Which table saw is the best?

Check out the “Reviews” section on this website. I recently posted my review of my Craftsman saw that you might like, especially considering that you are limited on space.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

You may want to look at a hybrid saw. These combine the mobility of a contractor saw and the closed base of a cabinet saw. The Jet ProShop has gotten good reviews.

http://www.newwoodworker.com/reviews/jetproshopsawrvu.html

Rockler has 8 models listed on their website ranging from just over $600 to $1100.

I tend to agree with Matt at www.mattswoodshop.com buy your second generation tool first.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

One thing to keep in mind is that some (maybe many?) of the table saws have a dual voltage motor. This means that by switching a couple of wires, it can either be 110 volts or 220 volts. I run mine on 220 because it supposedly runs better on 220. I could configure the motor to run 110, but I have 220 in my shop, so I never have done it. If you find your dream table saw, and the motor is listed as 220 volts, it’s possible that it can be switched, but you’ll want to know for sure. I agree that checking out reviews is very helpful.

-- Tom, Michigan ~ Working with a renewable resource called wood

Robert, I can’t tell you wich TS is the best because I have not owned them all. I made the mistake of buying a cheap portable with the blade connected straight to the motor shaft. It had no power and burned up. There goes $130 out the window. Bought another one and of couarse there goes $260. Bought a $400 saw with a sliding table and spent all my time adjusting it so now we are up to $660 out the window. For the last 6 or 7 years I have had a $600 Ridgid (on wheels) and I love it (lifetime warrenty).
I also sugest two acc. Get a good blade and miter gauge. I use the Forrest WW2 blade ($100) and the cheapest Incra gauge ($60), and I love them both.
The moral of this story is to buy a good one and save $660.
Good luck and safe woodworking,

Bill

-- Make Dust

I’ve got the Ridgid TS3650. Although I’m going to upgrade at some time in the future, it’s really been a great saw. The only knock I’ve got against it is that the oem insert is a little flimsy. That wasn’t a problem since I use zero clearance inserts anyway. Like Scott says there are some nice “hybrid” style cabinet saws out there too.

-- Carl Rast, Pelion, SC

There is an old saying, “Don’t worry about the size, It’s how you use it that counts.” That also applies to your workshop space. My shop is 12’x24’ and I have a Delta Contractors’ Saw with a 30” table. It is on Delta wheels, and is very easy to move around. The TS is the heart of most shops, and a little creativity goes a long way. The other posts are right . Spend enough to get a good blade, miter guide and fence. My TS runs on 220v that I ran under the floor. The saw pivots around to suit the task.

-- Mike, Massachusetts

I’m sure there are other contractor table saws out there that I would be more than happy with, but I am partial to the Rigid TS3650. I bought this after buying and using a small light weight table saw and the Rigid is such a treat to use, the size of the table, more power, a much better fence, and definitely more accurate. The wheel lift system is a breeze to use and makes if very easy to move about the shop. As CedarFreakCarl mentioned the OEM insert is a bit flimsy and I also make and use zero clearance inserts. For the price and quality of this saw it is a very good value. I do not regret buying this saw one bit.

-- Doug, Cass City, Michigan

I like Grizzly… but you also can get a nice hybrid from Dewalt that you will like.

-- making sawdust....

Will,

A contractor saw should be plenty. I have the Grizzly G0444 for about 2 years and I could not be happier. You can set it up perfectly, the fence is straight and solid and, by adding a piece of plywood at the back you get decent dust collection. I might be able to run hardwoods a little faster through a more powerful saw but that would hardly decrease the build time for anything than large production runs. If I were you (and I was 2 years ago), I would buy a contractor say (spend around 600 with shipping) and purchase a really good blade (40 tooth Forrest or another high end blade, about 100$), replace the belt with the new link belts (red color, about 30$), and purchase a dust collection system (200$ at Lowes). Running the table saw without the dust collection systems will fill in your shop and lungs with dust in no time. This setup is not particularly good for cutting large sheets (8×4) but you can easily use a 20$ guide, 30$ circular saw and 15$ blade to do a good job (but take more time).

