I replaced a Laguna high-quality machine, and this makes it look and perform like it was a little Tinkertoy. I have been doing a lot of study and review of Harvey Woodworking Products, and I'm a big fan. I'm not paid or sponsored (Harvey, I'm available if you want). I've purchased thousands of their products, and I've never had a complaint. The suction and ability to control the volume of that is great, clean out is easier than any machine I've had in the past and its accurate full indicator light is spot in. They give you all you need for set up including full size and good quality tools standard. This is a great machine.
Amazing amount of power runs very smooth and almost silent.
Fits the Harvey router table like it was made for it. Installs easily and functions well
Just finished assembling my new saw ….. and the build quality is amazing!!!! I owned a custom cabinet shop for 10 years and have owned some of the best woodworking equipment around at the time. Don’t let the price fool you , Harvey table saws is built to compete with the best machines out there. This is the first Harvey machine I have bought and so far I’m ecstatic!!!!
My old saw was a 50 year old Delta/Rockwell contractor saw so this is quite an upgrade for me. Love the finish, weight, cabinet, dust extraction, fence, and miter gauge. It would be better if the table insert fit better. I added several layers of tape to the edges to get it where it didn't slide from side to side. I'm also disappointed that it is not a zero clearance insert and that the zero clearance insert that Harvey sells extra does not have a feature to replace the actual cut zone of the insert. Other than the insert I am completely happy with this saw and highly recommend it.
Nice metal router table enclosure. Very well built and a really nice design for capturing dust under the table
The saw is super easy to move and setup for this was a breeze. Does exactly what it’s supposed to do. I did actually go with double sheets of plywood instead of one because I wanted the extra 3/4” height.
This thing is a beast that will easily slice through anything I’ve thrown at it thus far. It’s my first cabinet saw and I couldn’t be happier with the purchase. The only con is the assembly directions are terrible. Luckily there are multiple tutorials online to help with it.
The freight arrived in pristine condition and was well-packaged. All of the components were well-protected for the trip. Setting up was relatively easy. I have made a few cuts on the saw and, so far, it has worked beautifully.
Solid table that includes all the bits others add as extra cost items.
I purchased the COMPASS MG-36PRO a few weeks ago and I’ve used it extensively since. It was packaged extremely well and each component was nestled in its own foam cutout. I own a couple other miter gauges and none arrived as well protected as this did. It took only a few minutes to assemble and I checked the zero/square setting and was delighted to see that it was spot on. Other settings were precisely set as well. The miter bar was easy to adjust to my saw’s miter slot and there is absolutely no movement. This is a beautifully machined miter gauge and well worth the price. I’ll look to Harvey Woodworking for my next woodworking purchase.
This insert is extremly high quality, and simple to swap when necessary. Highly recommend!
Loved the care they took in the packaging. Very well made tool, precise machined which leads to great accuracy. I have seen reviews of this very tool with complaints that it has a bunch of play, but I haven't noticed any of that.
Nice accessory. Instructions are of limited use if you’re not mounting to a table saw. No mention of tolerance on parallelism on the two sides of the sacrificial insert.
Good solid piece of cast iron. Their fence works well with it. The stand is a great option. Watch out for the fence fitting instructions. They assume you’re mounting it as an extension to a table saw. No help if you’re doing otherwise.
First thing you notice is how well it is packaged and the packaging. Or at least I do. Packed very well to prevent damage and the packaging is strong and held up very well in shipping. One corner of the outer packaging had little scraping but inside there were 3 walls of thick cardboard that had no damage. The table is flat and heavy: 105 lbs. I am upgrading from the Bosch 1181 table which is good but I have always wanted a bigger router table but I felt the other brands like Rockler and Sawstop were overpriced and theirs did not compare to what you get from Harvey. Harvey's Cast Iron table weighed more and I already own a Harvey table saw and it's a beast so I felt that this router table would be the same. I was 100% correct.
