Buying a table saw

[M A V I C]

ajakeski wrote:
I gave it to my brother. I don't think he has ever plugged it in.

Where's he live?

raz wrote:
If you put a larger saw on casters so you could roll it into the corner, would that work?

There's one corner... more of a nook underneath a stairway I could tuck it. I'd have to get rid of all the stuff that's already there though. The other issue at hand is the initial project will take place at a friend's house... I'd rather not have to get a truck to move it.

Finally, if money isn't an issue, I highly recommend a really good miter gauge. The tiny ones that come with the saw are almost useless. I treated myself to one of these a few years back. It's a joy to use.

The Ryobi I'm looking at has a miter table rather than a standard miter.

I just have to quote this one again...

Finally, if money isn't an issue

LOL. I wish. I just saw the price of a highly recommended dado blade - $200. That one's going on the list after new tires for the car, coffee table, microwave, carpet in the house, rebuilding the front deck...

[srf1957]

simalar one at sears with router mount . i work at dealer store
seem kind of flimsy to me. probably made by same company.

[lafinfil]

It's predecessor, the BTS20 got good reviews as a budget saw in Fine Homebuilding's review of portable saws
so I would suspect that this would pretty much fair the same. I'm not a big fan of the sliding miter table
but that is a personal preference. I also felt that the adjustment knobs were a bit flimsy but I'm probably
making comparisons to more expensive saws. All in all not a bad choice at all for a casual user.

That said just a few points I would consider. First of all do not discount what you can actually do with a
good quality, well adjusted circular saw. Combined with a good straight edge / panel guide you can probably
get more accurate rips of large material than depending on a small portable saw. You can always do the preliminary cuts
with the circular saw and clean it up with the table saw. Personally I like the Porter-Cable 6" Saw Boss
(blade left of motor) http://www.amazon.com/Porter-Cable-345-B...B00002269C Very light and easy for sheet goods and with the blade left of motor
it's easy to get accurate cuts. Making a panel cutting guide is very easy and makes for very accurate cuts.

As far as recommendations for a portable saw I would spend the extra $100 and get the Makita 2703 - http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stor...reId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100067982&N=10000003+90401+500744

I've had it's older brother for well over 25 years and it has taken a beating and remained a great saw.
It's done a lot of grunt work and also a fair amount of finish carpentry (furniture and built ins)
It doesn't have a stand like the Ryobi but I'm not big on the cheap stand anyway. If you are in it for the long haul
take a look at the Rousseau table systems http://www.rousseauco.com/
Not cheap but very nice with lots of options for extension and out feed tables, easy to store too.
A small table without good out feed is just an accident waiting to happen. At the very least add a
few good quality material rollers and a good blade to your package.

[AAA]

Please buy my Craftsman table saw. I have failed in my desire to become a woodworker.

[raz]

M A V I C wrote:
I just have to quote this one again...

Finally, if money isn't an issue

LOL. I wish. I just saw the price of a highly recommended dado blade - $200. That one's going on the list after new tires for the car, coffee table, microwave, carpet in the house, rebuilding the front deck...

I understand completely. I will observe, however, an odd spousal phenomenon. Whenever I come home with a new tool, the first question is not 'how much did you spend?', but 'what are you building for me?'.

As long as I spread out the tool purchases, it seems to work.

[Cary]

I have a Ryobi BT3000. Great saw, many accessories, web sites dedicated to the saw and jigs, etc.

Highly recommended, if you have the room.

Cary

[Lee3]

A good thing about a saw that folds up, you won't set stuff on it like I do. It soon turns into a pile. Then you have to clean it off to use the saw.

[btfc]

Build yourself a nice table/bench setup, especially if you are dealing with larger material.

http://www.rd.com/advice-and-know-how/st...972-1.html

Norm showed how to make a good one on New Yankee Workshop, here.
http://www.newyankee.com/getproduct.php?0708

[M A V I C]

lafinfil wrote:
As far as recommendations for a portable saw I would spend the extra $100 and get the Makita 2703 - http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stor...reId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100067982&N=10000003+90401+500744

Only thing is, that's online only and I need to buy it tomorrow

It doesn't have a stand like the Ryobi but I'm not big on the cheap stand anyway.

The reviews I've found have stated the Ryobi is actually fairly sturdy.

AAA wrote:
Please buy my Craftsman table saw. I have failed in my desire to become a woodworker.

If you can get it to Seattle by tomorrow...

Cary wrote:
I have a Ryobi BT3000. Great saw, many accessories, web sites dedicated to the saw and jigs, etc.

Highly recommended, if you have the room.

Thanks. I'll keep an eye out for it. Seems like they quit making them a while ago.

btfc wrote:
Build yourself a nice table/bench setup, especially if you are dealing with larger material.

http://www.rd.com/advice-and-know-how/st...972-1.html

Norm showed how to make a good one on New Yankee Workshop, here.
http://www.newyankee.com/getproduct.php?0708

Thanks!

---

A little more I've found out... Ridgid is a no-go. Apparently they have really cheap motors and burn out rather quickly. They are expensive to replace and none of the repair shops fix them. I was told by the guy at Home Depot that they have lifetime warranties, but one person I know had his burn out after a little over a year and they wouldn't do anything.

I'm still leaning towards the Ryobi, though I'm keeping an eye out on CL for some of the other suggestions.

Thanks all!

[N-OS X-tasy!]

It needs to be said:

RESPECT THE JIGSAW!

(Hey, Rudie!)