The G0444Z has solid steel wings and 2hp motor but costs about 100$ more. It is a very good choice as well.

Good luck,
Alin

-- -- Alin Dobra, Gainesville, Florida

I have the Rigid TS3650. Mine’s about 2 years old now and I’m pretty happy with it, though in my dream shop, it will be replaced with a SawStop cabinet saw. The only knock I’ve got on the TS3650 is the arbor they shipped with mine has a groove cut into the threads just past the 1/8” point, which is precisely where your first chipper sits if you use a dado head. That means that th first chipper cut will be “high” (deeper) than the rest of the cut. One of my applications is to use the Freud Box-Joint two-blade system, so to handle this problem I bought two CMT stabilizers to space my blades out 1/4”, just past this groove, but of course that means I can’t use a 3/4” stack anymore since the arbor isn’t long enough to accommodate the spacers plus 3/4” of dado—but it works fine for my box-joint blades. I’ve heard that Rigid has sent new arbors to some people who complained. I usually use a router to cut dados for shelving, so I mostly just live with (or use a shoulder plane on) the non-uniform bottom if I cut them on the TS. All that said, I’ve got no other complaints about this saw. Woodline and a few other places sell ZC inserts for this saw made from HDPE if you don’t want to make them yourself.

-- SteveL

I have a Delta 34-445X Contractors table saw also with the 30” Unifence, mobile base, Fenner Drives PowerTwist link belt, my own design for dust collection, added a paddle switch to the bottom of the fence on the left side, and wired for 220. I bought the saw new 13 years ago ( American made ), it’s seen alot of use and will more than likely see alot more. it’s been a good saw. If you run a Contractors on a dedicated 110 circuit you should have no problems cutting just about anything. The problem many people have is running the saw on 110 that has multiple outlets or is on the same circuit as the lights reduceing available power. One note of caution to anyone who blocks the back off with a piece of plywood or anything rigid is, if you forget to take the back off before cranking on the hand wheel to tilt the blade you can knock the blade out of alignment and worse case senario crack the rear trunion bracket, which aren’t cheap. If you decide to go with a hybrid, the Steel City would be the one to look at. Whatever you decide to buy, make sure it has a good fence. Biesemeyer, Biesemeyer clone, or Unifence preferably.

-- If you can't find the time to do it properly, how will you find the time to fix it ?

In that price range grizzly has a 3 hp 220 v cabinet saw or cheaper a 2 hp 110 v hybrid. Personally I’m not a huge fan of grizzly tools but there are a lot of guys on this site that have grizzly and seem really happy. Seems like it might be a good match of cost and quality.

If there is any way you think you could wire up 220 v you might be happier with a 3hp cabinet saw. They tend to be heavier, more stable, less vibration, more power, easier cutting. Not that a smaller saw couldn’t or wouldn’t work just fine but a bigger saw often runs just that little bit smoother.

Ridgid generally gets positive reviews and it looks like it fits your requirements.

You might consider Steel City. I’ve not owned one but I’ve looked them over pretty close and they look like a well made saw for a pretty good price. They usually get pretty good reviews. They generally seem to come in for a bit less money for similar capabilities.

If you really think this is going to be a lifetime passion I’d really recommend going for the largest saw you can afford. I’ve owned 5 different tablesaws over the years and each time I’ve upgraded and I’ve been happier with each new saw than the last saw. I know that when you’re starting out money can be an issue, particularly if you’re not sure this going to be the thing for you. So buy the saw that seems like a fit for now but when you really decide this is going to be a long term part of your life then save your pennies and skip over saws 2, 3, and 4, and jump right to saw 5. Get a saw bigger and better than you can afford. You’ll be happier and you wont have wasted the money on the saws in the middle.

You might try checking you local craigslist tools section. Around here there’s usually a saw or two going back and forth. Sometimes you can find a killer deal, usually worth keeping an eye on.

