Popular Woodworking 2007-11 № 165, страница 43

The source of slide. The reason the Jet fence slides so well is the adjustment screws have a rounded tip. That tip makes minimal contact with the front rail to provide a smooth glide.

Too many frills? The Craftsman miter gauge is loaded with extra features. I like the aluminum crosscut fence with the extra T-slots, but the other features (such as the hold-down clamp) are not something I look for in my miter gauge.

system." This provides additional power by increasing blade speed through gearing and allowing the saws quieter and smoother operation by cutting vibration. All the saws passed the test of balancing a nickel and penny on the table in start-up mode, with only the Delta saw dropping the penny as the motor was shut off.

Fence Systems Come Next

After power, I looked at the fence systems. Each saw has a similar fence, but there are differences. The Craftsman and Delta saws have a true Biesemeyer fence. There are adjustments to align the fence with the blade as the fence rides on ³A" x 1¹/2" glide pads resting on the front rail and table surface.

The Steel City saw had its "Deluxe" T-square fence system. It's very close to the Biesemeyer in design, but the fence faces are UHMW plastic instead of the laminate on the Biesemeyer. This fence also has the right/left adjustment to align the fence parallel with the blade.

The General fence is a close cousin to the Biesemeyer as well. General added a small post to the end of the fence that rides along a rear rail. This setup provides smooth operation due to the fence riding just above the table's surface. Attention is needed when installing the rear rail because there's no adjustment to this post.

The best fence system I tested is on the Jet. With a post riding the rear rail, it looks like the others. However, the most striking characteristic is the way it glides almost effortlessly along the rails. I found that theJet doesn't have pads, it has adjustment screws with rounded tips that have a smaller contact area with the front rail.

These screws allow for tilting the fence to perpendicular to the table surface and with the standard right/left adjustment, you can perfectly calibrate the fence to the blade and table. In addition, the fence faces on the Jet are

aluminum with t-track slots in the top edge. I like the idea of having a built-in way to attach j igs to the fence. Finally, when locked in position the fence had great holding ability.

The Grizzly also has four-way adjustment for the Shop Fox Aluma-Classic fence, and the post/rear rail concept. When locked, the holding power rivaled theJet. The fence faces are aluminum as well with T-track located in the faces. This fence missed the top rating by a nose.

Dust Collection: Improved, But ...

Hybrid saws offer improved dust collection, but improving on the sorry dust collection on contractor saws is an easy hurdle. These machines all have 4" dust ports. The Delta, Steel City, Jet and Craftsman saws have a rear discharge while the General and Grizzly saws have the discharge port on the left.

The General has a full shroud around the blade, with a small hose leading from the blade directly to the dust port, which suggests increased air flow from the blade. But small cutoffs get caught in the shroud and it takes time to remove them. The plastic shroud loosens with three wing nuts, which I found awkward.

The Grizzly has a metal platejust beyond the arbor for improved dust collection. However, the plate makes changing the blade difficult (as does the General shroud) because there is a reduced area into which to fit your hand.

Overall dust collection was as good as in cabinet saws with one exception. The bottom of the saw cabinet on the Jet had open areas around each leg. Of course, those areas can be effectively closed, but is that something you should have to do to your saw?

Little Things Add Up

All the saws have useful features while some have features that are frustrating and weak.

Each has some of both and no one saw is lopsided in either direction. The cumulative information is detailed beginning on page 43.

One feature that I found frustrating was some of the insert plates. A few saws require you to have a screwdriver to gain access to the arbor. Another problem with some plates is thickness. The General and Grizzly insert plates are Vs" thick without reinforcement below the surface. I found these plates could bend when sawing narrow stock.

General had the best access door; it was large and located on the left side of the base. There's no question you'll be able to retrieve dropped

Where are the hinges? The access door on the Jet is not a door - it's called a "dust hood." It's held in place with small lock knobs and is something I'd change if this saw was in my shop.

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