Popular Woodworking 2007-11 № 165, страница 44

arbor nuts without problem. The Grizzly had a similar cover, but the opening was small, and the Jet required removing four lock knobs to gain access. Others had a hinged access door that covers the motor as the blade tilts.

The Steel City, Delta and Craftsman saws lock both the blade tilt and height adjustment handwheels with inner lock knobs. The others lock the height with that same design, but the blade-tilt adjustment locks with a small lever above the front-mounted height wheel. I found the location difficult to work and too far away from the tilt adjustment handwheel.

Changing of the Guard

A look at the blade guards on these saws shows two distinct designs with three different assemblies. In the first design a tab on the blade guard/splitter assembly fits into a retaining plate positioned inside the opening in the top. This type, found on the Jet and General saws, is easily removed when necessary.

The second design has the blade guard/splitter assembly fitted to the retaining plate, and attached to a pivot shaft and mounting bracket that extends behind the cabinet. Removing a guard of this design requires multiple steps.

With this second design, there are two means of attachment. The Steel City and Craftsman

A just-missed design. Looking into the insert area of the General saw, you can see the blade shroud. You can also see the small offcut caught in the shroud. A zero-clearance insert would keep that offcut out, but neither of the inserts shipped with the saw can.

Put the lock where the wheel is. Steel City, along with Craftsman and Delta, has the inner hand wheel locks for both the blade height and tilt adjustments. They're easy to use and conveniently positioned.

An all-access pass. The access door on the General was tops. A look inside shows the extra hose attached to the blade shroud that leads to the dust port. That hose robs dust-collector strength from inside the cabinet base, making overall dust collection less effective.

saws have knobs that spin to connect or disconnect the splitter. The Grizzly and the Delta saws require a wrench to disassemble the guards. The Delta guard can be flipped out of the way.

I've always been less than impressed with the blade guard/splitter assemblies on most table saws. In fact, with upcoming changes to regulations regarding table-saw safety and the arrival of riving knives, many of these guard systems could change within the next year.

Too Close to Call One Winner

In my opinion there are two saws that stand out from the pack. Not far in front, but ahead just the same. It's a toss-up, so little features you prefer may influence your choice.

The Jet would be the hands-down winner if the dust collection were improved and the access door was hinged. The power was great and the fence was first-class. Maneuverability of the fence was excellent as was the rigidity when locked to the table.

The Steel City Tool Works saw would gain top honors if the power were increased to keep the blade speed up as thick stock was cut. All other features on this saw came in at or near the top - there wasn't any negative item to we aken its position.

Aggravating lock lever. The General, Jet and Grizzly saws use a lever located front and center to lock blade-tilt handwheel. The location makes these levers inconvenient to use.

Double jeopardy. Two aggravations are shown on the Grizzly saw. First, the insert plate is very thin at Vs" and there's no reinforcement on the bottom of the plate. Second, table insert screws require an extra tool close at hand. This saw uses the screw to hold the plate down and flush.

Picking a "Best Value" would point toward the Grizzly hybrid saw. This saw was near the top in power, had a very good fence system, but took a hit with a few non-user-friendly fe atures. It's a good working saw if you can look past those issues. PW

Troy runs a custom furniture-making business in Sunbury, Ohio, called Sexton Classic American Furniture and is a long-time contributing editor to Popular Woodworking magazine.

42 ■ Popular Woodworking November 2007