I have looked at Rockler, Sawstop, and Grizzly products looking for a comparable item but neither looked sturdy nor strong enough to hold a cast iron router table. Even their cast iron router tables were not as heavy as Harvey's. This router stand looks great too and it matches the Harvey table saw and Miter gauge that I already own.
I purchased a 'green' cabinet saw some years ago before I knew about the Harvey brand. I work in 1/2 of a two car garage and everything is on wheels. I wanted a router wing since the saw came, yet could not get one from the vendor. I bought the RT-685, the Compass RF-36 and the dust collection system,
I could not be happier. The wing bolted up to the saw without drilling. The JessEm Master-Lift ll fit perfectly, as did the SpinRite 4.2" motor. The Vacuum system works great.
The fence is worth every penny in terms of adjusting the unit with the cutterhead. No slop, no wiggle. Precision is the key!
In summary, it wasn't cheap, but the precision and the safety the Harvey System offers is excellent. Get one! Your fingers will love you for it.
Top notch router system, like all of Harvey tools I have been associated with. Also great customer service
The stand is a perfect match for the Compass cast iron router table, a solid base for a VERY heavy table. Fit and finish is excellent. The setup is a bit of a slog though in that it calls to assemble and preinstall dozens of bolts, washers and nuts to attach the legs and aprons. The result is a very strong connection but it is, as I wrote, a tedious exercise. Instructions are fairly clear but the print font and accompanying illustrations are small and a little tough on my 68 yo eyes. All in all it took just over an hour to put together the majority of time spent threading the fasteners together. All in all, a great table though and should stand up well to usage.
I careful read all the reviews a couple of times and was surprised that a couple got rid of their powermatic and unisaw. The 2 considered the 4hp as at least a equal or better. I've not had those other 2 brands and can't comment on them.
Ive been a cabinet maker for 30 to 40 years and bought a 2hp and a 5hp Grizzly table saw 30 years ago. The 2hp has held up fine with no issues. The 5hp the bearing have gone out once and are going out again. My one issue is I can not get the 5hp to cut a perfect zero. So I'd have to say...both were good machines to last this long. The 5hp G will be my back up saw.
I'm actually retired but got a job restoring 36 Windows and doors in a house built in 1899. I had a portable saw that I'd use from time to time when I had my other two saws set up for particular cuts....it went out and I was looking for another saw for back up. Being the fact that I'm use to having more powerful saws...i just could not find anything for 1,000.00 that I could get excited about. I was highly considering buying another grizzly when I stumbled across Harvey. I went back and forth trying to decide which one to buy...much like you're doing right now;) I went back and forth looking at their 2hp, 3hp, and the 4hp. I noticed that the 4hp was larger and weighted more. I could not figure out why one more up cost 300.00 more so...i called Harvey and asked. I then realized it was a better machine. The money was about the same between the 4hp Harvey and the 5hp Grizzly and reading the reviews I felt Harvey was a better machine. I've now had it for a week and I am pleased I decided to go with the 4hp Harvey. It's certainly bigger, heavier, and controls are smoother than the G! I never had a blade guard with a vacuum and don't really like the guard but do like the vacuum. Sometimes I need to be able to set the fence off of my mark on the wood. I see that the shark guard is a improvement and what I think would be best for me. I wish I could have swapped this out when i bought. Not excited about spending another 800.00 right now but probably will.
The fence is rock solid but moves a little when you clamp it down. I've actually not applied the tape on the saw and it'll probably take care of that. Again...id like to have the better fence but it was not available when I bought. Not sure I'll spend another 1,000.00 on it. Maybe some day both of those improvements will be standard.
I'm considering the sliding side table. I did have this on my 2hp saw I just used for a cut off saw. I think the Harvey is much better and will most likely up grade from the old Grizzly I have.
Bottom line is...high quality is there on my new 4hp saw and happy i bought it. all their products look good and will buy more as I can afford it.
Easy to set up. Left cast wing on. Set sliding table flush with saw fence rail, not stepped back. 43” crosscut which is fine for my needs.
Quality if A1. Great packaging.
