I bought a Craftsman 152.221140 hybrid table saw yesterday, one of the units made by Steel City. I was able to read up on the saw and check it out for almost an hour before buying it, so I went in knowing it had a couple of issues that I felt I could deal with. I wanted to ask about a couple of things to be sure I'm not off base or missing something important.
First, after tuning up what appeared to be a quite serviceable fence, I found the back side deflects VERY easily, perhaps 1/16 inch with not all that much pressure. I'm convinced after some testing that it's not due to the front clamp racking. Have others who own/owned this normal seen the same thing? I honestly wouldn't use this fence without adding a clamp to the back rail every time I used it.
Second, the 90-degree stop that is adjusted through the topof the table doesn't work very well. When changing the blade angle and then moving it back to 90, the stop feels kind of mushy, and getting back to the absolute 90-degrees that you set the stop for is nigh on impossible. As it stands now, I'll be reaching for a digital angle setting jig or right angle reference to set the blade angle each time.
Since I still have my Rockwell contractor saw (the one that has its own issue trying to get back to 90 degrees, hence the Craftsman replacement), I plan to take the top off and clean/inspect/lubricate everything, replace the drive belt, and put in some foam rubber around the top to seal it up better so the dust collection is more efficient. Maybe I'll find the reason for the inefficient stop while I'm in there.
The motor, bearings and arbor appear to be in great shape; it's quiet and after putting on a good blade, it cuts well and accurately (using a miter gauge). Looks like my Vega Pro fence and SawStop router table extension will bolt right up, and if so I should be pretty well set up.