Okay, so about six months ago I took up the hobby of building furniture, and I’ve since discovered I’ve got a knack for it. Problem is, I’ve been making all of my straight cuts with a handheld circular saw and a clamp-down guide. Yuck. So, I’ve decided it’s time for a table saw. Now I have some questions:
Given that until I really develop my joinery skills I’m gonna be building mostly simple bookshelves, mission-style tables and other relatively straightforward projects, what features should I look for in a table saw? I can’t afford a Delta Unisaw at the moment, but I know that my technique will eventually improve to the point at which I’ll demand greater accuracy, flexibility and durability than the Sears Craftsman $200 special can provide.
Can anyone recommend a good saw? Should I get a simple portable benchtop saw (like a DeWalt or a Bosch), or should I save up for a contractor’s saw with a stand and some better features (belt-drive, more powerful motor, longer fence, etc.). Or should I just deal with my circular saw and clamp-down guide until I can blow $1800 on the Delta?
Are there any features I should absolutely avoid? Any that are totally essential? Can I save money by sacrificing some features for others that are vital? As you can tell, I’m only just starting my research, and any help is appreciated.
Check out the magazine, Fine Woodworking. They have annual issues talking about the best tools, etc. They also do reviews of tools almost every issue. I’m sure the web site also has info for you.
I wouldn’t make my own recommendations to you cuz quality tools are kinda like quality cars or quality women. Everyone has their own preferences.
I used a 10" Jet contractor’s saw for 7 years and it is an excellent tool, I’d highly recommend it. If you are just getting into woodworking I’d say that a contractor’s saw is a great start; it’s not quite the major investment that a cabinet saw is but you won’t feel like it’s too little tool a year later.
Frankly a quality 1.5hp contractor’s saw will do just about anything that a 3hp cabinet saw will do. You will have to take it easy on ripping thick hardwood or cutting deep dados in one pass but I don’t think that’s a big problem. The other big advantage of a cabinet saw is stability (all that extra weight and solid construction) but with my stock Jet I could put a nickel on edge on the tabletop and turn the motor on without knocking over the coin.
A lot of it will come down to feel…go to the tool stores and try them out. Look for good fit and finish, handwheels that operate smoothly, a fence that locks solidly in place and an overall feeling of “quality” (you’ll know it when you see it).
Jim Tolpin’s book “Table Saw Magic” (about $25) has a lot of good advice on how to choose a saw. Combine that with the reviews that other people have linked to and you should be able to narrow your choices down.
If you do get a contractor’s saw I’d highly recommend a power-link belt to replace the normal belt (cuts a lot of vibration out, well worth the $25) and rewire the motor for 220v if you’ve got that in your workspace (no extra power but the motor will run cooler and you’re much less likely to pop a breaker).
Some people will say that if you think you will upgrade the contractor’s saw soon it makes sense to just buy a cabinet saw right off the bat; that’s valid but I found mine was a great way to learn, easier on the pocket-book to start with, and when I sold it last month I got back 2/3 of what I paid so on a per-year basis it was quite inexpensive.
Oh, a couple of random thoughts:
Grizzly sells a pretty well-regarded cabinet saw (1023SL I think) for under $900 which is the same as a tricked-out contractor’s saw, and you are getting a full cast-iron top, a Biesemeyer clone fence and a 3hp motor.
A Unisaw doesn’t have to cost $1800. I got mine for under $1400, delivered and offloaded into my garage. Shop around. Woodworker’s Supply has some good prices.
Save up for a good contractor saw or a hybrid like the DeWalt woodworker at the very least. A properly tuned contractor saw with a good fence and good blade will give you 90% of a cabinet saw for most work.
I have a Delta Contractor. I added one cast iron wing and more importantly a Biesemeyer fence. I agree with Gorsnak that a good fence is absolutely critical and IMHO no one can touch Biesemeyer though Jet makes a pretty good clone of it. Spend $100 on a good blade if you want really good cuts but Freud makes an okay blade for around fifty.
Setting up the saw is just as important. Get a dial indicator so you can adjust the trunnions so the blade is absolutely parallel to the miter slots in the table. You can get a fixture that helps you make this adjustment. Skip this step and you’ll have a lot of expensive parts that make very mediocre cuts. A blade stabilizer and a link belt are also wise investments.
Besides power the big drawback of a contractor is that when you make bevel cuts the weight of the motor hanging out the back causes the blade to skew slightly. It’s not much but is the difference between a cut that already looks like it’s been sanded and one tht has faint blade marks. Cabinet saws and presumably the DeWalt WW don’t do this.
A lot of people find the Ryobi BT3000 or 3100 to be a very competent saw. It’s lightweight but has a lot of good features including a sliding miter table. http://www.bt3central.com is a fansite.
Hang around wood workers and they’ll shame you into buying a saw that is not less than about 2 grand.
Norm Abrams – and others — insist that the table saws that range in price from 200-1000 bucks are going to cut it.
The top should be cast iron…the blade should be really accessible for swaps and the mitre gauge and fence should be top notch…along with the mitre guide slots.
Warning, Delta has been slapping their name on cheaper made in China tools the past few years. I have a Porter Cable/Delta miter saw that cost only $129. You can by a PC/D branded table saw for about $200.
I have a Craftsman table saw and it has done everything that I have asked it to do. It cost about $400. The only time it really struggled was making 3/4" dado cuts in a maple board, I had to make the cuts with 2 passes. Instead of spending say $800 for a top of the line tablesaw, spend $400 on a decent one and invest the rest on a planer/joiner. My planer has done a lot more for me in making my projects look good than my tablesaw ever has.
Damn straight, I use the guards. We’re talking about a blade that can cut through two inches of oak like butter. I’m not interested in trying it out on my fingers. In particular, I don’t like ripping without the splitter and anti-kickback pawls – I really don’t need a super-accelerated piece of wood hurtling across the workshop.
I took a college industrial design course and I never saw a guard on a table saw. Of course seeing the instructor, “stumpy” Mulligan, should have told me something.
I think my next investment may be Biesemeyer guard and dissapearing splitter.
My Skil saw definitely stops kick backs. I ripped a board without the gaurd/kickback protector and it is a good thing I wasn’t behind the piece that went flying.
With proper technique and a ton of discipline, you can do without the protection, but there will be a time when you make a mistake, and that is why it is there.
Way back when I was in 8th grade, I had a shop teacher named Mr. Scanlon (cool name for a guy who teaches shop class). Before he was a teacher, he’d been a contractor, and he’d lost a thumb to a table saw in a moment of distraction. Every time we were in his shop, he’d let us use the band saw, the lathe, the jointer, the sanders, the drill press - anything - except the table saw. It was a 14" Grizzly that sounded, well, like that guy in the AOL commercial who wants his computer to make the sound of a yeti…
Anyway, thanks for all of your advice. I’ve been searching the internet for most of the morning, and notwithstanding a dramatic drop in the price of Unisaws, it looks like it’s gonna be the Ridgid. It’s got the most features for a saw within my budget. Most of the contractor-style Jets, Powermatics and Grizzlys are out of my range ($500-600).
Use your own square and other meters and guides to really double check the accuracy of blade tilt angles, blade heights or how straight the fence or mitre gauge is, etc.
If non-top-of-the-line saws really cause any grief, it is by not being dead on accurate when using their scales, etc.
Just double check everything with good tools and you don’t need the 3k table saw.
