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://www.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 - Never pass up the opportunity to make a mistake look like you planned it that way - Tyler, TX

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.

. 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!

-- Einstein: "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." I'm Poopiekat!!

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 - Never pass up the opportunity to make a mistake look like you planned it that way - Tyler, TX

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

-- keeping myself entertained

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.

-- Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful- Joshua Marine

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!