My inexpensive a d compact made in Taiwan 4x6 horizontal saw has always been the best $$ value in my shop, this vertical saw, has been more useful than I expected. I wanted a Powermatic 143 ever since my good friend purchased one new back in the 70's. He owns a 20k sq. Ft. CNC shop and still uses that machine. I didn't need nor could I afford the space (let alone money and or effort) for a Do All saw. I gave up my 143 search and bought this saw a couple years back and am mostly thrilled. The mostly part would be erased if it would run down to 50 ft min or so. The 100 ft min isn't terrible with bimetallic blades but might be high to be ideal for harder tool steels and stainless.
converting a nice old wood saw was another consideration but when I looked at size and cost to convert in time and money, was comfortable with the money I spent on this machine. In hindsight, it was the right thing for me. It's even handy to be able to cut some wud in the shop from time to time with a small volume of dust. It is necessary to clean all that wud shmutz off the saw after otherwise it gets all over that beautiful steel and aluminum.
