GregP wrote:
....
... All of this put down of cheap gear seems
to have more to do with something other than utility.

There's a difference between "cheap" and "inexpensive" and there's also
a difference in objectives of the owner/user, plus the personal
preference of some for things that work well as opposed to "get by"...if
you're satisfied w/ what you got, fine...I've found that every time I've
tried to cut corners on a tool I end up being so dissatisfied that it
costs me more in the long run because I'm out the initial expense plus
the expense of getting the better tool anyway.

On a RAS in particular, and what I was thinking of when writing the
previous post, was that on many of the less expensive I've seen the
repeatability of the arm position is poor at best and the arm is not
rigid enough to stand up to heavy use. I just detest having to fiddle
around to get the precise angle I want every time...w/ the Original Saw
Company radial, the blocks are set and reproducible every time...