G044 vs craftsman contractor

[Igor Petrenko]

Which one would you choose?
Grizzly one shipped after bing is around $500
Sears has $100 craftsman club discount and bing so will end up in around $425 with in store pickup

Craftsman pros:
- supposedly has riving knife (nothing in specs but mentioned in reviews)
- more hp
- already has wheels for moving
- can pick it up today

Grizzly pros:
- I have grizzly BS which I like a lot
- cast wings
- better fence

[scott spencer]

Assuming you're referring to the Craftsman 21833...its a hybrid design with the motor moved inside, plus has a better trunnion design, and likely a serpentine drive belt. The Craftsman won't suffer most of the downsides of the 60 year contractor saw design of the Griz. The Griz does have a nicer fence. I don't think you'll notice any HP differences in the motors. The G0444 has steel wings too. The G0444"Z" has cast wings.

I'm sure either will function well once aligned properly and equipped with a good blade.

[scott spencer]

You still out there Igor or has this post been abandoned due to lack of interest?

[Bill White]

Just this:
If ya have a problem with the Craftsman, who ya gonna call?? :confused:
Problem with the Grizz...You're gonna get an answer. :)
As Forest Gump said, "and that's all I got to say about that." ;)
Bill

[Bryan Morgan]

I recently picked up that Craftsman saw. With the Craftsman club discount and online coupons you can find you can get it under $400. The saw is fairly decent. Its much nicer than the portable saw I was using. Its a cast iron top with steel wings. Fence is almost the same as on my portable saw (Ridgid 2400) The assembly instructions are horrible. It is belt driven but the belt is very small as the motor is right next to the blade. My blade was out of parallel to the miter slots by over 1/16". To realign it you have to loosen the trunnion that holds the whole assembly to the bottom of the table. Not fun at all, but better than packing this 300lb beast back up and taking it back. I had to hold it all in place with clamps and then tighten it back up. Other than that everything else lined up just fine. Haven't really used it though as I've just been setting it up a little bit every day after work. This weekend I should be able to do something useful with it. The blade it comes with is junk.

[Igor Petrenko]

You still out there Igor or has this post been abandoned due to lack of interest?

Was waiting for weekend to check it out in store.
They were running in store 10% off woodworking tools so I pulled the trigger. It ended up around $425 after tax and there is rebate for free digital redout display http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00922575000P?vName=Tools&keyword=22575&sLevel=1

So now I have almost 300lbs box sitting in my SUV - have no clue how am I going to pull it out by myself.

[Glen Butler]

You could get complete strangers to help you for a case of beer. Beer gets things done.

[Bryan Morgan]

Was waiting for weekend to check it out in store.
They were running in store 10% off woodworking tools so I pulled the trigger. It ended up around $425 after tax and there is rebate for free digital redout display http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00922575000P?vName=Tools&keyword=22575&sLevel=1

So now I have almost 300lbs box sitting in my SUV - have no clue how am I going to pull it out by myself.

I did this by myself. Depends on how high your SUV is. I have an old 4Runner which is slightly lifted to be setup for off roading. If its low enough you can just slide it out and squat it down to the ground. I have a rollbar so its easy enough to rig up a pulley type setup with a rope and ease things down. Or you can start slicing up the box if you have enough room around it and take out the parts. Inside is two giant pieces of foam with the main assembly in the middle. If its upright like it should be, most of the parts are on the top of the box.... all the legs and everything. The only things in the bottom part are the main guts (bulk of the weight) and wings (which come out easy). The "extra" stuff has a fair amount of weight which if you can get out might make the middle part easier to maneuver.

Otherwise, its off to your neighbors with a six pack. :) Its really not too bad. The Sears worker and I got it in my truck and we are both weak and puny. :)

I assembled and righted the saw all by myself. What I did was leave the guts in the bottom part of the foam packaging (the saw is upside down in the foam). I had this on a dolly which lays level. I assembled the stand/wheel assembly and then it was just a matter of lifting the dolly up. This left the saw on its side resting on the foam and the legs, more or less horizontal. Then just squat down and lift it up by the lowest point of the foam. Super easy. Lift with your legs. As I said, I'm weak and puny and it was no big deal. THEN I followed the "instructions" to finish it up. The instructions really suck... do yourself a favor and print out as many pictures of the assembled saw as you can as there are none in the "instructions". I am very mechanically inclined and it took me longer than I though just trying to decipher their diagrams and instructions. Some things just seem wrong.

If you are going to use the dust chute, don't forget to put it on BEFORE you start attaching the stand. I didn't do this and had to take the stand back off to get the dust chute in. It wasn't obvious in the instructions (unless I'm just dumber than I think I am :D )


Where did you get the rebate for the digital display? I just picked up this saw last weekend. Wonder if I can still get it...