Woodworker's Journal 2010-34-1, страница 54

Tool Review

continued

Platinum Dovetail Saw

Rip Capacity: 50"R, 12"L Weight: 414 lbs Depth of Cut: 3%" (90°!

2%" (45°) Table: 27"W x 40"L

Street Price: $1,995 www.lagunatools.com (800) 234-1976

unlike the 5° layout of other saws. A tilt pointer closer to the scale would help improve beveling accuracy, too.

Rounding out the package, you get a miter gauge with setscrew bar adjusters. Here's a saw with today's updated guard system but low on frills.

JET Xacta Saw Deluxe

JET's Xacta Saw Deluxe will also give you a leg up on improved kickback prevention

and dust control, thanks to its good standard features. This saw includes a dust shroud and hose system below the blade that helped to clear all but one handful of dust from inside the cabinet during my test cuts. The machine also sports a single riving knife that holds the guard and anti-kickback pawls. The guard and pawls have push-button quick releases, and once the throatplate is out, you can extract the riving knife easily

with a flip lever. A low-profile knife is also available.

JET provides a larger 29" x 42" cast table here, but I wish the extension wings were chamfered like the center table. This difference in milling creates sharp corners where the pieces bolt together.

Plastic facings on the rip fence required shimming to flatten them, but JET makes that easier to do with bolt-access slots underneath the fence spine. The fence works well and offers both front-to-back and vertical adjustment.

For other niceties, the Xacta Saw comes with a push-

button arbor lock, a handy storage drawer down below and a silky paint job — sure, it's a minor point to note, but a little eye candy on a saw you'll buy for the long term is a nice perk. I think the Xacta Saws's overall performance and features merit its $2,100 street price.

Laguna Dovetail Saw

Nope, this cabinet saw won't cut dovetails, but its thick cast-iron arbor assembly does move up and down smoothly on dovetail ways. It's an

Tool Review continues on page 56 .

Powermatic

PM2000

Rip Capacity: 50"R, 13V2"L Depth of Cut: 3%" (90°); 2%" (45° Table: 30'/2"W x 42"L Weight: 604 lbs Street Price: $2,999.99 www.powermatic.com (800) 274-6848

Powermatic provides a huge bump kill switch and a magnetized lockout button (far left photo). It prevents unauthorized saw use. A bottom blade shroud (above) delivered excellent dust control inside the cabinet.

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