OT: Good basic table saw for home projects?

[steve...]

I'd like one for plywood shelving, some cross cutting, a laminate flooring project and a few other jobs - in the $300 range (maximum, new or used). I'm hoping to find a GOOD basic saw for home projects.

Any recommendations?

[M>B>]

Try Craigslist in your area...

http://humboldt.craigslist.org/search/tl...=table+saw&zoomToPosting=&srchType=A&minAsk=&maxAsk=

[lost in space]

The only Ryobi tool I would consider buying, the BT3000 has been favored for years for light shop use - accurate and versatile. It's been replaced by the BT3100. Out of your price range new, but both are readily available used.

[Undun]

from SlickDeals, there's this one:

http://www.acmetools.com/tools/DEWALT+DW...+Table+Saw
DeWalt 10" compact Job Site Table Saw - Model# DW745
$299.99 - coupon code SUPERSALE drops the price to $269.99 with free shipping

Comments from the SlickDeals page here:
http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/100778/a...-table-saw

They do mention that it can't accommodate dado blades, if that's important to you.

[Numo]

http://dealnews.com/Dewalt-15-A-10-Compa...25789.html

$270. Check out reviews for this model on Amazon.

Edit: Whoops! Same deal as above.

[tenders]

I just got rid of a super solid old Craftsman table saw on Craigslist for a song...but it was so large and unwieldy that it needed to live in a full-time shop, not my basement, where I never used it once in six years after receiving it as a hand-me-down from my brother-in-law. There are great deals on Craigslist but you need to know what to look for.

I have a Ryobi portable table saw RTS31 and think it's wonderful. After upgrading to a carbide-tipped blade I've cut ungodly amounts of plywood, lumber, Starboard, and even very tough G10 epoxy laminate up to 1/2" without a problem. They're $300.

I strongly prefer these portable saws to have their own table legs - in my opinion, it's a huge and unnecessary hassle to have to place a saw on something, so that DeWalt would be a nonstarter for me. Also, the Ryobi seems to accommodate much larger material, the fence can be extended at least three feet away from the blade.

I keep this one folded up in a corner of my garage and wheel it into the driveway for projects. I just built a rolling dolly out of 2x4s with my daughter for my Dyer Dhow dinghy with it last weekend. Maybe it isn't solid enough to make cabinets, and maybe that 3100 saw system is leaps and bounds ahead of it somehow, but I love the thing.

[davester]

Are you absolutely sure you want a table saw? I have a nice table saw that I use for cabinetry work,etc, but for the purposes you describe (shelving, cross cuts, laminate flooring), a table saw is the wrong tool for the job. Table saws are best at rip cuts, miters, dados, etc., not crosscutting. You would probably do much better to buy yourself a nice compound miter saw and a high quality circular saw set up with track saw attachments. Table saws are bulky, unwieldy, crummy for cross-cutting, and also the most dangerous tool in the shop.

Most amateur woodworkers don't really need a table saw if they get the right track saw setup. I think if I had to do it again, instead of a table saw I might go for the rather expensive Festool plunge circular saw and their table/track system, which does most of what a table saw does and also does a bunch of other stuff better than a table saw does. It is very precise and vastly safer than a table saw. Festool too rich for your blood?....there are some competitors trying to emulate their system.

[Mike Johnson]

I'd look for a used cast iron saw, preferably one that comes comes with accoutrements. A good blade is $100. An aftermarket fence can cost $350. If they've got a dado set or crosscutting sled or some featherboards, even better.

Whether you get a used or new saw, it will need tuning. A newer saw will probably need more frequent tuning. I think the best How To on tuning is in Roger Cliffe's book, Table Saw Techniques, but I'm sure there are a bazillion web articles that cover the basics. And still, when you need a truly square or parallel cut, you'll always need to make some test cuts first.

I haven't used the little Dewalt but I've poked at it and it appears well built, just tiny. The table on my 40-year old Craftsman is 30 inches wide, and until I extended it with an 18-inch router wing I found it cramped at times. I can't imagine manhandling a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood on the Dewalt without adding wings or building it into a bigger table (which is totally doable). But you couldn't rip anything wider than 16" without getting creative.

Still, I'd feel more comfortable using the Dewalt 745 than those sub-$200 table saws, which shouldn't even be allowed on the market. Cheap saws go out of alignment, and a table saw that isn't aligned is dangerous. Dangerouser, really, because even the safest saw on the market is still dangerous. Every now and then a piece of wood harbors a secret internal strain, and as you slice into it, it behaves unpredictably as the strain is released. If a piece like that binds because your fence isn't straight and parallel to the blade, you're in serious trouble. And when I say "straight" and "parallel" I mean the sort of straight and parallel you need tools to measure. Eyeballing it isn't good enough, unless you're comfortable with losing an eyeball.

I find myself using my table saw less and less. I prefer to cut sheet goods with a circular saw -- admittedly, a very expensive circular saw with a ridiculously priced guide. The table saw is better only when I'm making repetitive rips, or repetitive crosscuts too big for the mitersaw. Sometimes it's the best tool, but if I were starting over it would be one of the last major power tools I'd purchase.

Last, until I invested in a better fence, and some high-end blades, I frequently had to clean up the sawn edge with a router, so be forewarned.

[davester]

Just to add some more info...

The new table saws are much safer than the older used ones because they by law now have to have riving knives behind the blade. Frankly, it is insane that OSHA has taken so long to get around to requiring this. Older saws are much less safe unless you invest in an aftermarket splitter/guard system (I have one of these). You'll also need to get featherboards to make your cuts clean and safe (the magswitch ones are the best but only work with cast iron saws), plus you need to have a good pushstick system. I also second what Mike Johnson said about the need for an aftermarket fence, good blade and requirement to tune up your saw regularly.

All of this costs money and time which is why I advocate using a miter saw/track saw combo instead of a table saw...cheaper/safer/more portable/more precise.

[steve...]

Thanks all - good information. The Dewalt saw has good reviews. I like the miter saw/circular saw idea, but I'm wondering about ripping narrow laminate boards. This guide rail looks like an economical solution.