stingersplace's Full Review: Craftsman Professional 10 in. Table Saw 22124
What it is:
This is a 1 3/4 hp, 10" hybrid type table saw with full cabinet. The hybrid saws generally have a 1 1/2 -1/3/4 hp 115V motor, and a sinlge multi-V belt rather than 2 or three v belts. The trunnions on my Craftsman are otherwise very similar to most of the 3HP saws that I've looked at. The center table is 20" wide and there is a 12" cast iron extension wing on either side of that, with another 12" wood extension to the right. The cast table is very nicely milled and absolutely flat. There is also a pressed steel extension on the back (about 18" square) which folds down and is handier than I expected it would be. There are the usual channels cut in the table for the miter fence. The miter fence is the basic, and solid, protractor type with an extruded aluminum detachable fence.
It also has a rock solid full Biesemeyer fence and comes with a 40 tooth carbide tip, Leitz blade. I also got a free coupon for an assortment 3 Craftsman carbide tip blades which arrived a few weeks later.
Getting it:
I bought this saw more than a year ago. At the time I had decided to buy either this 22124, a grizzly 220V model, or a Delta 36-716. After looking at the investment of $700 to put 220 where I wanted the saw, and the complex delivery options in my remote area, the hybrids were looking better. My father is a professional furniture maker and has put what seems like a million miles of lumber through the 1940's vintage Delta that I grew up with, and which only has a 1 1/2 hp motor. So I decided that another horse wasn't worth it and ordered the Delta which was supposed to be in stock and ready to ship free through Amazon. After six weeks of two week delays, I cancelled the order and I'm glad I did.
The Craftsman Professional and the Delta are both made by Orion anyway and share a lot of parts so when I saw the Craftsman on sale with an added Craftsman Club discount for $150 less than the Delta at my local Sears, I snatched it up. I expect that there would have been delivery issues (in my case on a non-truck accessible road) with Amazon anyway. The Craftsman saw itself came in one large box with a 1" square tube steel crate inside it that had everything bolted to it and tightly packed. It weighed about 500lbs and just barely fit in the back of my Jeep (with the seat out and the top off). Another large box contained the Biesemeyer fence.
There were two issues that came up in putting the thing together. Well, after unloading it - make sure that you have a few big friends or a chain block. A steel rail was missing from the Biesemeyer fence. After a quick call to Sears, they agreed to give me the one from the display model in the store so it was only a one day delay. Also, when I first plugged it in, it had no power. It ran but would stop the second a board touched the blade. Thinking that it was probably just wired for 220 instead of 110, I pulled the motor and checked the connections. It was wired correctly for 110 but one wire was not making contact inside of it's connector. That fixed, everything was great.
Using it:
I checked the table in every direction and it is very flat. I lightly sanded it and the wing seams are invisible now. I don't have air conditioning in my shop and the table did tend to get a covering of light rust on a regular basis for the first month but a few light once overs with 600 paper and a few coats of good car wax cured that. It has been a year now since I've seen any rust.
The fence is rock solid, the best I've used. The sides of the fence itself are made from some kind of high density particle board but it has been very stable and maintained accuracy. I have no complaints about the fence. I'd buy one of these for any table saw.
The saw itself has been great. I've cut several hundred board feet (maybe thousands) of all kinds of wood and particle board (and some 1/8" Aluminum) and it is still running true and the motor is powerful. Yes, you can jam the blade on a thick piece of hardwood but you can't find a piece of wood that the saw won't cut if you go slowly. After Katrina, I had these 12" diameter by 5' black cherry and magnolia logs (not dried - about 90 lbs each) that I had flattened one side on with the chain saw. I was able to cut 6"X6" posts out of them on this saw. A full height blind cut on wet hardwood is not something you do normally on any table saw but this one handled it. The fence remained stable and true as well.
Despite a few minor problems at the beginning (I'm glad that I didn't have to deal with returns from a mail order site on this one) this has been a great saw. I don't use the guard or the dust collection so I can't comment on those. The blades are easy to change. The magnetic switch is a nice asset. The cut is very smooth and the weight of the machine itself makes it very stable. This saw feels as good as any table saw I've used.
Note: I write reviews because I believe in the power of the internet to inform people and make life better. I don't read comments and I don't make them - or give ratings. Any meager earnings from my reviews go to charity. Thanks for reading my review.
Update Aug. 14, 2006: An interesting thing happened this weekend. I ripped a lot of 5/4 oak with the saw and it did fine but did the overheat shutoff when I ripped a simple 2X4 shortly after. When I opened the case to check the motor, it was filled to the top with sawdust. I don't know how the thing didn't overheat before. I don't use a dust collection system and was keeping the vent hole clear but there had been a clog form up in the cabinet. This was my stupidity and the saw did exactly what it was supposed to. It clicked off, and reset when it was cool enough to run again. After I cleaned out the saw dust and the motor cooled, everything was fine. I've since cut a lot more oak with no issues.
Saw comes in 2 separate boxes Cast iron table and 12 in. wide extension wings with 12 in. table board, rear ext. table Biesemeyer commercial, T-square...More at Sears
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