Howard Ferstler

I do not use this saw much (which kind of makes me inelligible to do a review, but my two-cents worth is at least better than nothing) but I got it on clearance at Home Depot some time ago, and do manage to make the purchase worth the cost from time to time. Yep, it no longer is available there as a new item, but Sears (Craftsman) still has the same unit available in its stores (in a different color, of course), and used items might be on hand here and there.

Other than more vibration than I like, this saw works OK. I found that by mounting the thing to a heavy bench (which itself is bolted to the shop wall) the vibration becomes tolerable, at least at stroke speeds that are not too high. The blade is easy to change, without tools, and it will take both pin-end and plain-end types in 5-inch lengths. It has a small drawer under the Teflon-coated aluminum table to keep spares in storage. There is a combination on/off switch and variable speed control on the front of the arm that is easy to reach (the speed is continuously variable from 500 to 1,600 strokes per minute), and it has the usual light probe to let you see what you are doing if you are cutting in a darkened room (which we, being serious chance takers, all like to do, of course), and the probe also has a built-in dust blower. The blower is a good idea, but the unit also has a dust port connection underneath that when a good collector is hooked up, pulls dust out that slips down to the lower level. The table can be tilted in one direction 45 degrees, and the saw weighs in at about 40 pounds.

For security reasons the tool comes with a drop-foot guide that keeps work pieces from pulling upward from the table. However, I removed the guide, because it just kept getting in the way. Not having it in place means that you do have to be careful to hold the work piece solidly down, but at least with it gone you can see what you are doing when you are cutting. Jumping work pieces will not happen if you do not try to cut too aggressively and remember to hold things securely..

Overall, I like this saw. However, if I were going to do a lot of scroll work I would probably prefer something with a bit more solidity, like the supposedly excellent, cast-iron table DeWalt version.

Howard Ferstler

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