Every now and then, I still check Sears.com to see if there are new Craftsman tool listings. To my surprise, they have a new Craftsman Pro Series contractor table saw.
Well, “new.”
Advertisement
The new saw looks to be their older saw model painted with a new color scheme, and with “Pro Series” attached to the now-licensed Craftsman brand name.
Ridgid also offers a similar table saw, for quite some time now.
Not that I would entertain the idea of buying tools like this from Sears anymore, I find the new addition to the catalog to be very intriguing.
The newly listed saw, model no. TJZ10/3, seems to have the same specs as the previous 21833 model.
- 1-3/4 HP motor
- 3450 RPM motor speed
- 10″ blade
- 0-45° bevel right, 10° beven left
- Dual locking fence
- Blade guard system and riving knife
- Cast iron table with stamped steel extensions
- Included based with integrated casters
- Weighs 265 lbs
Price: $540 “on sale”
Advertisement
The branding and color scheme has changed. Why now?
Does this new listing indicate that there are brands still working with Sears directly – and that Sears is actively interested in marketing their own Craftsman tools?
Or is this new Craftsman Pro Series contractor table saw among the first of a new line of power tools brought to market under Stanley Black & Decker’s ownership and guidance?
Frankly, without learning more – which seems unlikely at the moment – I would consider both ideas to be equally improbable. Neither seems to be very likely, if I’m being honest.
Looking deeper, there are several other new Craftsman Pro Series tools, aside from their Pro Series Tool Boxes (reviewed here), mainly outdoor power tools and a couple of air tools, but nothing since recent years since Sears sold the brand to Stanley Black & Decker more than a year and a half ago.
This could be a meaningful development, but if so, it is unclear as to what the new listing signifies.
If you look at the listing of the older model saw on Craftsman.com, now under Stanley Black & Decker control, it says:
The product you searched for is no longer available. There are, however, many other retooled, refined, and readily available products. So feel free to explore our site.
The new saw does not appear there.
When you look at the Where to Buy page, they list Lowes, Ace Hardware, Orchard Supply, Farm & Fleet, and Atwoods as Craftsman retailers. (Amazon will be an online retail partner, soon.)
That discounts the idea that the saw redesign was prompted by Stanley Black & Decker. But is it any more believable that Sears is putting new effort into the Craftsman brand? It will be very interesting if they are, not to mention incredibly confusing for customers.
We’ll have to wait and see what happens, but given what I’ve seen at Sears these past few years, I won’t hold my breath or allow myself to get the least bit excited.
Vlad
I saw an add on Instagram where Craftsman was inviting to win a trip to They new tool event where 1200 new tools will be introduced ???? what is going on??
Stuart
I’m still working on that post!
charles
riiiiiiiiight
Shaq
I have the red saw. I have two gripes, I cannot allighn the blade with the fence and it burns wood. Second, it is super loud and I have wear ear plugs to do anything on it. It is belt driven so why is it so noisy?
Jalopy_J
I’m still at Sears from time to time. The employees I’ve talked to keep indicating that new stuff is on the way and the stores should start getting restocked throughout this year. This may be the start of that. It’s been hell apparently, getting stuff from suppliers since the brand sold. SBD got the rights to everything. But Sears is at least telling their stores stuff will be arriving. We’ll see if that happens, but that’s the story.
charles
sears is dead to me. they closed the store closest to me, now they are closing the next closest store to me. I still have and love my old Craftsman tools, most made in the USA.
dewalt looks like my go to brand now. several retail places and sbd doesn’t look like it’s circling the drain.
Marc
Not made in USA. They haven’t for a while. They are made in China!!
Adam
Looks like the Bostitch color scheme.
Rcward
Try as you might Sears is a dead store. Selling off the Craftsmen name is a last resort. Sear’s is gone with the wind at the Montgomery Ward’s land of the past
Jim Felt
My Craftsman memories are deep. My dad had their stationary power tools and later my mom worked there in their heyday.
I bought Craftsman mostly mechanic tools and to this day still own and use them. As do many of my friends.
