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Craftsman 103.22161 tablesaw

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Wes Morris

Member
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14
Location
Dayton, Ohio
Howdy. New member, here. Have two questions. 1: Did the 103.22161 contractor tablesaw come with a bladeguard/splitter or riving knife?
2: why does everyone hate the old Craftsman Companion tilt top tablesaw?
 
That is probably a King Seely machine and undoubtedly came with the requisite POS bladeguard/splitter of that era in America. I have a similar machine and the guard is pretty art deco. The good news is that a better aftermarket product is probably available that will fit that saw. Mine is waiting to become a dedicated crosscut machine some day. The 'Champion' line was a sort of 'Craftsman-badged Harbor Freight' level of tools toward the end of the downward spiral for Sears.
 

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glenn bradley said:
That is probably a King Seely machine and could be researched on OWWM.org. The 'Champion' line was a sort of 'Craftsman-badged Harbor Freight' line of tools toward the end of the spiral for Sears.
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Thanks, on #1. On #2, that was "Companion". I believe they were from the early 30s to maybe 40s. On another forum,(garage journal"), no one had anything good to say about them. They thought the "tilt top" was super dangerous.
 
My friend has a Craftsman saw and it was decent. Not GREAT, not junk - Decent. It was one of the Emerson table saws. NOT a tilt table - it was a tilt blade.

Just my opinion, never seen one, never used one, but a tilt table on a table saw does sound scary.
 
I thought so too, at first. It does rip cuts fine. I havn't done a bevel cut, yet, but the more I think of it, the table tilts to the right and it seems that would hold the board tighter against the fence. That seems like it would make for a more secure and cleaner bevel cut. I could be wrong but I'll try a bevel cut and report back. Ny only concern is trying to find "drive" grease fittings for it. It's not a ball bearing arbor. Just a shaft, so I assume I'd need to grease it frequently. My 103.22161 saw (50s to 60s), is a bearing drive so doesn't need it as much. Just need a riving knife or splitter for IT to be safer for rips. May have to make a 0 clearance throat plate and use "micro Jig" splitters. I don't even know if that model even came with a knife or blade guard/ splitter. Lol
 
glenn bradley said:
That is probably a King Seely machine and undoubtedly came with the requisite POS bladeguard/splitter of that era in America. I have a similar machine and the guard is pretty art deco. The good news is that a better aftermarket product is probably available that will fit that saw. Mine is waiting to become a dedicated crosscut machine some day. The 'Champion' line was a sort of 'Craftsman-badged Harbor Freight' level of tools toward the end of the downward spiral for Sears.
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Nice saw. I'd love to find a bg/ splitter, like that. I'll probably have to go with a 0-clearance throat plate and micro jig splitters.
 
Wes Morris said:
Thanks, on #1. On #2, that was "Companion". I believe they were from the early 30s to maybe 40s. On another forum,(garage journal"), no one had anything good to say about them. They thought the "tilt top" was super dangerous.
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Dad had one back in the 40s~50s. For cuts at 90° it was just fine. (Note: Never had a splitter or a guard that I recall.) For any angled cuts, the 'uphill' side of the cut dropped against the rotating blade - Instant Kickback! Not good! The steeper the tilt, the more likely the kickback. That's why they're so disliked.
 
Jim DeLaney said:
Dad had one back in the 40s~50s. For cuts at 90° it was just fine. (Note: Never had a splitter or a guard that I recall.) For any angled cuts, the 'uphill' side of the cut dropped against the rotating blade - Instant Kickback! Not good! The steeper the tilt, the more likely the kickback. That's why they're so disliked.
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Wow! Thank you. I hadn't thought of that. Good point. I guess the 103 is the more versitile saw. The tilting arbor WOULD be much safer. Glad I signed on here. Any thoughts on a knife or splitter for the 103? I get nervous doing rips, on it, due to not having either. Can't find any on any of the parts sites or ebay.
 
