# Excellent value for a riving knife equipped saw



## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

Thank you for the well written review. I appreciate your objectivity.

You gave the saw high marks for having a riving knife. I believe a riving knife is now required on all table saws sold. Hence, this is not a feature that distinguishes this saw from the others.


----------



## gbook2 (Jun 4, 2010)

Good point on the riving knife, but I couldn't think of anything else special about the saw. A riving knife is why I bought a new saw, so it went into the title.

I believe the riving knife is only necessary for newly designed saws sold, not necessarily existing model saws, as of 2009, to get UL approval. However, ALL table saws sold after 2014 must have a riving knife to keep UL approval.


----------



## Abbott (May 10, 2009)

It look's like the new Porter Cable model at Lowe's, I bet it's the same saw. Porter Cable, Craftsman and the new Ridgid are all likely now made at the same Chinese factory.

Thanks for the review!


----------



## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

Thanks for a well written review. It's unfortunate that these saws have been so plagued with problems early on. It's not uncommon for new releases to have some issues, but hopefully they'll work all the bugs out with later models. The new Ridgid R4512 appears to be the same basic saw from the same factory.


----------



## MickeyGee (Jun 23, 2010)

Thanks for the review - I've been looking around, nice to know that Sears managed to fix your problems, but still a huge hassle to wait 3 months to be able to cut.

Thanks


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

In another forum post I made yesterday I was contemplating a new saw primarily because of the fence, but these issues are what worries me. Thanks for the info.


----------



## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

I got that exact same saw a little over a month ago and I feel like it was a fine deal for $409. Like you said, the blade that came with it was pure junk, but I didn't have any other problem with mine. This is a different saw from the Porter Cable or the Hitachi that Lowes sells. I was almost going to buy one of those before I found the Craftsman. Both of those saws have the motor inside the cabinet like the Craftsman, hanging about 6" below the arbor, but that is about all they have in common. The Craftsman has a far better fence, better casters, and a better motor. I mainly went with the Craftsman for the fence. The bright red and silver gray paint job takes a little while to get used to though; it looks like it belongs in a Nascar garage instead of a wood shop. As for the miter guage, mine was straight enough but I didn't like the sloppy way you have to set the angles so I put an Incra V-27 on mine. With that and a couple of new blades and a good top dressing of Johnson's paste wax and I'm liking this saw a lot.


----------



## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

a company in Hong Kong named : one world technologies makes most the power tools you can buy, no matter the brand name or the country where you buy it. 
This company is a part of a larger company names: TechTronic Industries Company Limited,


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

That is convienient. If a company wants to up grade their models, just walk out on the production floor and pick what they want ;-))


----------



## dankow (Jul 21, 2010)

Thanks for the review. I bought a 21833 last month, and I think it's an excellent value for ~$400. I haven't had any show-stopping quality problems with mine. Yeah, the miter gauge is junk. Yeah, the arbor washers are worse than useless. The blade is terrible, of course. However, I didn't spend $900, I got a new piece of equipment with a warranty and all that jazz, and if you pay the extra $30, you get in-home support. Forget hauling that thing back to Sears if something goes wrong!

One thing I've been scratching my head over today: Where can I find a zero-clearance insert for it? I read somewhere that Leecraft makes one, but I picked up a Leecraft CR-1 at Woodcraft, and it's nowhere near the right size. The one that Sears sells doesn't say that it fits the 21833, and they don't give measurements for it. I would make one if I had a router, but I don't.


----------



## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

"Where can I find a zero-clearance insert for it? " 
make it yourself, they are easy to make and much much cheaper. 
In fact you do not need one but one for each blade and dado width you use. 
I have probably 10 or 12 of them.
When you make the blank make a bunch of them , you will use them later.


----------



## Bryan_M (Jan 25, 2010)

I have this saw too and I also want to know how to make a zero clearance insert. Its not so easy as the insert is very thin and has clips underneath that holds it to the table…


----------



## gbook2 (Jun 4, 2010)

When I got the replacement front rail, it was just the aluminum rail so I needed to contact Sears again to get the ruler tape. When I got it yesterday I was laughing… and agitated. The tape was curled up, and as I unrolled it, I saw that the entire length of it on both sides looked like it was cut with a pair of left handed scissors by a 6 year old. The bottoms of the numbers were cut off. It's a minor part, and I wouldn't rely on the ruler anyway, but it seems that NO part of this saw is immune from manufacturing defects.

I'm still debating about whether to return it during the 90 day return period and get the new Grizzly hybrid. All I can think is what else is defective inside the saw that I can't see now? Will the motor fail after the 1 yr warranty period ends? Will the table crack, the fence warp, the handles come off, or some other part break during normal use 12 months and 1 day after purchase?

I have a Grizzly jointer and dust collector, and a Delta planer and sander that I bought in the early 90s. None of them had manufacturing defects. In fact, no tool I've ever bought had manufacturing defects, let alone multiple defects on multiple machines. The Grizzly and Delta tools were used for a few years and then sat in a damp, occasionally flooded basement for 10 years before I started using them again. NO problems with any of them. I can't imagine if the Craftsman will be same in 10 years.

I'm starting to think spending the extra $300 for the Grizzly hybrid will be worth it if the saw is still functioning in 10 years.


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

I was tallking to a mechanic today who told me the difference between Craftsman and Ridgid saws is the bearings.


----------



## threefingerlee (Sep 25, 2010)

I purchased this saw last week, and assembled it very slowly, with no problems. Assembly took about seven hours, but I'm slow. Blade alignment appears to be true through the whole range of blade height. Seems to be a fine saw for such a low price. LOVE the casters on the base!
Woodcraft recommended a six-inch dado set considering the saw's relatively low horsepower - I'm testing it on my next project, which will be a corner CD shelving unit.


----------



## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

Bought this saw in February of this 2010. Have not had much time to use until recently. Works just like it should until I was cutting some finger joints in 1" stock (first time with this saw). They were not seating square at assembly. I checked everything, my backing board was replaced thinking it had warped or something as here in Virginia we have had a very hot and humid summer and I do not have A/C in my shop and I have a aluminum jig. My neighbor checked behind me and still had the same problem. We put my setup on his TS with the same results. We then took my jig and attached it to his Inca Miter Gauge, the joint was great. We used his Miter in my TS and everything was fine also. Checked my Miter Gauge and the face is not at 90 degree to the TS Top. Of course there is no way to adjust this, so I need to go ahead and get a Miter Gauge sooner than I had planned.


----------



## SATXmarine1 (Mar 19, 2008)

I would recommend this saw if your are serious hobbyist like myself.

For Christmas last year my daughter and son gave me this saw, compared to my 1970 craftsman model its an F17 stealth fighter jet. Yes there are issues with this saw if you are comparing them to the high end much higher dollar saws. But this saw is a work horse for me, hard maple no problem, the fence is reliable, and the cuts with my Freud blade are virtually ready for gluing. If you want perfection you are going to need to spend considerable more $$$ and as a hobbyist I can not justify the extra $600 plus ++++++ for level wings? I would much rather have a sander or a planter…..

Some of the issues like the wings being level I agree with but as yet have not posed an issue for me, I have used the miter gauge and with a sacrificial fence I have managed just fine. I don not imagine I will buy another saw, this one has proven to be all I need and more. I am sure there are3 better saws, there always will be, but for me this one is excellent.


----------

