"John" wrote in message
. ..
I've had a 10 inch Craftsman Table Saw for about 25 years which I bought
used and without an owner's manual. The saw has been used mostly for
rough cuttings, nothing really exact. What I know, I've learned from my
many mistakes. The rip fence is not great, so I have to sort of coax
it parallel with the blade. I raise the blade to max height, take
measurements, the distances, at the front and back of the blade to the
fence. I try to get these measurement exact by moving the front or back of
the fence. I have never made any adjustments to see if the blade is truly
parallel with the guides in the cast iron table top. I don't know if
there is an adjustment. The label on the motor is 1 hp/ 14 amps. The saw
model # is 113299040 Manufacture # 1 77 .

Questions:

1. Can this saw be used in hobby work working, or will I just get
frustrated with the results? Assume I try to build some book cases and
cabinets and then move on to other projects.

I have a 40-ish year old Craftsman Model 100 myself. I've put a 2HP motor
on it, installed an Align-A-Rip fence on it (great cost effective
alternative to high end pricey fence systems), and I did a complete
alignment on the saw. It is more than satisfying for hobby woodworking.
I've built kitchen cabinets, vanities, bathroom cabinets, etc. with this
saw, and never had to perform unnatural acts to do so. It cuts accurate and
true every time. I never measure with a tape from the fence to the blade
anymore. I just rely on the calibration on the fence. Sure - it's not a
really nice cabinet saw, but it has not failed me yet. I've shoved 8/4
hardwoods through it, and never thought twice about doing so.

I built table extensions to match the size of my fence system and installed
my router in one of the extension wings. I like that configuration a lot.
Lets me use the fence for the router as well as the saw.


2. Would it make sense to spend $300+ on a good fence for this saw ?
Example a Biesemeyer Type if it would fit.


If you've got the money for that, then you'd be satisfied. I paid closer to
$150 for my Align-A-Rip from Sears.


3. Is it possible to get an Owner Manual for this saw?

Do a google for old machines. There is an old machines web site that has
manuals for a lot of this old stuff.



4. I was looking recently at a new 10" General 2 hp , 115 volt Table Saw
as a possible replacement. Thoughts?

Probably not going to be a lot more saw than what you have. Yours is
probably a cast iron table - is the new one? Have you priced or tried to
find a bigger motor for your saw? That's one of the easy upgrades to throw
at it and make it a much better performer than it is now. And... align it.


--

-Mike-