A mobile base can help with dealing with the limited shop space. A mobile base can tack on up to a couple hundred bucks so in your price range it’s probably not a great fit, spend the money on more saw instead of a mobile base.

will:
As a 27 year Shopsmith owner, who has had to operate out of 1/2 of a two car garage, I can tell you that the Shopsmith is the perfect solution for the small space hobbiest woodworker. Yes. It would be great to have a big Grizzly saw but it would overwhelm your space and electrical capacity. Also note that a lot of the better saws weigh 500 pounds or more. The truck will stop at your address and the truck driver will move the pallet to the back of the truck, and that’s it. You have to get it out of the truck and into your garage.

My Shopsmith is a high precision tool. I can cut 12 sided segments for segmented bowls with pinpoint and repeatable accuracy. Accurate miters for boxes and picture frames are easy. Cheap saws can’t do this and contractor’s saws are designed to provide the limited kind of accuracy that carpenters need on a job site. Many of the big boxes sell cheap Aisian saws that are powered by universal motors. Don’t waste your money on them.

As part of a woodworking system, you can add special purpose tools such as jointer, belt sander, and bandsaw, that are also designed to store out of the way in a small space when not being used. Shopsmith owners also benefit from service and support that no one else comes close to.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"

You can get a decent left tiltiing table saw at your local home improvement warehouse. You will save on shipping. If you have a woodcraft near you i would check them out. Also Fine woodworking gave the Grizzley hybrid a great review. I think you can get one for under 1000 with shipping. You may also want to forget the tablesaw for the time being and buy a great bandsaw, I find myself at that machine way more often then the tablesaw. I am in a one car garage( we don’t refer to it as a garage anymore, its my shop) so if you have any questions about setting up shop don’t hesitate to ask.

I’ve had my Powermatic 66 for only four years. For ten years before that, I used an older model Craftsman contractor’s saw. Geeeeez am I glad that puppy’s GONE! It was a constant battle to keep it running true. Therefore, like high speed internet access, I’ll never go back to dial up. I’d hock the car before regressing to anything less than the 66.

The heft of the thing paired with a REAL horsepower rating and there’s just no comparison. Granted, if you’re like my father-in-law, a Sears saw is perfect… it’ll frustrate him but a few times and then it will quickly get covered with detritus of the garage soon never to be seen again.

Hurricane Charlie in ‘04 made it possible for me to get the 66. I stole it from a guy who didn’t care anymore after the blow blew his shop down. The saw had been wet and was a sad sight. But it was all there and then some. All total, I got the saw, a dozen blades, dado head, 72” fence rail, HTC mobile base and flip up out-feed rollers, a single stage dust extractor with cyclone, three throat plates and a pair of freestanding out-feed roller stands. I paid $900 plus another $150 for the liftgated truck rental and it is MINE! I had to clean it up, replace the belts, tune it and I’m using her today. I should replace the arbor bearings, and will, but not today.

As to the unavailability of 220v, I ran my saw off a homemade extension from the dryer outlet for a year. I’ve since updated the electrical. But back then it cost about thirty bucks for the 10-4 SO cord, outlet, box and hunk of 2×8 cut square and mounted to the backside of the box. Gitter-dun!

So save your sheckles, grasshopper and haunt the online auction houses and personally investigate examples of those on your short list before you plunk down your hard earned. It can be a lifelong purchase so take care and be ready to pounce. In the meantime, I know a guy who owns an old Craftsman saw that might be willing to let it go…

always,
J.C.

-- "Imagination is more important than knowledge" -- Albert Einstein

For what its worth I’m very happy with my General International TS Model: 50-220C M1 The upgraded fence is rock solid and the saw has plenty of power. The dust collection is pretty good considering I only have a shop vac hooked up to the 4” port. Even with no DC hooked up I’ll get a good trail of dust shooting out the port. The saw was purchased at woodcraft (they no longer have it on there web site) and I was able to get it into the basement with one other person. The setup was straight forward and easy (although the instructions could use some help)
http://www.woodsmithstore.com/210147.html

-- Che.

