General 650 saw...

[Clisby Clark]

I've been agonizing over my upcoming TS purchase and it seems the closer I look at saws, the more undecided I get. Each saw has pros and cons. I'm willing to pay a premium for quality and don't want to have to upgrade after a few years. The General 650 is currently the one I'm watching. I like the Baldor motor and built in NA aspects. The few comments I've read have been favorable. Does anyone have any experience with this saw you can share? Thanks in advance

[Greg Sznajdruk]

With the current economic upheaval the Canadian dollar is sinking like a stone. The General may be more attractive in the US if the reseller adjusts his price or try ordering from Canada. The CND dollar is about $.80 US.

Greg

[Gary Herrmann]

I bought a General 650 several years ago when they were below 2k. I have been extremely pleased with it's accuracy, it's ability to maintain the adjustments I've made and it's overall level of build quality.

The fact that they come with a riving knife now, would make it all the more attractive to me. I've seen a couple places online selling it for $2699 - does that include the riving knife? If it does, I'd get it.

[Mark Carlson]

I bought mine a couple of years ago for around $2100 if I remember correctly. I started out wanting a Unisaw, then a PM 66 and finally decided on the General 650. I wanted the Balder motor, quality cast iron top and very heavy duty B-meyer style fence. I also searched high and low and could never find a negative reivew for the General 650/350. If I was in the market today, I would either get the SawStop or the 650R.

~mark

This is my baby.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=54651&d=1168228127

[Rob Grubbs]

I got one of the first ones off the line that had the riving knife. The first 50 produced (mine included) have a problem with the riving knife where you cannot put a full size 10" blade on. The riving knife was set up to use a metric sized blade that is slightly under 10". General is supposed to be sending me a new part that will fix the problem within the next few weeks. I would list this as pretty good customer service. I understand that new products sometimes have problems like this. The important thing to me is that they make it right.
Other than that, I have been very happy with the saw. Well built and a pleasure to use. I have mine set up with an Excalibur sliding table. :cool:

[Clisby Clark]

I live in GA and would like to keep freight as bearable as possible. Thanks

[Steven J Corpstein]

I purchased a 650 when they were below $1700.00, but if I were in the market for another saw, I'd buy the same thing based on my experience with this one.

[John Ricci]

Like Rob, I got one of the first 650Rs to come off the line (I ordered it a month before they were even released for sale) and found the same problem with the saw accepting a Freud Fusion blade. The fix was an easy one that I was able to make in my shop and I am expecting to see the retrofit parts any time now. Other than that small glitch the saw is superb and I don't believe I could have made a better choice in a cab saw. As to the pricing, I paid $2699Cdn. for mine at my local dealer...not bad given that at the time I took delivery, the flyer price was listed at about $3k. I don't have a clue what the US price might be.

If you do decide to go with the General you won't be disappointed.

J.R.

[Doug Mason]

General=quality

[Dick Latshaw]

I live in GA and would like to keep freight as bearable as possible. Thanks

Try Redmond Machinery in Atlanta. I got my 350 from them two years ago. Last time I looked, there were no General saws in their on line catalog, but they might be able to order one for you.

[John Thompson]

The General 650 is built like a tank. Not much else I can say.

Clisby...
As stated Redmond & Son Machinery here in Atlanta was a General distributor for many years. Redmond down-sized recently to meet the current economy. I tried their web-site and it was being updated.. then tried to call before I remembered they are no longer open on Saturday as part of the down-size.

Go to their site (Google Redmond and Son Machinery) and call them on Monday to find out. They may have dropped General with the way the Canadian $ stacked up to the U.S. $ before our current world economic mess that sees the Canadian $ drop back. Whatever... :)

Sarge.. in Lawrenceville

[Luther Oswalt]

IMHO This is high quality that's affordable ... it is a solid well built machine that should last for years! I sure like mine!
Leo

[Keith Beck]

I can't speak for how they're constructed these days, but if my 20 year old 350 is any indication, they're beasts! I love mine and it's still going strong!

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j114/ldoforcno/DSC03210.jpg

Keith

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, I also have a General 650, although it's the non riving knife model.

The 350/650 is often considered the best North American cabinet saw, not to mention that now they are the only manufacturer in North America.

The high quality meehanite castings, the accuracy of the machining, and the general fit and finish are superb.

If you want a cabinet saw, this is the one to get.

Having said that however, I wouldn't purchase another cabinet saw. Aside from the riving knife, a cabinet saw is basically a 60 year old machine, with none of the feature/performance improvements of the European sliding saws.

Once you use a slider for a while, you'll know why the cabinet saw is obsolete.

Regards, Rod.

[michael osadchuk]

....I've had the General 350 for about a dozen years and am happy with it; last year I added a Sharkguard for both its dust collection and safety features and am also satisfied with that.......
....the Canadian dollar, I believe, is not going to rebound, vs. the U.S. dollar, at least during the next several months/half year (because prices for commodities such as oil, etc. will stay low) so, if you are in the U.S. the prices for a Canadian made General, whether a 350, 650 or 650R(with the riving knife) sure should drift down significantly... the U.S. dollar today is worth about 1.27/1.28 of a Cdn. dollar

.... let me add a comment following Rod Sheridan's excellent comment on European sliders taking tablesaws to "another level" of performance.......with regard to safety features, I think the Sawstop takes safety to 'another level' while the addition of a riving knife (that attaches closer to the back of the blade than a splitter and follows the blade up/down/tilting) is a 'meaningful' improvement it is a world away from the safety value of the Sawstop...and you can gain some of the functionality of a riving knife by adding a homemade, scimitar-shaped 'splitter' close to the blade into a homemade zero clearance insert and made a couple of them for low and high blade heights....soooooo, if you come across a really great value on a 350 or 650 because it does not have the riving knife feature, you may want to consider it.......

good luck

michael

[John Thompson]

I will agree with Michael's assessment of considering a used General (or other well made cabinet saw) even without a riving knife. I have used sliders and they are great, especially with sheet goods. But.. they require a large foot-print to get one the size you really need and are very expensive.

