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Baileigh Woodworking

13K views 67 replies 33 participants last post by  MrRon 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Well after much deliberation and back-and-forth between several companies and their tech departments, I decided to purchase the Baileigh TS-1040P-30 professional cabinet saw. Let me assure you, I did not "settle" on the decision to buy this saw and before the masses try to tell me this is a Grizzly with different stickers, I want to put that to rest. I did extensive research on available brands based on what I was looking for in a saw and I purchased this one with the upmost condidence knowing it will surpass my lofty expectations. I can't wait to get it and post pictures here as well as my initial thoughts on the saw and its setup. Please keep posted…… I could go in to great detail here about what I derived from my many phone calls, however I'll leave that to my formal review of the saw. I never cast negative light on other companies so my review will only highlight the pros/cons of the Bailiegh saw and how I believe paying a few more dollars for this saw is justified. I fall on the side of many woodworkers who are intrigued by Baileigh Industrial but can't seem to find legitimate information/reviews online of their relatively new woodworking lineup. If all goes well, I will definately be replacing other machines in my shop with Baileigh tools. I look forward to sharing my thoughts and probably a heated discussion or two. Happy woodworking to all….Crickett
 
#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
I plan on this being more of an ongoing review (might even start a video channel on Youtube). My initial review will be more of a first impressions type of thing and a first-hand look at the fit/finish of the machine, accesories, and it's ease of setup. I will be using the saw immediately as I did buy it for a large current project, but yes you are correct that 6 months is a good amount of time to make sure everything holds up. Can't wait to give my two cents…
 
#6 ·
I won the last Baileigh contest and chose two machines. One was a lathe and the other was a mortising machine. I have been using both for several months now and am very happy with both. I have been working on a chest with cedar lining since October of last year and in between projects have used both machines with good results. To be fair, I will do a separate review of what I got pretty soon; but so far so very good.
 
#9 ·
Hope your new saw works out well for you, looks decent for the money. Try to stay dry, April has finally shown up here in NE Ohio!
 
#10 ·
Congrats….either way, you've got a great saw. Since I'm among those under the impression that this saw comes from the same factory as some others, I'd be very interested to hear what the differences truly are between the Baleigh, Grizzly 0690, Shop Fox W1819, etc.
 
#13 ·
I do not know about Baileigh TS, but know their mini lathe that looks same as Grizzly mini, specs were a lot different. At the time their lathe was on sale and much better buy than Grizzly.

You can go to their web site, read the specs and see if there is any difference.
 
#14 ·
I would suspect that all these machines come out of the same factories in China, but the differences may lie in the amount of inspection permitted; the machines with the highest specification requirement (costlier) would get the most inspection. Based on that assumption, Baileigh would be a higher quality machine than a Grizzly.
 
#15 ·
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Well here she is, it arrived in 2 days!! I can't wait to get this home tonight and tear into it. From first glance, it's extremely well packed and solidly bolted to the skid, and no visual damage in shipping.

MrRon: I believe you are correct regarding spec requirements and the QA tollerances that each company expects from the manufacturer. To me, it's the little things are not visible from a website. As I mentioned before, I spent a considerable amount of time in speaking with the tech department to make sure this was the right saw for me. You certainly get what you pay, but more importantly, you don't get what you don't pay for.
SkateFriday: A reputable company like Baileigh would never call out other manufacturers on their website and by saying they go above and beyond "XYZ Company…...". The first lesson I learned as a salesman when I began my career was to never bad mouth a competitor - if your product is solid and you're confident in the company's support measures, than that will speak for itself and drive sales. Given Baileighs pedigree in the metal machinery industry, I know that they will make exceptional woodworking machinery and I can't wait to put this through its paces.
 

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#17 ·
Good luck with your latest toy ER Machine tool,LOL .Anyway I know what it's like to get a couple of big boxes(although as said many time most things I buy are used industrial machinery)I hope you have great fun opening it, building it together and using, keep well Kindest regards. Alistair
 
#23 ·
Good morning Guys, no I have nothing to do with Baileigh. I'm an account mgr for an industrial distributor. Just an excited woodworker who put a lot of thought and research into buying my ideal saw. I didn't think there was any harm in sharing my thoughts?? I'm working on my initial write-up on the saw and will post it momentarily.
 