That said many of us have migrated to European tool brands and the occasional US made brands (not imported US branded) and won’t likely ever go back to where “America (once) shops”.
That’s just logic in my peer group of amateur handy persons.
I spent more on flash pop up Amazon Prime Day tool purchases (Bosch, Wera etc.) then the last few years a Sears. Didn’t we all?
Chris
Interesting! Does look a lot like the newer Ridgid. Also interesting is when you search the model number of the saw (TJZ10) in google, you get results like this:
https://boyegroup.en.made-in-china.com/product/UqBJtSXbZEHd/China-Table-Saw-TJZ10-2-.html
That’s model number 2, however, and the Craftsman is model number three. I think that makes it pretty clear who makes it – Nanjing Xinye Machinery International Co., Ltd.
Stuart
Thanks!
Yeah – I was 95% certain that the Ridgid and Craftsman were made by a non-TTI OEM, but couldn’t remember which one. Nanjing sounds familiar, and the appearance of their version 2 model is hard to refute.
@cmjoons
The fence doesn’t look like it has the fine adjustment (or at least not as accessible) as the Ridgid. Having the foot pedal on the front/long side instead of the short side is interesting- not sure if that would make it more or less awkward to move around the shop.
josh maier
Actually it’s not, the manufacture for this saw and many of the other newer saws and stationary power tools is RIKON power tools. It is a Chinese manufacturer however using there belt sanders, lathe and band saw they built a quality product. Zero issues with any RIKON made Craftsman products. don’t let old the made in USA hypocrites sway your opinion. 90% of power tools come from China.
Framer joe
As I always say, don’t buy Craftsman until it’s made in the USA….
Always support USA companies first ,then other countries (German made) ..but never , Chinese made ….
If your a harbor freight type of guy ,I hope you served in the military first, because I doubt you did and don’t support American made products…
fred
Sadly I don’t think there are any table saws in this class still made in the USA. Many years ago, Sears-Craftsman table saws were USA-made by Emerson (aka Ridgid for some tools). That’s long gone. Powermatic has moved manufacturing offshore – and as far as I understand – the Unisaw is the only table saw still being made in the USA by Delta Machinery – a subsidiary of Chang Type Industrial Co. of Taiwan. From some of the mixed reviews I’ve seen of the current crop of Unisaws – I’m happy that I have a 1970’s vintage one. To be circumspect about this – I paid something like $1000 for my saw and another $1000 for a sliding table and upgraded fence. $1000 in 1970 translates to something like $6000 in 2018 dollars. Current Unisaws sell fo something like $2500
Luke
“Not that I would entertain the idea of buying tools like this from Sears anymore”
I’m in the market for a non-portable table saw. Something with a little more surface area than the Dewalt one I’ve had for ~5 years. The price and style looks right for me. You say you wouldn’t buy tools like this from Sears (agreed), but what would you recommend instead?
Stuart
If in your shoes, I would look at the Ridgid also, and decide between the two.
The reason I wouldn’t entertain of buying this from Sears is because their customer service was atrocious when I last ordered something and they sent me damaged goods.
After a huge waste of time, over and over again, they still hadn’t arranged for UPS pickup. I got lucky and was able to ask a UPS driver to take it.
Then, they didn’t refund me all the money. They eventually refunded me the tax, but not before they tried to convince me to accept it back as a “points” refund.
If going with the Ridgid model from Home Depot, I’d pay more for the threshold delivery option. It’s a little more than basic, ($85 vs $55) but I’ve had some really bad drop-offs of review samples when the basic option was selected for me. Or, if you can, in-store pickup. It might require a pickup truck and at least one able-bodied buddy.
With Sears, they’ve given me one too many headaches for me to have any interest in bothering with them anymore.
