Popular Woodworking 2007-11 № 165, страница 42
inside a practicing cabinet shop. If you're in the market for a hybrid table saw, you can decide if they're the best of both worlds, or if you're compromising and settling for a lesser tool. Included in the test were the Craftsman 22124, Delta 36-717, General International 50-220C M1, Grizzly G0478, Jet Proshop (708482K) and the Steel City Tool Works 35601. Each of the 10" table saws came with a 30" Bie-semeyer or Biesemeyer-style fence and all were listed with a 13Ahp motor except the Grizzly saw, which has a 2hp motor. I'm not going into detail on the setup of the saws or many other common items in table saw reviews. All saws have some quirks. Assembly differs due to a number of reasons. Each of the tables needed some work to level the wings to the tabletop, something most woodworkers have come to expect. However, Steel City added set screws near each bolt location that made leveling the wings a snap. Steel City also packaged the hardware to match the assembly steps. Another area commonly discussed is the trunnions and how they attach to the saw. Because adjusting table-mounted trunnions has been an issue in the past, manufacturers are focusing on getting correct alignment before saws are shipped. This wasn't an issue during setup, but after a few years, an adjustment may become important. The Steel City and Craftsman saws have the trunnions attached to the cabinet while the rest of the group has the trunnions fixed to the underside of the tabletop. Power is King When evaluating table saws I look first and foremost at the power of the saw. That's not to A two-for-one deal. The "two-step pulley system" on the Jet and General saws helps to increase blade speed and reduce overall vibration of the machines. Set up to work fine. Set screws added to the wings of the Steel City saw made for accurate adjustment of the wings. A level tabletop was an easy task out of the crate. say I read the motor for the horsepower listings. Horsepower is not always an indication of the saw's abilities. There are ways to influence the internal workings of saws to allow them to perform better. Increase a pulley size or tweak a belt and you can effect a change. To me, the best method for testing power is to make cuts at the saw. I selected 3A" and 13A" red oak to test each saw's ability. Depending on feed rate and the sharpness of the saw blade, it's possible to bog down lower-power saws as you cut. I kept my feed rate consistent, and each saw was outfitted with a new Freud thin-kerf, 50-tooth combination blade (LU83R010). (All the saws except Grizzly came with a blade.) None of the saws had difficulty ripping or crosscutting the 3A" material, but I began to separate the men from the boys when I ripped thicker stock. The Jet and Grizzly saws showed no signs of slowing as the stock was cut, while Plenty of stops are a positive. The Delta miter gauge rated number one. By pressing the spring-loaded lever you can adjust to any one of 11 positive stops, or locate the pointer to the desired angle setting and tighten the handle for a firm hold. This gauge was snug to the table-saw slot exhibiting no sloppiness. the Steel City saw exhibited a minute decline in blade speed. The General and Craftsman saws ran in the middle of the pack with the Delta saw a bit below the average. See How They Run I gave each saw an hour-long constant-run test. The saws used three kinds of belt systems. The Delta, Steel City and Craftsman use a single belt that's flat and ribbed (called a poly V-belt). The single belt on the Grizzly is short because the motor and arbor pulley are closely positioned. During my test, this machine became hotter than others, which could mean replacing a belt sooner rather than later. The General and Jet saws use a two-belt system that General calls a "two-step pulley 40 ■ Popular Woodworking November 2007 |
