Craftsman table saw???

[Derek Larson]

I currently have an old craftsman table saw that takes a 9" blade and I want to upgrade. Sears has a deal on a new 10" craftsman table saw for $149 that seems really good for the price, and I was curious if you folks see any problems with this model, will it be ok for doing some cabinetry work etc... Now I compared it to the delta model you can get at lowes and it seems better and much cheaper so is it worth getting (I do not have a lot of money to drop)

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00924884000P?keyword=table+saw

Here are the specs:
Blade:
Diameter: 10 in.
Controls, Overall:
On/Off Type: Switch with key
Cutting Tool:
Cut Depth At 45 Degrees: 2-1/2 in.
Fence Material: Aluminum
Miter Detents: 15 deg.
Depth Of Cut Range: 0 to 3 in.
Cut Depth At 90 Degrees: 3 in.
General Features:
Saw Type: Table saw
Table Material: Die cast aluminum
Table Dimensions: 26-7/64 x 19-7/64 in.
Fence Type: Self aligning quick set
Miter: Yes
Rip: Yes
Crosscut: Yes
Included with Item:
Rip Fence: Yes
Dust Chute: Yes
Extension Rails: Yes, extension wings
Leg Set: Yes
Miter Gauge: Yes
Motor-Engine:
Speed Range RPM: 5000 rpm
Drive Type: Direct drive
Horsepower: 3 hp
Product Overview:
Item Weight: 73.0 lbs.
Table Saw Type: Bench Top Table Saw
Safety Enhancements:
Overload Protection: Yes

[Mike McCann]

I had an older model that looks just like that. I could never get the fence to be line up with the blade with out alot of adjustment. Also pushing wood through it is top heavy and had a tendency to try to tip over. The miter gage is not very good and after market ones will not fit into the slot.

[Mark Valsi]

If you don't mind me being presumptious.

Don't get a crapsman ! Spend extra money and get something better. you will be better off in the long run !!

[Art Mann]

You may not want to here this, but you asked. I don't think a new tablesaw of any brand that only costs $150 will be much of an upgrade over what you already have or will give you much satisfaction in the long run. If I were you, I would save the money and sell the other machine and try to raise enough money to get a saw that is a good long term investment.

[Irvin Cooper]

My first saw was a Craftsman contractor saw (I still have it for rough cutting), and what everyone says above about the fence, mitre gauge, etc... are all accurate.

Especially for cabinet work, you need something of better quality. For that matter, if you plan to do anything beyond rough carpentry, you would be better off with a better saw. Save your money and buy one that will last you and meet your expectations for years. One option may be looking thru craigslist. I routinely see well-made saws in there for sell in the sub-$500 range.

If my experience repeats itself, you would be nothing but disappointed with the Craftsman saw.

Just my .02.

Irv

[matthew Roberts]

I have the craftsman professional table saw with the biesemeyer fence and extension table. I did have to adjust the table to get it square with the blade and adjust the fence slightly as well. Overall I have been very pleased with the results.

I agree with other posters though for 150 you will not get a saw that you won't want to replace again soon.

[Greg McCallister]

I would highly suggest to check craigslist for a decent used one. I have seen contractor saws in fairly low prices with many upgrades.

[John Revilla]

I had this saw. The saw is very light and will move around while cutting. The fence cannot be adjusted to be true. Whenever you lock the fence, it will move about 1/8 of an inch to the left. The extension tables were okay, if you can level them. The dust collection is awful. The motor is so loud. You cannot use any accessory via the miter slot because it is not standard in size.

In my opinion, this saw will be a waste of your time and money. Save more and find something else. I'm now enjoying the company of a Delta contractor saw with a Bies fence. The difference between the Delta and the Craftsman in quality of cut and precision was immense. Godspeed.

[chris dub]

I bought a similar saw, for a similar price on Ebay. And recently sold it on Ebay as well. For the life of me I could not get the fence square and all of my angles were off and I always felt like I was going to knock it over. I got it because it had a good rip capacity, dust bag and I had a specific project in mind. I hadn't planned to actually do WW as a hobby. I only have a 1 car garage for space.

I wouln't say you have to get a cabinet or even a hybrid at $500+. But I would try and get a Porter cable, Bosch, Dewalt, Ridgid, Jet or the red Craftsman jobsite on sale or through Amazon, Ebay or Craigslist if you need a decent intermediate saw that can hold you for a while. You may out grow those too if you start doing 4'X8' sheet goods etc. but they will give you solid performance for the smaller to intermediate stuff. The fences will be square and secure, miter slots parallel. The cheaper sears saws will probably frustrate you at almost all levels of work. There is nothing wrong with getting a tool that is not the end all be all, but do get one that is good within it's intended range of use.

my $.02

[Paul Williams]

I have the older 9 inch Craftsman saw and it has served me well for many years. I looked at upgrading a few years ago, and ended up purchasing a good fence and making a miter sled. It became a whole new saw. The availablility of 9 inch blades is somewhat limited, but it will drive a good 10 inch blade but you have to install from below the saw.

