Contractor saw owners?

[Michael McCoy]

http://www.in-lineindustries.com/saw_pals.html

[Alex Carrera]

I need to get a linked belt. I'm building a dust collection system for my delta contractor saw now. I'll post when I'm done. I want to get a nozzle as near the blade insert as possible.

[Greg Cole]

I have a General 50-185 with:
Incra Fence system with looooong rails.
Link belt & custom made pulleys for double belt drive.
Snap in splitter.
Shark Guard (not on the saw yet but in Lee's shop).
Left side Woodpeck RT (eventually will live on a dedicated base).
Shop fox mobile base w/ extension kit for long rails
ZCI's

But in all honesty, one of the things I never had cross my mind until I upgraded the shop power was to re-wire the motor to 220V versus the standard 110. The saw spins up to full speed in no time and does not bog down in the least with a wide kerf blade ripping thick stock, and with a think kerf blade it's night n day from before.

Worth whatcha paid for it....

Greg

[Don Stanley]

Align the saw if necessary and resolve any vibration issues. A contractors table saw will never be a cabinet saw, but you can add some upgrades that will make a BIG difference. A good blade and a splitter should be the first item on your list. A big outfeed table and a large crosscut are especially nice.



Here's a link for more pictures: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/useralbums.php

-Don

[Russell Tribby]

Nice table Don. I built an outfeed table similar to that and while it's served me well I'm not happy with it. You gave me some good ideas. I like your leg design. Have you ever had a problem with material catching on the cut out for the motor? I was just going to route out a recess in the bottom of the table for my motor's swing.

[Bob Genovesi]

Here's my Jet sightly modified,

In 1998 I decided to purchase something new and settled on the Jet Contractor model with 1 cast iron wind and the 30 inch XACTA fence system. The saw also came with a 1 3/4hp motor wired for 110 volts.

Once home and partially assembled I ordered an additional cast iron wing, machined pulleys, and a link belt. I changed the motor over to 220 volts then gave the saw a complete tuneup using a TS-Aligner Jr.



Here's the saw in it's present state with 2 cast iron wings.





I added a JDS Accu-Miter miter gage which matches the precision and repeatability of the saw. Also note the dust collection, a very important addition.



This saw will cut what ever I run through it all day long and with the repeatable precision of something much more expensive at much less the cost.

This investment was definatley worth it.

[Jim Heffner]

Anybody have a problem with the Delta Contractor saw where when trying to tighten the blade height locking knob it lowers the blade? It is the most frustrating thing. I have cleaned and lubed everything and it continues to do it. Also Mine saw blade will slowing lower itself when running but I cant tighten the the knob enough to get it to stop.

Thanks,
Scott

Scott, you might want to try install some type of flat friction washer behind that knob...may help keep the knob tight. Jim Heffner

[Richard Dragin]

Start with a used Delta 36-666 that looks like a boat anchor that you bought for $75.....



Clean it up, order a couple of parts from Sevicenet......



Add, machined pullies, link belt, paddle switch, PAL's, ZCI, Accu Square fence, Forrest blade, align everything with a dial indicator and build a cabinet to hold it all....




I have since added Maple trim and routed slots for a sled, now I only need the Shark Guard to finish it off....

[Jim McCarty]

Start with a used Delta 36-666 that looks like a boat anchor that you bought for $75.....



Clean it up, order a couple of parts from Sevicenet......



Add, machined pullies, link belt, paddle switch, PAL's, ZCI, Accu Square fence, Forrest blade, align everything with a dial indicator and build a cabinet to hold it all....




I have since added Maple trim and routed slots for a sled, now I only need the Shark Guard to finish it off....

Nice restoration job! There ought to be a law against letting a good tool fall into that kind of condition.

[Mike Henderson]

I have an older Craftsman contractor's saw that someone gave me - motor was dead. Over the years, I put machined pulleys on it, a link belt, carefully adjusted and aligned it, added a Biesemeyer fence, and perhaps the biggest thing, I bought a 2HP motor for it, which I run on 220V. 2HP is about the limit for the belt drive. Even at 2HP, I experience belt slipping if I feed too fast.

It cuts well and I've used it for a lot of projects but it's not a cabinet saw. I use cabinet saws at school, and even with the abuse they get from students, they adjust and cut much smoother than my contractor's saw. Problem is, I want to get a cabinet saw with a riving knife and they're just starting to come out. Even better would be a SawStop but I'm just not ready to spend that much money right now.

Mike

[Bill Jepson]

I posted earlier, and I have the Rigid Saw. This saw has a nice small well that sits under the blade and has a close fit to the insert up top. It's plastic and looks a bit hokie but is pretty close fitting. There's a 4" outlet to run to the DC or shop vac. To my everlasting suprise it works very well. I'm using a regular shop vac. I'd love a dust collector which will be another buy soon, but I'm supprised some of the "big saws" don't use a system that isolates the cuttings from the main cabinet. You need much better DC to pick up the dust in those. The only way to improve mine much would be a overtable pick up to a good dust collector. The main thing to look for in the contractors saw is, does it have a CI table and CI wings. measure the miter groove as well as some mfgrs. seem to use non-standard widths. The key here really is how well does the saw cut after "tuning". Mine required some minor fine tuning with the indicator. After that the saw would cut a shaving .010" thick the length of a jointed board past the kerf. After that I'd say any mistakes are MY fault. a good cabinet saw will stay in adjustment longer I'm sure but I'm happy with mine considering it came from a borg box store for under $600. It may get replaced someday but I would need to be cutting a lot more lumber for it to make sense.
Bill

[Bart Leetch]

Richard

It looks like you've been have to much fun.

Tell me do you stand in front of your saw or at the end of the right extension to run your router table?

The reason I ask this is because a shaper & a jointer are both run while standing along side the tools & I think this is safer because it helps give the operator better control throughout the operation. This is the way you usually see a router table set up to be operated when it is set up as a stand alone tool.


I stand along side my router table & it has its own fence shown in the 3rd picture.

Here is what I started out with & the results are I have a 1940 Delta Unisaw in my shop with a router table in the left hand wing. Initial cost $250 final cost with motor, fence, door, Belts, Paint,material & laminate for tops, hardware for router table,router plate. router raiser, free m12V $900. I had a lot of fun fixing up this old saw. I off set the fence 24.5" to the left so I can place the fence to the left of the blade for bevel cuts & still cut 44" to the right. The most I usually cut to the right is for a end of a base cabinet.

I also have my Dad's 1950's Craftsman contractors saw which just needs to be mounted to the cabinet I have to put it on & install the magnetic switch & turned on it is still a real good saw.

[Stan Welborn]

What do you do to increase performance on your contractor saw?

Rolled it over into the corner of my shop to hibernate and used something else.