General 350/650 Riving Knife

[Dan Lautner]

I just spoke with my local tool supplier and was told the general 350/650 with riving knife will be in next week. I asked if he was sure and was told he has confirmed the first shipment of new saws. Has anyone heard this news? Is this going to be a true riving knife?

Dan

[chris del]

As a owner of a General 650, I would like to know if there will be a retrofit kit available for older saws.

[Jim Becker]

As a owner of a General 650, I wold like to know if there will be a retrofit kit available for older saws.

That will be interesting if they can do that, Chris. A lot of the resistance to getting riving knives on existing machine models has been because of re-design issues that can affect the whole trunion and arbor setup.

[Bill Bryant]

I'd like to know MUCH more about this. The General 350 is on my short list when it comes time for a cabinet saw next summer (yes, it's actually in the budget with spousal approval!) but the lack of a riving knife has had me looking at the PM2000 and SawStop.

What I'm hoping one of these big boys can give me is pretty simple but apparently increasingly rare: a truly flat table with parallel miter slots, a blade that stays in the same plane when raised and lowered, low vibration and high power--and a riving knife.

Maybe that's a General 350 with riving knife.

[Mark Carlson]

I've heard rumors of this over the last 9 months or so. As a General 650 owner I hope they have a retrofit kit available. Somehow I think not, but I'm hoping. General quality with a riving knife. That would be an awesome combo.

~mark

[Aaron Mills]

Would be in-line with what I heard from a General rep at a wood show last month, although he said February at that time.

[Dan Lautner]

"The General 350 is on my short list when it comes time for a cabinet saw next summer (yes, it's actually in the budget with spousal approval!) but the lack of a riving knife has had me looking at the PM2000 and SawStop."


I'm in the same boat between the pm2000 and sawstop. I had ruled out the general because of no riving knife. Now I will wait another week and go look at the General. I hope it is a true riving knife and not some jerry rigged merlin type thing. It would be foolish to buy a new high end cabinet saw today without a riving knife.

Dan

[Dan Lautner]

"Would be in-line with what I heard from a General rep at a wood show last month, although he said February at that time."


It looks like they have hurried it up to catch some holiday sales.

Dan

[Bill Bryant]

Pictures, please, as soon as anybody sees one in a shop. Especially pictures of the riving knife mechanism.

[Tim Marks]

I'm in the same boat between the pm2000 and sawstop. I had ruled out the general because of no riving knife
Is there a reason that you have ruled out the Grizzly G0651? It also has a riving knife, and looks like a winner to me.

Also, please note that Jet also now sells the Deluxe Xacta line of saws with riving knives as well (yes, I know that WMH owns Delta, Jet, and PM):
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=61065&refcode=07INCHIN. I need to go check them out at a local woodcraft (saw the sawstop there last week, but it was a very small shop and didn't have any other saws; I will go check a different store this weekend).

Both the 50" Grizz and the Jet sell for about $400 less then a comparable PM 2000. And $1700-1900 less then the Sawstop (depending on shipping).

[Bill Bryant]

Bringing this one back to the top so we don't forget it. I'm really eager to see this saw.

[Jim Becker]

(yes, I know that WMH owns Delta, Jet, and PM

WMH does not own Delta. They are part of Black and Decker. Jet and PM are WMH brands, however.

[Tim Marks]

WMH does not own Delta. They are part of Black and Decker.
Whoops, got carried aways with those commas.... :DThe third part of the WMH Toolgroup trilogy is Wilton, not delta.

[Dan Lautner]

"Is there a reason that you have ruled out the Grizzly G0651? It also has a riving knife, and looks like a winner to me."


I can get the Jet a bit cheaper and get free local shipping. Also I have seen the jet at a local store and it looks solid. Unfortunately the local salesman that told me the new Generals will be in next week has changed his story a bit. I thought it sounded too good to be true. I will wait until the end of Dec. then I will get the Jet if the new General is not available. I was told the price on the new general will be in the $2600 range.

Dan

[Gary Curtis]

My tablesaw is a 2-year old General 350 right tilt. After reading this thread, I telephoned the Western sales rep. from General. He knows that the saws sold in 2008 will come with a riving knife.

He didn't know if a retro-fit version will go on sale. But said he'd call me back with that information. I'll forward any news I get here on SMC. He did say, that the majority of his users run their equipment without a splitter or blade guard. Scary thought.

That old style safety gear sure impedes smooth operation of a saw.

Gary Curtis

[Scot Ferraro]

I called General's corporate HQ in Canada and spoke to JD. He did not know if there would be a retrofit available but he too was going to check to see if that is something that might be availble. He is supposed to call me back as well and I will also post a follow-up. I am a happy owner of a 350 that is a few years old and it would be sweet if this option was available. Jim's post makes a lot of sense and I am not sure if it can be done on the current saw but we will hopefully find out soon. I always use the splitter for through cuts and an Excaliber overhead guard -- I tweeked my splitter so that it is easy to take on an off but it should would be nice to leave it on all the time and not have to worry about it.

Thanks!

