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(Doug) wrote in message . com...
"Dale Lorenzen" wrote in message ...
Hi,

First time post but have been following the group for awhile. I'm looking
for a table saw and have been eyeing the new saws that Craftsman is selling.
I've read alot of good things about the saw with the Beismeyer fence but not
much regarding the others. Has anyone in the group had and experience with
the other models (#22114 or 22104)? The one with the Beismeyer fence would
be a nice one to own, but I'm not sure that I can spring for that much cash
without knowing how serious I'll get with this hobby.

My concern with the other saws was the Craftsman fence seems to have quite a
bit a flex in them compared to the Beismeyer. The rear of these fences
deflect almost and 1/8" on the saws I've looked at when slight pressure is
put on the rear of the fence. Is this something to be concerned about?
I'm afraid that if it deflected during a cut that whatever I'm working on
stands a chance to become a 'wooden missile'.

Thanks in advance for any comments/opinions,

Dale

Hi Dale:
I'm not sure of the exact model number without looking it up, but I'm
pretty sure that I own one of the saws in questions, mine is the one
with the "value package" add ons: mobile base, router extention, etc.
I will have owned the saw for two years this November. Like you I am
a relative beginner, and had similar conditions when picking out this
saw. I've been really happy with this saw since I got it. If this is
the same saw, I'm very surprised that the fence deflects (a serious
problem!) My fence is very solid. It did loosen up once, but there
is a simple adjustment that increases the lock-down tension when you
lower the handle. After I bought my saw, I found an article comparing
saws in that price range, and this particular saw not only got good
overall reviews, they were particularly impressed by the fence, noting
that it was by far the best in the group which included Jet and
Powermatic. All that said, I must admit that I'm already fantasizing
about picking up a cabinet saw one day, but as said, I've been very
pleased with this saw. Feel free to e-mail me with more questions
Doug

These saws were just introduced, so if yours is two years old it is
not the one he is talking about.

I was at Sears the other day and was looking at these saws. The ones I
looked at also had fences that deflected easily. It looked to me like
a poor setup by minimum wage kids, but who knows. My thought on the
OPs post was if he is concerned about losing money if he decides the
hobby is not for him, the higher end saw would probably not lose any
more total dollar value than the middle saw he is considering. The
$300 difference is probably worth it for the Bies, the longer rails,
the larger table, the built-in out-feed table and the (I believe)
larger motor. This assumes he has room for the bigger saw and the
concern was with loss of value, not initial outlay

The other thing
that struck me was how absolutely crappy the miter guage was. Cranked
down as hard as I could on the knobs that holds the angle in place and
could very easily move the face. You would think on a $900 saw they
could include something more than a $10 miter guage.

Dave Hall