 The Saw-Smith 2000 was a unique table saw that Shopsmith Inc. introduced around 1992. This tool came on the heals of the successful introduction of a couple other stand-alone tools (The DC3300, the Pro Planer and the Scrollsaw.) but unlike these tools the guy in charge of the development was charged to come-up with something different. The idea for this saw came from a visit by Shopsmith Inc.'s founder John Folkerth to a tablesaw factory in New Hampshire that produce the Versatile Saw since 1947. Coincidentally that was the same year that Hans Goldschmidt invented the 10er. So what made the VersatileSaw so unique? When cross cutting, the user would lock the miter gauge into the miter slot, reach up to a handle on the saw guard and pull the blade forward, like an upside-down radial arm saw. This was believed to be much safer than a RAS, and after SS came up with the idea of moving the blade-sliding lever below the table, they thought they had a winner on their hands. After a slow start following a mini-recall to correct an oversight (the blade would move left and right in the table by as much as a 1/4" when the blade was pulled forward with any side load on the pull-lever) the saw began a slow march to its inevitable death. Sold in a couple versions: the low cost saw has a Mark V 510-style fence. (Seen in photo above) Up the food chain the saw could be purchased with an Excalibur fence. If you end-up with this version make sure that you add a solid table between the main table and the right hand support table, because otherwise the fence will slide under pressure whenever the fence is clamped over the gap. Unless you are a Shopsmith junkie I would suggest that you avoid this saw. The name Sawsmith was taken from an AWESOME radial arm saw which was sold by Magna and Yuba in the 50's and 60's. Click here for Sawsmith 2000 Tablesaws For Sale (Very light activity) |
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