Time for a new TS

Dave,
What is your budget? I recently purchased the SawStop contractors saw, and I absolutely love it. It is a high quality machine that will last my lifetime.

-- Chip -- Manchester, Connecticut "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."

1000.00 is going to be the max I can spend.

Itt depends on what your looking for don’t instantly dismiss a good used saw of a higher bvalue for a new one you might get a great buy on craigslist or ebay if you check it oput even better have fune buying a new piece of machinery is great fun isn’t it?Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

I vote for the Powermatic or the Delta 36-980, 36-981, or 36-982. Used is ok if you know what to look for, otherwise it could be more of a headache then it’s worth. The same goes for the Hybrids, there seems to be no set standard for those saws yet.

120V 15 amp circuits definitely places limits on your choices, especially if there are other things on the circuit, such as lights. Hopefully you can find two circuits to use in your basement so that you don’t trip the breaker and be left in total darkness. I’ve been there – done that! Another thing to consider, especially if you don’t have a walk out basement, is how to get a bulky and heavy piece of machinery down there.

Within your electrical confinements, you might consider a used Shopsmith 510 or 520. They can usually be found for $1000 or less. The Shopsmith draws 13 amps on full load and will work on a standard household circuit.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"

I have been keeping an eye on CL and ebay but haven’t found much in my area – and like WC said sometimes it can be more of headache. From the prices I have seen online for the Powermatic 620.00 does sound like a good deal – and from my understanding it’s one of the top of the line contractor’s saw’s. It is brand new just the display model.

Getting down in the basement sholdn’t be an issue I have a friend who has a mini crane on his work truck, I just have to bribe him with a few beers once it’s safely in the basement :). I don’t know much about the Shopsmith I will have to do some reading on them. I do have a dedicated GFI outlet on its own breaker all setup for my new saw – just missing the key ingriedient… I wlll do some homework on the Shopsmith see what I can come up with.

Since the Powermatic is a display model, it probably wasn’t assembled perfectly and will need to be adjusted some when you get it home if you were to buy it. What I would do is take the fence and rail off, then the cast iron wings, and then unbolt the saw from the stand, then take the saw down into the basement in pieces and reassemble it there. I would think that would be the easiest way.

Update time.. – After a long conversation with my wife we(cough) decieded that the 1000.00 budget may be a bit too much – so it looks like 750.00 will be the max. A little less than what I wanted to spend but compromise I must :) So I think that takes some of the hybrid’s off my list unless I can get a good deal on the Craftsman. So with a budget of 750.00 which way do I go..lol

Stick with the Contractor’s saw, if the Powermatic is made in the USA, go for that one, otherwise go for the Delta. With the little bit of leftover money you can get a Fenner Drives PowerTwist link belt and a Penn State Industries dust hood and have a really nice running saw with good dust collection.

Dave,

I just got the Ridgid R4511 and love it! I’ll be posting a review on here soon, but it would be well worth your wait! It lists for $599. You can get a HD moving coupon to knock off another 10%. It’s slowly moving into stores right now (mine has another in addition to the one that I bought).
The granite is outstanding, NO RUST! Having the 120/240v option is nice too. Trust me, you get a LOT of saw for that price, and with the left over money, you can buy a few upgrade toys like the WWII 40T blade at amazon for $78.

jet proshop would be and was my pick….. it is a great hybrid saw

-- Hrolfr

I recently bought the Ridgid 3660 and love it.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

HD just dropped the price on the 3660 to $399 to make way for the R4511

I’m with dlux if I had to buy a new saw for under 800 the new Ridgid is the way to go.

Cabinet mounted trunions, riving knife, that great Herc U-Lift mobile base, a good package.

martin T 74

Hey all thanks for the great replies and all the information! I picked up my new saw this past Saturday sorry I haven’t been able to update this thread until today. I took a little trip with an ice patch while uncrating my new saw sturday and banged up my knee pretty good… Anyways I went to my local shop Saturday and went a little over the deep end, lol. I ended up going with a Delta Hybrid 36-717 with the Bies fence system…. Yeah I went over my budget bu just a bit lol… Still haven’t had a chance to get dow ni nthe basement and set it up, but it does look good out of the crate LOL.

Again thanks a ton for all the information!!