Hello All!
I need some guidance here and I know this is the place for it. I’m looking for a jobsite tablesaw. I’m being asked by more and more family members throughout the midwest to come and help them with their projects and basically the tools that I bring to the jobsite are the tools that will be there. I feel that I need a table saw on the jobsite as I know that projects will include ripping and such that will require more than a person can do with a circ. saw and combination of other tools.
So I’m looking for mobility and also a good tool. I’ve read many of the reviews and seem more confused with the more reviews that I read here are the choices:
1. Bosch with wheeled stand
2. Ridgid with wheeled stand
3. Craftsman with wheeled stand
4. The new Jet jobsite saw with a wheeled stand of some sort.
5. Other suggestions
Also, for the price of some of these choices I’ve debated looking into the Festool Plunge cut saw, guide rails, dust extractor and the 1080 multi-function table.
The first major project is to redo a bathroom and build fireplace surround cabinets in a 3rd floor Brownstone in Hyde Park so am looking at mobility as a premium. Most bang for the buck is also important as there are always mroe tools to acquire than money to acquire them with.
I welcome any and all thoughts.
Thanks,
Mike
Replies
I would recommend investing in an EZGuide system first (http://www.eurekazone.com). Even more so since you'll be traveling a lot.
Get yourself a premium quality circular saw, some high-quality blades and the EZGuide system. You can always add a jobsite table saw later if you decide that you still need one.
Since getting set up with the EZ system, my table saw rarely gets used.
The Festool plunge saw system is a fabulous tool, but you get much more bang for the buck with the EZGuide, in my opinion.
John
I think JohnTN's advice is good. I have the Bosch 4000 with wheeled stand and 50-tooth carbide blade, and love it. But its hard to rip full sheets with it, so the E-Z Smart guide is next on my list.
The others beat me to it, but believe me the EZSmart will take care of 95% of your TS needs at least. I take mine to the jobs exclusively and in the shop I have a Unisaw that gets very little use now. It will change the way you work for the better...
PaulB
I have a guide rail circ saw system - not the EZ, but similar, and I still would rather use my Bosch 4000 saw for most projects. Aside from long rips and such, there's always small precise cutting that's so easy on the table saw compared to a guide rail system.The last few days, I finally got around to making a router table insert with vacuum fence for my saw as well as a crosscut sled which gives me 15" cross-cut capability.I use my Bosch saw on the Ridgid folding stand, works pretty good for me.As for the EZ smart - I hadn't seen it before and it does look pretty cool - a lot nicer than what I have been using - almost as nice looking as the Festool system saw setup.JT
I used the Festool Julian, and although they have made some improvements recently, the EZSmart still outperforms it (IMHO, of course) by a wide margin. I'd betcha that if you had one you'd feel a lot better about leaving your Bosch at home.
PaulB
U left out the best choice ...
the DeWalt.
if mine got lost tomorrow ... it'd be replaced with the exact same model.
Nothing else comes close to the DeWalt fence.
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Happy with the Bosch thus far, had it for 3-4 years. Here's a couple of pics of the router table I built for it as well as a cross-cut fence.I should add that someone here in the forums made these first - I just fancied them up a bit.JT
That is some kinda fancy work there.
You could market those - but I imagine you got quite a bit of time into it.
Now that you got it figured out and could mass produce though..........hmmmm......
Bet you could find a few takers on this forum.
Thanks, I found myself with a bit of time, and figured I should invest some of it into making my saw handier. Cool thing is, I'll be using em for years to come.Now I need to sell the Bosch router table that I don't need anymore...JT
Beautiful work with the router table insert and the cross cut sled. Those are sharp looking and look like they do a super job.
Which Bosch router table do you want to unload? The folding one or the plastic bench top one? And whaddaya want for it?
Was probably going to try and get $180 or so for it, but I don't think it's be worth paying to ship it. I'm in the Metro Detroit area.JT
Julian -
Those look like some really sweet setups, but I just gotta ask how you keep them so CLEAN??? They do get used, right?? - lol
If you are talking about the backgrounds of the pictures, they were all taken just after I built the stuff.If you are talking about the tools, well not sure what you mean then. Actually, I have one of the Makita cordless blowers, and that comes in real handy for blowing out the table saw after use and keeps the trailer a little cleaner as welll as being invaluable for blowing the sawdust out of clients driveways.Aside from sawdust, how dirty a tablesaw can get?JT
Aside from sawdust, how dirty a tablesaw can get?
Depends on how often you use it to rip strips of CBU or Canexel, or how often it gets rained on on the site, or how many cups of coffee get spilled on it, or how many times some idjit plonks a gummy can of Patco or a drooling tube of PL Premium on it, or....
