only at the infeed side of the saw, allowing outfeed attachments at the rear.
Delta also makes the Unifence, which uses many of the same principles as the Biesemeyer, and adds some nice features. Some people swear by this fence.
If cost is an issue, many of the non-clone front-and-rear locking fences will also provide excellent service. Unfortunately this is a decision best made with hands-on experience, or a good recommendation.
Left Tilt vs. Right Tilt
One feature that comes down to personal preference is whether your saw should have a right-tilt or left-tilt blade. I've heard convincing arguments from both camps, nonetheless I learned on a left-tilt saw and prefer that design. Again, the choice is personal,
and some manufacturers offer you the option of left or right tilt in the same basic saw.
Accessories
The weight and size of a cabinet saw makes it a great platform for adding outfeed tables, larger (50" or more) fences and sliding crosscut tables. If you plan to add accessories to your saw, try to find out if they are compatible with the machine you want. For example, some sliding tables won't work with left-tilt saws. Also, some aftermarket miter gauges don't fit in some saw's miter slots.
Delivery
Because of the size and weight of a cabinet saw, make sure you include shipping expenses in your price when shopping from catalogs. This can add 5 percent to 10 per
cent to the cost of the machine. Also take into consideration how you will get it off the truck and into your shop.
Unimportant Features
When you spend more than a grand, you'd expect the miter gauge to be nice. It's usually nothing special. Don't hold this against one of your choices, however, because they're almost all marginal.
Same goes for the guards that come with the saw. Most are inconvenient to use and remove. If you are safety-conscious, replace it with an aftermarket guard.
The rest is cost and reputation. While there are a number of newer manufacturers who offer quality cabinet saws, a few companies have been providing the same quality for decades, or longer. pw
|
Brand & |
Street Price, |
Horse |
Volts Amps |
Table Size |
Tilt |
Table |
Max. Cut |
Max. Cut |
Fence Type |
Comments |
|
Model |
low/high |
Power |
|
|
|
Direction |
Material |
Rip |
Depth |
|
|
Bridgewood BW-I0CS |
$995 |
3 |
230 |
I8 |
27" x 40" |
R |
CI |
50" |
3" |
Biesemeyer clone |
|
|
|
Craftsman 22694 |
|
$I300 |
3 |
230 |
I5 |
36"x 27" |
R |
CI |
50" |
3" |
T-clamp clone |
|
|
Delta 34-783 |
|
$850 |
5 |
230 |
20 |
36"x 27" |
R |
CI |
52" |
3I/8" |
Unifence |
3 phase opt. |
|
|
Delta 36-810 |
$I300/$I400 |
3 |
230 |
I2.4 |
36" x 27" |
R |
CI |
50" |
3I/8" |
Unirip w/2 wings |
|
|
Delta 36-830 |
$I400-$I500 |
3 |
230 |
I2.4 |
36" x 27" |
L |
CI |
30" |
3I/8" |
Unifence |
|
|
|
Delta 36-820 |
$I500/$I600 |
3 |
230 |
I2.4 |
36" x 27" |
R |
CI |
52" |
3I/8" |
Unifence |
|
|
Delta 36-820L |
$I500/$I600 |
3 |
230 |
I2.4 |
36" x 27" |
L |
CI |
52" |
3I/8" |
Unifence |
|
|
|
Delta 36-821 |
$I500/$I600 |
3 |
230 |
I2.4 |
36" x 27" |
R |
CI |
50" |
3I/8" |
Biesemeyer |
|
|
Delta 36-821L |
$I500/$I600 |
3 |
230 |
I2.4 |
36" x 27" |
L |
CI |
50" |
3I/8" |
Biesemeyer |
|
|
|
Delta 36-945 |
|
$I600 |
3 |
230 |
I2.4 |
36" x 27" |
R |
CI |
50" |
3I/8" |
Biesemeyer |
Platinum edition |
|
Delta 34-782 |
|
$I700 |
3 |
230 |
I2.4 |
36" x 27" |
R |
CI |
52" |
3I/8" |
Unifence |
|
|
|
Delta 34-782L |
|
$I700 |
3 |
230 |
I2.4 |
36"x 27" |
L |
CI |
52" |
3I/8" |
Unifence |
|
|
Delta 36-882 |