My neighbor has the saw you are looking at. He likes it, but is not the same quality as my older saw.

[Jon Bonham]

I had this saw. The saw is very light and will move around while cutting. The fence cannot be adjusted to be true. Whenever you lock the fence, it will move about 1/8 of an inch to the left. The extension tables were okay, if you can level them. The dust collection is awful. The motor is so loud. You cannot use any accessory via the miter slot because it is not standard in size.

In my opinion, this saw will be a waste of your time and money. Save more and find something else. I'm now enjoying the company of a Delta contractor saw with a Bies fence. The difference between the Delta and the Craftsman in quality of cut and precision was immense. Godspeed.

Agreed. I have had this saw for about 9 years, but I was not into woodworking. It is useless for anything but rough work. Squaring the fence is a monumental task that requires a square, two hands and a lot of luck. Ditto the miter slot. Did anyone say loud?

My new saw will be here Saturday.

[Bill White]

One other issue....Ain't no such thang as a 3hp 110volt motor in the real world. That claim is just fluff, and is driven by some goofy peak hp rating. SAVE YO MOOLAH!!
Bill

[Dan Bussiere]

If you look up my previous posts, you will find that I am one who gets a little touchy about bashing another persons choice of tool brand (i.e. calling it crapsman, etc). Having said that, I believe any saw that I have seen for $150, no matter who makes it, wouldn't be cabinet making capable. I recently bought the Lowes Delta saw and have the Bies fence system and I am very pleased with it. I know folks who have the higher end Craftsman saws and they love them. But I don't know anyone who has a $150 table saw, made by anyone, who is satified to the point that they feel comfortable doing fine furniture or cabinet making with it.

If your cutting 2x4 stock all day for rough constuction......maybe?

No one can tell you what to do, but I agree with others, save the money and get a better model.

Dan

[Doug Shepard]

There's a line from Saving Private Ryan that applies here:
Dont Do It
You're a young man. You've got your whole life ahead of you.

There's a reason there are so many used Craftsman saws floating about and so many Ex-Craftsman owners.

[Chuck Lenz]

I have the older 9 inch Craftsman saw and it has served me well for many years. I looked at upgrading a few years ago, and ended up purchasing a good fence and making a miter sled. It became a whole new saw. The availablility of 9 inch blades is somewhat limited, but it will drive a good 10 inch blade but you have to install from below the saw.

My neighbor has the saw you are looking at. He likes it, but is not the same quality as my older saw.
I'd have to agree with Paul, if you don't have alot of money to drop for awhile, work on what you have now. A T2 Delta fence at Lowes is about $150. If your handy, and take your time mounting the fence. A Fenner Drives link belt can improve the performance also. You can always take both off if you ever sell the saw for a better saw that needs a better fence. The link belt you can reuse on almost anything, the next saw,drill press, jointer, bandsaw. etc. Ofcourse this is all assumeing the saw you have now isn't a basket case.

[Bruce Volden]

I noticed the motor specs and what really got my attention was "direct drive", hence no belt???? Run-save your money!

Bruce

[Chet Kagel]

I will share what I have done and I've been very satisfied with the decision...

Nine years ago, I decided get a table saw without investing a lot of money. My major requirement was to find a table saw with a cast iron top and wings. I ended up purchasing a used AMT (American Machine & Tool) machine for $100 that had been advertised in the newspaper. The reasons that I bought it were: 1) price was right, 2) had the cast iron top & wings, and 3) it was in excellent condition.


To get quality cuts, the table saw needs to be in good working order (no play in blade) and proper aligned. To get the alignment, I bought a TS Aligner Junior for about $130. IMHO the most critical part of making quality cuts after getting it in shape and aligning it, is due to the fence. So two years later, when I could afford it, I bought an Incra TSIII fence for about $400. I choose the Incra fence because: 1) repeatability due the interlocking plastic (yes, plastic!) plates, 2) support from the arm being opposite the blade, and 3) the locking mechanisms both at the front and the back of the fence to keep it from shifting.

