New Contractor Saws???

[Admiral]

A friend at work asked about table saws, and I suggested a Griz or Jet 10", 1 3/4hp contractor saw.  He pinged me back and says he can't find any, and when I looked it seems they evaporated.  Now, I've not been in the market for a TS for 20 years, but what is the reason?  Seem to be going the Hybrid route for a lot more dough.....

[CARYinWA]

Jobsite saws took over the contractor saws.  DIYers using hybrid saws in their garages that use 120V

[Rob Young]

Jobsite saws took over the contractor saws.  DIYers using hybrid saws in their garages that use 120V

Yep.  Offerings in hybrid configuration far outnumber the older contractor style.

[Steve N]

I don't know if I agree with tabletop saws have replaced Contractor saws. Mostly the changes to add a riving knife started them downhill, and your friend Gassbag pushed them the rest of the way down the slope. Cost to make the old version of a contractor were too high to remain profitable. Plus the world wanted a skirt, but couldn't afford a cabinet saw, so they made The Hybrid, this is Grizzly's, everyone has one

[museumguy]

Check Craigslist. There is a Powermatic for sale near me and a friend has the same saw for sale in Pittsburgh.

[AHill]

There are still plenty of contractor saws still on the market:

Jet JPS-10S
SawStop Contractor Table Saw
Ridgid R4512
Delta 36-725
Powermatic 1791229K Contractor Saw

Best bang for the buck, IMO is the Ridgid.  Safest is the SS.  Jet and Powermatic are fine saws.  Who knows how long Delta will support anything they make these days.

[Admiral]

Agreed on Delta, I'd have a hard time buying anything from them, at this point its just a branding operation.  Ridgid is the classic design and agree its the best value for a homer, the Powermatic is really on steroids, and I'd sooner get a Griz cabinet saw for that dough, and the Jet strikes me as more of a hybrid with less hp.  When I looked I was looking for the classic Contractor saw design, thanks, I will send this along to my guy.

[knotscott]

What is your friend's budget, and does he have 220v available?

[Admiral]

He's thinking less than $1k and new, not used; I'll wire his 220 if he needs it.

[knotscott]

The R4512 and Delta 36-725 are the usual candidates at the entry price point.  Both have a fair amount of baggage, but some get good service from them.  Both have steel wings, both have smaller motors, both have more modest fences but the Delta fence is better than the R4512's IMO.

The Grizzly G0715P hybrid has been discontinued.  The G0771Z has a full enclosure, cabinet mounted trunnions, solid cast wings, and a fence upgrade, plus comes in on budget.  Even though it has a decent fence, the fence is moderately better than those on the Ridgid or Delta IMO, but isn't on par with that of the Jet Proshop, G0715P, and cabinet saws IMO. The Jet Proshop series is well proven, and gets close to budget on sale....the guts of the Jet are very similar to the Laguna Fusion and Baileigh hybrids, but the Jet has a better fence IMO.   

Once you get much beyond the $1k mark, it's makes a lot of sense to at least consider something like the G1023RL (< $1500 shipped) or even G0690 3hp industrial cabinet saws if 220v is available.  More money for sure, but are also much more substantial saws, have a lot more power, more beef everywhere, and better fences....heavy duty lifetime saws.