Old School Vs. Todays Power Tools

[coffeegod]

What do you guys think of the old tools vs. todays tools? I have a Skil table saw and it's total garbage, it's about 80% plastic and the fence is already all tweaked out. When ever I cut anything it pinches now and starts heating up my expensive blades I buy. I'm quite annoyed to say the least.

I called about an ad in the paper about a whole whack of tools for sale so I went and checked them out. Man he has some nice stuff, dust collection systems, jointers, shapers you name it. He's moving back to Surry so he's selling off his shop "collection" I wish I had more cash but anyways he's got a really nice old QUIET Dewalt Radial Arm Saw and a couple different table saws for sale. I'm thinking of going back for the radial arm saw and one of his table saws. These are all the Old School tools though but really nice shape and cheap price about $120 for each. Not sure of the table saw brands.. I forget but there is no plastic, lots of power on belt drive systems. Nice tight steel guides and levers.

I don't know, personally I think these old tools can just about go for a couple lifetimes compared to the new stuff where you could be lucky to get a few years of heavy use out of them. What do you guys think? You always hear the saying "They don't make them like they use to" By the way yes laser lines are nice but if you have working eyeballs you can do ok with out them. :hmmmm2:

[suemarkp]

They still make them mostly like they used to, but you may need to be shopping somewhere else. I don't know of a Skil or Ryobi table saw that isn't a cheapie. There are many chinese imports that are clones of the US machines from 50 years ago. Sometimes they have improvements over the older machines, or nicer fences.

Generally, the older things are fine, but if its got a bad bearing, sloppy clearances, or a broken metal piece, parts may be hard to find.

If you're close to Bellingham WA, check out http://grizzley.com Pretty good prices, but probably more than what the used old machines go for. A new US version of the old school tools would cost in the thousands if you could even find one. New school is CNC and laser.

[coffeegod]

Yeah ok I'll give you CNC's they're pretty freakin' cool (Orange County Choppers), too bad they cost a fortune! True, parts are harder to come by but I think actually needing the new parts happens less frequent than the newer stuff. Never owned a Ryobi tool yet but they look to be ok, as for Skil I haven't been to impressed with them lately, I preferred they're older tools as well. Bought that Dewalt radial arm saw and a 36" wood lathe for $200 canadian. His table saw was already sold, it was an old Delta. Too bad... I really need a good table saw. Those Grizzly tools look a lot like that lathe I got. Old guy I know has one of those Shopsmiths... what a crazy contraption that thing is but pretty cool.

[clocker2]

Radial Arm saws are a thing of the past. They've been replaced with compound, sliding miter saws. Much lighter and more versatile. Yes, I know some people do ripping on a radial arm saw, but its too dangerous. Use the table saw for that.

JMHO

[coffeegod]

Radial Arm saws are a thing of the past. They've been replaced with compound, sliding miter saws. Much lighter and more versatile. Yes, I know some people do ripping on a radial arm saw, but its too dangerous. Use the table saw for that.

JMHO

I do have a compound miter saw, but it's just not big enough. $100 for the radial arm saw vs. $700 for the sliding miter saw that I wanted... I'll save the cash, the finishing blade it came with costs about $90. Never thought of ripping on one of those though, yeah I'd be pretty nervous of doing that. Too much blade exposed when you get to the end of your cut, plus the arm is kind of in the way of pushing your material out safely. This is how many fingers I'd have left after doing that ----> :thefinger: (And people thought this was a rude smiley, it's a woodworking smiley)

[scuba_dave]

Best buys I ever made was a new Rigid skil saw, Dewalt mitre saw & a couple other new tools. In my younger days I bought black & decker, sears - anything that was on sale - cheap!!

I paid in the price in difficulty in getting things done
New saws & tools are like cutting butter
New 28" Husqy chain saw went thru logs like butter too. I went out to cut some big maple logs, back in the house in like 20 minutes
Her - "What's wrong?"
Me - Nothing, I'm done :rock:

I also bought a 20" blade for after I'm done with the big logs

[junkcollector]

I have an old Craftsman belt drive table saw that probably dates to the mid '40s. The quality back then was excellent. The nice thing is that it has removable cast wings that can be put on when you need to rip a sheet of plywood or anything wide. With the wings on it rips to 25 inches! Not bad for a 100 dollar garage sale find. The only thing I don't like is the 8" blade: they are more expensive than 10 inchers.

I think that sometimes you can spend your money better if you dig for used tools that are in good condition than new cheap stuff. There are lots of tools, (like old black and decker Circular saws) and imports that are crap. This is stuff to stay away from. Much of the imported stuff now days is not even safe to use as it has counterfeit UL labels.

Most of the expensive pro grade power tools made today are excellent, except the hefty price tag! A lot of it depends on how much you use it. A Spendy Milwaukee right angle drill might sound good to a plumber or electrician, but the cost isn't justifiable to most.

I love old tools, so I can't say much bad about them. I'd rather have old than none at all.