Brett
I got a Delta 36-725 from Lowe’s a year or so ago and it’s been great. I think the fence system is better in that it’s more consistently square because it’s just locking onto one bar instead of pinching 2 rails like the Rigid & Craftsman. Dust collection is excellent, power is good, the table is much bigger than my previous saw. I did have to replace the side rails on the fence because the extruded aluminum was a little bit warped vertically, but a couple strips of MDF and some screws and that was resolved. My only lingering issue is the throat plate, which I can never seem to get level with all edges of the table top. I keep telling myself I’ll make some jigs to make zero clearance inserts one day, but I still haven’t yet. One day.
josh maier
Currently if you buy the sears saw, they give you $300 back to spend later….just saying
Frank D
Looks like a rebrand of the Ridgid table saw I had ( and returned because it did not cut true front to back, not was the 90 degree vertical correct and I could not undo the overtorqued bolts … nor was I going to hurt myself trying … ridgid wanted me to strip it down for transportation and drive an hour to drop it off for service )
Doresoom
At first glance, for some reason the first thing that popped into my head was “that table saw looks like it’s wearing a track suit.” ? In all seriousness though, this looks almost exactly like my Ridgid R4512 which I love. It looks like they went back to 4 caster instead of three too!
RKA
One of the appeals to the craftsman brand long ago was the availability of parts long after the sale. Do we have any idea whether SBD has plans to offer that level of support for Craftsman machinery and power tools? (I think I know the answer, but I’ll restrain myself from assuming)
Raoul
Hard to say but last year I bought some parts for a pre SBD Porter Cable belt sander from the Dewalt service center. They didn’t have everything I wanted but enough the get the tank running again.
Carl Tkacs
The manger at a lowes told me they bought the rights to craftman tools .they already are getting tools in Lowe’s.
Stuart
They have a partnership, that’s all. https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/lowes-craftsman-tools-partnership/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Stanley Black & Decker owns the brand, and licenses it to Sears as part of the agreement. https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/craftsman-brand-sold-to-stanley-black-decker/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Brian M
A Lowe’s employee of any type has as much credibility in regards of tools and the tool industry as the average third grader does in quantum mechanics.
fred
Its probably just scuttlebutt, rumor and misinformation that has been promoted around the water cooler at Lowes. Finding anyone really knowledgeable about what they sell at either Lowes or Home Depot is difficult. I’m not sure that either firm invests much in hiring or training for any in-depth knowledge of tools.
And – quantum mechanics is a tricky subject. In the ’60’s – it was the course (an my professor – a Nobel laureate credited with the discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance) that decided me not to pursue a career in physics. As it turned out the plumbing and then other businesses worked out OK for me – with my smattering of physics not confusing me too much.
Stuart
Ah, quantum mechanics.
A lot of principles are actually easy to learn. The “what” is easy, the “why” is harder, and the “how,” which involves the toughest math I ever [mostly] learned and forgotten.
I have always liked special relativity (although it gave me a headache the first time I tried to wrap my head around things). A conflict prevented me from taking grad-level general relativity, which I heard is harder still than quantum physics. (Yikes.)
Special relativity explains how a 20 foot long ladder can fit in a 10 foot long garage. Fun stuff.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Relativ/polebarn.html
Apparently there’s also a “bug-rivet” paradox.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Relativ/bugrivet.html#c1
fred
My only comment about “easy to learn” is that it could be if you had an inspiring teacher. I found that mine – for me at least – was not that. If it had not been for the tutelage of the fellow (another Nobel laureate) that I had for a course called chemical physics – I’m sure that my “C” in quantum mechanics would have been a “F”.
The math bit was apparently easier for my quantum mechanics professor – as I had heard that he had, early in his career, found a way to apply Schrödinger equations to symmetric top molecules – solving some second order PDEs that had eluded others.