Wes Morris said:
On #2, that was "Companion".
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Doh! Sorry about that :doh:

I used an MJ Splitter as an aftermarket splitter for Years on my Craftsman/Emerson (113. saws) contractor saw. Today there are other solutions. If you want a guard as well SharkGuard has a loyal following.
 

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For a splitter, I think the zero clearance plate and Microjig splitter would be the most straightforward approach. I have a Ridgid 3650 tablesaw and even though it came with a blade guard and splitter, I went with the zero clearance plate/Microjig combination instead. (I have yet to find a blade guard that didn't get in my way and make things more unsafe, but that's personal opinion.) I'm also a big advocate for the Microjig Grrripper push block.
 
Wes Morris said:
Wow! Thank you. I hadn't thought of that. Good point. I guess the 103 is the more versitile saw. The tilting arbor WOULD be much safer. Glad I signed on here. Any thoughts on a knife or splitter for the 103? I get nervous doing rips, on it, due to not having either. Can't find any on any of the parts sites or ebay. My tilt top came with a guard/splitter and works great on regular rips.
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The tilt top
glenn bradley said:
Doh! Sorry about that :doh:

I used an MJ Splitter as an aftermarket splitter for Years on my Craftsman/Emerson (113. saws) contractor saw. Today there are other solutions. If you want a guard as well SharkGuard has a loyal following.
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I'm more concerned with the splitter. Thanks. Good advice on the MJ.
 
I had a Shopsmith (which has a tilting table) for many years and cutting/beveling anything with the table at something other than 90 degrees scared me. Small bits like they use to demonstrate at the malls and shows can be done but try manipulating a longer or heavy piece and you are asking for trouble. The Shopsmith miter gauge had a grip lock that clamped the wood to the gauge to keep it from falling into the blade in a bevel cut. That should tell you something. As the splitter is well behind the blade I doubt that it would have any ability to keep your stock from falling into the blade. Sorry to rant a bit. :pullhair: I still have a little bitterness for the Shopsmith that comes out once in a while.
 
Wes Morris said:
Wouldn't the splitter keep that from happening? Maybe not at a 45° angle. That saw has a splitter. My tilt arbor doesn't figures. Lol
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A splitter and riffing blade do help with most saws. I've not worked on a tilting top saw before, I'd head the warnings and reasons given though. More than anything just practice the safety advice given. One thing that never seems to make it into most articles on the subject, is where to stand. Almost everyone I know that has gotten injured was standing behind the work piece, where they were directly behind the blade. I was always taught to stand to the left of the blade. I've had a few kickbacks over the years, but have never gotten hit by the piece being kicked.

 
Rennie Heuer said:
I had a Shopsmith (which has a tilting table) for many years and cutting/beveling anything with the table at something other than 90 degrees scared me. Small bits like they use to demonstrate at the malls and shows can be done but try manipulating a longer or heavy piece and you are asking for trouble. The Shopsmith miter gauge had a grip lock that clamped the wood to the gauge to keep it from falling into the blade in a bevel cut. That should tell you something. As the splitter is well behind the blade I doubt that it would have any ability to keep your stock from falling into the blade. Sorry to rant a bit. :pullhair: I still have a little bitterness for the Shopsmith that comes out once in a while.
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Lol. I understand. I've had thoughts of selling my machines and going full on "woodwright shop". I'll just stay with the contractor model and keep the "companion" as a paperweight.
 
Darren Wright said:
A splitter and riffing blade do help with most saws. I've not worked on a tilting top saw before, I'd head the warnings and reasons given though. More than anything just practice the safety advice given. One thing that never seems to make it into most articles on the subject, is where to stand. Almost everyone I know that has gotten injured was standing behind the work piece, where they were directly behind the blade. I was always taught to stand to the left of the blade. I've had a few kickbacks over the years, but have never gotten hit by the piece being kicked.

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I'm a lefty so I'm always to the right of the blade area unless I'm using the sled. Sure is a neat looking saw, though.Message_1596403801533.jpg
 
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