Flex Drive Table Saw

[chris yount]

I ran across a good deal on a table saw.It's a Craftsman flex drive .The blade is driven by a cable instead of a belt.Does any one have any experience with this system?The saw is in good shape but I'm not at all familiar with this drive set up.
Thanks,
Chris

[jack howery]

I had one for yrs.IT Not a very good saw and when that flex drive breaks it cost more than what the saw is worth.Terrible fence was kinda hoping it would quit on me.Not much use for yrs but when i got to working in the shop a lot it did not hold up.pals will not work on it.unless you can afford nothing else would be better than nothing but i personally would leave it.
hope this helps jack

[chris yount]

That was my first impression.It would seem that the cable would add vibration to the spindle.The fence wasnt great but that could be replaced.
The whole drive just seems odd to me.That was my biggest concern.
thanks,
chris

[Bruce Page]

I've never read anything good on the Craftsman flex drive. I'd pass on it.

[Bill Houghton]

and the review was not kind to the saw. I remember the review mentioning that the flex drive would bind and shudder and generally suffer big frictional power losses.

Another good theory that breaks down in practice, like the early 1960s General Motors car that used a torsion bar in place of a driveshaft, which was fine until the bar snapped, which they did a lot, and tore out the underside of the car.

“In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.” – Yogi Berra

[Gene Jordan]

Chris,
I bought one new from Sears. The flex drive was trouble from the start.
If I were you I would pass on this one at any price. Mine wound up being junked.

[Dennis Puskar]

Chris
Don't buy it, it is nothing but problems. I had one gave it away.

Dennis

[hank dekeyser]

Ditto - under load, the shaft jumps around like crazy. just plai junk design - I'd rather use a direct drive (bench top) saw . Ponie up the money and get a Uni-Saw , or at least a good copy of one.




Elvis isn't dead , he just went home

[Rod Sheridan]

I'll post the contrary viewpoint here.

In Canada the saws were $1,000 in 1988. My Mother in Law worked for Emmerson and purchased me one for under $500.

I used the saw until I purchased a General 650 about 13 years later.

The flex drive saw worked great, if you lubricated the drive shaft every year with moly grease..

I ripped a large amount of 8/4 oak with that saw using a sharp, full kerf rip blade.

The motor was 1.25 HP, with open ventilation and sleeve bearings. I oiled the bearings on an annual basis, blew the dust out of the motor, and the saw is still going strong at a co-workers house.

I did add a flat surface to the fence by shimming, the stock fence wasn't flat.


Regards, Rod.

[Lee Schierer]

Ask yourself why Sears and all other manufacturers dropped this design after a very short period of time? Why do the majority of good saws have belt drives? The simple answer is that direct drives had a lot of problems and most users didn't care and feed them properly. Belt drives are tolerant of overloads and lack of servicing. Do yourself a favor and get a belt driven saw.

One other Craftsman product to avoid is the aluminum topped saws. None I have ever seen had a flat table and the aluminum leaves black marks on your lumber.

P.S. I own and use a Craftsman cast iron top saw.

[John Callahan]

Another good theory that breaks down in practice, like the early 1960s General Motors car that used a torsion bar in place of a driveshaft, which was fine until the bar snapped, which they did a lot, and tore out the underside of the car.

Ah, the infamous rope drive. The manual tranny versions were especially horrid with the guessomatic shift pattern . An excellent concept sabotaged by GM bean counters and later used with success in the Porsche 944. To the OP, in the case of the Craftsman flex drive, pass. A good concept poorly executed

[chris yount]

Thanks for all the help.My first impressions are generally correct. I just like to verify my instinct.There is no place better to gather information than the Creek.

[chris yount]

Thanks for all the help.
My first impressions are generally correct.I just like to verify my instinct.There is no better place to get informative opinions than the Creek.
Rod I dont doubt you had great service from your saw but I don't think this one has seen that level of care.The saw is in good shape but I'm sure the owner didn't give that extra TLC.
Thanks again,
Chris

[Peter Quinn]

Flex drive saw? Really? Sounds like something designed for a drain snake. I have no experience with it in practice, but it sounds like another Sears gimmick meant to attract novice wood workers with odd features unavailable elsewhere. Perhaps B&D's 'snake light' shares some lineage with this drive shaft system? I like a belt or direct drive. Good concepts that ain't broke and don't need fixing.