Hi All,
I’m looking for some input for an upcoming purchase, and after reading on this board, I’m convinced that I’ve come to the right place.
I’m going to buy a tablesaw, but I don’t know exactly what I should be buying. I’m prepared to pay ~$800 if necessary, but I prefer not to buy more than I really need.
In the next two years, I’m planning to build a home. At the least, I’m planning to be the general contractor, and I’d like to do as much of the work as I can myself (let’s not get into advice about that 😉 ). After, I’ll probably do some woodworking in the shop that will be attached to the house- cabinets, patio furniture, etc., but nothing incredibly complicated. In the short-term, I’m going to be putting in a Pergo floor for my mom. I’d like the room to grow, but I doubt that I’ll ever be a hardcore woodworker.
Can you all suggest the type of table most appropriate? and make corresponding suggestions?
Thanks,
Chris
Replies
i like the porter cable with the rousseau tables...or a homebuilt table
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Many will chime in here and advise you to get the Bosch portable 10-incher, but they are probably folks who need the portability. It does not seem like you do.
My advice is to get a contractor type belt-drive 10-inch saw. The best bang for the buck, IMHO, is the Woodtek 109-349 from Woodworker's Supply, $599 plus $65 motor freight.
Since you are prepared to spend up to $800, and now have $135 left in your pocket, buy a braided link belt for the drive, and a Forrest Woodworker II blade for it.
There goes your $800, but now you have a 300-pound real saw, powerful and steady, with a topnotch blade, sitting on the shop floor. Do the inside-the-motor thing to switch the operation to 220V, so the 2hp motor doesn't dim your lights when she starts up. Start doing things with it.
When it is time to build, and you are under roof and weathertight, have your electrician do you a 220 recep in the largest room in the house (or the garage), and build yourself a simple outfeed table out of 2x lumber and plywood.
Some will say, hey, it's made in Taiwan. But what tools aren't made offshore somewhere, nowadays? This Woodtek has a cast iron top, cast iron extension wings, a great fence system, and excellent electrics. Plus, the mechanisms for tilting and blade raisings are all heavy duty, and well-machined.
Sure, it will take you a whole afternoon to break it down in your shop, and reassemble and set up in your project house, but you are only doing one at a time, right? Take the time when you are doing so to clean and oil everything, then re-wax the top and wings when set up, and you are ready to go. Six months later, do it again, and you are back in your shop at home.
For your situation, the best kind of tablesaw is the kind you can borrow.
Aside from that, as mentioned earlier, a contractor's tablesaw is the one in your price range. The motor is belt driven,not direct drive as on cheap saws.A used Delta is better than a shiny new Grizzly or most any other make. And check the fence for accuracy before you buy it.
"I'm prepared to pay ~$800 if necessary, but I prefer not to buy more than I really need."
Chris,
$ for $, find a good old used (50's, 60's) Delta Unisaw (should set you back maybe $200.00, and refit it with a Biesemeyer fence. Spend the extra you saved on a nice selection of good quality blades.
Jon