craftsman tablesaw

[gunit1400]

Good afternoon,

I have been looking through the posts here for a little while, and noticed that not many good things have been said about craftsman tablesaws. I currently have a protech 10" tablesaw (was a freebie) and I am totally disgusted with trying to do anything with it besides ripping a little bit of plywood occasionally. I saw a craftsman on CL that has everything except a fence (replacement is about $27) for $100, but after reading so many negatives, it has me a little gunshy. It is in the price range that I can work with, but like I said I'm leary now. Any other recommendations for about that price range (used) that you can think of? Thanks for your help....

Scott

 

[gator]

Many woodworkers bad-mouth Craftsman due to their (over the years) shoddy marketing tactics. Such as rating their HP as PEAK not standard (Peak is usually about twice what the standard run HP is).

Basically a contractors table saw is a contractors table saw. A table with a motor hanging out the rear running an arbor with a belt. The fence is probably the most important part of a tablesaw. One that stays accurate, stays in place when locked down (without movement as you push the workpiece through), and can be adjusted for the aforementioned accuracy.

I personally think that you will have a good (not great) basis to work with, with the saw indicated, if it is in reasonable condition to start with (bearings, etc). Just be sure to buy a GOOD fence for it. A $27 fence will probably be a disappointment.

George

After posting the above I went and found the saw on CL. The ad and the picture point out the Peak HP I was talking about, it is in reality a 1.5HP motor. The saw looks to be an entry level (not really on par with a true contractors saw) saw. My new opinion is that if you continue to look at CL you will find a Craftsman true contractors saw for less than $300. They pop up often. Here is just one example:

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/tls/1790890460.html

George

 

[Mark Gottesman]

My $0.02 is find an older bench saw from the 50's (craftsman or delta) and rebuild/refurbish it.

I did it an was quite satisfied with the results. It will chew through any sheet goods or lumber I throw at it and has almost zero runout after adjustment. Plus it will hold that adjusment.

Check at OWWM.com and OWWM.org to see what can be done.

This is the saw I started with. I got it for free with a 1HP motor.

This was finished, before installing a Delta T2 fence it will hold almost a 0.001" runout during setup and hold it.

And this is what I have just gotten to upgrade to: (Cost for this before refurb is $225 including delivery) I will be selling the above saw when this is up and running. Heath has restored one of these.

 

[Sully]

Scott,

First, welcome to NCWW. Second, is this the saw you are talking about:

http://eastnc.craigslist.org/tls/1752226243.html

That could be a good deal. The fence looks like it might be an aftermarket add-on or one of the better fences (similar to Ridgid).

J

 

[Bill Clemmons]

My only comment would be to make sure it is a belt drive, not direct drive. Sears made some low end saws that were direct drive (the blade goes directly on the motor shaft, instead of an arbor driven by a pulley from the motor).

Bill

 

[Sully]

My only comment would be to make sure it is a belt drive, not direct drive. Sears made some low end saws that were direct drive (the blade goes directly on the motor shaft, instead of an arbor driven by a pulley from the motor).

Bill

Indeed, be on the lookout for those. In addition they also made some "flex shaft" drive saws where the motor was connected directly to the arbor by a long rotating flexible shaft.

On the other hand, some of their older direct drive saws are beefy. Their 12" blade contractor saw model comes to mind. If you can get a model number, it will go a long way to some good advice about it.

J

 

[gator]

Scott,

First, welcome to North Carolina Woodworker. Second, is this the saw you are talking about:

http://eastnc.craigslist.org/tls/1752226243.html

That could be a good deal. The fence looks like it might be an aftermarket add-on or one of the better fences (similar to Ridgid).

J

That wasn't the one he was looking at. I found it before but can't find it now (maybe it was taken off?). It was one of the larger bench top with the sliding side supports and a sliding back support with no fence. It showed a picture of the front where Sears put the "3 HP" rating on it.

George

 

[Sully]

That wasn't the one he was looking at. I found it before but can't find it now (maybe it was taken off?). It was one of the larger bench top with the sliding side supports and a sliding back support with no fence. It showed a picture of the front where Sears put the "3 HP" rating on it.

George

In his original post, he said the saw he was looking at was $100. The one on the Raleigh craigslist was listed as $225, but maybe there's something I'm missing ???

J

 

[gunit1400]

Thanks guys for all your comments. The saw I referred to on CL sold this afternoon. He told me when I called about it that he supposedly had someone coming to get it, but he would call me either way, which he did. I have seen a lot of these saws on CL for sale, and know that Sears has sold a bunch of them, but wasn't sure if the reason there were so many for sale was that they sold so many or that so many people were upgrading to a real saw. Many years ago I worked in a cabinet shop and we had the real deal when it came to saws. I am by no means professional, so I have no justification for buying a high end saw. Nor do I have the funds, lol! I am just looking to get something to replace the POJ I have with something reliable, and as you all said, accurate. I am another unfortunate victim of the downturn of the economy, in other words I recently got laidoff. So I was looking to get out as inexpensively as possible. Thank you all for pointing me in the right direction and making me aware of what I really need to be on the lookout for.

 

[merrill77]

Thank you all for pointing me in the right direction and making me aware of what I really need to be on the lookout for.

Besides looking for a contractor saw with induction motor and belt-drive, you'll want to look for a good fence. A good fence is accurate and sturdy...and very repeatable. Many of the fences with separate rails on the front and back do not lock down parallel to the blade. There are some that are good, but most of the better fences lock only on a front rail (unifence, biesmeyer, etc).

You can frequently find a decent contractor saw on CL for ~$300.

 

[gunit1400]

I saw this one, looks heavy duty, and seems like rockwell was/is a good saw....whats your opinion?


http://eastnc.craigslist.org/tls/1799410473.html

 

[smitty62]

Keep looking..........:wsmile:

Dick

 

[gunit1400]

will do :gar-Bi

 

[Sully]

I saw this one, looks heavy duty, and seems like rockwell was/is a good saw....whats your opinion?
http://eastnc.craigslist.org/tls/1799410473.html

Although Rockwell has, in the past, denoted quality construction, the saw in that link is a lower line saw. Most of the yellow versions of their tools were home owner type saws and contained a lot of plastic (handwheels, cabinet, etc.). The fence on that model is not particularly good either.