# considering buying a used Craftsman 113.29950



## TimeTurnsElastic (May 4, 2015)

I'm looking to purchase an affordable but reliable contractor or hybrid saw as it looks like I've finally found some shop space for my woodworking side projects. I'm accustomed to job site table saws at work so this is a step up for me and I'm really excited. 

On CL I saw a Craftsman 113.29950 that looks to be in good condition with some extras and a nice fence. Haven't been able to dig up much info on this model, so I wanted to get your opinions. Here's the description:

_Craftsman table saw, zero clearance throat plate, saw blade, push fence, table extension (white mdf), T-Square fence, 220 volt. Plexi plate for making your own integrated router table (router not included).

$175 obo picked up. Need it gone, no room for it anymore_

If the seller agrees to let's assume $150, do I go for it or keep looking?


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I think I have 3 of them ......*

If that's the 12" 220 V motorized table saw , as described in a search, I have 3 of them in my Sawzilla, you have a rare find. BUY IT! They work great and I use 10" blades on them since 12" with 5/8" arbors are uncommon. 

http://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;...:pivot&stype=web&hsimp=yhs-006&hspart=mozilla


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## TimeTurnsElastic (May 4, 2015)

Thanks woodnthings for weighing in. Pardon the dumb question, but what exactly is meant by "motorized" table saw?



woodnthings said:


> If that's the 12" 220 V motorized table saw , as described in a search, I have 3 of them in my Sawzilla, you have a rare find. BUY IT! They work great and I use 10" blades on them since 12" with 5/8" arbors are uncommon.
> 
> http://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;...:pivot&stype=web&hsimp=yhs-006&hspart=mozilla


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*It means....*

"Motorized" means it has a built in motor or "direct drive" contained within the saw cabinet, where the arbor is the shaft on the motor. Craftsman retired these great 220V only saws in the late '80's or early '90s and started making the smaller, lighter, and cheaper versions which ran on 120 V and may have aluminum tops. They were powered by AC/DC motors with brushes and were quite loud much like a hand held circular saw. Craftsman also made a rather weird version that had a shaft drive also called "flex drive", to drive the arbor. Some are still around today, but when the shaft wears out it's expensive to replace. One member here tried unsuccessfully to convert one of those to belt drive if I recall. See several posts and no. 16, here by Greyeagle:
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f12/sears-craftsman-10-flex-drive-table-saw-3363/

Hybrid saws have the motor within the cabinet, but have a belt drive to operate the arbor. Cabinet saws are a larger version of this usually with 3 belts driving the arbor and usually with 3 HP motors or larger. Contractor saws have a belt drive also, but the motor hangs out the back end with a rather long belt driving the arbor.

:smile3:


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## notskot (Feb 22, 2015)

I'd pass on that particular model. As woodnthings mentioned, go for one with a belt drive motor. Most of the older ones had the motor hanging off the back. I'd also try to get one with the upgraded fence....the stock steel fences from Emerson were pretty lame. You'd be better off with one with an Exacta-rip or Align-a-rip aluminum fence, or an older Ridgid that has a similar fence (the saws themselves are nearly identical). You might also find a Jet, PM, GI, Grizzly, Bridgewood, Delta, Rockwell or other that's good too.


















Here's the less desirable fence...at the right price, it can be worth adding a Delta T3 fence from HD for $184 (at least the potential is there to upgrade down the road if you want to):









With Delta fence:


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## TimeTurnsElastic (May 4, 2015)

Thanks guys for the responses. I realized the pics I attached came out tiny, I just dragged and dropped from the CL ad and apparently they're sized too small to see as attachments. I'm going to try inserting in the body of this post, hopefully this works so you'll have a better visual on the saw









































@notskot - The fence was a big question for me. But I'm sure if it actually is a stock Emerson? See the last pic above. The seller calls it a "t square fence" but being no expert that's not enough for me to go off. Is it stock, or some sort of a Biesemeyer knock off?


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## TimeTurnsElastic (May 4, 2015)

*sorry, pic attachments fail*

let's try this again


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## mat 60 (Jul 9, 2012)

The fence almost looks like my delta and jet...


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## Pirate (Jul 23, 2009)

If it was near me I would buy it just for the Biesemeyer fence.
I would use it, untill I found a belt drive saw, and swap the Bies fence to the belt drive saw.
You could sell the fence for what you pay for the saw.


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## notskot (Feb 22, 2015)

That looks like a nicer saw than I was originally thinking. The model number is still sort of a mystery, but it has a nice fence....definitely not a stock Emerson fence! The fence and wings just about make the asking price worth it. Is it a flex drive saw? ....even if you do as Pirate suggested, and just transfer the good stuff off this saw onto a better belt drive saw.


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## pweller (Mar 10, 2014)

I did a google search on that part number, and it is indeed a 12" motorized saw, just as woodnthings indicated.

It's possible that those wings are cast aluminum, and not cast iron, which makes it slightly less interesting.

To me, it looks like you're mostly buying a fence, and getting the rest as part of the deal. I wonder if you wouldn't be better off to just wait and buy a good saw first....

I'd have to go with woodnthings experience with the quality of the saw, though, as I've never used one. Maybe that saw would work fine for you - I'm only familiar with the belt drive version.

Here's the owner's manual for it: http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/222/4364.pdf


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## Bobbie (Jun 10, 2017)

*Crafstman table saw*

This may be way too late, but I purchased a Craftsman 12" direct drive 220 v. table saw in 1974, used, street sale, model 113.29950 and am still using it with no problems. I oil it occasionally. It was discontinued in the 1980s, and what followed for a 12" saw was not very good. I use 10" and 12" blades on it.


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## Pineknot_86 (Feb 19, 2016)

Are parts still a available? 
The only dumb question is the one no asked.


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