Yep, those older King-Seeley made CM saws were very good, and much better than the later Emerson made saws. Put a decent fence on the older saw and you have a very precise machine
Best Budget Table Saw
- Thread starter lightning02
- Start date
Yep, those older King-Seeley made CM saws were very good, and much better than the later Emerson made saws. Put a decent fence on the older saw and you have a very precise machine
Cameronl
Well-known member
The fences do **** on those old saws. I built my own.
View media item 87480
$10 for the saw (smaller 8" model)
$10 for the fence plans
$25 for BB Plywood.
$6 for the tape measure
I had a motor (but you can find cheap saws with the motor included.)
Stand built with whatever scrap I had lying around.
Cuts well, fence locks securely, very accurate.
Fence plans available here:
https://ibuildit.ca/plans/wooden-table-saw-fence/
Rarified27
Well-known member
^ This looks really nice! How is it for ease of use?
ScottsGT
Well-known member
Built an accurate fence without having a fence? Kind of like the old question "Which came first? Chicken or the egg?"
Looks great!
Looks great!
My dad gave me the exact 8-inch saw that I used thru college and later. Took it to school with me, built about a 100 sets of speakers with it, and partially financed my tuition. Fence was ok if you add a clamp to the back end and set it square for every setup. Added a Biesemeyer at some point (which later transferred to my current Unisaw). Even added a power drive to tilt the blade. That CM was a real workhorse for me.
kctyphoon
Banned
Junk compared to what? What’s wrong with it? The guy was looking at the cheapest table saws made - I’m pretty sure that craftsman was a much better option.
Op needs to consider what these other people consider “good saws”. I have a 15 year old “cheapest model” skil saw and it still works fine.. it was fine for what i needed it for, upgraded later, and still have it.. if youre making the claim that contractor craftsman is worse than the cheapest table saws you can buy today - then i need details as to why.
That craftsman saw was a perfectly fine option.
Last edited:
Well... I owned that exact TS from Craftsman, circa 2004. I also bought the compound miter saw and router at the same time. They were all JUNK. Yes, I could complete the job at hand, but there was always a concern over either cut quality, flex, workaround, or adjustment issues.
Many tools have seen strides in quality over the last 10yrs, and the cheap table saw is one of them. That Craftsman saw has not been properly updated for over 10-15yrs now, its ****. The newer Dewalt and Ridgid are much better saws for not much more money.
BD1
Well-known member
My vote is a old style 10'' Craftsman with cast iron side extensions or the steel ones. Found one for a friend that is 10'' with CI extensions and a assortment of blades for $75.00. The belt drive is what I prefer.
I bought my Craftsman 40 years ago like the one above and it still great.
Craigslist in my area always has table saws. Many buy for a small job and then they just sit there , similar to having a drill press. I have found deals on both.
Happy hunting.
I bought my Craftsman 40 years ago like the one above and it still great.
Craigslist in my area always has table saws. Many buy for a small job and then they just sit there , similar to having a drill press. I have found deals on both.
Happy hunting.
nerraw117
Well-known member
I have a older craftsman 10" with the cast iron sides. It has the direct drive motor and I agree the fence is terrible but is the saw really that bad? reading all these bad things about the direct drive really have me interested in a dewalt 7491rs; well that and portability.
Dewalt for the win!...IMO
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HXT2N6/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Everyone is going to have an opinion when it comes to factoring in what the best bang for the buck is. The one feature that puts the Dewalt above most of the other lower priced saws is the rack and pinion fence. For this low of price range, can't see a reason to go used....and possibly abused. Get a high quality blade too.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HXT2N6/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Everyone is going to have an opinion when it comes to factoring in what the best bang for the buck is. The one feature that puts the Dewalt above most of the other lower priced saws is the rack and pinion fence. For this low of price range, can't see a reason to go used....and possibly abused. Get a high quality blade too.
kctyphoon
Banned
This seems like youre splitting hairs here.. I have a platinum delta contractor saw with a Bismeyer extension, and fence upgrade - and anything that was of super importance I’m still gonna measure the fence front and back to make sure its as straight as possible. A bigger saw will always give more capability. A sturdier stand will always give you better cuts, and more capability, not to mention its MUCH safer then these cheap little stands. Its the very reason people upgrade to bigger saws. It seems like its reasonable to say that your expectations and his are not the same. There’s no way you’ll ever convince me that contractor size craftsman isnt better than the cheapest table saws you can find today, and without building your own plywood table and bench, those $200 benchtops will not do what that craftsman can.