$I700-$I800 |
3 |
230 |
I2.4 |
36" x 27" |
R |
CI |
50" |
3I/8" |
Biesemeyer |
|
|
|
Delta 36-878 |
|
$I900 |
5 |
230 |
20 |
36"x 27" |
R |
CI |
50" |
3I/8" |
Biesemeyer |
|
|
General 50-200 |
|
$I025 |
2 |
230 |
24 |
27" x 40" |
R |
CI |
28" |
3" |
General clone |
|
|
|
General 50-200L |
|
$I060 |
2 |
230 |
24 |
27" x 40" |
L |
CI |
52" |
3" |
General clone |
|
|
General 50-275 |
|
$I399 |
3 |
230 |
I2 |
36"x 27" |
R |
CI |
52" |
3" |
General clone |
|
|
|
General S350-T50 |
|
$I550 |
3 |
230 |
I2 |
28"x 72" |
R |
CI,AL |
50" |
3 ^ |
General clone |
|
|
General 350-1-M1 |
|
$I600 |
3 |
230 |
I2 |
36"x 28" |
R |
CI |
25" |
3 ^ |
General clone |
|
|
|
Grizzly G1023 |
|
$695 |
3 |
230 |
I8 |
365/b" x 27" |
R |
CI |
2II/2" |
3I/s" |
F & R Locking |
|
|
Grizzly G1023S |
|
$775 |
3 |
230 |
I8 |
365/b" x 27" |
R |
CI |
25" |
3I/s" |
Clone/F & R |
|
|
|
Grizzly G1023Z |
|
$ 1095 |
3 |
230 |
I8 |
365/b" x 27" |
R |
CI |
25" |
3I/8" |
Shop Fox /F & R |
|
|
Grizzly G1023ZX |
|
$I 195 |
5 |
230 |
25 |
365/b" x 27" |
R |
CI |
25" |
3I/s" |
Shop Fox/F & R |
|
|
|
Inca 290 |
|
$2495 |
2I/2 |
230 |
I5 |
27"x3I" |
R |
AL |
60" |
3" |
NA |
|
|
JET JWCS-10JF |
|
$999 |
2 |
230 |
I2 |
40"x 27" |
R |
CI |
30" |
3I/s" |
Jet Fence/F & R |
|
|
|
JET JWCS-10JX |
|
$I079 |
2 |
230 |
I2 |
40" x 27" |
R |
CI |
30" |
3I/s" |
XACTA clone |
Home shop fence |
|
JET JWCS-10JFX |
|
$I099 |
2 |
230 |
I2 |
40" x 27" |
R |
CI |
30" |
3I/s" |
XACTA clone |
Commercial fence |
|
|
JET JWCS-10PF |
|
$II69 |
2 |
230 |
I2 |
40" x 27" |
R |
CI |
50" |
3I/s" |
XACTA clone |
Home shop fence |
|
JET JWCS--10PFX |
|
$II79 |
2 |
230 |
I2 |
40" x 27" |
R |
CI |
50" |
3I/s" |
XACTA clone |
Commercial fence |
|
|
JET JTAS 10X50-1 |
|
$I399 |
3 |
230 |
I5 |
40" x 27" |
R |
CI |
50" |
3I/s" |
XACTA clone |
Commercial fence |
|
JET JTAS 10X50-3 |
|
$I499 |
5 |
230 |
I5 |
40" x 27" |
R |
CI |
50" |
3I/s" |
XACTA clone |
Commercial fence |
|
|
JET JTAS 10XL50-1 |
|
$I399 |
3 |
230 |
I5 |
40" x 27" |
L |
CI |
50" |
3I/s" |
XACTA clone |
Commercial fence |
|
JET JTAS 10XL50-3 |
|
$I499 |
5 |
230 |
I5 |
40" x 27" |
L |
CI |
50" |
3I/8" |
XACTA clone |
Commercial fence |
|
|
JET JTAS 10XL50-5/1 |
$I699 |
5 |
230 |
I5 |
40" x 27" |
L |
CI |
50" |
3I/s" |
XACTA clone |
Commercial fence |
|
Lobo BS-0143 |
|
$I290 |
3 |
II0/230 36/I8 |
36"x 27" |
R |
CI |
49" |
3" |
F & R Locking |
|
|
|
Mini Max SC-2 |
|
$2995 |
33/s |
230 |
I4 |
22"x 33" |
R |
CI |
5I" |
3" |
T-style |
With sliding table |
|
North StateTSC-10HK |
$995 |
3 |
230 |
I6 |
40I/2" x 27" |
R |
CI |
50" |
3I/V' |
Biesemeyer |
|
|
|
North State MBS 250 |
$II50 |
3 |
230 |
I6 |
36"x 27" |
R |
CI |
50" |
3I/8" Biesemeyer,Vega or Excalibur |
|
Powermatic 66 |
|
$I800 |
3 |
230 |
I7 |
38"x 28" |
L |
CI |
30" |
3I/s" |
Accu-Fence clone |
Special Edition |
|
|
Powermatic 66 |
|
$2000 |
3 |
230 |
I7 |
38"x 28" |
L |
CI |
50" |
3I/s" |
Accu-Fence clone |
|
|
Powermatic 66 |
|
$2I00 |
5 |
230 |
I7 |
38"x 28" |
L |
CI |
50" |
3I/s" |
Accu-Fence clone |
|
|
|
Robland XZ |
|
$2695 |
3 |
230 |
25 |
36"x 48" |
R |
CI |
50" |
3I/4" |
NA |
|
|
Seco SK-1010TS |
|
$I760 |
3 |
230 |
NA |
36"x 27" |
R |
CI |
49" |
3" |
NA |
|
|
|
Star S3202 |
|
$II00 |
3 |
230 |
I5 |
36"x 27" |
R |
CI |
36" |
3I/s" |
Clone |
|
|
Star S3204 |
|
$I300 |
5 |
230 |
35 |
36"x 27" |
R |
CI |
36" |
3I/s" |
Clone |
|
|
|
Transpower MBS-250 |
$II50 |
3 |
230 |
I8 |
36"x 27" |
R |
CI |
30" |
3" |
F & R Locking |
|
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