...which is why my site saw is a $200 Mastercrap-branded Delta or Ryobi (or whoever is making it for CanTire this year).... Weighs nothing; cuts straight; makes a horrible racket when ya run it; bulls through bone-dry rock-hard 4x4s or or green-n-gummy 2x12s without stalling; slices up melamine-MDF all day long; makes glass-clean cuts in trim stock; and no tool thief in his right mind would steal it.
I'd love to have the DeWalt fence on it, tho....
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
True enough. I mostly work alone, don't drink coffee, and don't let any other shmo's use it.The picture lie though, it's top is getting pretty scratched up and there should be enough glue residue and other gunk on it to satisfy you a little...Don't baby my tools, but don't let others f*** em up either. Having it on the Ridgid stand helps to keep it from banged up too much.JT
I don't let my people eff-up my tools, either, but sh!t happens and nobody's perfect (me included except for the sixth Thursday of the second month)....
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
I never thought I would buy into the idea of using a crappy TS for job site work. Have been hauling around a Bosch for years. However, one of the guys I am working with on the current project has an el cheapo Ryobi, and I have to say it is great. You can carry the thing around with one hand, and it does a passable job ripping 2X stock (after all we're not building cabs here).Best of all, it only cost about $80 at HD, so he feels ok about just leaving it on the site. We think of it almost as a "disposable" saw.********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
I think mine was probably made by Ryobi; the controls for blade tilt and height are identical to the Ryobi's I've seen in the same price range. But this one cost almost three times what yours did.
I actually bought it for a full kitchen job where I built the cab carcasses on site and it did just fine with a good triple-chip melamine blade in it. I used the old 'island' cabinet we were replacing as an outfeed table, LOL. Worked like a charm; the melamine slid just lovely across that Arborite countertop....
Next time, tho, I'm getting a panel saw, dammit. At my age, if I can't spoil me, who the heck will...?
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
speaking of ...
had my brand spanking new DeWalt saw maybe a full week?
Got mine the very first week Tool Crib had them available as reconditioned ...
so what's that been? Older than Corey, I know that much!
maybe 6 yrs ago? or longer ...
still remember the customer ... can't remember the dates ...
anyways ... leave the brand new saw with great fence set up in the driveway ...
head to lunch.
come back ... and there's a "scar" across the face of that beautiful fence ...
good thing it's soft aluminum.
the scar is oddly shaped like a table saw blade!
he musta used it ... with the blade raised maybe 2 inches ... then somehow cranked the fence into the spinning blade ...
Thot about replacing it ... decided to leave it as a reminder.
one short week into it's live ... instantly "broken in" ...
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
I have a standard charge for HO's using my tools without asking....
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
since I look at that "scar" almost every day ...
mines been raised to "immediate death" ...
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Considering the price of the DW saw, I suppose it could provoke a heart-attack if you added that little item to the end of his bill....
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
How is your router insert held in place? Is it more or less permantly attached or do you pop it out for transport?
I bought a phenolic router plate with rings and adjustment screws (wookpecker brand) for about $40. That plate is flush mounted into a piece of 3/4' Baltic Birch plywood with laminate both sides. The whole assembly fits exactly in the space between the bosch saw table and the fence extension table and is resting on two pieces of 3/4 x 2" Oak that are slipped into the internal grooves on the inside of the saw fence rails.Just slips in and out with no effort. I keep the saw mounted right the wall of my work trailer. The ridgid stand is handy for that.JT
How bout a pic w/ the router table removed?
