The Shop fox W1819 is definitely built with quality and performance in mind. It has a 3 HP Leeson motor, cast iron wings and table, triple belt drive and cast iron trunnions, making it built to last.
The riving knife, camlock t-fence, magnetic switch, heavy cast hand wheels, t-slot miter gauge and 4” dust collection port are useful features as well.
The true riving knife follows the down and up tilt movement of its blade and it has a rip capacity of 29.5 inches.
If you’re a professional contractor or just have a serious home shop, this model is a good find. It has an enclosed cabinet and is built more like a contractor’s saw than one for occasional home use.
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Everything you could need in a table saw
What Are Its Safety Features?
First, it has a clear polycarbonate shield, anti-kickback pawls on each of the sides of the spreader and a blade guard assembly for protection.
The clear guard lets the operator see how the wood is being cut when the saw is in operation. The guard lifts as the wood is pushed toward the blade, and the guard stays in contact with the piece throughout the entire cut.
The spreader consists of a metal plate, and it prevents the kerf of the wood from pinching up against the backside of the blade, which could cause it to kick back.
The anti-kickback pawls ensure the wood only travels in the forward direction. If the wood moves backward, such as if it wants to kick back, the pawls dig into the wood to stop it or slow it down.
What Does the Miter Fence Do?
The miter fence, included with the W1819 provides more support to the wood than a miter gauge does on its own, and it works great for longer pieces of wood.
The flip stop is designed to make it easier when you are making multiple cuts of the same width. You can flip or pivot it out of your way so longer pieces can be cut. Then you can pivot it back down to make more cuts at the width you desire.
How About the Blade Tilt?
You can tilt the blade on this saw anywhere from zero to forty five degrees. For this reason, it works well for cutting bevels, chamfers or compound miters. It’s easy to adjust the cutting angle just by loosening up the blade tilt lock and then turning the hand wheel for the blade tilt to the angle you’d like to cut.
How Does the Riving Knife Work?
The riving knife works just like the spreader that’s on the assembly for the blade guard. Essentially, it’s a metal plate that helps to prevent the two sides of the freshly cut piece of wood from pinching together against the back side of the blade, which could cause it to kick back.
Polished cast iron features
Everything you could need in a table saw
How Heavy Is It?
This Shop Fox is one tough and heavy machine. Its weight by itself is 527 pounds with a shipping weight of 539 pounds. The whole unit measures 40” high x 45.5” wide x 62” deep, and the floor to table height is 34”. The table itself measures 27” wide x 40.25” deep and goes up to 27” wide by 53.625” deep with the extension in place.
Can You Run It off 110 Volts?
It’s listed as 230 volt or 12.8 amps. One user says he hard wired it to 220 volt. It runs off 220 volt single phase. If you don’t already have a suitable 230 volt outlet, it is a fairly straightforward job for your local electrician to fix you up with one.
Will They Deliver This Into My Shop if I Order It Online?
This is an extremely valid question given the weight of this saw. Some companies will take it off the truck and into your garage, and others have to let you take it off the truck yourself due to liability issues. If you order this online or even in a retail store, definitely ask about their delivery options so you can be prepared to move it if you need to do so.
In any case, since it is so solidly built and heavy, even if you have it delivered exactly where you want it, you’ll still need to unbox it and do the assembly, so having at least one other person to help is going to be necessary.
How Do I Align the Blade to the Miter Slot?
To align the miter slot to the table, you have to loosen the bolts on the table top and move the top until it’s parallel. Once you have it aligned with the blade, tighten the bolts down again.
Is It Hard To Elevate the Blade?
Some users have reported that the crank is very hard to turn when raising the blade on this table saw. To fix this, open the door that lets you access the motor, and keep an eye on the height adjustment shaft as the handle is rotated when you’re elevating the blade.
You’ll see the shaft running forward and aft through the trunnions. If the shaft moves forward or aft when you change direction of the hand wheel, the gear mesh between the fan gear and worm gear could be going slightly out of alignment, which will make the wheel hard to rotate.
If you don’t see any play in the shaft at all when rotating the hand wheel, check to see if the lock nut at the end of the shaft is really tight. This can make it hard to turn the wheel as well. If this is the case, loosen the nut very slightly until the wheel starts to turn easily. If you can’t loosen the lock nut anymore, you can try loosening the set screw located on the lock collar, and then move the lock collar forward on the height adjustment shaft.
If you’ve had your saw for a while and this happens, the best thing to check is that the gear mesh isn’t gummed up with sawdust. In this case, the first thing to try is to get it cleaned and lubricated prior to trying any other fixes.
Does It Come With a Table Extension?
An extension does come with it. If you decide to attach it, it increases the cutting surface to to 27” wide by 53.625” deep. With the extension, the 53.625” is the measurement of the width of the entire table, so the maximum rip capacity is going to be about 29”, measuring from the fence to the right side of the blade.
How Does It Compare With Other Shop Fox Table Saws?
