Hello everyone! I am new here, but have been lurking for a while. I am a beginner, but I have plans to build furniture and small projects. I have built a few things, expedient shelves and work benches and the like, but plan to start my first furniture projects in the next few days. Currently I have a slightly oversize two-car garage (which holds 2 cars when I am not working in it).

I had a small Craftsman contractor saw I purchased a couple years ago. I recently sold it because it clearly did not meet my needs, and bought a Craftsman 21833 on sale. It seemed like a pretty nice saw. However, I have been watching the Sears outlet and reading online, and I have found a 22124 in my area. It is not super-cheap like some people have gotten, but it is cheaper than retail.

I am wondering if I should return the 21833 and get the 22124. I have been out of town and have not assembled the 21833 yet (though it is out of the box). The 22124 is about $250 more than the 21833 and I would have to build or buy a mobile base for the saw (which would add another $100 to the price). I don’t know what condition the 22124 is in, though, and if it is in bad shape that certainly would ruin the deal.

I think that overall the 22124 is probably a better saw, and certainly the fence is a huge upgrade—though the 21833 for the money seems pretty good. Unfortunately, currently I am just not real excited about spending the extra money. My biggest complaint (other than the lack of wheels) for the 22124 is the lack of a riving knife. It seems like a fairly good idea to have one, though I guess I might be able to add one later. I am also concerned with the extra weight and being able to get it out of the back of my truck. The 21833 is also lighter, and it sounds like it is more complicated to align and make my own blade inserts for. I could add a Delta T2 fence to the 21833, but that would be $150-200, which would make it about the same price.

What are your thoughts? I have been watching Craig’s List in my area a fair amount, and haven’t really seen much in my price range.