New to good table saws - input on "Dovetail"

Dovetailed ways for up and down travel I’m guessing? Everything moves straight up and down as opposed to the typical arc.

-- Shooting down the walls of heartache. Bang bang. I am. The warrior.

The Griz G1023RL series uses dovetail ways for their vertical lift mechanism. Check the parts diagram online.

Why no mention of a Saw Stop PCS 3hp or ICS? Both great saws.

-- Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

The INCA 2200 has dovetailed ways. I had
that saw for awhile. It was said the centerline
of the blade remained more consistent through
the adjustment range.

Direct drive variety saws by Northfield, Oliver,
etc. commonly have dovetailed ways.

It’s simpler to retrofit a riving knife to a saw
with dovetailed ways.

Knotscott. Thanks for the reminder… the SS PCS 3 HP was on my shortlist, too.
Thanks for the info about the other saws with this design. I will see if I can dig up the parts diagram for the other saws and compare to the known dovetail models.
I guess this discussion begs he question… is the dovetail design worth using as a limiting factor in my saw choices?

Thanks again

Loren… I remember 20-25 years ago when I used to regularly pick up Fine Woodworking… Incas were always heavily advertised and I used to drool over the ads. From what I understand, they aren’t sold in the US anymore.

Yeah. I’ve bought, used and sold a bunch of
INCA machines. They’re interesting and well
designed. The only one I have today is a
3-wheel band saw.

The woodworking machine division at the very
least shut down, though there is still some parts
availability. The owner died or shut down the
business. Prior to that INCA withdrew from the
US market, allegedly due to what they considered
nuisance lawsuits over injuries.

Knotscott. Thanks for the reminder… the SS PCS 3 HP was on my shortlist, too.
Thanks for the info about the other saws with this design. I will see if I can dig up the parts diagram for the other saws and compare to the known dovetail models.
I guess this discussion begs he question… is the dovetail design worth using as a limiting factor in my saw choices?

Thanks again

- Caboose

I like the dovetail way design, but if a swing arm design is well executed, it obviously provides good precision…..PM66, PM2000, General 350/650, Delta Unisaw, etc. The Saw Stop ICS uses an elevation thread, but I don’t think it uses dovetail ways.

Here’s the G1023RL diagram:

-- Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

I notice the dovetail method has an adjustable gib that keeps the elevating mechanism on track. It is my opinion that any machine that uses gibs for sliding fits can go out of adjustment. This would require a periodic inspection or accurate cuts could be affected.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Based on some limited study and some input here and further reading, I think I will take the dovetail design off my “must-have” list for now. I thought that it might have been a design that was incorporated into some manufacturers’ higher-end offerings, but that does not appear to be the case across the board.
Back to shopping :-)

Dean

It really seems more like a gimmick to me. I mean, metal working mills and lathes, etc. do not have to have a dovetail way to work…why would a woodworking machine need it? Also, manufacturing a dovetail is not exactly rocket science or some form of rare, lost black art. If it was superior or necessary or otherwise really did something good for you then you can best believe the rest of the world would have caught on and be using it. Buy the PM2000, you will not regret it for a second.