A review of the Woodworker’s Supply Woodtek 10” Cabinet Saw
What I received to my door for $1008.45 (Saw $899.00 + Tenoning Jig $79.99 less 5% + $65 Shipping + $13.45 Shipping & Insurance):
A “made in Taiwan” Right hand 3HP 10” cabinet saw with 50” Beise-clone fence, no table or table legs, no mobile base, no blade, no power cord or power plug. A custom mobile base made by HTC is available for $109.00.
Things I had to add: I used a 12 AWG power cord and installed a $5.00 20Amp plug to run the saw and used a Freud combination blade I already had.
Shipping – The saw arrived with a minor dings to the rails and to the tabletop. I took a stone and smoothed the dings and repainted the dinged areas that were painted previously. The dings were the shipper's fault.
Paint – The paint appearance is nicer than the what one sees in the Woodworker’s Supply website photographs. The paint is “John Deere” green and yellow with the motor cover painted green rather than yellow as the website shows. The yellow is much more of a trim rather than dominating the saw’s appearance. The color scheme has grown on me and I like it, as it brightens up the shop a bit. It is a sprayed-on enamel based paint and is easy to repair and maintain. It is not a powder coat, which is fine with me. Others may feel differently.
Fence and fence rails – the fence is a Beisemeyer-clone similar in design to the Shop Fox “Classic” fence. The fence has a 50” rip. The rails are predrilled to mount a table easily. The fence has a magnifying glass and adjusts like the Shop Fox, but appears to have an additional adjustment to allow paralleling the miter slots and the table surface. The fence has extruded aluminum sides instead of the UHMV plastic the Shop Fox classic has.
Cast Iron parts – the two cast iron extension wings are painted yellow on the sides and are about typical as far as installation and shimming. The left hand wing is drilled and tapped for the Woodtek sliding table, as is the cabinet body. The blade inserts, one standard and one dado blade, are also cast iron and are semi-square similar to the ones on the Delta Industrial models.
Blade Guard – the blade guard is similar to the one on the Grizzly 1023, with a riving knife and anti-kickback pawls. The blade guard mounts similar to the Grizzly’s, but has cast iron bracket parts instead of stamped steel parts for the bracket mounts on the rear of the blade guard. The blade guard pivots with the blade, seems reasonably well designed for a factory blade guard, but will add to the challenge of building a out-feed table. I will probably modify the plastic section for improved dust collection or replace it with a Shark Guard.
Miter gauge – the miter gauge is cast aluminum and has presets at both 45 degree and 90 degrees. The gauge is functional and typical of factory miter gauges. I plan on replacing the miter gauge in the future with an Osborne EB3, but I’m satisfied this gauge will serve fine until I get the Osborn gauge.
How did it rate? I would place the saw quality and features somewhere between a Grizzly and a Jet. I’m very happy with the value for costs to my door. The Woodtek may be the best deal for someone like me who hasn’t purchased anything from Woodworker’s Supply before, as I got a 5% discount for being a new customer.
Btw, for what it’s worth, the saw passed the nickel test with the original factory belts. I did adjust the miter gauge, extension wings and the fence when I installed them, but the tabletop and cabinet internal adjustments was spot on.
I will try to get some pics up as soon as I can.
Dave
What I received to my door for $1008.45 (Saw $899.00 + Tenoning Jig $79.99 less 5% + $65 Shipping + $13.45 Shipping & Insurance):
A “made in Taiwan” Right hand 3HP 10” cabinet saw with 50” Beise-clone fence, no table or table legs, no mobile base, no blade, no power cord or power plug. A custom mobile base made by HTC is available for $109.00.
Things I had to add: I used a 12 AWG power cord and installed a $5.00 20Amp plug to run the saw and used a Freud combination blade I already had.
Shipping – The saw arrived with a minor dings to the rails and to the tabletop. I took a stone and smoothed the dings and repainted the dinged areas that were painted previously. The dings were the shipper's fault.
Paint – The paint appearance is nicer than the what one sees in the Woodworker’s Supply website photographs. The paint is “John Deere” green and yellow with the motor cover painted green rather than yellow as the website shows. The yellow is much more of a trim rather than dominating the saw’s appearance. The color scheme has grown on me and I like it, as it brightens up the shop a bit. It is a sprayed-on enamel based paint and is easy to repair and maintain. It is not a powder coat, which is fine with me. Others may feel differently.
Fence and fence rails – the fence is a Beisemeyer-clone similar in design to the Shop Fox “Classic” fence. The fence has a 50” rip. The rails are predrilled to mount a table easily. The fence has a magnifying glass and adjusts like the Shop Fox, but appears to have an additional adjustment to allow paralleling the miter slots and the table surface. The fence has extruded aluminum sides instead of the UHMV plastic the Shop Fox classic has.
Cast Iron parts – the two cast iron extension wings are painted yellow on the sides and are about typical as far as installation and shimming. The left hand wing is drilled and tapped for the Woodtek sliding table, as is the cabinet body. The blade inserts, one standard and one dado blade, are also cast iron and are semi-square similar to the ones on the Delta Industrial models.
Blade Guard – the blade guard is similar to the one on the Grizzly 1023, with a riving knife and anti-kickback pawls. The blade guard mounts similar to the Grizzly’s, but has cast iron bracket parts instead of stamped steel parts for the bracket mounts on the rear of the blade guard. The blade guard pivots with the blade, seems reasonably well designed for a factory blade guard, but will add to the challenge of building a out-feed table. I will probably modify the plastic section for improved dust collection or replace it with a Shark Guard.
Miter gauge – the miter gauge is cast aluminum and has presets at both 45 degree and 90 degrees. The gauge is functional and typical of factory miter gauges. I plan on replacing the miter gauge in the future with an Osborne EB3, but I’m satisfied this gauge will serve fine until I get the Osborn gauge.
How did it rate? I would place the saw quality and features somewhere between a Grizzly and a Jet. I’m very happy with the value for costs to my door. The Woodtek may be the best deal for someone like me who hasn’t purchased anything from Woodworker’s Supply before, as I got a 5% discount for being a new customer.
Btw, for what it’s worth, the saw passed the nickel test with the original factory belts. I did adjust the miter gauge, extension wings and the fence when I installed them, but the tabletop and cabinet internal adjustments was spot on.
I will try to get some pics up as soon as I can.
Dave
Comment