# Budget friendly and very workable



## nwbusa (Feb 21, 2012)

It's a good saw at a great price. Mine has been serving me well for many months now. Here's a link to my post showing my onboard outfeed table, if you're interested. http://lumberjocks.com/topics/35156

Enjoy the saw!


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## ShipWreck (Feb 16, 2008)

Congrats on the saw.


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## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

I had one problem with the earlier model of this saw. Well, two.

It's too tall. And the blade sits way back on the tabletop. I found myself leaning too far over the table for some jobs. I didn't like it. I have a used Delta Uni that I use now.

Just a thought for those of us that a vertically challanged…


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## dustyal (Nov 19, 2008)

Thanks for the review. well done. Most likely this will end up being my table saw when I get a little more room.
Right now I use a bench top Rigid saw. It's major drawback is inadequate infeed space. Contrary to what Milo posted, I would prefer the blade sitting back.

Like you, I don't do sheet goods… and 4/4 is about as thick as I go. So, your review fits my needs.


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

I also really appreciate the infeed space. In my previous saw, I had a good 4 inches. That made any cross cuts pointless. I do occasionally use sheet goods, but never a full sheet. I always have the yard quarter or half them for me, depending on what I am doing. Now that your brought it up milio, I do notice the table is a little high. I'm not sure if there is a standard height for table saws, but it's a good 2 inches taller than my little ryobi.

So far having this saw has really changed the way I work. I now fully understand the people who say that the table saw is the most used tool in the shop. Previously with my little bench top saw, the rule was "use it when absolutely necessary". Now I don't even use my miter saw anymore for cross cutting. Also of note, the project I started with this saw which I will post when complete is coming together perfectly so far. 
I've been critical of my projects and always attributed the failures more to my lack of skill than the actual tool. I may have to rethink that now that my cuts are predictable, square, and right where I want them every single time. Instead of blaming 80% of defects on skill, and 20% on tools, I'd say it's closer to 50/50.
Something that never happened before I can do now. Measure twice, cut once actually works instead of my old system of "measure 8 times, cut 4 pieces of scrap until it's close, then finish up the rest with a flush cut bit or hand tools"


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

I'm glad you got one without the allignment issue. I, too, liked this saw. Well, technically I have the Craftsman 21833, which is the same saw in red and silver paint.

If my trunnion did not change alignment depending on the blade height it would have been all the saw I need.

Quiet, vibration free, powerfull motor, decent fence.

What's not to like, if the friggin blade would stay parallel with the miter slot?


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

Michael, from what I understand, my saw has the same fatal flaw as yours. I understood that when I bought it. I have not tested it, but I might. I can tell you the blade stays completely true to a height of 2 3/4 inches, safely allowing me to cut 8/4 material. I can't ever see myself cutting through anything thicker than that.


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## noone (Mar 6, 2012)

I too have this saw and I like it.

My only additions would be that I don't really like the fact that the fence does not square up exactly the same every time. Depending on how it is angled before you pump the handle down, it could be skewed right or left 2 to 10 1000th's of an inch. Get your dial indicator out and give it a try. I have gotten in the habit of pressing it forward at the T of the fence prior to locking it down, which seems to help in consistency. Then there is that 'bump' in the rail since it is two pieces which, if you are cutting in that area (I rarely am), will throw your cut off square as well. Also the miter gauge has a little bit of slop in it. So I would say this table saw is not perfectly accurate, but good enough for what i'm using it for - constructing built-ins and closets.


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## Bobmedic (Sep 24, 2010)

Love my 4512. Never have the problems with the fence or trunnions. Saw was dead on out of the box. The fence took about 10 min to square and I was done. Def great saw for the price.


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

Robert, glad to hear it. I'd be a little cautious about the saw being dead on out of the box. How did you measure? When I followed the instructions and used a combination square, it looked dead on to me too. I am a perfectionist though so I measured with a dial indicator. I was off by a little over 6 thousands of an inch out of the box. That's very close to a 1/16th of an inch - and will be noticeable. It is very easy to adjust though.

I do not experience any slop in my miter gauge, but I bought a new one and have only used it twice. As far as the fence goes, I love the actual fence. The t tracks on the sides and top are the best idea ever. I do see the complaint with the bump in the rail. I almost never work that close to the blade, but the 2 times I did, I REALLY needed an accurate cut. The bump did make a difference in cut quality. Also as noone pointed out, if you just clamp the fence down, it is off. On a few tests I got between 2 thousands on the low end and 8 thousands on the high end. Because my old ryobi saw had a toy fence, I am in the habit of pushing forward on the T before locking. This weekend I will be ordering either the Delta BC50 or the Vega Pro 50 fence systems from amazon.


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## nwbusa (Feb 21, 2012)

The runout on my blade was .002, which I decided was not worth messing with. I guess I got lucky in that regard. I did have to square up the fence but it's been fairly consistent since then in terms of maintaining its squareness to the blade.

The only real area where I've had calibration issues is with the riving knife. It's easy to adjust but the blade I use most often is only about .002" wider than the riving knife, meaning that the alignment there needs to be pretty close to perfect to avoid problems. Overall, though, my saw has been pretty trouble free.


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## Bobmedic (Sep 24, 2010)

Joe, a 1/16th" is .0625 thou not .006 thou. I used a dial indicator with the alignit kit.


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## BiffTDB (May 16, 2012)

I'm looking at this saw as the first tool for my shop when I get started soon. I think from the reviews I've seen here, this looks like my best choice in my budget range.


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

In this price range, I would highly recommend it. Hopefully you get one without the alignment issues, but it seems the more recent purchasers have not had any issue. After getting it aligned, it has not moved on me, even with height adjustments. I used to check daily, now I check whenever I change blade height (which is not terribly often)

Bob, you are right, I did have .062, not .0062. Currently the dial indicator reads .0024.I also recently purchased but have not installed the Vega pro 50 fence system.

I will say that It's not likely I will keep this saw for ever. It is what it is - an entry level hybrid - and it excels in that category. I am not at the point in my woodworking journey now where I need a truly professional grade cabinet saw, but I can envision that day on the horizon in a few years. I am not at all disappointed in this purchase and for the time being, it fits the bill.When my shop focus changes from fixing mistakes and struggling to figure things out, to speed, predictability, and the utmost precision, it will be time. When I do upgrade it will likely be something in the Unisaw, PM2000 or Sawstop professional category.


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## RobertsPlace (Aug 19, 2012)

Nice review, lumberjoe. I have a handful of Ridgid hand power tools and so this saw almost was mine. Until I spent 20 hours with two different saws over a 3 day weekend. Both saws came defective out of the box. Now I'm thinking of going with a Grizzly cabinet saw. If I hadn't had the issues out of the box, I would own this saw today.


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## tlpattonjr (Oct 1, 2012)

Hey all,
I just purchased this saw and just got done putting it together, the assembly was a breeze. I have yet to plug it in and turn it on due to picking a up a dust containment system for it tomorrow. If anyone has any input of what type of blades work well, sure would appreciate the input.


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

Congrats on the saw purchase! Do a search on this forum regarding table saw blades. There are a ton of options in just about every price point. I would avoid using the included blade for long, or even at all. If you've got a Home Depot close by, the diablo D1050X (50 tooth combo blade) performs very well on this saw and is under 40$


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