# Good saw if space is tight or you need portability



## matter (Jan 30, 2008)

I have the same saw. 3 years, and going strong. Only failure was the switch, which I replaced with a heavy duty industrial switch.

The BTS21 has the sliding table (I think that's the one), which I found sloppy and cumbersome.

If you pull the arbor washers you can use a dado up to 1" without the throat insert


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## fr8train (Dec 26, 2008)

I also have this saw, and have had it for going on three years now. I think that ferstler provided a very fair review. My complaints are similar (although I have no problem with the insert on mine).

I completely agree with the comment about the blade being too far forward…. this is my biggest complaint about the saw…. doesn't make a lot of sense when you look at the rest of the table. To compensate, I thought about building an extension table forward and have stared at the saw for some time. The front measuring strip/fence grip will come off, and with the proper patience and materials, it is possible. You would then need to buy or fashion another fence. After looking at the cost/time factor, I decided against doing it and just simply support my work with rollers and Black and Decker portable workbenches.

My fence is also fine/true enough, and what you would expect to get with the price of this unit. I measure each movement of the fence with a square to ensure accuracy…. something that I would do even with a better fence. I even made a couple of jigs out of MDF for the fence to support my work with featherboards and the like. The fence accommodated them nicely.

Another nice feature on this unit is the dust collection port…. works very well with the proper dust collector attached…. I was surprised.

Overall, this is a fine saw for the price. I work this saw quite a bit, both ripping, cross-cutting and making furniture pieces (I am attempting a cabinet with it now). For the first time, I milled my own lumber using a portable planer, jointer (both Grizzly's) and this saw. The boards came out well, managing to true up 90/95 percent of what I attempted. I wouldn't use it with expensive wood, though.

I will eventually replace this saw. My problem is more a "constantly moving" issue (military) than it is a problem with money and space. I will most likely not replace it until I settle down. For people on a strict budget or who move a lot, this saw will do the trick. I will caveat this comment…. Craftsman appears to have taken advantage of the portable table saw market and appear to have come out with two or three portables that I would have considered had they been on the market when I bought this one. I would be interested to read the reviews on them (if they haven't been reviewed already….. I haven't looked.)


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## RandyMarine (Mar 5, 2009)

The saw you reviewed is a better saw than the one that replaced it…I have the newer model, and as you stated it is good for a beginner, how ever the sliding table is junk. I found this arrangement was useful for carpentry and not wood working….without miter slots you can not make effective jigs for the newer saw….the fence is ok for the cash but after using the saw on a few wood working projects I bit the bullet and bought the new ridgid granite table saw…..

Word of caution with the Ryobi table saws, if you get your particular model, ensure you have the miter slots. If not you have a great framing table saw!


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## Hotpuppy (Aug 14, 2013)

Great review and spot on. I've had this saw for several years. It is worth diddling with the fence to get it parallell to the blade. I consider it to be a good carpentry saw. The right hand extension is a PITA to work, but otherwise it's a nice light weight saw.

I'm looking at buying a heavier duty saw for my woodworking projects.


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## ferstler (Oct 5, 2008)

I have since sold that nice little Ryobi saw to a neighbor, who is getting good use out of it.

I now have only my Ridgid 4510 jobsite saw for table-saw work, and it is indeed better than the Ryobi, which is to be expected, given the higher price. I would have kept the Ryobi as a second unit to use during the art-collage projects I have been doing these days, but I have limited space in my shop.

Actually, I get more mileage out of my Ridgid band saw when doing collages than with my table saw, because I am cutting small pieces, and that can be risky with any table saw. I also had a Ryobi band saw, but it was also crowding me in my shop, so I sold it to the same neighbor, who uses it even more than he uses the table saw. Sold him a table-top Ryobi drill press, too, since I have the Ridgid floor-standing version, and he also bought my small Ryobi table-top belt sander, since I have a 6×48-inch Craftsman version for work on the collage wood pieces. Finally, I sold him a workable Ryobi miter saw, since (you guessed it) I have the big Ridgid 12-inch sliding version for crosscutting work. I now have some space in my small shop to turn around.

I am doing well with the collages, with groups of them in two different local art galleries, another group in a local bookstore, and one large grouping in an important gallery in a nearby small town. This latter gallery also has two of my chess boards for sale, plus some small shelf-art pieces. I have posted project write ups about some of the collages and the chess boards, and some art pieces, on this site, and I have a review and modification of the Ridgid saw at:

http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/2006

There is also a discussion of a second modification I did at:

http://lumberjocks.com/topics/38307

I did a review of the band saw, also discussing modifications I did, at:

http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/465

Howard Ferstler


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## damjensen (Apr 3, 2012)

That saw is in many ways related to my AEG TS 250. Only yours has a real table with a real T-nut track.

The fence appears to be the same.

My zero clearance insert is also made of plastic, and not good.


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