have ever owned. It has a Forrest WWII on it, a unifence with an afermarket fence attachment which makes it even better, and a router table in the wing again. It does everything I ask it and does it very well. But, I know now that there are better saws out there. I will probably never own a Felder, or some other similar machine, but I am very happy with my old Delta, and even though I know it is not the greatest thing, I still use it heavily.

Bill

[Dan Bussiere]

Nicely said, Bill!!!
Dan

[David LaRue]

I only voted once, and that was for my cabinet saw, a Powermatic 66. Like a lot of hobbyists, that typically start with modest goals and modest equipment, (just in case the hobby interest fades away). I took this course with my 1st saw:

I purchased Craftsman 10" contractor's saw. The one with the cast iron wings and a accessories package that included a better blade, a wobble dado, and some spring steel hold downs. My interest in woodworking grew over the past 11 years but I no longer use or have any of the original purchase.

Mind you, that I too tweaked my table saw, because I felt that I was hampered by an inadequate stock fence system, and the inability to keep the saw in tune. By the time I got the saw the way I needed it, I got frustrated, and sold it. Here is the configuration of the saw when I did:

Vega Fence - I miss the micro adjust
Zero clearance plate
Freud 40 tooth finish blade
Link belt and machined pulley
Dust collection (sort of)

The tipping point for me was the prospect of adding a bunch of jigs and fixtures to the saw. All the time and effort required to do that I felt was best placed on a saw that I was planning on keeping. So, if I were to do it again, I'm not sure I would have changed anything, but if you can afford to start out with a cabinet saw, and think you will stick with woodworking, or get more enjoyment out of it because of a certain saw, go for it. :-)

[Rob Russell]

I have a cabinet saw (older Unisaw) and would recommend it. It's done most everything I've asked of it. The one thing that's not as easy as I'd like is handling sheets of plywood. That's why I've upgraded to a sliding table saw. As soon as I cut some with it, I'll report the results.

[John Schreiber]

I make do pretty well with a circular saw with good shop built edge guides and a sheet of styrofoam. For most smaller cuts I just use my Japanese style hand saws.

I'd love to have a good contractor's or cabinet saw. But I'd love to have some money in the bank even more.

[Jim Becker]

My saga is similar to Bill's, but much more compressed in time (although I was built a year earlier, myself). I ended up with my third table saw only little more than a year into this wonderful hobby. My first was a Craftsman benchtop that I bought in early 1998 before I knew any better... Six months later, I bought a Delta Grand Edition Contractors' style saw with the UniFence which I was extremely happy with and that fit in the space I had available. It also matched all my nice Jet equipment in color...hee hee...

When we moved to this property about a year later, I had a bigger shop and the money for a cabinet saw was no problem. I sold the Delta for not much less than I paid for it and have been using the cabinet saw ever since. While I miss the UniFence, my Jet LT machine has been rock-solid. It's everything I could have wanted in a table saw. The only thing I'd change is to add a sliding table if I had the space for one...which I don't.

[Paul Geer]

I have a Delta unisaw 3hp with the 52" extension Unifence on a movable base at the home shop, had it now for 3 years, Yes would recommend.

And here at the workshop we have Delta unisaw 5hp with the Beisemeyer setup, just got it last year replaced a Grizzly we had for 10 years, Yes would recommend but would point out problems with the extension tables.

Both have 10" blades of course.