This popular company makes a few different saws that are comparable with this one, but the features of each are a little bit different, as are the price points. One they make, the W1824, is known as a hybrid saw. That’s to say it’s a combination between a heavy duty cabinet saw and a contractor saw. This means it has features of both but is fairly light in weight, and it can be used with 110 volts instead of requiring 230 volts for power.
The W1824 has a smaller 2-horsepower motor, and you can wire it for 220v or 120v. It has a Poly-V belt drive that’s serpentine, and it will spin the 10” blade at 3850 rpm. The maximum cutting depth is 3 1/8”. The rip capacity is 30”. Cast iron is used for the trunnion, extension wings and table, and it comes with a composite extension. It also has a quick-release blade guard, pawls that are anti-kickback and a riving knife that is interchangeable. It takes up to a dado blade of 13/16”, and it has dado and regular table inserts. It also includes a 4” dust port.
The W1824 is very similar to the Grizzly G0715P table saw with similar specifications. The biggest difference is that the composite extension table is not included with the Grizzly model.
The W1820 model in comparison is very similar to the W1819. Both are 10” cabinet-type saws with a 220v, 3 horsepower motor. Both have a triple belt drive and a max cut depth of 3 1/8”. Both have a 13/16” dado capacity. Both have a cast iron table the same size of 27” x 40.25”, but the W1819 comes with a phenolic extension of 13 3/8”, making a total width of 53 5/8”. The W1820 comes with a phenolic extension table with legs that measure 31.75”, for a total of 72” wide.
Both have a 4’ dust port, cast iron trunnions and a T-slot miter gauge of 3/8” x ¾”. Both also have a magnetic switch along with a blade splitter and guard assembly and a quick release riving knife. You can get a router table attachment and sliding table attachment for both models.
The big difference here is that the rip capacity of the W1820 is larger at 50”.
This company used to make 12” cabinet saws, the W1761 and W1762 models, but they have since been discontinued. If you can find them, both have a quick-release riving knife and blade and splitter guard assembly. They have a 4” maximum cutting depth and take a one-inch dado blade. A digital bevel readout is also included.
The other option is the W1811, which is a sliding table saw and it works well for cutting large panels. It has a 5-horsepower motor, is 220v and has a right-tilting blade. It also has a scoring blade which eliminates tear out across the grain. The crosscut table both slides and swings.
There are two flip stops on the miter fence if you need to make accurate cuts that are repetitive. The cross-cut capacity is 78.5” wide and 63” long with the crosscut fence. If you use the standard rip fence, its 33”.
The W1811 takes dado blades up to 13/16”, and the max cut depth is 3 1/8”. It has an adjustable riving knife along with an extended fence on the clamping miter gauge and an adjustable rip fence. There is a 2 ½” dust port on the blade guard and a main dust port that’s 4” on the cabinet.
Features
* Magnetic switch with included thermal overload protection
* Motor guard
* Powder coated paint
* Standard and dado table inserts
* Accessory hooks
* Knurled knobs to make fine fence adjustments
* Sloping inner cabinet floor for easier dust transport
* Nylon runners inside the fence head assembly
* Easy glide T-fence wide span system
* Camlock fens with a Phenolic face
* Quick release riving knife, splitter assembly and blade guard
* Huge cast iron trunnions
Stats
* Weight: 527 lbs.
* Dimensions: 67” x 46.5” x 30”
* Motor: 230v – single phase
* Amps: 12.8
* Horsepower: 3
* Arbor Size: 5/8”
* Maxi Depth of Cut at 45 Degrees: 2 3/16”
* Max Depth of Cut at 90 Degrees: 3 1/8”
* Max Dado Width: 13/16”
* Max Rip Capacity: 29 ½”
* Table Size: 27” x 53 5/8”
* Table Material: Cast Iron
* Table Height from Floor: 34”
* Dust Port: 4” with a trap door opening
* Warranty: 2 years
Pros
* Sturdy construction
* Incorporated cabinet
* Wide cutting surface
* Nice safety features
Cons
Overall, users love the Shop Fox W1819. However, if you intend to buy one, there are few things you should know. First, it’s a beast to move and might even require a forklift. At over 500 pounds, there’s no way you can move it or set it up on your own.
Also, because of its weight, make sure the place you intend to install it can take the pressure of its weight. Some users have reported they had to reinforce the floor of the building where they set it up. This is especially true if your shop is a portable building or something similar. In this case, it’s best to reinforce it with at least 3 layers of ¾ inch plywood under the saw, spanning the floor joists under its base.
Conclusion
If you don’t want to compromise power and performance and are serious about your work, the Shop Fox table saw W1819 might be a great fit for you. It’s a great cabinet table saw and is crammed with features that professionals look for when shopping for one. It has a massive rip capacity, powerful motor and extensive safety features, making the higher price tag more than justified. Whether you’re a serious professional wood worker or a dedicated hobbyist, this is one tool that will get the job done, and its built to last.We hope you found our Shop Fox table saw review useful.
Polished cast iron features
Everything you could need in a table saw
Last update on 2024-04-12 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