I just got a new 5 HP cabinet saw and could have got the Grizzly slider which is actually a nice machine and affordable. But... I dis-agree that a slider makes a cabinet saw "obsolete" as the TS I got (without a riving knife) meets my needs for long board ripping far better than a slider for that task at much less the cost of a slider.

I personally doubt that cabinet saws will ever be obsolete as they have their place just sliders do.

Sarge..

[Dan Lautner]

I bought the 650 R 4 months ago after looking at all the options. After looking closely at the powermatic 2000 and the sawstop in person the choice was clear. The General 350/650 w riving knife is the only cabinet saw I would buy today. The seasoned meehanite iron table top and extensions are dead flat and will stay that way. The Baldor motor is superior to the cheap asian motors on the imports. The saw is built to a higher level than the asian saws. No regrets here and I would buy it again in a heart beat.

Dan

[Roy Fleming]

I have a General 350 and love it. very solid machine but could have better dust collection.

[Tom Berninghausen]

My shopping for a cabinet saw ended at a local vendor when the sales guy, turned out to be the owner, remarked he was leaving for Bora Bora (or some other Pacific island, I got CRS) for a "sales retreat" with Powermatic to be educated about selling the new "off shore" Powermatic products. Seems they had to compete with Delta's "cost effective" changes.

My 650 may be the last saw manufactured on the North American continent, for me that means in twenty years when I need a part maybe it will be available from the manufacturer, not some subcontractor's replacement.

Rock solid saw. Never regret buying the best.

Tom

[Kevin Davis]

I also bought the 650R about 5 months ago. I have been very impressed with it. Zero issues with the riving knife and 10" blade so I must have one of the later models. I love the riving knife, the solid construction of the saw, the engine, it's square. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. I bought my saw through Jesse at Eagle Tools in Los Angeles, www.eagle-tools.com (http://www.eagle-tools.com). All the saws are checked before shipping and are shipped like a tank. Jesse comes highly recommended her at MC. To give you an example, I bought my Agana Band saw through Jesse and somehow FedEx got the saw wet but you couldn't tell from the outside of the crate so I signed for it. Of course FedEx said prove it wasn't wet when they picked it up and washed their hands of it. Jesse took the saw back and sent a new one on his dime! I will try to attach some pictures of the 650R in case you haven't seen one.

[Scott Myers]

Clisby,

This is probably very little help, but I too have been going through the torments of a new cabinet saw purchase. Being an engineer and old codger, I WAY over think and over analyse everything from design, manufacturing quality and about every other aspect you can think of on just about anything I buy.

In reality, when you get to a certain level of equipment, they are all pretty good. You certainly would get a quality piece with a General. North American made and Baldor motors are good. But don't think for a moment that components aren't sourced from overseas. Where do you think Baldor's castings come from in their small motors? IMO any of the top names be it General, Delta, Jet, Powermatic, Sawstop, etc. are going to be pretty good, else they wouldn't be "top names". They all have their niches, plusses and minuses.

I recently went through a buying fiasco where I had to return a saw for refund for various reasons. This sent me on a time eating mission to really crawl around a lot of cabinet saws and inspect their construction, design and quality. Based on that, I can tell you what I wouldn't recommend, but I won't do so publically, because in reality the "lesser" machines are designed for a certain demographic and price point. With that, come trade-offs. Suffice it to say, if it is in the group I named above, its a pretty good bet at top quality. The list is far from all inclusive, as I didn't look into the Euro machines. Nor did I really look closely at the Grizzly G0651 which has been reviewed positively (but so are some that I qould give the thumbs down to) or any other Grizzly model, as finding one to inspect is a bit of a difficulty. I just don't have the time to take a trip to look at one. I just looked at those that I know you can find on about every street corner, as servicability is an issue if there is a problem. I still like to do business face to face when possible as this makes someone I know accountable if there is an issue. That is worth something in my book.

There are some saws out there that seem a bargain. Remember the old adage, "You get what you pay for". This is still and will continue to be true. There is also the adage "Buy cheap, buy twice". Clearly, you understand these realities as you are looking at a General and are not shying away from the price tag. Good for you!

Then there is customer service. How easy are they to get hold of? How knoweldgeable are they? What is their committment level to fixing something? How fast will they do it if a service call is required? I spent some time calling the tech support lines and asking hard questions about complex alignment problems and give them a few scenarios to answer. Two different manufacturer's tech support guys tried to blow smoke. So you certainly would want to explore the service/tech support side of things too, as this is important. If you are going to plop down $3,000, you certainly expect them to step up to the plate and not treat you like a second class citizen because you didn't buy a 10 HP 3PH machine. So I would explore this carefully if I were you.

I hope you have more fun buying than I have had! Best wishes!


I've been agonizing over my upcoming TS purchase and it seems the closer I look at saws, the more undecided I get. Each saw has pros and cons. I'm willing to pay a premium for quality and don't want to have to upgrade after a few years. The General 650 is currently the one I'm watching. I like the Baldor motor and built in NA aspects. The few comments I've read have been favorable. Does anyone have any experience with this saw you can share? Thanks in advance