ToolOfTheTrade
Luke, unfortunately just about every table saw made by the big box brands aren’t meant for stationary shop use and I highly doubt that this ridgid/craftsman nanjing chang is worth a shit. If you don’t mind buying something used then look for a vintage table saw made before plastic took over. There’s plenty of them around, but you gotta look. And if you want a new one, just because it may or may not be made in the USA doesn’t mean that it’s a better saw. There’s plenty of USA made tools that ain’t worth a damn and if they are, I’m sure they will be awfully proud of their product. I’ve got a 1943 sears craftsman table saw and it still works like it was made yesterday. Very well built and meant to last forever. There’s not one single piece of plastic on it. Solid steel (not 15ga. sheet metal) and chrome plated aluminum fence and miter slide. Probably weighs close to 200lbs. Nothing portable about it. Definitely better than anything made today as far as dependability and durability. Motor diameter is bigger than a human head along with the dust chute. Ain’t no circ saw motor in it like today’s table saws and every single piece of it was made in the USA. I shit you not, it’s the only table saw I’ve ever seen rip a 5/16 x 4″ piece of stainless angle that was almost 8′ long straight down the fillet while pushing it like a piece of wood. Wore out some blades, but the motor didn’t skip a beat. I highly doubt that anything made today that costs under $1k could handle a cut like that.
Michaelhammer
And I bet the table is still truly flat, the blade is parallel to the fence and miter grooves and purrs like a kitten. I love the glass of water test on those old saws, a perfect little bullseye. I’m still trying to decide between the Baleigh and the Saw Stop, but your idea of digging up a relic is intriguing.
fred
Take a look at the Hammer K3
Lynyrd
SBD needs to drop the GearWrench Orange on these Craftsman Pro Series offerings.
Sco Deac
I don’t think this is an SBD product. The link goes to Sears. No mention of this product on craftsman.com (SND run site) or at Lowes (SBD Chanel). This is likely Sears sources. I wonder if SBD has staked out red and new Sears stuff will be orange?
josh maier
It’s a sears product.
Sbd doesn’t even have screwdrivers out for Craftsman yet. What’s more iconic then the craftsman screwdriver???
I wasn’t impressed with what sbd had to offer at Lowe’s. I got to see first hand this pro series saw and it’s awesome heavy as hell. all cast iron and steel .
Vlad
It does look like Ridgid ))
Rick
I’ve always referred to these as cabinet saws.. don’t know how many contractors would move this one around. The one on gravity stands as contractor saws, though we always just referred to the non rolling ones as just table saws so who knows…
Stuart
The way I’ve been seeing and treating things:
If you can carry it or tilt and roll it, it’s a portable table saw.
If there’s a 2-piece construction, with the table saw on semi-fixed semi-mobile legs, it’s a contractor saw.
If it’s large and features an enclosed cabinet-style base, meant for fixed placement with some limited mobility, it’s a cabinet saw.
fred
The lines got a bit blurred when they came out with what was called “hybrid table saws”
The portable jobsite saws usually come with universal motors – and direct drive (motor to saw blade.) Most US ones run on single phase – nominal 110V AC
So called contractor saws usually have a belt drive between the motor (usually an induction motor) and the blade – also powered by 110V AC
Cabinet saws have the induction motor (can be single or 3 phase) and trunnions mounted to the generally substantial cabinet.
Rockler is one source for a bit of a tutorial
http://www.rockler.com/how-to/table-terminology
Rick
To me, that is more.on the side of cabinet saw due to the enclosed base , even if it can be two piece ( though probably not quick) and some caster. While not as big big as a big cabinet saw, this is not really portable.
Rick Owen
I bought the Ridgid 4512 this is being compared to. In a little over a year of ownership I’ve had zero issues with it and that’s with it used 2 – 3 days a week. I would prefer more dedicated stops on the miter gauge it came with. I did get a chance to look at the red/black colored version of the Craftsman table pictured above, in my local Sears before it closed. It wasn’t as well built as the Ridgid. The miter gauge had more play in the slots. The drives to raise and lower the blade were not smooth in operation. The fence didn’t seem to line itself up as well as the Ridgid. In fairness to the fence, this was a floor sample and was probably never set up properly and who knows what customers had done to it. Unless proven otherwise I seriously doubt Sears has done anything to I prove this model over its predecessor. I sincerely hope SBD returns some form of quality to the Craftsman line.