It may seem strange to invest $500+ in addons for a $100 saw, but again I'm really satisfied with the results. I tend to buy used equipment from Craigslist and if I'm not happy with it, it goes back up for sale. So far, I haven't wanted to sell my AMT :D. Major downside for me is that replacement parts aren't available as AMT is out of business. Fortunately, I've been able to source what I need and have found that there are Delta parts that fit. Good luck on your decision!!

[Mark Vaughn]

You really do get what you pay for.. I have learned my lesson on buying cheap stuff

[Derek Larson]

Thank you all for your response I am going to forget about this table saw and stick with the 9" that I have for the time being. The table saw I currently have I bought used and have no owners manual, but Paul mentioned that it will take a ten inch blade (having a hard time finding a 9" blade with more than 40 teeth) are there any problems with putting in a bigger blade, other than having to mount it from below.

Other wise thank you for your responses.

[Chuck Lenz]

Maybe I'm wrong here but for riping you shouldn't need a blade with more than 40 teeth. If your useing your miter gauge and doing crosscuts use a miter saw unless the boards are too wide to get a full cut..

[William McFarland]

Definitely keep you eye on your local Craigslist for good deals. I just picked up a reasonable condition Jet JTWS 10" with a huge biesemeyer fence and table extension for $100. You are not going to see deals like this come up very often but when they do you need to be ready to jump on them. Check everyday, multiple times a day if possible, for a deal that you are comfortable with. Have some cash on hand, whatever you are wanting to spend, so that when the deal becomes available you can tell the person you are coming right over to pick up the saw. I have missed out on the opportunity to purchase some really nice used equipment becuase I had to wait till the next day to go by the bank. Good luck in that search and trust me if you are patient you will find the saw you want at a price you can afford.
Will

[David Wilhelm]

I"ve got one. Or at least i've got one that looks like it may not be the same one but pretty much it's the same. Mine is an upgrade to the first POS that i got. I used it to cut some flooring and a few pen blanks and the motor blew. after 6 months of it sitting in the back room at sears they gave me a new one.. I had extended warrenty.( it was also a gift like the saw was. I'd of never paid for either) anyhow. If you are only doing light work and have time to measure front and back on your fence, and you can't afford anything else and can't wait to find a good used belt driven saw. and it's the upgraded motor from the first saw i had then It's an OK saw to have. I do like mine because it doesn't take up a lot of space and all i do is small work with it. Understand if you try to rip a board it will turn over if you dont tie or weight it down. Also the table tracks are only for this saw so the miter guide for another saw will not work with this one. i'm lucky I have the junk for two saws so if i break one i have a spare.

[Jon Bonham]

By the way, my new saw is the Craftsman cabinet saw, so I'm not anti-Craftsman.

[Allan Froehlich]

I currently have an older craftsman table saw, but I do not like it.

If you want to buy this saw, thoroughly go over it at the store.

Issues with my saw:
-splitter/kickback prawl/blade guard assembly is nearly impossible to align.
-slots not parallel to blade
-blade difficult to tip (still can't get 45 deg)
-arbor not uniform in thickness (Freud dado set simply won't perform)
-two hands to raise blade
-shakes like a scared dog: it will literally walk itself across the basement floor

Overall, I am not a fan of craftsman.

[Joe Spear]

The Craftsman zipcode saws have developed a very good reputation. Even the lowest cost of the three, while well beyond the the $150 cost of the cheap saw under discussion here, would be a good saw to buy. Sears seems to have made an effort in the past few years to get back in the decent-tool business, even though they are still selling some junk as well.

[glenn bradley]

I would seriously consider throwing that $150 at upgrades to the existing saw body unless there is some real problem. A fence, a blade, better pulleys and belt, some TLC and you will probably have a better saw for less money.

In the smaller saw category I haven't seen anything really exciting until you push the $500 (read Bosch) mark. Rather than spend more money when money is tight I would "tune" and then make the leap if it is warranted at a later time. My .02

[Jim Becker]

It's not 3hp (that's traditional Sears marketing hype), very lightweight, hard to keep in alignment, hard to use the fence, has non-standard miter slots, etc. The saw you have now is very likely a much better machine. And 9" blades, while a little harder to source, will cut just as well as a 10" blade for the kind of work you can do with a small saw. Use what you have until you can afford a true upgrade. And you can always used a guided circular saw to cut down sheet goods safely in conjunction with the small table saw for crosscutting and ripping solid stock.

And FYI, my first "table saw" was nearly identical to the one you ask about. It was a major disappointment and when I finally found a buyer for it, it was for pennies on the dollar. And that after only about three months trying to use it as a beginning woodworker. That's when I learned what I often say to others now...the most expensive tools are the ones you need to replace early and often....