#24 ·
Crickett, ignore the skeptics. LJs is a free online forum, if they don't want to see promotion of a Baileigh table saw then they can just avoid clicking on the thread…

Enjoy the new saw. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
 
#25 ·
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As it's inherent in our woodworking minds to over-analyze nearly every detail of a machine prior to making a large purchase, I found myself with very few (if any) non-biased reviews of Baileigh's new woodworking lineup. At first glance, the machines have a tremendous "fit & finish" and claim to offer comparable tech-specs to machines that fetch a much higher price tag. I was skeptical and wanted to see if this was in fact true and after diligent research on comps and several calls in to Baileighs technicians to confirm small details, I took the plunge. Like many of you, I was leery that Baileigh had priced themselves a bit high on this saw. There are cabinet saws available for less money, but looking beyond the lipstick, it's the components you rarely see that define a saws quality. I am here to assure you that this machine blew away my expectations that I'll delve into below. My approach here was to buy my last saw first. By that I mean I wanted to buy the saw that I knew would suit my woodworking needs both now and in the future and do so without any compromise.
So after much ado, here is my "initial" review of the Baileigh TS-1040P-30 table saw: (Yes,I will do another after 6 months of hard use to re-evaluate)
The saw arrived very well packaged, bolted to a skid, and no apparent damage to any components. One thing I immediately appreciated when unpacking the machine was that Baileigh wrapped all major components in oil paper rather than coating the cast iron and metal in oil and leaving you to clean it off. Yes it's minor but I hate cleaning off that mess. Of particular note, I ordered this saw on a Tuesday and it arrived in two days (nice!). Installation is rather straight forward. I highly suggest removing the top for two reasons. One, it removes a lot of weight from the cabinet so you can maneuver it. Two, it gives you a look at the mechanics that you can't see otherwise. While removing the top, be careful not to lose the metal corner shims. These metal shims help level and stabilize the top to give you the best experience (something that other manufacturers overlook). With the top off, you'll notice the massive cast iron trunnions and permanently sealed bearings which are purposely spaced as far apart as possible for equal weighting and to reduce vibration. A key detail that made me buy this saw was the dovetail lifting mechanism. The majority of cabinet saws on the market feature a lift that follows an arching rail. The problem is this lends to less rigidity and more vibration with the housing and arbor assembly. With this dovetail system, your arbor assembly travels on a geared rack which is extremely solid. Turning the machine on is simple, and vibration is near non-existent; just try the nickel test - it will stay put as long as the saw runs.
The 3hp Leeson is just fantastic. Being in the industrial distribution field myself, I can attest that Leeson makes a superior motor in comparison to others. I don't like to comment on other manufacturers because many other companies make fine saws and motors, however I believe this combination here is vastly superior and more importantly doesn't break the bank. After a late night last night setting this up, I couldn't resist running a scrap piece of 6/4 maple through it for fun and it felt like I was cutting 1x pine. The blade that comes with the saw is a suitable general purpose blade for ripping rough stock and other tasks. I use a Tenryu GM 40T for all of my projects
Other pros are the solid metal adjustment wheels which are very smooth to operate, and feature a locking insert for you to dial in and lock a certain measurement for repeatable cuts. The adjustment wheels are surrounded by bristles to keep as much dust inside the cabinet as possible - this may seem minor but it's hard to believe not all saws feature that. The dust collection is what you would expect from a closed-based saw and you definitely need a collection system as without it too much dust remains on your work surface. The saw comes with a very nice quick-release riving knife and blade guard system that pop in and out easily. I would never look at a saw that doesn't have a quick-release feature as that would discourage use of these safety tools.
Probably the most important feature to buyers in the market for a professional saw is the table top (and maybe the motor). This machine has a beautiful finish to the cast iron top and there are zero visible mill marks on the glass smooth surface (only in the miter channels but this is normal). The T-Bar style rip fence is very smooth and slick on both sides, and can be dialed in perfectly using the keys (supplied) to adjust the nylon runners. When locked down with the cam-lock handle, I got zero deflection on my fence while ripping heavy stock. And lastly, as I've gone on too long with this review, the miter gauge that comes with this saw is on par or better than many after market units. I really like the cast aluminum miter gauge with built in t-tracks for securing jigs, and presets for cutting common angles. Baileigh even machined off a 45 on the right side of the gauge to allow you as close to the blade as possible when cutting 45's while still providing support to your work piece. The miter fence also features an adjustable flip-stop for making repeated cuts, and the fence can slide laterally on the base to accommodate unusual cuts or larger work pieces.
When you weigh all of these things together and consider the engineering that Baileigh put into this machine (and others in their woodworking lineup), it becomes apparent that these are first class machines. I don't think your biggest factor when buying a quality machine should be price. While it is something to consider, you should really focus on what type of work you like to do and what requirements you have of your machine. With this TS-1040P-30, pricing concerns will quickly diminish when you see how it's justified. With all of the extra attention to detail and the standard accessories, you'd be hard pressed to find a better saw package or value. I am greatly looking forward to many upcoming projects with this table saw. Sorry for being long-winded, but I put a lot of thought into purchasing this saw and I'm just an excited woodworker (if it wasn't blatantly obvious). Best regards, happy woodworking, and be safe.
 

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#26 ·
Nice write-up. Did you happen to take any pics of the guts of the saw when you had the table off? It would be interesting to compare that to the outwardly similar Grizzly and Shop Fox units to see what, if any differences are readily visible.
 
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