Great value in a contractor saw

Thank you for the very detail review.

Craftsman.com has the saw listed for $499.99 and it is eligible for in store pickup..

http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_10155_12602_00921833000P?vName=Tools+%26+Equipment&cName=Power+Tools&keyword=table+saw

I am disappointed that the wings are only stamped steel instead of cast iron..

Wish I’da known that a week ago!

I was a little skeptical of the steel wings at first, too, but all of the steel on this saw is very thick and heavy, and it hasn’t turned out to be disadvantageous at all. Plus, if I squint my eyes just the right way, the shiny black paint looks a lot like granite! I think you have to go up to the $699 model to get iron wings.

One more thing I should mention, assembly is a bugger. It took me two days, there are tons of tiny little washers and screws which are easily lost, and reading the manual is a must.

-- Glenn, Arkansas

Thanks for the review, good info.

-- Tom D

Congrats on your saw purchase. I like the arrangement for the blade guard and riving knife.

I too noticed Sears running a sale this week on that saw. Looks to be a much better option than buying a small direct drive portable unit.

That saw should serve you well for quite a while and you can always add your dust pan back on later if the dust becomes an issue.

Glenn,

If the saw is on sale for a lower price than you bought it for, you can take advantage of Sear’s 30-day price protection policy. It is described here.

I used this policy when the price of the model 22124 table saw that I bought went down and it worked easily.

-- Chuck - Central Massachusetts

I had this saw for a while before returning it. I must say that the idea of it is great, but little details led me to return it. First, the throat plates were a big negative to me. They’re very thin, which means that creating a zero clearance insert is quite difficult. The fence is just so-so and the window to read the measurement on the rails is terrible. I found myself squinting to read the largest numbers. The mobile base is adequate, but I didn’t like having to step on a pedal in the front AND the back to engage the casters. The Hercu-lift on the Rigid saws is much better, in my opinion.

All that having been said, I agree with Glenn that the saw is a great value at under $500. I also agree that it’s a big step up from a mobile saw or a Bosch 4100. It’s very heavy and stable. It’s also got some excellent features like the riving knife and 4” dust port. The switch is large and easy to operate and bump off with your leg. The motor was much quiter than my old Craftsman, too.

Hope that helps someone make an informed decision.

-- Premium firewood created daily.

Thanks ChuckV! You just saved me $50. I went to the Sears store and showed them my receipt. Of course the 20-something-year-old moron behind the counter said they couldn’t price match with sears.com until I showed him the printed copy of the price protection policy. He was obviously just being difficult either out of laziness or for for the sheer sake of it. Luckily my original salesman was there who refunded me $53 without question. So now a good bargain has turned into a great bargain.

Cory, I agree those could be seen as shortcomings. Personally I wanted a 3/8” or 1/2” throat plate, but oh well. These things are always a balance between what you would like, what you can get, and what it costs. I, too, looked at and liked the Ridgids, but their granite-top saw has been recalled and is no longer for sale at the local HD, and the next one down (TS3660) was only available online.

-- Glenn, Arkansas

Gee that riving knife and guard setup does look excellent – the one on my contractor saw is either completely on or completely off…. and a bit flimsy too. Out of interest, have you measured the arbor for wobble and run out? I’m currently having a disagreement over mine with the supplier and I’m looking for real world measurements from similar peices of equipment. Cheers. Simon.

-- Blinded by brilliance

Looks great, I recieved a catlog from craftsman with this saw in it. I think craftsman is trying to compete with H.D. and the Ridgid saw that sells for 600.00 or so. You just can’t beat the value of these contractor saws. They come with everything including a good price. Have fun with your new toy!!!

-- Bob Kenosha Wi.

Looks like you scored! Nice job!!

Couldn’t help notice your profile photograph. Are you related to any Brookses, originally from the Detroit area?

Your face is verrrry familiar…..

-- -- Neil

Congrats on your new table saw, great review.

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker

Nice to see an actual user review of this saw. There’s been precious little info about it! Seems like a lot of saw for $500. Are the trunnions cabinet mounted on this saw, or are they table mounted? The saw seems to fit the description of most hybrid saws (110v belt drive induction motor housed inside the enclosure), as opposed to a contractor saw that traditionally has the motor hanging out the back.

Any chance of taking a few pics of the innerds so we can see what’s under the hood and how the trunnion system is put together?

Thanks for posting this…

Simon, I’m afraid I haven’t taken any measurements of runout. I don’t have a dial indicator. I did pull on the arbor to see if there was any noticeable play—seemed solid.

Knotscott, I’m almost positive the trunnions are table-mounted. I remember noticing that when I was putting it together. I’ll see what I can do about taking some pictures this weekend. Should be pretty easy—the back comes right off after loosening 4 screws.

-- Glenn, Arkansas

I am looking at buying this saw, with it on sale right now for $449.99, but the download link for the operators manual on sears.com is dead. Can you tell me what the maximum width stacked dado blade this saw can use is? I really appreciate it.

Also, I am in Arkansas too.

13/16”

-- Glenn, Arkansas

I just bought this saw and am in the process of putting it together. I got it last sunday when Sears were offering an additional “Friends and Family” 10% discount bringing the price down to $405 plus tax. Given that Sears offers a 30-day price guarantee, anyone that’s bought it in the last 30 days should go see if they can get a rebate to get it down to that price. As others have mentioned, the manual sucks so be prepared!

Have one of these on order now. Comes with a free digital readout for the blade bevel, which sounds nice but I won’t hold my breath on the accuracy/durability of such a thing.

The order confirmation did have a link to the manual for the saw, a different one than the link on the Sears site, and one that actually works. If anyone would like to look at the manual, here is the link:

http://www.managemyhome.com/mmh/lis_pdf/OWNM/L0910054.pdf

Oh, and Glenn, thanks for the info on the dado size. Of course, if I had just paid closer attention to your original review I wouldn’t have had to bother you, but then I would probably have never signed up here or had a reason to come back!

See, there’s a silver lining to everything! And if it got you to sign up as a fellow lumberjock, then it was worth typing 13/16” again. This is a very nice site, and I hope you get as much enjoyment out of it as I have! Welcome!

P.S.—and I personally think you will enjoy your new saw, unless you have some extraordinary requirement that can only be met by some specialty saw. I have found myself looking for reasons to saw something just to use it. That’s a little looney, isn’t it?

-- Glenn, Arkansas