Another Saw to be Seen
December 20th, 2008Sometimes Craigslist Works
I’m stuck here waiting for someone, so I’m looking at power tools on Craigslist. Usually this stuff is awful. “DRILL PRESS – HARBOR FREIGHT – 5 YRS LIGHT USE – PAID $250, YOURS FOR $245.” And half the ads have no pictures, and they usually don’t have model numbers.
Here’s how selling used junk works. You do not get 75% of what you paid. You get 50% or less, barring weird circumstances. And unless you provide photos and model numbers, no one has a clue what you’re selling, so why would they call you?
Anyway, look what I found today: CLICK. That’s a huge Powermatic table saw with a big extension. It has a 5 HP motor. It’s 220. They want $495. How can that be a bad deal? If you have to replace the motor and clean up the entire machine, you still come out way ahead.
This ad is of no use to me. I can’t use a cabinet saw, even if it’s free. But it restores my faith in Craigslist.
I probably should have bought a Rigid 3650 saw and mounted my router on a wing, but I had no idea what I was getting into. That saw comes with rollers. You can keep it alongside a wall until you need it, and then you wheel it out and go to town. It would actually be more convenient than my portable, except that it could never leave the garage.
The saw I have is great, but there are limits to how you can accessorize it. You can’t put a wing on it. No router. Nothing magnetic. No tricked-out fences.
Someday, when I have my semi-rural compound with machine-gun nests.
December 20th, 2008 at 11:06 AM
You should buy it. The biesemeyer fence itself is worth the money. And most of the 220 motors can be rewired to 110
December 20th, 2008 at 11:11 AM
I would miss having a garage.
December 20th, 2008 at 11:44 AM
You build a wall shelf that goes over the saw. I have a table saw bigger than that in my 1.8 car garage as well as my toolbox, a freezer, a washer and dryer, generator, two bicycles, and a ton of other assorted junk. I still park two trucks in there every night. The wheels make it easy.
December 20th, 2008 at 11:55 AM
With a wheeled base, it could work, but the 64″ fence is insane and would have to be stored on top of the saw. I assume it would be a giant pain to use for ordinary work. And that homemade extension, no way.
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As for getting 700 pounds of saw into the house…
December 20th, 2008 at 12:11 PM
Hot damn. That is an unbelievable deal on that saw.
I may have to drive down from Jersey…
December 20th, 2008 at 12:25 PM
You rent a truck at Home Depot. Most home depots have trucks with dropgates. Cost $19 an hour or therabouts. You can buy the wheel kits most anyplace. You put the router in the table extension and toss out the other router table,. and make a large platform that the sliding compound saw sits on top of, then wheel the table saw underneath that.
December 20th, 2008 at 12:42 PM
I am flattered that you think I can lift 700 pounds into and out of a truck.
December 20th, 2008 at 12:55 PM
Wait, does “drop gate” mean “liftgate”?
December 20th, 2008 at 1:03 PM
Yes, a drop gate is much the same as a lift gate. Some people use the terms interchangeably, but a “drop gate” proper is vertical chain drive rather than a hydraulic scissors. It’s cheaper, and the ignorant are less likely to get their fingers graunched in it, but typically has less lifting capacity. 700 lb. should be well within the limits of either type.
Regards,
Ric
December 20th, 2008 at 2:02 PM
Well, is it in the garage yet?
December 20th, 2008 at 2:26 PM
Post photos of it in your newly cleaned garage.
December 20th, 2008 at 3:04 PM
I thought “drop gate” meant a tail gate that drops. Not all that helpful.
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I am doing my best not to buy this thing.
December 20th, 2008 at 3:05 PM
Some calls it a lift gate some calls it a drop gate I calls it a drop gate mmmh hunhh.
December 20th, 2008 at 3:09 PM
Powermatic, incidentally, is about the high end of consumer quality, and about the low end of commercial quality. THat’s about the same quality as my big Delta. THe only better saw is a tannewicz.
December 20th, 2008 at 3:10 PM
Ok, stop it. I’m not listening.
December 20th, 2008 at 3:37 PM
Stop fighting it. You are only wasting mental energy by resisting. Resistance is futile.
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You underestimete the power of the dark side…
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OK, I’m done.
December 20th, 2008 at 3:49 PM
If the motor can’t be rewired for 110, 5 HP is only a 20-amp 220 circuit. Even if you put in 30A to have a bit of pad for starting current, it’s well within your mad skilz at electrical wiring. What’s the problem?
Regards,
Ric
December 20th, 2008 at 4:15 PM
Actually, a 5Hp single-phase motor needs to have a 30 amp, 220-volt circuit. That said, I do not understand why it’s either not already in Steve’s garage, or at least ‘on the way’. As Og said, the fence is worth nearly the asking price; I think my wife paid near $400.00 for the one on her big Delta.
December 20th, 2008 at 11:32 PM
Your WIFE has a UNISAW???
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…and I thought my wife was the bomb because she wants a scroll saw. You are obviously a blessed man JD.
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