Scot

[Gary Curtis]

According to the people at General in Montreal, the complete cabinet saws with a riving knife are undergoing testing. They expect announcement of sales sometime early next year.

With a bit more testing it is hoped that a retrofit version of this safety equipment will be available. If all goes well, that might be in the spring.

Gary Curtis

[Bill Bryant]

Any recent news about the General 350/650 with riving knife?

[Bill Bryant]

back to the top

[Scott Seigmund]

I recently inquired about updates to the General 350/650 and received the following reply from Norm Frampton - Sales & Marketing General International:


"Dear Mr. Seigmund,
Thank you for your inquiry and for your interest in General!

Plans for a General Mfg. made riving knife for the General 350 & 650 cabinet saws are in the works. We are currently testing a few prototypes and we expect to have the completed units as well as a retrofit riving knife kit as an optional upgrade for previously delivered saws, available by late spring or early summer.

Unfortunately it is still a little too early in our development and testing process to be able to offer you definitive launch date or pricing just yet."

Many thanks to Norman for this information!

[Dan Lautner]

I am told by my local supplier the end of this month or early next month at the latest for the new General saw. I will not buy a TS without a Riving knife so I am waiting. The General will be the only non asian saw with a riving knife and an industrial quality motor.

Dan

[Jim Becker]

The General will be the only non asian saw with a riving knife and an industrial quality motor.

Well...don't forget all those Euro machines! ;)

[Mark Carlson]

I'm still really interested to see what General comes up with. I hope its a riving knife with a decent blade guard that allows for overhead dust colletion and that is easily removed. The guard part should be easily removed. And a retro fit kit for older machines, please. I currently use a shark guard on a 650 and wouldn't switch for just a riving knife even though I know its better than a splitter.

~mark

[Bill Bryant]

back to the top

[Bill Bryant]

Any word on this yet?

[Mike Sandman]

I don't know a lot about General's cabinet saws, and if you have good experience with General, brand loyalty is a powerful magnet. But there are alternative cabinet saws right now with riving knives. I bought a Jet Deluxe Xacta after using a Delta contractor without a guard for too many years. The Jet's guard and riving knife design is similar to the Powermatic 2000 and it's very functional. The Jet is missing a couple of things vs. the P2000 -- notably adjustable levelers (!) and a removable key to disable the magnetic start switch (apart from pulling the plug). But otherwise it's largely the functional equivalent of the P2000 although it lacks the P2000's extra 100 lbs of cast iron, its better switch and its built-in casters... and an extra $400.
Mike Sandman

[Noah Levy]

I've been looking at one of the General saws, the 50-560 http://www.general.ca/pagemach/machines/50560a.html, which has a small format style sliding table. I read somewhere that it's a General International and that the quality of the "international" models doesn't equal the General machines made in Canada. Any thoughts about that?

[Jeff Cord]

I was at the woodworking show here in Pomona today looking at the 650R.
I was told that there will be a retrofit kit for the 650.
However, it sounds like it includes a good portion of a new trunnion (if not a complete new trunnion) so it's not a simple retrofit.
I was also told that it would run around $800-$900 (fairly expensive).
Jeff

[Dan Lautner]

Jeff, what did you think of the general 650R? Did the riving knife have a quick release? Was Eagle Tools the ones showing it? Any special show price? I'm thinking of buying this saw but would like to find out a bit more about the specifics. Thanks for any input.

Dan

[Jeff Hallam]

Noah, the things you've heard about "General International" not being the same quality as "General" are true. That's not to say that they aren't good tools, just that they aren't the top end that comes out of this company. Of course, there is also a HUGE price difference between the Int'l models and the straight General when pricing out lathes or drill presses etc...

I own a General 650 and have been very happy with it. A riving knife would be fantastic if it was a reasonable price. For now, I have removed the stock guard and I use a micro splitter from LV. It is easy to remove if I have to, and keeps the stock from binding.

[Jeff Cord]

They didn't have a 650R at the show, only the 650.
I was told that they've been shipped 3 of the 650R's so I wasn't able to see it.
Jeff

[Bill Bryant]

I just saw the 350/650-T50R on the General Canada website. Anybody know anything about them?

[John Ricci]

Bill, I've had mine since some time in July. What would you like to know about the saw?

J.R.

[Bernie Wynia]

I've ordered the 350 with the riving knife. It is supposed to be a true riving knife though. I'm told it should be here at the end of the month. Unfortunately it will probably be at least a couple of weeks after then before I can turn it on. (have more "organizing" to do in the basement shop before it'll fit). I'll try to remember to post another reply once I've got it working.

[David Eisan]

Hello there,

I have had 350R/650R's trickling in at work for the past few months and I finally have stock where I can put a floor model on display.

If anyone is interested I can take a few pics of the riving knife set up and post them.

Take care,

David.

[Bill Bryant]

Hello there,

I have had 350R/650R's trickling in at work for the past few months and I finally have stock where I can put a floor model on display.

If anyone is interested I can take a few pics of the riving knife set up and post them.

Take care,

David.I would love to see pictures. The more the better.