21829 Saw from Craftsman

[charger1966]

Ok I passed on a deal for a much more expensive cabinet saw after seeing this saw at Sears. Now Am I going to regret doing this? Before I buy I would like to know , What are the biggest prblems with this saw and are they correctable realativly cheap. Also I am not going to be working 4x8 sheets on it due to the panell saw that I am currently building. What do you guys think?
Thanks Lance
.P.S. Sorry if I seemed so dumb in the past but I only repeat what is told to me.

[LCHIEN]

mostly you get what you pay for.
the BT3 is liked by many because it is a good value. But, it's still not an expensive cabinet saw.
By a good value, we mean that it provides good quality accurate cuts, smooth operation and flexible in meeting peoples needs at a farily low price point.
Some good points: SMT is an advanced feature, light weight (portable and easy to store), modular design for expansion, lots of slots to attach stuff,
solid rip fence, deep rip capacity.
On the down side, its light (yes that's a possible liability as well as good),
aluminum doesn't work with magnetic stuff, no intrinisic miter slots, and it has a universal motor that is adequate for hobbiests but not really suitable for really hard work - e.g. being continuously run at maximum power.

Its a bit different design, that throws a lot of poeple, its a bit innovative in that it makes some compromises to get some of the cost effectiveness.

[Knottscott]

Everyone's likes and needs are different. My advice is to satisfy yours.

I think that most serious woodworkers end up with a full size cast iron saw with an induction motor, but that doesn't mean you can't do good work with a smaller saw. Many have proven that you can. The craftsman makes the tool, the tool won't make the craftsman. As long as the tool is capable of doing what you need to do, you're good to go. Some stay with a smaller saw, many eventually move to a larger saw. There's really no set rules with it. The bottom line is your satisfaction.

I went from a smaller "benchtop saw w/legs" to a contractor saw to a hybrid. I love the large table surface and the stability of all that mass. I'd love to have a nice cabinet saw some day, but I sure don't need one!

[SARGE..g-47]

Evening Charger 66...

See ya a B body man in the older car department and a new TS man in the tool department... :>)

I bought one in a yard sale 5 years ago for $125 that included the rails. Spruced it up a mite and as long as you don't go too wide on cross-cuts and panels you'll be fine. The aluminum tables won't take the stress of heavy, thick hardwood across them when you get up in the "I'm serious here" range.

But it will take all the weight you can feed it forward on a rip cut up to 2" and that includes hardwood if matched with a thin kerf 24 T rip blade and a stiffner. My recovered "junk sale" saw has had over 30,000 linear feet through it since I got if and it hasn't discovered what "quittin' time" means. And 16' has riden through with the proper set-up to insure safety with a "one man show". With that universal motor, jut don't run it continuouly for more than 15 minutes without a 5 minute time out. Not likely anyway unless you are a commercial concern and that's not likely or you would have bought a 5 HP from the git-go. ha.. ha...

In other words.. with a little care, maintenance and taking time to keep it tuned (you have to do that on a larger saw also)... it'll probably handle anything you throw at it and ask for more from my experience.

Good luck as it sounds as if you're a hard Charger.. 383 or 440 I would guess if I had one. If you're 426, you're a real hard Charger!

Regards...

[jabe]

Charger 66
I have a Saw Trax panel saw and cut all my sheet materials to managable size for my BT3XXX as you plan on doing. I have used unisaws and other brands of TS for 25 + yrs and thought that the BT was a joke till I was given a broken one. After rebuilding it, my intentions were to use it only as a job site saw. Added a outfeed ext. table & shark guard now its my main saw, use it everyday for my cabinet business. Because it's light, mobile and accurate it works for me. Use the right blades and it cuts through anything. I haven't used my old 10" Delta TS anymore as the dust collection is much better with the BT. Best TS saw for the price, you won't regret it as the Sears TS is a BT clone.