General 650 series specs

[JIm McMullen]

Does anyone know where I can find the specs (tolerances) on the Genreal 650? eg. arbor runout, table flatness, motor manufacturer. Thnks for your help! Jim

[Peter Mc Mahon]

I would assume that only General would be able to supply that information. Have you tried there website? I would guess that if it is not online you could just email them and get the info. Peter

[JIm McMullen]

Thanks Peter--no specs on their site and no reply to my e-mail as yet.

[mike malone]

Hi Jim
you can expect General's Canadian made stuff' specs. to be in the upper end of any test by magazines as they usually are #1 or 2 in terms of quality.

[JIm McMullen]

Thanks Mike-General has always had a great reputation and I have been able, thanks to this and other forums, to receive very complimentary comments from owners. I have been considering General and Sawstop. Safety is very important to me even after many years without an accident (knock on wood), but I can't get the accuracy and quality factor out of my head. I have heard twice now that General often arrives with dead flat tables and near .0000 runout. Sawstop allows .010 variance in their table tops which bothers an old perfectionist like me. (anal, perhaps?). Sawstop also told me that their motors are Koting (Taiwan), which I haven't heard of. General used to put Baldors on their saws but I don't know if they are still using them. Seems like everything is bing outsourced nowadays, doesn't it? Thanks again to all. Jim

[David Eisan]

I don't think General has any published spec's. From having been to the factory and watching the saws be built, I can tell you that you are not going to find a better saw.

The wings are put on the main table at the factory and then the entire table is bolted to the cabinet. The guy who installs the tables used a 4' ground strait edge to check for flatness as he bolts the top on. The table will be flat, how falt? Within a few (0.005"?) thou. When you hear about warped tables, it is because they were cast from who knows what, or they flexed when bolted to the cabinet. General is quite proud of the fact that their foundry is Meehanite certified (http://www.meehanite.com/) and the plaque is the first thing you see when you enter the foundry. At least here in Canada, when Delta/Rockwell/Beaver owned a foundry (and made things here in Guelph, Ontario, Canada) their foundry also used Meehanite castings, as did Powermatic up until a few years ago when they were sold to JET/WMH. That the 650 top is a meehanite casting, you don't have to worry about it warping as it ages. When the top is bolted to the saw, shims are put between the top and the upper cabinet flange where needed to stop it from distorting and keeping it flat.

The 650 arbor is a one piece arbor. On a Unisaw, the arbor flange is pressed on. With the 650, they start with a 3" dia. peice of steel and waste 90% of it, leaving the arbor flange in place. It is thicker and more substansial then either a Unisaw or a PM66. Also, the "washer" is not a washer like it is on a Unisaw, it is a large machined peice. With a Unisaw it is a stamped piece that is not faced on either side. The 650 "washer" is a machined piece and much beefier.

The motor on a 650, is the same as on a 350 or a 130 14" planer. It is a 3hp USA made Baldor motor. I have that motor in my 130 planer and it is a great motor. Aside from the breaker in the wall, the "heater" overload on the starter, there is also a manual thermal overload on the motor itself.

I don't own a 350 or a 650, I have a 40 year old Canadian made Unisaw, but if I was buying a new saw, the 350 would be it.

I have rebuilt several Unisaws over the years (I have a strange affection for old CDN made Unisaws) and used both Leeson and Baldor motors in them, I much prefer the Baldor motors as they are bigger, heavier and stronger.

Any other questions I can answer for you? :)

Thanks,

David.

[Narayan Nayar]

I've got a 650. It's a tank that's built like a porsche. Tables were dead flat, I get 0 runout on the arbor according to my TS-aligner Jr. Mine has a Baldor motor, a gray one--I was considering the PM66 when I bought the General and it had a black Baldor motor; I don't remember what the difference was, but it had something to do with the place it was manufactured.

Truth be told, most people would be happy with any of the major cabinet saws; the differences between them are far more significant in regards to bragging rights and one-upmanship than they are in practice. That said, I'm very happy with my General, which is about all I ask of it. Its specs are secondary. I think one of the recent wood mags has a 10" table saw review. You might find some specs there, but I think most of those specs are useless. Any of the measurements taken are specific to one machine. It might be more useful to know what the manufacturer's acceptable tolerances are.

Buy from a good dealer who will take care of you. That's the most important spec, IMHO.

[JIm McMullen]

Thank you all very much! That is the kind of endorsement and information that I was hoping to get. I have been doing my work on my original Rockwell contractors saw which I bought new some 30 years ago (has a unifence, 2HP motor and cast router extension table). I have kept the saw in real good shape, but it is time to pass it to one of my sons who is really getting into the craft (at least that's my excuse for buying a new saw). Any mor comments or info is greatly appreciated. Thanks again! Jim

[Mark Carlson]

Jim,

I dont know what the tolerances are on the General 650. I've had one for about a year and the the top was flat within a couple of thousands and I cant measure any arbor runout with my TS Alinger Jr. The B-meyer style fence is very solid and flat. The only two faults I have with the saw are the extension table and the owners manuals. The extension table is is particle board and isnt very solid. I didnt use it. The owners manual and directions for installing the fence are very weak. I found better directions online.

~mark

[JIm McMullen]

Thank you for your comments, Mark. Question: Does your saw have a Baldor motor on it?
Jim

[Mark Carlson]

Jim,

My saw has a 3hp single phase Baldor. Black. I thought some more about what I would buy a year later. The only other saw I would look at would be the SawStop because of the riving knife and blade stop feature. The SawStop wasn't available last summer. In the future the only upgrade I could see would be going to a european stype slider, like a Minimax. I would hate to get rid of the General though.

~mark

[JIm McMullen]

Mark-
Actually, the Sawstop is the only other saw under consideration by me. I contacted them to ask about the motor they are currently putting on their saw and a technician answered "Koting", which I understand is a Taiwanese manufacturer. The technician stated that it is as good if not better than a Baldor and is the best motor manufacturer they could find in Taiwan. I also asked whether their tolerances for table flatness (.010")and (.020") for table extensions could be 'tightened up' on special order and was told no, that if I got better, then good, but the only guarantee was as stated. I feel those are very safe tolerances for them and would be interested in what owners have found them to be. The arbor runout tolerance is .001, which I think is OK. Do you or anyone you know have info regarding specs in the real world of owners? Tighter numbers would be very meaningful to a $3000+ CS, don't you think?
Thanks again to all who have helped!
Jim

[Mark Carlson]

Jim,

I've never seen a SawStop in person. I've read a lot of good things though. They seem to stand behind their product. I agonized over the cabinet saw purchase for about a year. I went from wanting a Unisaw to a PM 66 to a General. The clincher for me was a local General dealer that had the saws in stock and I could see what I was buying. They also had a technician check it over and measure all the tollerances for me. They even put a power cord on it so I could see it running and then followed me home with a truck. Let us know what you decide with a couple of pictures.

~mark

[Vaughn McMillan]

...The clincher for me was a local General dealer that had the saws in stock and I could see what I was buying. They also had a technician check it over and measure all the tollerances for me. They even put a power cord on it so I could see it running and then followed me home with a truck...
One of the nice things about living with Eagle Machinery in your neighborhood, huh? I've never been there, mostly because I'm afraid I'd never get out with any money left, but I've heard a lot of good things about Eagle.

- Vaughn

[Mark Carlson]

One of the nice things about living with Eagle Machinery in your neighborhood, huh? I've never been there, mostly because I'm afraid I'd never get out with any money left, but I've heard a lot of good things about Eagle.

- Vaughn

Vaughn,

Good guess:) That place is dangerous.