Hi people,

Well, this afternoon my nice Porter-Cable bench saw that has served me
so well for at least a year, gave up the ghost-. It spun to a stop
halfway through a 6", 4/4 maple plank, emitted wispy strands of
clinging smelly smoke and blew the circuit breaker.

I can't get it going again and I guess I'm in the market for a new TS.

I think one year isn't very long, but I worked it pretty hard on lots
of hickory, maple and purpleheart, sometimes pretty thick.. Blades
were good, burning-wood smell was rare and mainly from slight wood
movement. Anyway I guess I just overworked it and need a saw with a
bit more power.

I have serious space limitations and I've been attracted to DeWalt's
little yellow hybrid DW746 saw.

FWW Winter 2003/2004 Tools & Shops issue reviews mid sized TSs, and
gives a Best Buy to the General 50-185M1. The latter has a 2HP motor
that sounds good right now! It's also about $200 less than the DeWalt.

Opinions??

James

James,
I have the General and love it. I use mostly 4/4 and smaller cherry,
maple, and oak. With good Freud blades for ripping and crosscutting, it has
performed flawlessly. Even on the very few ocassions when I cut 3 inch thick
pieces of maple, the saw performed very well indeed. I really like the look
and design of the hybrids, but at $649 the General is a very fine deal.

My two cents...

Kevin B.

On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 16:40:17 GMT, "Kevin B"
wrote:

James,
I have the General and love it. I use mostly 4/4 and smaller cherry,
maple, and oak. With good Freud blades for ripping and crosscutting, it has
performed flawlessly. Even on the very few ocassions when I cut 3 inch thick
pieces of maple, the saw performed very well indeed. I really like the look
and design of the hybrids, but at $649 the General is a very fine deal.

My two cents...

Kevin B.


Thanks for the tip, Kevin. I was shopping around today and after
almost falling for the DeWalt DW746, the only decent saw at any of the
local Borg stores, I found a rave review of the General that backs you
up, and decided to go with that one.

Do I have to cross the border to get that baby!? Luckily I live in
Rochester NY, which is real close to Canada-

James

James,

The General International 50-185M1 (left tilt) is the best contractor saw on
the market. The General made Biesemeyer fence *is* the same as a Delta
Biesemeyer fence, you will love the saw and be quite happy with it. Check
out,

www.general.ca

to find a local dealer, or I can hook you up with one at your closest cross
boarder point.

I know that saw inside and out if you have any specific questions (I also
know most other saws inside and out as well).

BTW, the 50-185 is the same base saw as the PM64a.

David.

On Mon, 15 Mar 2004 12:28:39 GMT, "David F. Eisan"
wrote:

David,

Are you the same person who did the rave review of the General I found
at:
http://www.epinions.com/content_91326418564

If so, you freeze your butt in Rochester, NY same as me. I am gonna
call General in a short time to get more info. I'll keep you in mind,
certainly, since the above review says the main problem with the
General is real bad documentation.

The General International 50-185M1 (left tilt) is the best contractor saw on
the market. The General made Biesemeyer fence *is* the same as a Delta
Biesemeyer fence, you will love the saw and be quite happy with it. Check

All I can find on this saw is very positive. So I told Home Depot Borg
to never mind. They just this AM moved a DeWalt from a cross-town
store to the nearby one. No commitments, some people might charge me
for shipping even if I bought it!?


I consider myself lucky. Thanks for the help!

James