Here you go - I took a bunch of pictures when I was through so I could show a buddy out of town. Not many people can appreciate what goes into stuff and what the reasons and benefits are.JT
I think that's a great idea; do you use the regular TS fence for the router as well?Edit: oopps ... didn't see your pics in the earlier post. How do you attach the router table fence to the TS fence?I hope you believe that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery -- since I am going to use your idea to make a router rig for my Bosch. I would gather those pics, do a one page write-up, and send it along to FHB, and a bunch of other wwing mags. Most are usually desperate for decent ideas, and your is better than that. ********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
Edited 10/27/2005 10:45 pm by nikkiwood
Well, before you give me too much credit, here's the link that gave me the inspiration:http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-breaktime&msg=44579.9&search=yThe router table fence slips right over the Bosch saw fence. It's not tight enough to be a snug fit, and I haven't figured out exactly how I'm going to attach it to the fence. I think I may use some riv-nuts on the top of the Bosch fence and drill a couple of corresponding holes on the router fence and use a couple of knobs from the top.Initially, I was going to have the dust hose attached right above the bit, on the top of the fence, but instead, I chose to use the "tunnel" of the fence as my vacuum port.I also thought that it might be a cool idea to take the front "tunnel" space (on left side of fence) and make a tiny drawer for a few bits and router wrench. I ended up not doing that, but might be an idea...Send me some pics when you get yours done.If you have any plans to make a cross cut sled, If I was doing mine again, I'd offset the center of it to the left, so that it's base was supported by the left outfeed support; and, I made mine to be able to crosscut 14.5", based on how that works out, I'd probably go to 17" the next time.JT
Picasso said "all art is derivitive" -- so there's nothing wrong in taking a basically good idea and improving on it, which I think you did. Yours had an immediate appeal to me, since you used a router insert plate. I have four different routers attached to Rousseau plates (which I use in my shop); so with your set-up I could simply take one or more of these routers to a job site, and just drop them into the saw. I will probably make a drop over fence something like Dan's (with a vac attachment right over the the bit), and I will most likely hold the router fence in place with a couple of tee nuts or threaded inserts with thumb screws that press down on the top of the TS fence to hold it in place (along with a stop block that would slip over the front of the TS fence). Anyway, I still think you should send your idea around to several mags. There are a lot of Bosch saws out there, and besides, I got the impression Dan submitted his outfeed table idea, not the router insert to FHB. Moreover, your design is simple, elegant -- and your pics are better.********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
about time someone spoke up for the dewalt table saw. the fence is the best in portable saws. I have had mine for 5 years and it is still dead nuts. I have a new makita with the Rousseau set up and it doesnt compare except for power. My saw has cut alot of framing to IPE and it stil cuts sweet.
have to agree, no one has a fence that can compare with the dewalts
I have the older rigid saw and love it, BUT, that was before I knew about the ez-smart. Wrestling the table saw into and out of the truck is no fun (but not horrible) but, taking it up multiple flights of stairs have been really extra no fun. If I was working in a city all the time or with lots of flights of stairs, I would get the ez smart in a heart beat.
I am torn on my next tool purchase, either the ez-smart (if I have to build a shed in Jersey City) or a festool trion Jig saw (its cool, cuts 90 degree angles every time and I just want it)
I also have a Ridgid that I have had for over four years - the old gray ones. Took a little time and set it up right when I got it - works great ever since.
No complaints about that fence either.
I have the older grey Rigid too and don't have a single complaint about it either. I think the fence is fantastic and nothing on that saw has ever gone out of whack on me in the three years I've had it. That's with it riding around strapped to a wall of my trailer, mind you, not exactly a smooth ride.
Jeff's right though... that rack and pinion fence on the Dewalt is pretty slick. Awesome for dialing in to the line.
I was going to mention that about my saw. Hasn't exactly had an easy life. In and out of the van. Lives in the van straped to the wall.
Well, after reading this thread and the post about horrible saw injuries, I finally put in the zero clearance throat plate for my rigid table saw....
What a PITA, sure the plate is the right size, but I had to route outthe bottom so it would drop past the support tabs, change to a 71/4" blade and than swap the 10" blade back in.
Worth the effort though, I will look up where I found the plate and let you know if you are interested in finding one...
I would take a look at a reddy made plate, although I have about 4 left that I made for mine.
I just cut them out of plywood - seem to work fine
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned my own vote for the best portable yet sturdy and true table saw...
Makita tabletop 8" or 10" saw with the rousseau table and outfeed table.
Just go to http://www.toolcrib.com and search for rousseau accessories.
This is the easiest saw system I have ever used as far as setup, breakdown and transport. And I've used it in building lots of cabinets and cabinet quality woodwork with excellent results.
You got it - best set-up, most power, accuracy and durability. After 30 years, the Mak 10" saw makes for a great boat anchor
carl
I'd go for the festool system,
Its a lot easier to carry upstairs,
its more versitle (try cutting floorboards in situe with a table saw),
you can cut 1" thick plywood sheets single handed without getting a hernia lifting it onto the saw table,
After buying the festool system my site saw only gets the dust blown of it to cut wedges or if i need somewhere to sit my coffee
(try cutting floorboards in situe with a table saw),
LOL... nice visual.
I've used the Dewalt, Bosch, and own the Rigid and the Makita/Rousseau set up. The Dewalt does have the best fence. My van is full of tools and the wheeled set ups need a big piece of it. My choice is the Makita/Rousseau. It's easy to store, you can hump it upstairs with no problem, breaks down quickly, etc