Last edited:
Aaron_W
Well-known member
I have a basic older (2000-ish) Craftsman 10" table saw, that I have used quite a bit over the years.
Not a bad saw for what it is, but this type of saw is extremely limited and I think mine is better than most of those like it currently on the market until you get well above the $200-300 range. All they are really good for is ripping narrow boards, way to narrow and unstable to rip full sheets of plywood without a helper or two. Even a quarter sheet is kind of sketchy if you are working alone.
My chop saw gets used a lot more.
Craigslist is swarming with cheap table saws, if I didn't already have one and felt I needed one that is where I'd be looking.
If I was buying new, knowing what I know now about these, there isn't a new table saw under $900 that I think I would actually be happy with.
Not a bad saw for what it is, but this type of saw is extremely limited and I think mine is better than most of those like it currently on the market until you get well above the $200-300 range. All they are really good for is ripping narrow boards, way to narrow and unstable to rip full sheets of plywood without a helper or two. Even a quarter sheet is kind of sketchy if you are working alone.
My chop saw gets used a lot more.
Craigslist is swarming with cheap table saws, if I didn't already have one and felt I needed one that is where I'd be looking.
If I was buying new, knowing what I know now about these, there isn't a new table saw under $900 that I think I would actually be happy with.
Too bad you missed out on the Home Depot pricing error when Skillsaw first introduced their wormdrive table saw. Listed at 89.99 instead of 349.99 I got my hands on 3 of them. Still have one alone with the matching stand in the shed I can't bring myself to sell even though I've NEVER used it and probably wont.
OP
lightning02
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2013
- Messages
- 2,677
Notgrownup
Well-known member
I have a folding Kobalt saw, I like it for now, I used it for building my shop, most importantly, whatever you get, use premium blades.
Not sure we are on the same page when referring to "contractor" saws vs "jobsite" saws.
I have always considered a jobsite saw a portable (no base), PLASTIC bodied TS. While a contractor saw typically has built-in base, more power, and METAL bodied.
That Craftsman saw I referred to as junk, is infact a plastic bodied jobsite saw on a stamped steel base. Which I would argue is the worst of both worlds, flimsy body and heavy non portable base.
I do agree that a proper contractor saw is a better saw then a jobsite saw when all things are equal.
To come full circle, I still personally think that the nicer jobsite saws with a quality gravity rise mobile base are the best bang for buck in the market when shopping new.
Other things like portability, versatility, and specific location will determine buying new vs used/jobsite/contractor.
Cameronl
Well-known member
Easy peasy. Once it's all tuned, it's just as easy as a Biesemeyer. The scale is accurate. Just slide and lock.
Handyandy23
Well-known member
+1 for the DeWalt DW745. This is what I have and it works really nicely. The fence is very accurate and locks into place, and the saw has plenty of power for anything small enough you should be using it for.
Really I think this is the only option in the price range OP should consider. If not, then go used. When I was shopping for a table saw I looked at the cheaper ones like Ryobi and Skil, and to me they get far enough from accurate and repeatable that it kind of defeats the purpose. All depends what work you're looking to do with it, but that DW745 is as bargain-priced as I would go.
Best?
Old-school Unisaw or a Powermatic66.
I'd lean (no pun intended
) more towards the Unisaw. With a nice Biesmeyer fence.
Benefits:
Heavy.
Better able to fit dust collection into a cabinet saw than trying to jury-rig something to a contractor saw.
Smoother and more powerful. All around, the motor and bearings and trunnions and handwheels are usually so much smoother and 'nicer' than plastic-cased 'job site' saws.
Drawbacks:
Heavy.
Old-school Unisaw or a Powermatic66.
I'd lean (no pun intended
) more towards the Unisaw. With a nice Biesmeyer fence.Benefits:
Heavy.
Better able to fit dust collection into a cabinet saw than trying to jury-rig something to a contractor saw.
Smoother and more powerful. All around, the motor and bearings and trunnions and handwheels are usually so much smoother and 'nicer' than plastic-cased 'job site' saws.
Drawbacks:
Heavy.