Check out this badboy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joRe2lreXP0
This thing starts up real hard, but not hard as in it has trouble starting... hard as in, I want to run hard every time I go to use it. My fingers shrivel into raisin stumps every time I go near it.
Junk it? Fix it?
I'm going through my shop tools to decide what stays and what goes.
Sounds like it needs a set of brushes.
all the table saws I have used sound like that when starting.
Sounds normal to me.
Do table saws use start capacitors? I suppose the motors are more expensive then and probably not on the smaller home-use table saws.
I have a saw very much like that one. It bears the Craftsman name. I think I bought it around 1996. It sounds pretty much the same as yours, and always has.
Edit: I confess I have taken the blade guard off of mine also, but I urge you to use the utmost care around that saw. They have the ability to ruin your day in a hurry.
Sounds like every other table saw I've used
That sounds about right.
You might just be used to new things with lousy motors.
Sounds normal to me.
Streetwiseguy wrote: You might just be used to new things with lousy motors.
^^what he said...
Sounds like every table saw I have ever heard or used. 
Not to say they aren't terrifying, but they sound consistent.
I agree it sounds good. That sound is to put a healthy dose of fear into you when you go to use it, I think the more dangerous a tool the louder the whine should be. I agree you might want to check the brushes but I bet they are good. I've taken apart a bunch of tool and have found stuck brushes but never brushes worn to nothing. I like to clean the armature with contact cleaner and make sure the brushes move in their holders.
Good luck with it.
Interesting that most of y'all say it sounds good. Mine doesn't sound anything like that on start up. If it did I'd be pulling it apart to see what the problem was. benzbaron might be right about it just needing to be cleaned. It's got the tell-tale growl of a brush problem under acceleration. Does it also growl when you are cutting with it?
I bought a craftsman circular saw and it sounds that way new.
Sounds like a table saw.
Like any older electric too exposed to dusty environs, I'd take it apart and blow it out with compressed air and maybe think about looking at/replacing the brushes, depending on how much beer's in the garage fridge and what's on the radio, but I wouldn't think much of it, honestly. Short of high-end ($$$$) units, this thing sounds pretty much like every other table saw I've heard.
The growly noise right at the moment of startup is just the motor's torque resonating through the metal frame of the rest of the table.
Agreed.
Single phase AC motors need something to get them moving, otherwise the rotor would just sit there. Most often a capacitor is used at least at the start to get it going.
If the capacitor was bad the motor would just hum and not turn.
To me, as well as the others, it sounds like a normal table saw. Some start softer than others, I think they are typically the higher priced ones.
I would bet you could blow it out as suggested to prolong its life, but it will likely do the same thing on startup.
alex wrote: Like any older electric too exposed to dusty environs, I'd take it apart and blow it out with compressed air and *maybe* think about looking at/replacing the brushes, depending on how much beer's in the garage fridge and what's on the radio, but I wouldn't think much of it, honestly. Short of high-end ($$$$) units, this thing sounds pretty much like every other table saw I've heard. The growly noise right at the moment of startup is just the motor's torque resonating through the metal frame of the rest of the table.
I wouldn't worry about it unless it starts bogging at start up or tripping breakers. Or if you are just bored you could open it up wire brush/ shopvac the insides (motor if you can get to it) and oil the moving parts (bearings if it has any) with sewing machine oil and bare steel with johnsons wood floor paste and call it good.
Or less involved turn the saw on with the blade off and blow compressed air around in the motor housing and anywhere else you can without dis-assembly
I've used a few table saws in my day, they all started quickly for sure, this one has enough vibration at startup to cause the entire unit to jump. I admit the video doesn't capture the audio well, which is annoying.
I think I will try cleaning and greasing like you all say and mounting it on a stand, and making a better switch for it. (The current one is broken. Ha ha. Punz.)
jere your avatar is probably the most vomit inducing thing I've seen this week.
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