Stout Contractor’s Saw with Smart Features

There is a lot to like about Rikon’s left-tilt contractor’s tablesaw. It has a big cast-iron table, a powerful motor, stout trunnions, a smooth belt-drive system, and a well-designed riving knife.

The three-piece tabletop is 27 in. deep by 40 in. wide with a rigid understructure that’s easy to adjust if you need to level the top (the saw I tested did not need to be adjusted after assembly). Under the table is a beefy arbor assembly and trunnions. A short flat-belt drive, much like you’d find in a cabinet saw, provides smooth, accurate power transfer from the 1-1/2-hp motor to the arbor. The motor has ample power, letting me rip a bunch of thick hardwood with a fairly brisk feed rate.

The riving-knife mount is easy to access and switching from the knife to the guard is painless. The T-fence moves easily, locks securely, and has an easy-to-read cursor. Dust collection was exemplary for a small contractor’s saw, with a dust port centered in the bottom of the enclosed cabinet.

There also are a bunch of convenient features such as storage for the T-square rip fence and blade wrenches on the base, a paddle switch that can be located anywhere along the rip fence rail, a built-in mobile base, and an easy-to-remove throat plate.

With its robust construction and smartly designed features, this saw is a great value.

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