Vyrolan Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/tls/4739546512.html I don't recognize the model at all, and it screams of too-good-to-be-true? Actually wondering if he typo'd 1000 or something... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 If you're on a budget, need a table saw, and don't mind fixing up older tools...it's a steal. Or you might get murdered and buried in a crawl space. Coin flip, really. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikem Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 It is an older saw. $100 seems appropriate for an old saw like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 Old contractors saw price is about right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vyrolan Posted October 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 It is an older saw. $100 seems appropriate for an old saw like that. Old contractors saw price is about right. That is what I suspected when I didn't recognize it that it must be really old and probably worth very little. If you're on a budget, need a table saw, and don't mind fixing up older tools...it's a steal. Or you might get murdered and buried in a crawl space. Coin flip, really. Good luck! I lack the skill/time/desire for fixing up older tools. Fortunately I'm somewhat hefty so it would be probably prohibitively-difficult to get my body into a crawl space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 It's old, it's a contractor saw...but it's got a cast iron top and it's not a Craftsman. I think 100 beans is a good price if it really comes with $100 blade (which better be a Forrest or similar...or the guy is full of it). But it is old, and it is a contractor saw...so be ready for some level of frustration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikem Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 I have an older Craftsman contractor saw. Since it is a cast iron top, you do have options. On my saw the biggest problem was its fence. I replaced that with a Delta T2 within a few months of getting the saw, and that has been a huge improvement. I also made new wings for the saw as well, as well as getting the microjig splitter for it. Dealing with an old saw like that is similar to dealing with an old car. If you take good care of it, it will last you awhile. Sometimes it will need repair, but as long as the motor runs, and the bearings run true, you can make it work. That said, someday I will upgrade to a new saw, but that is not a priority for me right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vyrolan Posted October 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 Yea for me it's only really interesting if he's a huge steal. I'm basically just biding my time on getting a lot of bigger tools. I want to prove to myself that I will continue to enjoy the hobby and am actually to develop some modicum of skill at it before I dive in on things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 It's kind of a catch-22 for new woodworkers...buying cheaper, "entry level" tools will tend to be more frustrating and lead to more guys giving up prematurely. But spending thousands upon thousands on newer, higher quality tools makes little sense if you're not sure woodworking is your thing. I did a lot of soul searching before I made a huge investment in the beginning. Luckily I've found the hobby to be one of the great joys of my life, so it's not been a complete waste of money...more like a frivolous, foolish, luxury expense for pure enjoyment. If only I had more time to justify those purchases by using them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vyrolan Posted October 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 I completely totally agree Eric. I'm definitely very conscience of getting frustrated by lesser tools and their limitations and trying to be very clear about the tradeoffs in any smaller tools. It's also harder for me because I do have the means to go out and buy "the good stuff". I've tried to collect some of the better smaller tools and just accept the limitations. I figure I can always sell those even at a decent loss if I upgrade, or I can gift them to friends or my brother or my father...either way I'm not out much because they weren't that much to buy in the first place. I actually feel ok with choices for the most part; probably dealing with the limitations of a jobsite table saw are the worst but I plan to build a cabinet around it to somewhat allevicate that. Actually one of the biggest pain points is jointer and planer. I feel like having those tools opens up a whole new world of what's possible, but it's also really difficult to get them without starting to really spend. I've kind of planned to just deal with the limitations of always buying S4S until I feel ready to dive in on bigger tools and then get a proper jointer/planer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mds2 Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 Looks like a good deal to me. If you are scared take a friend and a firearm with you. I love craigslist. Bought 2 Wilcox 10" quick release vises and one 12" Wilton vise for a total of $40 the other day. Now that is a steal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikem Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 From my own experience, I would much rather see you buy that Jet for $100 and make it work for awhile, than get a new jobsite saw. Even though it is older that Jet will run circles around any jobsite saw. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vyrolan Posted October 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 From my own experience, I would much rather see you buy that Jet for $100 and make it work for awhile, than get a new jobsite saw. Even though it is older that Jet will run circles around any jobsite saw. Indeed. I've sometimes wished I had gotten a basic contractor instead of the jobsite, but I can actually see selling or gifting the jobsite to my brother or father...or even just keeping it for some very specific tasks since it's got the small footprint. Hindsight 20/20 and all that... A proper table saw would be basically the top of my list if I decide to seriously spend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikem Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 I bought a jobsite table saw many years ago, but I was doing more home diy work instead of woodworking at the time. It lasted me about 6 years. When reading about the Ryobi lawsuit, it was revealed that benchtop & jobsite table saw have about a 5 year lifetime for moderate to heavy use. When I finally started taking woodworking more seriously, I started to really find the faults of that saw. I started doing the best I could to work with it, but what finally did it in was the table was WAY out of flat. In fact it was humped by about 1/16". I ended up buying the saw I mentioned earlier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.