Table Saw Upgrade Advise

[Patrick Kane]

Cabinet saws are pretty easy to move if you break them down into pieces. Motor will weigh 50lbs+/-, main table will weight 50-75lbs+/-, extensions are 25lbs a piece, and then you need to move the cabinet and trunnions, which are another 75-100lbs. All told, they break down into manageable pieces that two moderately-able people can move with ease and safety. If you are fit, you can move it yourself without a problem. IF you buy used, breaking it down to move it will be something you want to do anyways to clean, lube, and replace parts. Motors, bearings, belts, and switches are all pretty standard and interchangeable. As far as other parts, i could have paid $200 for a new arbor for a 90s unisaw i worked on once with jacked up threads. Instead,i took it to a local machinist and he made the threads good as new for $20 while i stood there and watched. Cabinet saws are the easiest machine in the world to work on and buy. Stuff becomes tricky when you get into rehabbing a T-75 to pristine condition or basically anything Darcy works on. My days of buying a used cabinet saw are over, but i worked on 3-4 unisaws and two powermatic 72s and they were all cheap, easy, and great users.

[Andrew Seemann]

Lots of people like Grizzly, just not Andy ;-)

He likes American old iron, as I do, but Grizzly makes good stuff too.

And don't forget that even the "Made In USA" Unisaws had Chinese castings on various recent models, somewhere around B&D time.

[Bill Dufour]

AFAIK The Unisaw is the only saw that uses a custom motor mount. The Delta 12/14 does not. All the other contractor and cabinet saws use a standard motor which is cheaper to upgrade or replace.
Of course this does not apply to weird hybrid and direct drive saws.
Bill D

[Mike Kees]

Bill the Grizzly that is a direct copy of a Unisaw uses the same motor with the welded on Wings,this motor has been used as a replacement on Unisaws by some people.

[Patrick Kane]

Leeson and Baldor make the unisaw motor mount. Honestly, the c frame of the powermatic isnt particularly easy/cheap to come by either.

[Bill Dufour]

The unisaw mount is pretty easy to make using large angle iron bolted to a standard foot mount motor. I think I lost about 1/4" in cutting height by doing so.
Bil lD

[Mike Burke]

Well I have been researching for a few days and just thought about trying to get a saw local and maybe eliminate the shipping wow's that most people have.
Shop fox saws are the same as Grizzly...right ? Well almost.
I have a couple places local that have shop fox or could get them.
Whats your thought about trying to getting a Shop Fox local ?
Grizzly 1023
Shop Fox w1677

Grizzly go690
Shop Fox w1819

The same saw but different color and sold through dealers ?
I understand I would have sales tax, which I would online also.
Might pay a little extra for the convenience but it might be worth it.

[andy bessette]

...Shop fox saws are the same as Grizzly...right ?...

In a manner of speaking.
Unisaw and PM66 are considered second tier. Shop Fox and Grizzly are considered third tier.

[Roger Feeley]

I had a PM 63 that I had upgraded with a Vega utility fence and a Delta Uniguard. My biggest complaint was that the trunion is bolted to the table which makes alignment difficult at best. Once it was aligned it stayed put, though. When we moved it to a new house, the thing got out of alignment and I had to draft my wife to spend a couple of hours while I tapped and fussed and cussed.

I think the PM was considered a sort of high end contractor saw.

I finally upgraded to a 240v 3hp Sawstop ICS and never looked back. That thing has been a joy.

[Jim Becker]

Roger, if it was a contractors' style saw, that would indeed have the table connected to the trunnion. While that makes for more difficult alignment maintenance, it potentially makes for more stable alignment if the tool is moved around as would be the case with a "contractor" moving job sites. (The little, portable saws we have today were not so prevalent a long time ago) With the guts fastened to the table, if you bump the table, (or the short cabinet below) the table and the "guts" are still one unit. (if you drop it out of the back of a truck, all bets are off, however.... ) Cabinet saws are much easier to do the alignment since the table is independent of the "guts" and in general, cabinet saws don't do much traveling.

That, by the way, is "my" theory and may very well be hog-wash.

[Mike Burke]

My biggest complaint was that the trunion is bolted to the table which makes alignment difficult at best.

That's why I sold my PM 63. It was a real pain to adjust the trunions. I had to do it a few times and it was near impossible to get right.
I am looking at cabinet saws also
Just not sure what to do at this point.
New budget cabinet saw (1500.00)
or
look for a decent used saw. I'm not that advanced to rebuild a old iron one so I will need a plug n play mostly.
I'm looking :-)

[andy bessette]

...I'm not that advanced to rebuild a old iron one...

Avoid anything that requires rebuilding. Watch for quality equipment in excellent condition.

[Mike Kreinhop]

Cabinet saws are pretty easy to move if you break them down into pieces.

Sliders are easy to move if broken down. This is my Minimax SC2 Classic waiting to be moved downstairs to my basement. The vendor delivered the saw to my garage partially assembled because I told them it was going to be moved to the basement. The sliding table, outfeed table, side table, fence, and dust shroud were delivered separately. The main chassis was intact, but four relatively strong men could not maneuver it from the garage to the back porch. After separating the major components, two people moved each section down the stairs with ease. The concrete counterweight was the heaviest piece, followed by the table and motor assembly.





This is a section of the stairs to the basement. The plywood shown is smaller than what I used, but the original piece covered each of the three supports and one of the treads. I used these for the few items that had to be chain hoisted down the stairs. The chain hoist was fitted on the stair treads going to the upper floor and it was easy to walk the heaviest items down a few steps, reposition the chain hoist, and repeat.





Assembled, commissioned, and ready for work.

[Roger Feeley]

I'm just guessing about the OP saw being a PM63. he said Artisan and as I remember my old PM63 was in their artisan line.
My experience with the PM63 probably doesn't contradict your comment. We will never know what sort of abuse the saw suffered in being moved from my old shop to the new one. All I can say is that I had to re-align the trunion to the miter slots and it was a real struggle. Once it was done, I don't remember ever revisiting alignment. When I sold the saw, I got an email from the buyer who was very pleased with the alignment. I had warned him about the alignment and told him to be very careful.

[Mike Kees]

Seems like this has gotten a little off track here... To the OP as AFAIK Grizzly are Green and Shop Fox are white,but other than that the same stuff, one direct and the other sold by dealers.Being able to see and touch machines is something I prefer. Probably why I like buying used so much,you know exactly what you are getting.