# Harvey Woodworking Machines



## AustinTom

Does anybody have experience with Harvey Woodworking machines? I had not heard of them until a couple weeks ago. They seem well designed and reasonably priced especially considering the accessories that come with it. I am considering the ALPHA HW110S-36P & HW110S-52P 10" 4HP Dovetail Cabinet Table Saw – Harvey Woodworking as a replacement for my 20+ year old Grizzly. The Grizzly is still OK except I have always hated the Shop Fox fence on it. The cost of a new fence is huge considering the cost of a new saw. Not to mention I really need a new outfeed table. 

BTW, I tried posting a similar question within the past week but it does not appear in any forum. Did I violate some rule or did I just blow it?


----------



## woodtickgreg

Cool looking saw but I dont know much about it. I'm not sure I understand your logic on thinking that a new fence is so expensive that you would buy a $2,000+ saw instead. I purchased an HTC fence for my old craftsman saw years ago that was a serious upgrade to the saw for less than $300, iirc i paid like $250 at the time. I would research the Harvey online, look for reviews and feedback from people that own it, especially when it comes to customer service and parts availability. At least with your old grizz you can get parts for it. If I had an older grizz I would probably upgrade the fence and keep it, but that's me, you may have other wants and I totally understand wanting to upgrade with new equipment. I've been doing the same over the years.

Reactions: Useful 1


----------



## woodtickgreg

I dont know if they still make the HTC fence but there are lots of others out there to choose from. The good old biesmeyer fence is what started the whole "T" square fence revolution.


----------



## AustinTom

To be honest, I am most driven by upgrading equipment. A new fence is about 1/3 the cost of a new saw. That just seems like too high of a percentage. My Grizzly has some setup issues, such as a tilted blade always scorching the wood. Adjustment would be possible by shimming the top but it wouldn't be fun. Newer saws such as one of the Delta's and the Harvey seem to be easier to adjust. My current outfeed table is custom made for my Shop Fox fence and no matter what I did, I would remake it so I might as well remake it for a new saw, right? 

Re: the Harvey, the miter gauge looks really nice but I already have a nice miter gauge. I don't know how much I would like the blade guard or how effective it would be hooked up to a 4" port. I run 6" ducts to my tools and would have to modify the saw for that. I am not sure how I would hook up the hose from the blade guard once I did that. One of my concerns about the Harvey is that it looks like too good of a deal. I believe you get what you pay for.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## woodtickgreg

For what its worth i just ordered a new Grizzly saw, still can't beat them for the money. 3hp, serpentine belt drive, lots of cast iron and great customer support for a sale price of $1,395. Ill be adding my HTC fence to it and selling the shop fox fence with my old craftsman saw. 
Now I did look at the link you provided, cool looking saw with a lot of nice features but man its expensive and I know nothing of the company or their customer support. Their older saws look just like Grizzlies, shop fox, Bailey, etc. They all probably came out of the same factory. I've been looking at saws for a long time, I always try and get the most bang for my $. I looked at laguna saws but not really any better than a grizzly and more expensive and their customer support sucks! (I do own a laguna 1836 lathe) imo no other saw on the market comes close to a Grizzly for the money, if money wasn't an issue I would probably buy a saw stop for the build quality and not just for the safety feature. Jmo

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## AustinTom

I read that Harvey has been building saws for other companies for a long time but now they are also selling direct to customers. That might explain why their other saws look like the ones you mentioned. I own a lot of Grizzly stuff and am a fan too. The Grizzly 5-hp saw I want only comes in 3-phase which I don't have. I have also looked at Delta Machinery | A Legacy of Superior Quality which looks comparable to the Harvey for a few hundred more. Both of them are considerably cheaper than the Saw Stop or Powermatic.


----------



## barry richardson

One big plus for me is the tilt wheel is on the left side of the cabinet, if you do a lot of bevel adjusting, you will really appreciate it...

Reactions: Informative 1


----------



## AustinTom

I'm curious why a left side tilt wheel would be better than a front tilt wheel like the Delta has. My Grizzly has a left side tilt wheel which I find a little inconvenient for reading an angle pointer on the front of the saw or an angle gauge mounted on the blade. I had given the Delta a plus for the front mount tilt wheel.


----------



## Wildthings

woodtickgreg said:


> For what its worth i just ordered a new Grizzly saw, still can't beat them for the money. 3hp, serpentine belt drive, lots of cast iron and great customer support for a sale price of $1,395. Ill be adding my HTC fence to it and selling the shop fox fence with my old craftsman saw.
> Now I did look at the link you provided, cool looking saw with a lot of nic*e features but man its expensive *and I know nothing of the company or their customer support. Their older saws look just like Grizzlies, shop fox, Bailey, etc. They all probably came out of the same factory. I've been looking at saws for a long time, I always try and get the most bang for my $. I looked at laguna saws but not really any better than a grizzly and more expensive and their customer support sucks! (I do own a laguna 1836 lathe) imo no other saw on the market comes close to a Grizzly for the money, if money wasn't an issue I would probably buy a saw stop for the build quality and not just for the safety feature. Jmo


Greg why do you say they are more expensive..just curious? The comparable model would be the Ambassador C300-30 from what I can decipher for $1,295


----------



## woodtickgreg

Wildthings said:


> Greg why do you say they are more expensive..just curious? The comparable model would be the Ambassador C300-30 from what I can decipher for $1,295


Thats not the same model in the link he posted above at the start of the thread. But the c300-30 would be comparable.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## barry richardson

AustinTom said:


> I'm curious why a left side tilt wheel would be better than a front tilt wheel like the Delta has. My Grizzly has a left side tilt wheel which I find a little inconvenient for reading an angle pointer on the front of the saw or an angle gauge mounted on the blade. I had given the Delta a plus for the front mount tilt wheel.


