On Nov 30, 10:56*am, Ray wrote:
On Mon, 29 Nov 2010 11:40:53 -0800, Rich wrote:
Ray wrote:

I am looking for a mid range table saw. *I am 70 so this will be the
last one that I buy. *I don't want to go through the hassle of buying
a used one (been there done that in spades). *The two that I am
looking at are the Porter Cable PCB270TS at Lowe's. *It is fairly
recent and has gotten a few good reviews. *The other is the Ridgid
R4512 at Home Depot, again fairly new with a few good reviews. *It is
very similar to the Craftsman 21833 at Sears the has gotten mixed
reviews mostly to an alignment problem which may boil down to some
missing instructions and needing some better washers at a critical
point.

I have been doing woodworking for about 65 years, starting in
kindergarten. *I am sort of an intermediate wood worker who has very
inexpensive tools. *My present saw is a Delta tabletop with a broken
miter gauge. *I looked at the portable contractors saws and it looks
like for a few $ more I can get a very substantial beast. *For
examples of some of my work look at

http://ray80538.home.comcast.net/~ra.../woodwork.html

and

http://ray80538.home.comcast.net/~ra...woodwork2.html

Nice work!!!! I have that little Delta I use out in the field, not a bad saw
for a mini. I believe Lowes use to sell Jet table saws, you might take a
look at them too. Don't think you can get an after market miter for the mini
saw because the miter grove is smaller then your full size saws.
Rich

Thanks to all for the kind comments on my woodworking projects, and
thanks for the input on saw choice.

The Delta bench top saw has served me well, but I want to move on to
something better. *I first looked at the mobile contractors saws such
as the De Walt 745. *It got very good reviews. *It sells for ~$300. *I
also looked at the Ridgid R4512. *It sells for $529, but since I am a
veteran I can buy it for ~$475. *For 50% more money I get a saw that
will accept dado blades, has separate elevation and blade angle
cranks, has a nice fence, has stand, cast iron top, and weighs 5 times
as much. *Seems like good value. *Reviews seem mixed in this price
class with common complains about blade alignment being off by .003"
and table top being off flat by .019". *This class of saw seems to be
an order of magnitude more than what I presently use, and since I tend
to be a sawdust maker rather than a tool collector I wonder if this is
good enough for me? *The next step up seem to be the Grizzly etc.
which are about double the Ridgid and with other exotic saws costing
about what my first house cost. *My son has a Shop Fox in the $1K
class. *It is a nice saw. *Will I really see much difference between
the $500 and the $900 saws *since I am stepping up from a rather basic
saw?

On re comparing I think I like the Ridgid better than the Porter Cable
because of the fence and ease of adjustment of the blade.

Thanks

Ray

Ray:
I used one of the old 1970's Craftsman, open bottom "Contractor's"
saws for 25 years. It seems like they must have made millions of them
and I was proud of it when I bought it new. It was underpowered, the
blade-tilt hand-wheel required both hands to make adjustments, it
vibrated, had a loose miter gage and the fence was not good. But it
worked, and I cranked out some pretty nice projects.

When I upgraded to my Grizzly 1023s 10 years ago it was like moving
from a garden tractor to a Lexus (well, maybe a slight exaggeration
~:^} ). The 1023s is smooth, the fence has required very infrequent
adjustment, the stock miter gage is good, but not wonderful, the hand-
wheels are smooth as silk, and it has power to handle anything I need
to do.

I also mentioned using our son's Grizzly contractor saw. The only
comparison between the his Grizzly and the Craftsman was general size
and appearance. The Griz has cast iron table wings like the 1023s.
The handwheels are smooth. The fence is very similar to my Grizzly/
Shop Fox fence and the overall operating characteristics are fairly
similar to my Grizzly cabinet saw. It is just a little smaller, open
bottomed and has 2hp instead of 3hp.

Your work examples clearly show you are an advanced woodworker. I
certainly won't say that an upper end contractor's saw or a cabinet
saw will make you a better woodworker. I will say it will make
woodworking easier and more enjoyable.

RonB