TS3650 Acquisiton

wannabewoodworker · Post by **wannabewoodworker** » Thu May 19, 2011 10:36 pm

After reading the high praise that Robinson gave his Rigid 3650 tablesaw I have been on the lookout for one. I found one 2 days ago and it was literally in my back yard one street over from me. It was listed on CL so i emailed the guy and told him where I lived and he said he was one street over what a small world. Anyway I went over and looked at the saw and it was in relatively good shape. It did have some surface rust on the cast iron top but other than that everything else was good to go. So I bought it for $300. I tried to get him down to $250 but he said there was another guy coming to look at it and showed me th email and i didn't want to chance not being able to get the saw as they are not that common so I decided to just give him the $300. We took the saw off the base legs and carried it up the stairs from his basement to my truck. Man does this saw weigh a ton. I mean for a contractor saw this thing is more like a cabinet saw. He came over to the house with me to help me get it in the garage thank god as my wife would not have been able to assist on this one.

Spent the afternoon cleaning the top and got it nicely cleaned up and polished then waxed it with some Johnson's and then tried a test cut. The thing really cuts beautifully and a huge bonus i was not expecting was the fact that this saw is the quietest tablesaw I have ever used. I mean it is every bit as quiet as my buddie Ted's PM 66 and I would bet it is even quieter. The only real noise was when running some stock through the blade. The only bummer is this saw did not come with the Herculift wheeled cart so i will need to figure out some kind of mobile base setup as I need to be able to move this saw around the garage and out of the way and you are not going to do that without wheels period. So i am pretty excited about this saw acquisition and thank Robinson for turning me onto it without his kudos to this saw i would never have considered a Rigid but after reading his posts I did some more research and it is very highly rated and as some have said is possibly the best contractor saw ever built. I will stop short of saying that but it is definitely an impressive woodworking tool and at a decent price as well. Oh one other thing the measuring scale on the rip fence rail is completely useless not sure if it was installed wrong or what but it isn't even close so i may order new ones from Rigid and redo those as they would be very handy to have. The rip fence is the biggest plus to this saw in my opinion. It is very accurate and rock solid when locked down which is something I did not have before.

rlkeeney · Post by **rlkeeney** » Fri May 20, 2011 5:18 am

I have one of these saws. I really like it. It took me a over a year to find one and I had to drive about 400 mile to go get it.

justplaingoofy · Post by **justplaingoofy** » Fri May 20, 2011 8:25 am

Micheal, I know exactly what you mean about not moving that saw without wheels. I have an old Craftsman 100 that I needed to move around in the garage to use and then put back against the wall. (4) pneumatic tires from Harbor Freight; (2) 36" lengths of 5/8" round steel; (8) flat washers; (4) cotter keys and (4) U-clamps from Home Depot and you're mobile!
Next chance I get I will pull the saw out and get a few pics and post them.
This issue with limited (AND SHARED) space and separate full size tools is why I bought my SS. I get "the look" if I get sawdust on the queen's Miata:eek:
The SS is going in the 'workshop', (former storage barn) which is still in need of cleaning out!

wannabewoodworker · Post by **wannabewoodworker** » Fri May 20, 2011 8:51 am

Hey Goofy,
Can you snap a couple of pics so I can see that setup? Sounds doable and cheaper than purchasing the Herculift that came with the saw originally. I really need to get this saw mobile and it weighs over 300# so moving it with pure brute force is not really an option. Thanks!

jimsjinx · Post by **jimsjinx** » Fri May 20, 2011 10:15 am

I also have the same saw. I love it! The scale is dead on... you need to loosen the nuts/bolts along the underside, and adjust it to center it. Real easy. Alot of guys adjust for a sacrificial fence, then when they remove it, it's off the thickness of that fence. The lift is ok, but unless your floor is dead level, it can be a PITA. Good find. Mine new was over $600.00! jimsjinx

justplaingoofy · Post by **justplaingoofy** » Fri May 20, 2011 10:40 am

Here's a cropped view from a cellphone pic I had already.
I'll get a couple good ones up soon, but this should give you the general idea. Your base may differ, just alter the concept to fit your saw.
I know it's kinda redneck, but it was cheap and effective. I just put a couple of scraps down as wheel chocks. Mounting the wheels in the other direction would be just plain silly!:D ...unless you like chasing down your tablesaw !!!
Also, these pneumatic tires allow me to roll the saw over turf as well.

SDSSmith · Post by **SDSSmith** » Fri May 20, 2011 10:54 am

Here is a 3650 kit in PA.

dlbristol · Post by **dlbristol** » Fri May 20, 2011 10:56 am

No problem here Goofy, I always thought " Cheap and effective" was the definition of redneck!:D

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Fri May 20, 2011 11:22 am

Check out wood magazine website for a contractor saw cabinet.
Also there was super cabinet designed for the Ryobi BT3 which would be easily adapted for the Rigid saw.
Both cabinets are about as wide(long) as the fence rails on the TS3650 they have a full storage cabinets built into them and both can be adapted to include a router table.

Here is the picture of the one from Wood Magazine
[ATTACH]13107[/ATTACH]

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Fri May 20, 2011 11:50 am

dlbristol wrote:No problem here Goofy, I always thought " Cheap and effective" was the definition of redneck!:D

Really! I think more along the lines of KISS!

Or Elegant Solution.

Using the wheels off Mama's Miata would be redneck!

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