Thanks to all who replied to my info request about the
GI table saw. I checked about every distributer on the
West Coast of the U.S. and there was only 2 in stock that
I could find. I went for the 52" fence model. While
I'm very happy with the saw now it wasn't all roses when
I took it out of the box. As expected, the instruction
manual is pretty crappy. No big deal, just a little more
head scratchin'. The drive belt was very crooked. Not
just bent from something sitting on it but it appears that
it was actually cut crooked. It had a bit of vibration
at first but it seems to have smoothed out. The left side
miter t-slot had a burr all along the edge of the t-slot.
I had to run a file along the edge and that fixed it for
the most part. The paint overspray was a little annoying
but a little carb. cleaner took care of that. The biggest
and most annoying problem was with the front fence rail and
the threaded holes in the sides of the table top. Since
the holes are threaded you would think they would include
machine screws that would fit, right? Nope, smaller machine
screws and nuts. No washers either. The nuts were just
a little larger than the existing threaded holes so washers
were a must. That's ok since I have plenty on hand. BUT...
All of the holes were too low! Not the same amount either.
the left side was about 3/16" low with the right about 1/8"
low. I had to drill out every hole. What a pain in the
A$$. Oh, and the table is flat and so is one extension
but the other is slightly bowed up in the middle from front
to back. Maybe 3 or 4 thousandths. I guess I should call
the General and bitch but I doubt they'll do much about it.
The dealer is an 8 hour round trip away so that's not gonna
happen.
Other than those problems the saw is great! The arbor was
aligned right out of the box and even the 90 and 45 degree
stops were set right. The miter gauge was right on too.
I bought a new FS Tool combo blade and combined with the
2hp motor it cuts through everything I've thrown at it
while hardly breaking a sweat. The Biesmeyer