My husband just ordered the Jet Proshop with 30” fence and cast wings for me. I work in 1/3 of a 3 car garage. The saw will be on a mobile base as is most of my tools. This is an upgrade from the rigid 2400 which was a constant battle to get straight cuts.
Unfortuntely, I believe there is a waiting period to get the cast wings, but I think it is worth the wait.

-- Lori

I’d check in to the new Hybrid saws that are a new thing on the market.

You can watch a review of this_* Dewalt, which I like.

Rikon also has a nice one.

Take a look at all of the brands, but invest a little more for quality. There’s good resale value with quality, & your going to be using it a long time.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

Lots of options out there. I have a good Delta contractors saw which has some add-ons to make it quite satisfactory: mobile base, high quality blade, an upgraded belt, blade stabilizers, plus a bit of time spent really tuning the saw will make it a great tool for the money. Make sure to really look long and hard at the fence, that’s half the battle. Biesemeyer and Unifence are two to consider. I don’t really fret about power shortcomings, but I do find that a thin kerf blade helps…and they’re cheaper in smaller diameters, so I do most work that way.

Having said that, if I were in the market I’d look for a high quality used saw like a Delta Unisaw or Powermatic 66, and you can probably get a good one for $1,000 to $1,500. More weight, more power, less vibration, greater precision. And you won’t outgrow it. I don’t think table saws suffer much from use, if they’re well cared for. Lots of twenty year old workhorses out there.

Don’t agonize over it, get a good quality saw, set it up carefully and get to work.

-- tallpaul

I have the Rigid TS3650 and I love it. My 2 pennies worth.

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

For under a $1000.00 , you can buy alot of saw for your money.

The Ridgid is pretty nice and has a nice table size. It has a huge following.
The Delta contractor series are pretty nice also. TheT2, Uni, and Bies fences are a plus.
The Grizzly line has alot of nice saws for your budget as well. Good customer srvice.
The Jet saws are pretty much like the Delta’s.
The Powermatics are very nice, but a tad pricey. But their quality is evident when you look at them.

I recently picked up the Delta 36-979 and bought the T2 fence. I was looking at the Bies fence, but decided on the T2 because it locks down just as nice and is very rugged. I have a little over $600.00 in the saw after taxes. They do go on sale every one and then, but murphy’s law almost always follows me when I’m buying tools. BUY some thing that you think you will like 4-5 years from now. Trust me…...........I have been through a few saws over the past 3-4 years.

will:
Doubtless many good saws have been mentioned. However, it is likely that a table saw will gobble up your space, electrical capacity, and budget. I’ve been working in 1/2 of a two car garage for 25 years and fully appreciate the problems of working in less than 250 sq ft. To be truthful, I have found that my most useful tool through the years has been my work bench, the type with bench dogs, side, and tail vise. It may be that the best way for you to get started in woodworking is with a selection of good hand tools, starting with a powered circular saw, and several quality hand saws. You can also add both powered and hand drills with a selection of brad point and forstner bits. Also consider a couple of hand planes, various clamps, and a router. Best of all, as your experience and budget increases, these items will remain valuable and useful.

It takes more than a table saw to create a workshop. Be sensitive to your budget, and spread it out far enough to be able to begin working and learning. That after all is the important objective.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"

I work in a 240 square foot shop/garage and I have the Ridgid 3650. I am very happy with this saw. If I had a $1000 budget when I started, but no 240 volt power, I would probably buy this saw again. I would use the left over money for a good blade and some other tools.

Me, I am a fan of Grizzly tools. First of you can not beat there coustumer service. Second they sell quailty tools at a fair price. For your space and price, I would look at either a contractor saw or a hybrid saw. The hybrid is a better saw for the money.

Keep an eye out on your local Craigslist and you can easily come across a good used one. I scored my slightly used DeWalt 746X Hybrid with added mobile base, Incra miter, and Freud blade for $600 from a Navy officer who realized that saving frieght charges over his next two duty stations before he retired would let him buy a top end saw once he was done moving.

If you’re looking into Hybrid saws, Popular Woodworking did a Hybrid Saw Review last November.

Good luck on whichever you choose

-- Scott