Which table saw?

If you can put out more cash, a table saw is going to be the most used piece of equipment you’ll have in your shop. Unless you’re making real small projects, it’s just not going to hold up, plus the construction of these saws can even be dangerous. Look around for a contractor saw or something larger than the table top models.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

If you don’t lack the space or money I wouldn’t recommend a table top model either.

I think that even a used contractors saw is better than a table top one.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Unfortunatley I have no place for anything other than a table top model, and I am looking at the <$200 dollar range.

I have in the past had a couple of saws in this price range due to the fact that it was all my budget would alllow at the time. I would have been better off waiting apn putting away $5 a week till I could purchase a good saw. Bench top saws on a stand in the under $500 price range just cant be relied upon for doing much more than rough framing work.
The fence systems will not stay lined up, the sheet metal loosens up from vibration, miter guage slides are sloppy I could go on.
Just my 2 cents but get a saw that will last years and not days!

-- Frank Auge---Nichols NY----"My opinion is neither copyrighted nor trademarked, but it is price competitive."

If your looking for a benchtop table saw the DEWALT DW745 is your best buy. ( Amazon.com $317 with free shipping or Lowes ) It rates very high in the reviews. In a bench top saw I wouldn’t buy anything less than this one. It has a good fence and thats what you need to have.

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

. I’d suggest you take that $200 you want to spend on a new saw, and look for an older saw with a cast-iron top, and belt-driven to an external motor. Look for a gently-used one with arbor bearings still tight, lockable blade adjustments, 3/4 X 3/8 miter slots, take it home and true it up, and you’ll get far more enjoyment out of it than anything new in that price range. There’s plenty of good saws out there for sale!

-- If stradivarius was alive today, he'd be using Gorilla Glue.

There are some table top saws that fellow members have reviewed:

http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/category/42

Probably some help there from poeple who actually own them.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

have no idea where you live, but if you are close to a bigger city check out the tool listings on craigslist.org

-- a legend in my own mind ...

Big CM,

We all want the big mamajama cabinet saw, but because of $, space or both we can’t. I fought this for a while when I started to buy my first couple of major tools. Then I remembered that’s what life is most of the time. Compromise. That being said, I decided to go with the most affordable saw that would do the job. However, you gotta be able to do it right. Go with the contractor saw..used if you have to. Man, if you don’t have room for that, you don’t have room to cut the wood. Poopiekat has my vote. If you get something too small, the lack of accuracy or the urge to build something too big for your saw will leave you shaking your head….

-- Jason, AL

One of the woodworking commandments is to always buy the most tool you can afford. In this price range you can buy a decent used contractors saw that will fine for everyday needs. It will have a cast iron top and a usable fence. The bottom line on tools is that price and quality are directly related.

As for the blade manufacturers do not include a quality blade with their tools in order to cut down on the overhead costs. The current issue of Wood Magazine has a review and recommendation of various blades in several price ranges.

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

Thanks guys for all of your answers, but…
Put it this way.
I, the aspiring woodworker of 14 and no money, want to convince my dad, the home reno, to get the $220 saw instead of the $120 saw. Will that $100 make a huge difference? Also, no one has answered the blade part of my question.
Thanks :)

To answer your blade question, stock blades are mostly sub par, I would replace it. There have been good reviews of porter cable’s razor blade as a good low cost blade. Most of the people here use blades that cost almost as much as the saw your looking at so I think those would be out of the question.
As for the other part, without seeing the saws it is tough to compair the difference but for safty reasons alone I would not buy a $120 dollar saw. So yes I’m sure the $120 makes quite a difference.

-- Frank Auge---Nichols NY----"My opinion is neither copyrighted nor trademarked, but it is price competitive."

BigCM,
The blade part really coincides with the saw. You can always get a better blade than the one that comes with the saw. However, you could be looking at upwards of $50. That being said, if you are getting a “starter” saw, the blade that comes with it will likely be “good enough for now!” Just pull it off and clean it often.
PS,
Tell your dad that I said it was OK to spend the extra hundy!!!!

-- Measure once; Cut Twice, Three Times, Four Times...

