Not wanting to sound TOO greedy, but I have TWO 88 table saws. Indeed it DOES have an 18 inch blade, which because of the diameter, has a wider kerf than the 10 inch table saws, I'd been using. Big, powerful direct drive motor. Dust collector is absolutely essential. The sliding table is a nice feature, but not one I use very much.
I have a Biesemeyer fence on mine, which frankly I have just gotten accustomed to since using one on my Delta Unisaw for thirty years.
I bought the second saw because the first one had NONE of the accessories that should be with the saw. Since I manufacture machine tools, I was thinking of making patterns and reproducing these hard to find parts, but my burning desire to make machines and parts is waning. The mitre gage for these is big and heavy, a must have.
LOOK really hard for the inserts that go in the table slots. The left one has the degree marks for the sliding table engraved in it. If the company has been around for a LONG time, the missing bits and pieces can be laying on a shelf, or have been long lost. Strips of steel that just fit the slots in the table. Also there COULD be a cast bar that ties TWO miter gages together, giving you a simple method to cross cut long boards. Another part if you don't know what it looks like, you won't KNOW what it is. The sliding table uses it's OWN gage for setting angles Look carefully at the advertising brochures or contact me with a cell phone number, and I'd be happy to take pictures and send as a message.
The stock fence MAY have been great in its day, but for cutting sheet goods, the Biesemeyer is super quick and precise. I don't want to fiddle with knobs when I cut plywood, I want instant gratification and instant accurate location. I like the saw, but for the novice it's pretty intimidating. Big blade, a motor you're NOT going to stall when you make the wrong move. NO pinching the blade and stalling this saw, it's gonna throw the work right back. Makes a delta unisaw seem like the toy it really is. I have my TWO saws side by side with a cross cut blade on the left saw and a rip blade on the right. No extension table on the left saw, so the second 88 is just far enough away from the left saw to allow me to move the table angle. Gives me about six or seven feet of cast iron table to cut sheet goods with! I DON'T do mitres very often with the Oliver as it's a LOT of heavy cranking. I have another saw in my shop already set up for 45 degree angles, and to be honest ANOTHER saw with a dado blade set. I think doing dados with the Oliver 88 would be a pain in the butt. The sliding table would have to be moved to the left to make up for the blade stack width, and you'd have a gap in front and behind the blade. Unlike normal saws with throat plates, the Oliver with the sliding table doesn't use them.
