Table saw new with riving knife vs cheaper old iron

[decibel]

With the increasing # of unisaw's and other good used cabinet saws I'm seeing become available I'm wondering if I should jump for one. I have a contractor saw now and I was set on buying a new tablesaw eventually but one that had a riving knife. However with the price of some of these great used saws I"m satring to waffle on saving my pennies for a good new saw with a riving knife. I'm not seeing very many used saws with riving knives. So besides a riving knife is there any reason I should consider going for a newer saw vs a used unisaww or PM66?

 

[Travis Porter]

Dust collection is better on the newer saws, and the blade guards are better and easier to work with.

I owned a PM-66 for many years, and it was a good friend. Considering the cost of a new saw with a riving knife, a used Uni or PM-66 is a very good buy.

 

[WoodWrangler]

That's a tough one. If it were me and the one I had was decent, I'd hold off until I found the one I wanted (or an unheardof deal presented itself). Just my two cents.

 

[Tarhead]

Other than the blade brake technology and cool dust collecting bladeguard on the Sawstop and having the blade angle adjustment on the front of the new Uni I'm not seeing much that sets the new saws apart from the older saws with a few tweaks. The big advantage of a true riving knife is it raises and lowers with the blade keeping the distance close and consistent at any height... preventing pinch which causes kickbacks. You can get a Shark splitter from here: http://www.leestyron.com/sharksplitter.php , add a ratchet handle and it's a 10 second process to change or remove. Lee has a kit for ~$75 which has 3 different heights (for different blade heights) and a ratchet handle for Uni's. I use the $12 "Shorty" splitter and a ratchet handle on my Unisaw and have never had any kickbacks.





Tight money goes with the old arn and a few upgrades. Smart money goes with the new SawStop.