Thanks again guys! :)

Craftsman has a contractors type saw that comes with a miter table, folding wheeled stand, etc. If your dad’s into home renovation, he might be swayed into one of these. There’s two models…$200.00 and $400.00. My nephew bought the $200.00 one. I own and have reviewed http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/19 this version. I’m very happy in my little shop with mine and the only difference I see between the two is the router table. Check it out.

One of the LumberJocks once made a statement that his first tablesaw was a circular saw upside down in a milk crate, with a 2×4 for a fence!

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

Thanks dadoo! I never thought of looking in Sears.

IMHO…...........the DEWALT DW745 is the best portable saw out there. $200.00 saws give you $200.00 dollar head aches.

If you buy a used contractor saw it might come with a better blade.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Yeah…Considering you are limited to $200.00 I’d first look in the local sales ads for a good used saw. Let us know what you find.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

Dad relised that the $120 saw was complete crap. Got the $220! :)
Oh, and it is a Ryobi, not a Delta.
Thanks again everybody!

Congratulations on your new saw. We are looking forward to seeing your projects from this purchase.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

To me Sears has cheap tools at expensive price , portable table saws are not acurate and are all direct drive and they dont last , in Canada Canadian Tire Store has the very save tools as Sears at a very lowest price

-- - - Tools are nice to have but you need someone to work them - -

Speaking of saws, Fine Woodworking recently posted a recall of Dewalt portable table saws. The details are here.

For those who have them and those looking to buy, it’s worth checking out

-- If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then quit. No use being a darn fool about it.

Finish high school, get a girlfriend, buy a car, go shopping, get a decent job, buddy up with a carpenter and carry his tools for a year or so. – Then, buy a table saw.

Not what you wanted to hear but it is the honest truth.

Life is about wants and needs and at 14 you should want lots and need little.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

i agree. i am about your age to and i say that don’t go with a bench top model. they don’t have good splitters, no zero clearance inserts, horrible fences, and the motors shake sometimes causing the blade to wobble and getting really bad edges. I’d say get an old Delta contractors model (those were made to last in the USA) and if it doesn’t have a good fence get a T fence (i think it is) at Lowes for about 150$. don’t waste your money on a bench top model. they are not made for woodworking. they are made to get a board within a relative width so it can be thrown up somewhere on the jobsite.

Thanks guys, but the saw has already been bought :)
Bob, I’m sorry but I don’t quite understand what you are saying. I should leave woodworking, do that list and come back? Also don’t get what you mean by the want and need thing. I want a boatfull of stuff, and who dosen’t? I need what everybody else needs – shelter, food, water, friends and a loving family.

short answer… get a paper route and stop looking to your parents to support your hobbies.

What part of the message do you not understand?

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Short and sweet, what I like.
However, you simply do not understand my situation, and I do not feel like explaining.
Short point, I have not used the saw, or had a cut made on it.

yes I do.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Ahem.
PM time.

I don’t think this is the place to give family advice…... Especially if it has nothing to do with the original question.
JJ

-- Make things with wood.

Hmmmm. Lots of opinions floating around out there. I started ww by sneaking into my dads workshop when I was your age. One of tools I always steared clear of was his table saw as it scared me. Table saws are without a doubt the most potentially dangerous power tool in the shop and a cheap one adds to that danger. I have to agree with Scott about the ww commandments, buy as much tool as you can afford. Sometimes a used cadillac is better than a new VW bug. Old cast iron is better than new aluminum. Cheap tablesaws can be an exercise in frustration. Whatever saw you buy/use know how to use it safely, use the blade guard, push sticks and cut off sled. Understand kick back and what causes it. Never push the saw beyond what it is capable of. A good quality sharp blade and properly aligned fence will go along to enhance a marginally powered saw. Take a shop class or find a local ww willing to show you proper table saw technique and safety proceedures. Never take risks, you only get one set of fingers, once they’re gone they’re gone. Keep us posted.

-- DocK, WV

Dock is 100 percent right. Been there, done that…...... Most of the time, a cheap saw means lots of trouble. If you can’t afford a good saw now, wait until you can.

-- Make things with wood.

Thanks Junior J and Doc