I stopped by Sears today and looked at the saw being discussed. The table
has one 12" solid steel extension on either side of the table. There was a
cheap looking mdf extension added to the one on the right side. There was
also a stamped steel table extending out the back approximately 24", and it
was also about 24" wide. It was hinged to the rear of the saw and had a
single collapsible brace that allowed it to be lowered to a vertical
position behind the saw. It didn't look like it was very strong, but it
would probably work.
The motor had a single flat belt that was approximately 5/8" wide and maybe
1/8" thick. Looked pretty skimpy to me, but those types of belts are pretty
strong. I would think it would be smooth running, though. I remember
someone wanting to know if the trunnion was mounted to the table, or the
cabinet (I think that is the way it was posed). A sign said "base mounted
trunnion" but it sure looked like it was bolted to the bottom of the table.
I guess they mean the base of the table. I did not see anything bolted or
attached to the cabinet except the table, but my knees started giving out
and I had to stand back up. The mechanism was definitely heavier than the
open stand model that I have, but I would guess it is a far cry from some of
the bigger saws. I have never seen the guts of a high priced cabinet saw.
The Biesemeyer fence does not say anything about being a commercial version,
but someone else said that the commercial fence was 2" tall and the home
fence was only 1.5" tall. This one was 2" tall and stuck out passed the
rear of the table about 10-12". A little later I stopped in at a Rockler's
(it just happened to be on the way home) and the fence on the Sears saw
looked to be the same fence that was on the new Delta X5. Even had the same
labels on it. By the way, the "tape" showed 31" to the right but I don't
think the fence could use all of that without falling off the end. Could
probably get 28". I couldn't slide the fence over to find out because there
was something else behind the saw that blocked it.
It also came with a miter gauge that had an extruded aluminum extension on
it. Maybe 18-20" worth. Don't remember if it extended further, or whether
or not it had a built-in stop block. And it also had an included hold-down.
Other than that I didn't pay it much attention. If you would be doing some
serious work that required a good, solid, accurate miter gauge, you would
probably want to replace it anyway.
Didn't have a lot of time to examine it further, and I don't think the sales
people would have been very helpful anyway. It is worth the $899 price tag?
My personal opinion is no, but I'm really a cheap *******. $600??? Yeah,
probably.
Wayne
"brad" wrote in message
om...
There is a small review of this new model in American Woodworker, #
108, July 2004, which just arrived in my mailbox yesterday. Some
quotes: "Craftsman started from the ground up... redesigning its
10-in. tablesaws... Sears designers did their homework... listening to
customers and addressing their concerns.... All three look like
cabinet saws... In fact their trunnion systems more closely resembles
the type found on contractor saws than on a conventional contractor
or hybrid saw... more rigid.. All are left tilt machines... "
They actually look pretty nice to me...
"John Pilhoefer" wrote in message
...
I have the opportunity to pick up this table saw pretty cheap (~$600)
new.
http://tinyurl.com/2548w
I can't seem to find any info on this saw.
I does have a Biesemeyer commercial fence.
Any comments.
Also, is there a good web site with tool reviews.
Thanks everyone,
John