Any experience with the Wenzloff panel saws sold by Lee Valley?

[Dan Alt]

Does anyone have an opinion on the Wenzloff & Sons panel saws being sold through Lee Valley? (Link (http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=64758&cat=1,42884,57152)) I was lucky enough to receive a LV gift certificate for Christmas, and the hole it's burning through my pocket might line up with my desire to get a better crosscut saw than what I'm currently using for breaking down stock.

I know that Wenzloff has a good reputation, but based on price alone, I'm wondering how much the version sold through LV differs from those sold directly by Wenzloff.

[Zach Dillinger]

The only Wenzloff saw I have is the half-back from Lee Valley. A beautiful saw that I use quite often. I like it so much that it is, in fact, the cover image on my website, The Eaton County Joinery.

[Marc Burt]

That desire for a new saw will have to wait though. Back ordered through to June according to the website. That's a long time :)

[Michael Fross]

I bought a rip and crosscut saw awhile back. The wait for a custom one from Wenzloff was too long, so I pulled the trigger. I'm really happy with them. I like the shorter length of a panel saw and these are really well made. I do use my crosscut a *lot* more than the rip, but I wanted a descent rip saw.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with the purchase. Any specific questions I can answer?

Michael

[Dan Alt]

Back ordered through to June according to the website. That's a long time :)

Not as long as I've been using the wretched saw I have now. But thanks for the heads up.

And Zach, thanks for the feedback. Based on the pictures of your spice chest, Wenzloff might be glad you chose their saw for your site.

[JohnPeter Lee]

I bought three of his panel saw kits, and am very pleased with them. Always in stock. He'll sharpen and set it for a nominal fee. Quick turnaround. You just have to shape the handle and go. So, you'll need a medium and fine wood rasp, and chisel for the lambs tongue.

JP

[Dan Alt]

Overall, I'm quite pleased with the purchase. Any specific questions I can answer?
Michael

Thanks for the feedback. Wenzloff has a good reputation, as does Lee Valley, so I guess I was just seeing whether anyone had any cautionary tales before I went ahead. In the past, I'd considered going with a kit like JohnPeter did, but I already have the gift certificate.

[Mike Tekin]

To those who have this panel saw, does not having a double taper grind like vintage saws make a difference in a panel saw size like the Wenzloff the OP is talking about?

[Mike Holbrook]

I made the Half Back kit from Wenzloff, which has no taper in the plate. I also have 10-12 vintage saws, two professionally sharpened. I think if you have/had not experienced using a well sharpened vintage saw with tapered plate you might not have any issues without the taper. But to answer the question above, yes, I think there is a difference. The tapered saws with very little set, cut cleaner, smoother and faster. Less set in the teeth is a good thing is the bottom line.