Reply by toolie

i’m with the big saw guys. only a 1930s era right tilt delta unisaw with a 50” bies fence, 5 hp 3phase motor and a premium WWII blade will cut wood. anything less just won’t do any good work at all. i mean, after all, wouldn’t you just love to find one of those unisaws that needs a ton of restoration and spend several months rehabbing it to usefull shape before getting to cut stick one? and don’t forget that those older cabinet saws don’t have riving knives and are right tilt saws(that old c-man of your dad’s was probably an emerson electric built LEFT tilt saw).

whatever you do, don’t look at craigslist or check out the swap and sell areas of other forums. that’s where i found the compnents for the above early 1970s era c-man TS shown above. it has cut WHATEVER i have thrown at it without hesitation, provided i fit it with a blade appropriate to the task at hand. beware of the “battlestar gallactica” syndrome i sarcastically recapped in the first paragraph. there are people out there who earnestly believe that ONLY a cabinet saw is the solution for everyone’s needs.

i am a big ridgid fan, primarily because i think most of their tools offer a lot of value (bang for the buck) and the lifetime service agreement means you never have to pay for repairs. i would, however, be a little leary of the 4512. the ridgid forum has a few unsettling threads about the blade changing it’s position relative to the miter slot as the blade is raised and lowered. can’t imaging what would make that happen. i’d get the 4512 over it’s c-man counterpart because it will probably cost less and the ridgid would be covered by the LSA, PROVIDED you rememebr to register the tool for the program. good luck!

-- there's a solution to every problem.......you just have to be willing to find it.