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Thread: General Hybred 50-220c ??

  1. #1

    General Hybred 50-220c ??

    My local Woodcraft has these on clearance for $699.xx with a free moblie base. It's a 2 hp hybred saw (table mounted t's) w/ a Bise clone fence. Is this a good price? Anybody know the good and/or bad of this model.

    http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=5950

    http://www.woodcraft-gallery.com/StreamingMedia/genhybrid.wmv
    Building Inspector, CBO

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Carlyle IL
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    2,183
    Yes, this is a good price. the GI contractor saw costs a $100 more.

    General and GI make really nice WW equipment and if you buy it, you will be happy.

    Joe

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Rochester, NY
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    4,717
    That's a good price and the saw has always looked nicely made to me. I've also read many positive comments from owners....plenty of power, good DC, small footprint. One possible drawback is that the motor is not a standard NEMA 56 frame, meaning should it ever need to be replaced outside of warranty, you'd either need to replace with the proprietary frame that fits, likely through GI, or have it rewired.

    I'd be tempted at $700.
    Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

  4. #4
    Things I wonder about:

    2 HP ?? @ 13/6.5 amps
    The strange 2 belt system
    The 2 1/2" dust collection off the blade shroud
    The thin blade insert (held down with a screw)
    Table mounted "T" (it looks to be a lot less beefy than my Jet contractors saw)
    Building Inspector, CBO

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
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    Rochester, NY
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    4,717
    The 2hp motor rating may be a stretch, but I understand that the two stage drive system increases torque.
    Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Carlyle IL
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    2,183
    The GI contractor saw has a 2 hp motor.

    I have cut 2 inch plus -150 yr old bone dry - dense as rock - almost petrified wood - barn Oak with my saw and the saw performed admirably.

    A good quality blade and consistent feed rate/technique helps.

    Joe

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Griswold Connecticut
    Posts
    6,927
    Scot.

    I've owned mine for about 16 months now, so I've discovered most of it's quirks, and good points.

    1. Dust collection;
    I don't really understand that little vacuum attachment on the dust shroud. There is a standard 4" hookup at the bottom of the cabinet, so I'm not really sure how that 2 1/2" would be used with the door open if you have a standard DC setup.
    The dust shroud completelty encases the blade, which is good, and bad. With a ZCI you don't get chips and waste down the throat. With a non ZCI insert. That 2 1/2" port gets clogged fairly quickly and has to be cleared. I run a standard 4" pickup and have the right hand cover removed inside. You'll need to go to some form of overhead DC pick up, for long rips with a ZCI installed.

    2. The throat plate. Get a ZCI! That throat plate is too flimsy. Material has a tendancy to deflect it at the beginning and end of the material as it passes over it if the material width is less than the width of the throat plate, that screw has to be tightened perfectly, or it will bow the plate up in the middle slightly. Don't leave the store without a ZCI. Woodcraft sells one by General for ~ $45.00, and one by LeeCraft for ~$20.00. I have two. One for standard rip and crosscut blades and one for dado blades.

    3. The motor.
    I don't think it's 2HP either. It feels like my Jet 1 1/2hp contractor saw. It may not be a Nema 56 frame, but it is some form of a C face adaption mount.
    Mine is still wired for 120vac. All I can say is that I have cut 8/4 wenge, jatoba, bubinga, padauk, maple, and cocobola. I've put 4/4 orange osage, macassar ebony, african blackwood,and anigre through. All dense, oily tropical hardwoods,and it works just fine with a standard kerf blade. I use CMT's and WW II's for blades. Someday, I'll work with those liteweight woods like oak, and cherry and walnut.

    4. The fence.

    Umm... the fence is "OK" nothing special. Mine had a tendancy to slip about an 1/8", but that was fixed with a piece of 400 grit sandpaper under the cam lever. There is a beautiful enamel paint on the fence rails, which I think may be just a little too smooth and slippery for the cam acting on a piece of plastic material, thus relying on the mechanical advantage of the cam and friction.

    5. The table.

    The table is beautiful. Mine is dead on flat and came very well polished. a slight waxing and material slides right across. They did a super job on the table, and CI wings for this saw.

    I don't know what a "Table mounted "T" is"???

    I paid ~ $200.00 more than that sale price,and I think it was a good value at ~$899. If you get the same quality saw out of the box that I did, it's worth $699.00

    I'll try to answer any specific questions if you post them. It really is a nice machine for the $$$
    Last edited by Mike Cutler; 06-19-2007 at 10:14 PM.

  8. #8
    Thanks Mike!

    1. I will be using the standard 4" hookup. I just thought that the way they split the flow up may not work to well.

    5. "I don't know what a "Table mounted "T" is"???"
    I meant Table mounted Trunnion ( vs. a full blown cabinet saw)
    Building Inspector, CBO

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Griswold Connecticut
    Posts
    6,927
    Scot.

    I haven't really looked at the trunnion mechanism on this one. It is basically a contractor saw trunnion arrangement, but it's not as simple as the 4 bolts on a contractor saw. I'm sure I'll take the whole thing apart someday. I like to mess around with stuff like that.
    I've never had the phobia about adjusting table mounted trunnions that some folks do. They are very easy to adjust. Once set properly they are set unless something happens that whacks the trunnion(s) out of alignment..
    The easiest way to set the table mounted trunnions on any contractor saw is to remove the table and trunnions from the enclosure. Flip it upside down on a benchtop and you have access to all 4 trunnion mounts. The front two are nearly impossible to get to with the saw assembled..
    Doing it this way allows a person to swap out those cheap bolts and use higher quality bolts. Put some threadlocker on them, turn the table and trunnions rightside up and then do the adjustment. The thing I don't like about PALS is that they are only moving the back trunnion. Being able to move the back, and front trunnion simultaneously is better in my opinion.

    I agree with your position on the DC setup. If there was a hose that went from the 2 1/2" connection into the 4" connection that acted as an eductor, I might be able to see it.
    Best I can deduce is that they wanted someone to be able to hook the saw up to a standard Shop Vac in absence of a DC or cyclone setup. I still removed the righthand side cover of the blade pickup. It seems to work better for me.

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