Which Grizzly did you have? I wasnt aware they made any with the tilt handle on the left. I find the handle on the right is much more awkward to access and spin, I worked in a shop where we made lots of boxes with miters, and needed to go back and forth between 90 and 45 frequently. Much less hassle on the left. If the stops are set properly you don't even need to look at the pointer. Just my preference I guess... I agree the Delta seems the best in that regard, but I kinda got turned off to the newer delta stuff a few years ago when replacement parts were unavailable for some reason.... maybe they are better now...


----------



## woodtickgreg

And after reading about deltas they have had a lot of problems with that table saw, it was supposed to be a game changing saw. But now after a few years of use they are not holding up with the people that have purchased them. And what a surprise, delta's customer service sucks and they don't stand behind their product. I would never buy a delta anything. 
Been doing some research on the Harvey saw linked above https://www.harveywoodworking.com/products/alpha-hw110s-36p-10-4hp-cabinet-table-saw
People seem to have a good opinion of it. If I had the extra mo eye I might take a chance on one. But to get a 4hp 52" machine it's about a $1000 more than the grizzly I ordered that's on back order. Harvey's 300 series says which are essentially grizzlys are also on back order. I have also read on other forums that Harvey's customer service isn't the greatest. So I think I'll let my back ordered saw from grizz stand, supposed to be shipped in March. But that 110 series saw does look nice, if I had an extra grand I might take the chance and order one.

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## barry richardson

Yup, I would avoid a new delta machine like the plague. We had a delta lathe at work, only a couple of years old, tried to order a new part, parts were already "no longer available"... Just had an issue with my Delta DJ20, circa 2000, thought my motor had gone out, part "no longer available" luckily, it turned out to be a switch issue, ordered a generic one from Amazon. I really like the jointer, and have used it hard, but the parts issue is a deal killer IMO...

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## woodtickgreg

If I can save up the extra cash before march I may just go for the 4hp saw with the overarm dust collection and 2 position fence. The more I research it the more I like it. But that's a lot of money to come up with in a hurry. Taxes maybe.....but still waiting on 1 w2 from past employer.


----------



## Woodworking Vet

Thomas, there is a first impression review of the Harvey table saw here. I've been intrigued with Harvey's line up for the past year or so.


----------



## barry richardson

Cool, that Harvey has the tilt handle on the left. Too bad I will never need another table saw....


----------



## William Tanner

barry richardson said:


> Which Grizzly did you have? I wasnt aware they made any with the tilt handle on the left. I find the handle on the right is much more awkward to access and spin, I worked in a shop where we made lots of boxes with miters, and needed to go back and forth between 90 and 45 frequently. Much less hassle on the left. If the stops are set properly you don't even need to look at the pointer. Just my preference I guess... I agree the Delta seems the best in that regard, but I kinda got turned off to the newer delta stuff a few years ago when replacement parts were unavailable for some reason.... maybe they are better now...


Agree on your Delta comment. I stay away from that brand because of issues with parts and service.


----------



## AustinTom

At some point I no longer got notified of posts to this thread so I thought it was dead. I just reviewed it and found the comments re: Delta very informative, as well as the Harvey review. I still haven't bought a new saw but recently took another look at Delta. At the time of my initial post, I recall the Delta being a little more expensive than the Harvey. It is now $4232 at Amazon whereas the Harvey is $2249 and Harvey regularly sends me emails of special sales which would knock about another $100 off the Harvey. If I ever buy, it looks like it will be the Harvey.


----------



## woodtickgreg

I ordered the laguna F3, should be in end of March beginning of April. It was $2,499 with a 3hp motor, cast iron trunion, overarm dust collection, European hi low fence, and 52" rails.

Reactions: Way Cool 1


----------



## Wildthings

My Harvey table saw purchase is shipped and expected delivery is this Monday the 22nd

Reactions: Way Cool 1


----------



## woodtickgreg

Wildthings said:


> My Harvey table saw purchase is shipped and expected delivery is this Monday the 22nd


Which one did you get? And be sure to post pics when you get it and share it with us all.


----------



## AustinTom

I did not know about the Laguna F3, thanks for confusing me. :-) The Laguna and Harvey seem comparable and the choice is not obvious. I would have to rotate the Laguna 180 degrees for dust collection and put an elbow on the Harvey. Both would need to be modified for 6". It looks like more paralysis by analysis.

Reactions: Funny 1


----------



## woodtickgreg

@AustinTom I almost went with the big Harvey and a 52" fence. Only real difference between the 2 saws was the Harvey is 4hp and the Laguna is 3hp. I really wanted to go with the Harvey but when my emails and phone calls weren't answered it turned me right off. Now Laguna's customer service doesn't always get high marks either, but at least they will answer the phone. If their saw is as good as my Laguna 1836 lathe I'll be very happy.


----------



## Wildthings

It's here!!

Reactions: Way Cool 2


----------



## woodtickgreg

Wildthings said:


> It's here!!


Very cool! I should be able to make that same statement soon.

Reactions: Like 2


----------

