On Fri, 17 Dec 2004 16:43:03 -0500, loutent wrote:

I went to Sears this afternoon to take a look - in particular
at the $950 (list) cabinet saw.

I was a lttle disappointed to tell you the truth. I didn't have
a lot of time, but there were a few things that jumped
out at me.

The first thing I went for was the Bies fence. Maybe I'm mis-
informed, but I was expecting a massive extruded aluminum
fence - the Biesmeyer labeled one that had on the machine
was some sort of phenolic (I guess the HMW stuff).

The Bies fence I saw on the Sears looked like the one I saw
at Rockler's on one of the saws they were selling.

.... When I
pressed the handle to lock it, the fence front jumped - is that
normal? To be honest, the Craftsman fence on the next lower
priced "contractor type" saw looked sturdier.

The fence didn't "jump" on the sample I looked at.

Second, I turned the wheel that controls the blade height. Again,
I thought it was a little "dinkey" (?). Not much better than what's
on my 15 yr old $300 import.


It looked & felt large enough to me.

Although the side handle/knob was missing, I got the
impression that the one control wheel adjusted BOTH the
blade height and angle - you must pull or push a knob
on the side - I'm not sure, but it wasn't what I would
call sturdy.


There is a second wheel on the left-hand side
of the saw. But it is set further back than the ones
on other saws I've looked at.

I have been eyeing this saw vs. The Griz 1023S. From what
I have seen so far, I think I would get the green monster if I
bought one now.


You might want to take a closer look or find another
Sears to see what their's looks like.