On 2/5/2015 9:59 AM, Mike Marlow wrote:
Leon wrote:


Can you expand on that a bit, the finish of the material? I have no
sheen so to speak. Buy yes rust only matters if you let it get out
of hand.

Sure - most surfaces like a table saw top have some degree of a polished
surface. It may be flat or it may have milling but it's often (or maybe
usually...) polished to some degree. Softer materials can "scratch" that
polished finish - scratch the burnished surface, I guess. Polish to a
mirror finish and watch how something as soft as a rag can put those tiny
scratches in that mirror finish.



Until I got to considering and buying a better TS than my old iron top
Craftsman I was not aware that manufacturers provided slick polished top
surfaces. I recall looking a the old PM64~66 table saws and still
recall the almost mirror finish on the tops. I finally bought a Jet
cabinet saw and it had a polished top but not to the degree of the
Powermatics. Boy was I disappointed with the "effects" of having a
ridgless and polished top. While smooth would seem to be a show of
higher quality machining, it does not translate well as far as providing
a surface with less friction. With TopCote on my old Craftsman you
could toss a small piece of oak to the TS top from 2 feet away and the
piece would slide off the back side of the table. With these polished
top saws I have not seen anything come close to the slipperiness as the
old Craftsman top. I think a polished top is more of a sales gimmick.

If you look at the better European machines most do not have a polished top.


Click on the close up of the blade and notice the table surface behind
the blade.

http://www.minimax-usa.com/index.php...mart&Itemid=35


Click the close up of the jointer bed surface

http://www.minimax-usa.com/index.php...mart&Itemid=35


Click on the close up of the second and third pictures

http://www.lagunatools.com/combo/combo-nx31#