Central Machinery / Steel City ?

[Grant Vanbokklen]

Looking through a Harbor Freight catalog I got today in the mail they are showing a Central Machinery tilting arbor cabinet saw that looks ALOT like the Steel City saws. The side access box is painte black and the base does not look to have the beveled corners. It is 230vac, 6.9amp, 30" fence, weight 480lbs. Price $999.99. Item 93380-OCMH
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/photos/93300-93399/93380.gif
vs.
http://www.steelcitytoolworks.com/products/35621/35621_closeup.jpg

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Yep. Noted and posted a while back.

That bad boy would be a good deal with a good HF style sale along with a 20% off coupon!

[Mike Langford]

Probably made at the same factory in China........Looks to have the (less expensive) Deluxe T-Square Fence & Rails (35602-35604) instead of the Industrial T-Square Fence & Rails (35622-35632).....

[Bruce Wrenn]

Last Friday when in Sears, I saw the zip code saw (22124) on sale for $999. It comes with a genuine Biesemeyer fence system. Same basic saw as Steel City), and can often be had for less (promotions, Craftsman Club etc.) I would be leary of buying from HF, as in the future will they support this saw with service and parts- I doubt not. Remember this saw should last a lifetime.

[Bruce Page]

Very interesting....

[John Thompson]

It's obvious that they have different fences.. miter gaurge and splitter shields even though they probably come from the same plant from the outer appearance.

Two soldiers in uniform look alike standing side by side. What really needs to be compared is "what's inside" the uniform to make a comparison of "are they the same".

Maybe!.. maybe not?

Sarge..

[Gary Breckenridge]

:) Tomorrow morning at 9:00 sharp I'll be at Harbor Freight to buy one. I'm not worried about quality, warranty, rust, reliability or getting parts. Just the fact that it kind of looks like a Steel City saw makes it a sweet deal. And the cute high school girl cashier said, "Its a pretty shade of gray." Well that just did it for me.:)

[Marc Schmitz]

LMAO!! I'm gonna wait and buy one on Ebay once the Bids exceed $1400 or so...:rolleyes:


:) Tomorrow morning at 9:00 sharp I'll be at Harbor Freight to buy one. I'm not worried about quality, warranty, rust, reliability or getting parts. Just the fact that it kind of looks like a Steel City saw makes it a sweet deal. And the cute high school girl cashier said, "Its a pretty shade of gray." Well that just did it for me.:)

[David Weaver]

HF is starting to offer some better tools, and they're even sneaking in some Made in USA stuff - though their pricing on it is the same as anywhere else.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=33867

This is one that catches my eye. If they offer replacement wheels for it, and the 1000 grit wheel is decent quality, I'll be getting it. I hate hollow grinds and I don't like the idea of having to buy gobs of abrasive paper to sharpen something without a hollow grind.

[Brad Townsend]

And the cute high school girl cashier
Obviously, I've been going to the wrong store.

[Matt Meiser]

Yeah, my Harbor Freight doesn't have those!

[scott spencer]

Last Friday when in Sears, I saw the zip code saw (22124) on sale for $999. It comes with a genuine Biesemeyer fence system. Same basic saw as Steel City), and can often be had for less (promotions, Craftsman Club etc.) I would be leary of buying from HF, as in the future will they support this saw with service and parts- I doubt not. Remember this saw should last a lifetime.

The Steel City 35601 hybrid is the model that's very close to the 22124. The model pictured by the OP is an industrial 3hp cabinet saw with a very similar trunnion system to the Griz 1023...probably a 35621.

Grant - The corners on the SC cabinet are chamfered vs rounded, but there are alot of similarities. Check out the Shop Fox W1677 too...aside from being a left tilt saw, it also has alot of similarities.

[Gary Muto]

I have a Delta Sharpener that looks a lot like the HF model. I paid at least $130 for it 6-7 years ago. You might be able to get parts and accessories for it from Delta. I got the jointer/planer knife jig for it.

My HF is not staffed as well either.

[Deck Reagan]

The Harbor Freight saw is on sale for $899 right now. The guy at HF said you prepay and they have it shipped to the store. You pick it up there and pay NO shipping fees. He said he would take a coupon on top of the sale price, which brings it down to $719.

I'd like to see a review on this saw.

Deck

[Josiah Bartlett]

6.9 amps is only 1 HP at 240V. A bit underpowered, don't you think?

Their new 17" bandsaw looks a lot like the others too.

However, my local store is a small one, so I doubt they will stock them.

[glenn bradley]

:) Tomorrow morning at 9:00 sharp I'll be at Harbor Freight to buy one. I'm not worried about quality, warranty, rust, reliability or getting parts. Just the fact that it kind of looks like a Steel City saw makes it a sweet deal. And the cute high school girl cashier said, "Its a pretty shade of gray." Well that just did it for me.:)

You are a sick, sick man :D . Be careful, someone might think you mean it and run out to get in on the deal.

[Bruce Benjamin]

6.9 amps is only 1 HP at 240V. A bit underpowered, don't you think?

Their new 17" bandsaw looks a lot like the others too.

However, my local store is a small one, so I doubt they will stock them.

6.9 amps at 240v is the equivalent to 13.8 amps at 120v. This is actually 1.44 HP at 65% motor efficiency. Not exactly an abundant amount of HP for a cabinet saw but pretty close to the average contractor saw. Definitely better than the 1 HP you thought it was.

Bruce

[Shiraz Balolia]

Check out the Shop Fox W1677 too...aside from being a left tilt saw, it also has alot of similarities.

The Shop Fox is made in Taiwan.
The HF unit is made in China.

[Bruce Benjamin]

The Shop Fox is made in Taiwan.
The HF unit is made in China.

Lines bluurrrinnnngg...Chaiwan! OR... 6..=..1/2 dozen.

Bruce

[Shane Sura]

I love harbor freight and in fact have their Drill press (16 speed floor model), their 14 inch bandsaw and their VS lathe. That being said I have had a hard time getting replacement parts. For instance for my bandsaw the riser block is still back ordered so I order the grizzly for the same price. I have had no problems with the machines but in the case of HF you do truly get what you pay for. What makes them great is you can pull off great combo sale/coupon deals that allows me to buy that 16 speed Drill Press for $150.00, the lathe for $160.00 and the bandsaw for $150.00 :D They did sucker me into the service plane for each.