[ryan50hrl]

I think at 300 that's a ripoff. You should be able to locate a craftsman of the same vintage for somewhere in the 100-200 range, and then add a good fence for about what he's asking. At that, you'd have a bigger motor, a better fence, and pretty close to the same quality saw.

 

[ryan50hrl]

That's likely a good saw....but a few things that concern me. Silicone should be nowhere near woodworking tools....you'll have to ensure every bit of its removed or you'll have finishing problems. Second....things that sit idle for years need belts, bearings, motor bearings ect sometimes, so I'd want to see it in operation.

Don't get me wrong....the grizzly isn't a bad saw....just the craftsman ones of that era are real workhorses.

There are good new saw options in the 1k range, so I agree the powermatic needs to be cheaper given its condition...

 

[ryan50hrl]

If you pickup a unisaw in good shape.....it could be the last saw you ever need.........

 

[ryan50hrl]

More proof of how much I don't know!

I saw all of those adds and other than the DeWalt I didn't recognize any of them as even decent saws, I couldn't tell you why, I just didn't. Turns out the saws I was supposed to look at tonight both cancelled anyway so I'll inquire about about about those tomorrow. But just as I'm diving into "research table saw mode" my family and I leave for Europe for 3 weeks. If one of these saws works out to pick up this weekend that'll be great, but I may have to put it on hold for a while.

Again, thanks everyone for all the tips and advice!

The Dewalt or Craftsman would be the ones for me......the fence on the craftsman is a nice fence....and that saw is probably the most widely available saw of this style. Parts are easily available......and the saw has a pretty good reputation. If I recall....ones with that fence, and the cast iron wings are pretty rare.

 

[ryan50hrl]

The Craftsman looks like it's in great shape and priced well. Is the fence upgraded? It looks identical to the current Craftsman/Ridgid fence, not one back from when that saw was sold. Personally I think that fence is very under-rated.

That fence was offered on the Emerson saws at the tail end of their craftsman run. Most ridgids also came with it.

 

[ryan50hrl]

I think the price went up to 550 recently.

 

[ryan50hrl]

FYI....anyone looking to buy a new saw right now....the usually more expensive craftsman is on a pretty good sale right now.

http://m.sears.com/productdetails.d...itemSrc=Online&threshold=0.0&fullFillment=DDC