Tool Review - Not Really

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 7:52 am

I have long touted my Shopsmith set up and have not expressed much support for stand alone tools. Even though I am quick to admit that I drool over the Unisaw, stand alones are not in my future.

Well maybe just one. Just a small one.

[ATTACH]11341[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]11343[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]11344[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]11345[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]11346[/ATTACH]

With the assistance of my MiterSet, this miter gauge should be quite accurate. I don't even have to adjust to the tilting table concept. Surprisingly, there is very little sloop in the miter bar and very little run out (about .004").

8iowa · Post by **8iowa** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 8:55 am

Dusty:

Has the saw guard been removed for "clarity"?

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 9:08 am

8iowa wrote:Dusty:

Has the saw guard been removed for "clarity"?

No. I no longer have a saw guard for this.

This saw was given to me back in the early sixties and I have relocated at least eight times since then. Somewhere along the line I have come up short - at least a saw guard.

I will start a search for a replacement.

robinson46176 · Post by **robinson46176** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 10:10 am

I had one like that, nice little saw. I sold it to a son-in-law. The guard was the most dangerous thing on the saw. A lot of those old guards were.
I have several good older table saws that I am keeping to use for dedicated setups etc. It is also nice in my case to have one that I can lash down to a pallet and move to another building with the lift forks on a tractor. I have one small building that is about 18'x20' that is a pretty plain metal shop building that I want to do some light remodeling of to become a sort of clubhouse for the horse clients. I call it the "Hobby Horse Gang". I try very hard to encourage a sense of community among the clients. Our mascot is a rocking horse.

I'll just move a saw down there and leave it until I'm done.
I have 2 Craftsman saws, a small one from Sears that carries the Dunlap name IIRC and a nice old Rockwell w/ cast iron extension wings. I had several others but sold 2 to son-in-laws and sold a few at yard sales.
I have not moved my Craftsman RAS to the new shop yet and am still trying to decide if I even want to. I may leave it in the old shop to use there. I am doing some work on that shop too. It is fine for carpentry work but I have never felt good about it for detail work. It is a little too flexible for my taste...
I have been thinking about one of those over-arm guards with a suction port for my Ridgid TS-3650. I think I would use it almost all of the time. The Ridgid factory guard isn't just awful like so many of the old ones were. It is a little like the later SS guards. The old SS guards were almost as bad as most of the other old guards were. Designed for lawyers instead of safety.

They are getting better.

horologist · Post by **horologist** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 10:13 am

Dusty,

Some time ago I saw one of these in a junk shop in Tampa and was impressed with this well made and compact saw. It needed a lot of cleanup, the guy wanted $200 for the saw and an extra $125 for the "rare" miter gauge. I decided that he just didn't want to sell anything.

The saw I was looking at didn't have a guard either and I assumed never had one, when did they start adding guards to table saws?

Troy

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 10:30 am

horologist wrote:Dusty,

Some time ago I saw one of these in a junk shop in Tampa and was impressed with this well made and compact saw. It needed a lot of cleanup, the guy wanted $200 for the saw and an extra $125 for the "rare" miter gauge. I decided that he just didn't want to sell anything.

The saw I was looking at didn't have a guard either and I assumed never had one, when did they start adding guards to table saws?

Troy

I don't know when but from the documentation that I have downloaded it appears that it was available from the beginning.

While looking for this information, I found an indication that there was also a splitter but I can not see how it might have been attached.

If the miter gauge goes for $125, maybe I should part this thing out and buy my PowerPro with the proceeds.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 12:06 pm

horologist wrote:Dusty,

Some time ago I saw one of these in a junk shop in Tampa and was impressed with this well made and compact saw. It needed a lot of cleanup, the guy wanted $200 for the saw and an extra $125 for the "rare" miter gauge. I decided that he just didn't want to sell anything.

The saw I was looking at didn't have a guard either and I assumed never had one, when did they start adding guards to table saws?

Troy

When did OSHA start? A few had them before that.

Gee I wonder what my old Dayton is worth? None like it on OWWM. Like Dusty, maybe hope for Power Pro yet!

103-23420???

dasgud · Post by **dasgud** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 1:03 pm

robinson46176 wrote:I have been thinking about one of those over-arm guards with a suction port for my Ridgid TS-3650. I think I would use it almost all of the time. They are getting better.

If you're talking about what I'm thinking, the bar attached to the side of the saw cabinet supporting a bar running over the table to hold the dust cover, I used one in a cabinet shop and did not like it at all. I actually felt more in danger with that bar over the table.
For one thing, I had to reach under the bar to slide the work piece past the saw blade. Another thing is if we had to cut a box that was taller than the bar was placed, we had to remove the saw guard anyway.
I once saw a coworker have a piece bind on him and the bar prevented him from pulling his arm away. He was lucky that his arm was not pulled into the blade. The workpiece still went flying. Even before I saw that happen, I refused to use that saw guard.
I've always liked the simple style riving knife with a hinged dust cover.