General table saw

[Rjgooden]

Anyone know anything about general table saws? I am going Tuesday to look at a saw thats supposed to be in great shape and made before they became a foreign manufactured saw. Parts available? Overall dependability? Performance?

 

[zdorsch]

Anyone know anything about general table saws? I am going Tuesday to look at a saw thats supposed to be in great shape and made before they became a foreign manufactured saw. Parts available? Overall dependability? Performance?

Happen to have a model number? I believe General made quite a few different table saws in cabinet and contractor varieties.

From limited reading on OWWM, their cabinet saws were a good buy but not as well supported as delta/Rockwell.

 

[Rjgooden]

i am not sure of model number but I know it is a 3hp with a 52 inch fence. So I assume it is a cabinet saw

 

[zdorsch]

If it’s built like the saw fence I have from General it will be nice.

Have you checked some of the Canadian woodworking sites? I don’t think General nearly as popular much in the US.

Maybe this will help (my best guess is that it’s one of their later, post 60’s offerings):

General Manufacturing Co., Ltd. - Publication Reprints | VintageMachinery.org

 

[bob vaughan]

If its their cabinet saw, then when new, it was on par with the Rockwell Unisaw or Powermatic 66 saw. With a flashlight look inside for cracked castings although that's not real likely on a saw of that quality level. Look to see if the switch if heavy enough to carry the 3 HP current. Belts and bearings are consumable wear items.

 

[Millmarks]

Mine is a 3hp General International. I've had it for a number of years with no issues other than dust collection, which most table saws other than Saw Stop have.

 

[marinosr]

I worked in a community shop in Kitchener Ontario for two years that had two General table saws including a slider. They saw a LOT of abuse in the ways that only communal tools can suffer. They were built like tanks and were IMO the equal of a unisaw. I passed on a General 450 for $500 CAD when I was a week away from moving back to the US... I really regret not moving that saw, having landed on a Grizzly when I got back to the US. I think "General International" branding is when they moved production to Taiwan... They're still good post-Taiwan.