$1,000 Cabinet Saw

$1,000 Cabinet Saw

Time to upgrade to a cabinet saw? If you’re thinking about it, but are on a tight budget, take a look at this new offering from General International. The 50-200R is a 240 volt, 2 hp, 10″ left-tilt saw that has just about every feature you’d want in a cabinet saw—except a huge motor. But 2 hp may be all the power you really need.

Before getting to the specs, let’s open the hood to confirm that this is a true cabinet saw—not a hybrid. What’s the difference? Both types have cabinet-style bases, but the cast iron assembly that allows the blade to tilt and go up and down isn’t the same.

In a hybrid saw, this assembly is lighter in weight and is mounted to the tabletop by two independent trunnions. This arrangement makes it difficult to precisely align the saw’s blade with the top’s miter slots, should this be necessary (and it often is). In a cabinet saw, this assembly is much beefier (resulting in less vibration) and is mounted to the saw’s cabinet as one integrated unit. Alignment is very easy—you just loosen the top and give it a nudge.

The General International 50-200R weighs 321 lbs., has a cast iron table, two cast iron wings and enough capacity to rip a piece up to 30″ wide. It comes with a classic T-style rip fence and a riving knife with an attached see-through blade guard and anti-kickback pawls. You also get a separate riving knife, without a guard or pawls, for making non-through cuts. The stop switch is large enough to double as a pancake flipper—very nice. One-wrench blade changes are a snap with the convenient arbor lock.

Accessories available include a cast iron extension wing with router inserts, a router fence, a zero-clearance insert and a dado insert.

SOURCE General International, general.ca, 888-949-1161, Model 50-200R 10” Table Saw, $1,000.