[toolguy1000]

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

i have the same fence on my gray ridgid ts2412. holds it's settings and is rock solid once adjusted properly and locked down.

i would go with a new ridgid 4512. thats what i'm upgrading to when i get into my new house.

its $549 i think and has some great features like switching to 220, 36" wide extension, an aftermarket drop in for use with a router, great fence too.

the 4512 is a nice saw, as long as a unit without the "blade/miter slot alignment changing with blade elevation issue" is located. and what is "an aftermarket drop in for use with a router" ?

It looks a lot like the fence on my Ridgid 2400 which is horrible! Maybe they've been redesigned, but mine is off nearly 3/16" from front to back consistently. It's the whole reason I'm looking for a new saw.

the 2400 is a job site saw and it's fence system is different from the one of the linked c-man.

I had a Craftsman contractor saw from the 80's that had a crappy fence. I picked up a Vega for a couple of hundred, and it's been great.

That Powermatic should be a really good saw. Looks like a 66. If I were closer I would jump on it!

the less than optimal fence system on older c-man 113s is quite different from the one on the c-man KS linked. the fence on the linked c-man, although not a t square like a bies or a delta t2, is nonetheless a first rate and eminently usable fence.

 

[gideon]

It looks a lot like the fence on my Ridgid 2400 which is horrible! Maybe they've been redesigned, but mine is off nearly 3/16" from front to back consistently. It's the whole reason I'm looking for a new saw.

the newer fences are great on the ridgids. love the one on my folding saw.

 

[Screw]

QUOTE=gideon;504752]the newer fences are great on the ridgids. love the one on my folding saw.[/QUOTE]

That good to know! I couldn't get over to look at/pick up the Craftsman or the DeWalt - just too much to do before vacation and I'm sure they'll be gone when I get back. But in the lat week my air compressor crapped the bed and I picked up a big enough job to justify a planer and a joiner (woohoo!). But with the budget only slightly increasing, I'm going to go with a solid contractors saw and upgrade it in the future.

Thanks again for all your help guys, it's been invaluable info.

 

[Doomi]

Just registered to mirror what the rest of the posters are saying. I just picked up a Mao Shan badged one for $35 a month back.

 

[gideon]

i have the same fence on my gray ridgid ts2412. holds it's settings and is rock solid once adjusted properly and locked down.



the 4512 is a nice saw, as long as a unit without the "blade/miter slot alignment changing with blade elevation issue" is located. and what is "an aftermarket drop in for use with a router" ?



the 2400 is a job site saw and it's fence system is different from the one of the linked c-man.



the less than optimal fence system on older c-man 113s is quite different from the one on the c-man KS linked. the fence on the linked c-man, although not a t square like a bies or a delta t2, is nonetheless a first rate and eminently usable fence.

you extend the right table out and theres an extra table that fits in the gap which accommodates a router for use with the ts fence.

 

[toolguy1000]

you extend the right table out and theres an extra table that fits in the gap which accommodates a router for use with the ts fence.

got a pic of one?

 

[Screw]

So I went with a new Rigid 4512.

I've got a friend who is an assistant mgr. at a local HD and he gave me "discount" - he matched a non existent Harbor Freight coupon for $50.00 So for just over $500.00 I went with the new saw with w/warrantee and support over a used one. I kept getting nervous that the used saws I was looking at had been worn out or misused and I don't have the experience to tell for sure.

The 4512 is plenty of saw for what I'm doing and if I need to I can always upgrade. I like that can add cast iron wings and there is room for a drop in router table (I don't have room for a full a dedicated RT).

So thanks to everyone for the knowledge and tips, it made my decision much easier.

 

[toolguy1000]

wow, the list price for the 4512 in my market is $500 @ HD. applying a 20% HF coupon gets the pre tax price to $400. what's the 4512's list price in your market?

 

[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

 

[Screw]

what's the 4512's list price in your market?

Its 529.00 here (and on the website)

 

[toolguy1000]

Its 529.00 here (and on the website)

boy, that stinks. here in the NYC metro area, it's still $499, or $400 after a HF 20% coupon. where are you located? i guess saving a little over 5% is better than saving nothing at all.

while i personally like the 4512, the first thing i'd do is check it's blade to miter slot alignment with the blade @ 1" elevation and then at 3" elevation. some saws seem to vary their miter slot alignment as the blade's elevation changes. not a good thing and, from many reports, there's no field remedy. if yours has that condition, return it for another one. once one is located without that issue, it is reportedly a good TS offering a lot of value.

congrats on the buy.

 

[Screw]

where are you located?

...check it's blade to miter slot alignment with the blade @ 1" elevation and then at 3" elevation. some saws seem to vary their miter slot alignment as the blade's elevation changes. not a good thing ...
.

I'm just outside of Boston, I'm surprised there is a difference in price at all, let alone only being 300 miles apart. This may be the first time ANYTHING has been cheaper in NY

The miter issue does kind of concern me, but I'm not sure I even know exactly what you mean. How would I check it? I've just checked a bunch of measurements with my square and I'm not finding any noticeable differences at any height.