Narrowing Down my Table Saw Purchase...

[air]

I'm in the market for a table saw. I don't need anything super heavy duty, but the need for one has presented itself on numerous occasions over the last couple of years. I'm looking at the jobsite type saws, as my 2 car garage is not gigantic, and I want something that can be tucked away easily.

I'm looking primarily at these two models...

Porter Cable:

http://www.lowes.com:80/pd_89913-46..._prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1

Ryobi:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Also these two Ryobi models have peaked my interest, and the prices are certainly good:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

I figure if I go with one of the cheaper Ryobi's, I'll have some spare cash to invest in a better blade. Or should I just be patient and keep checking Craigslist? I haven't seen any good deals on Table Saws in my area as of recently...

 

[regguy1]

I have the Ryobi with fold up wheels, can take it anywhere and it stores against a wall. It's a nice little saw.

I'd look at the PC or Ryobi with fold up wheels and decide based on your inspection.

The portability and compact storage make them attractive.

 

[air]

I have the Ryobi with fold up wheels, can take it anywhere and it stores against a wall. It's a nice little saw.

I'd look at the PC or Ryobi with fold up wheels and decide based on your inspection.

The portability and compact storage make them attractive.

Thank You. That's kind of my thinking also. There was dood selling a used Ryobi model on Craigslist recently, but he was asking like $275 for it. Looked like it had been ridden hard and put away wet also.

 

[canuckian]

not sure if this one's in your price range but I bought a Bosch worksite saw 5 or 6 years ago and the thing is fricken amazing! sure, it's not a full size professional table saw but it's probably the closest I've seen in a portable unit.
http://www.boschtools.com/Products/Tools/Pages/BoschProductDetail.aspx?pid=4100-09

 

[RbrtAWhyt]

+1 on the Bosch. I have one and it's awesome...

 

[mkdive]

Check out ryobi bt3000 they just dont make saws like that anymore. Almost all metal (not much plastic). You can pick them up on CL for $100-$200 in great condition.

There is a huge following of them...(heck that model saw has a forum all its own)!

I like it so much I bought a second one for parts (both work fine).

Then I bought this one for $40 on CL, but it was newer & plastic It was a much cheaper saw. I unloaded it on CL for a lathe the next day.

Night and day difference between those two saws. Check out the bt3000 (I'm sure there will be one on your CL).....ask if you can make a test cut. You wont be disappointed.

 

[MrMark]

I've got a BT3000 and a new Bosch. Mkdive, how much should I ask for the BT3000 on Craigslist? It's in very good shape. I didn't know there was such a following. I hate the fence.

 

[mkdive]

The fence takes some fine tuning that's for sure!. If the rails are out of alignment or the clamp/screws on the underside of the fence are misaligned then it wont slide great. Took me about 10 minutes making sure everything was adjusted, now it slides with the push of one finger and locks down solid.

I picked up the second bt3000 for $100. But I see them listed here for $100-$200 a few each month. Every couple months I see an ad for $250, not sure if they sell for that or not.

I actually had a third one for a (couple days) I bought it for the router attachment....swapped some other parts out and then sold it on CL for $175 the very same day I posted the ad.

I would start with a listing somewhere $200-$225 and see what you get. I love to trade for tools on CL, so if there is anything you see on CL that you would consider trading for.... it never hurts to write a quick & polite email inquiring if they would be interested in a trade. You would be amazed how many things I have traded on CL that way.

Here is the forum for them. Might want to list it there in the classifieds.
http://www.bt3central.com/

 

[csp]

I saw one of those BT3000s at an estate sale a week ago for $75. Should have bought it, but I really don't have the space or the need for another table saw. I have one cabinet saw and a contractor saw already.

 

[mastiff0]

When I was recently looking for a small portable table saw, the best advice I was given was this: "The secret is to choose a saw with good bearings and a design that allows adjustments." If the bearings are crappy, there is nothing you can do about it. If the table saw doesn't give you all the adjustments neededed, theres nothing you can do about it. Besides this, more expensive saws might be more powerful or more convenient, but a well built table saw with adjustability and good bearings should be able to cut just as well once you add a good blade. bosch and Dewalts were recommended to me, and I got a Dewalt 745 that I found online for cheap ($345). And I would agree that you can probably find a better deal on CL by getting an older saw that hasn't cheapified by accountants and adjusting the alignment before use.

 

[USMC_Buckaroo]

"...Check out the bt3000 (I'm sure there will be one on your CL).....ask if you can make a test cut. You wont be disappointed..."



Couldn't agree more...I own two of them.



Buck.

 

[Greatwhitewing]

Another vote for the Bosch

 

[Titanium Frost]

+1 on the Bosch...I did a lot of research before I bought mine and haven't been disappointed.

 

[91bronc300]

Today is 'brand new poster resurrects an old thread' day?

 

[clabow]

I would be careful about buying any of the Ryobi or similar saws regardless of your intended use. The problem with all saws of that type is that they are basically upside down circular saws bolted to a metal top of some kind. The saw motor is attached directly to the arbor. In the specifications it will be listed as "direct drive". These configurations are generally low in power (ignore the amp rating, it's irrelevant, what you should be looking at is the horse power rating) so it will have difficulty with hard woods, thick pieces and long cuts (ripping 3/4 plywood for instance). You can't use stacked dado's most of the time because of the power issue and shorter arbor length. It takes a considerable amount of power to spin a dado and if you get a table saw you'll want to use it to make a dado/rabbet at some point (one of the best reasons to have a table saw is to use it in this way). You could get a wobble dado to help with the short arbor length but the power issue will still be there and wobble dado's don't produce flat dado's.

Another major issue with saws of this type is that the fence system will be cheap which means it will likely be difficult to get square to the blade in the first place and keep square to the blade as you make cuts. The obvious problem with an out of square fence is out of square cuts but the second issue, which may be more important, is that an out of square fence can induce kick-back by pinching the off-cut between the blade and fence. Kick back is extremely dangerous. Many woodworkers have been seriously injured by kickback. I've experienced it first hand and it will scare the **** out of you assuming you don't get hurt too.

If I were you and really wanted/needed a wheeled-job site table saw I'd go with a Rigid R4510. It's very similar to the Bosch unit for about $100 less (it looks like it may actually be the Bosch saw re-labeled). Do yourself a favor and spend the extra money for a better saw. You will be repaid many times over.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Unless you are one of those people who has to buy new or absolutely needs a folding stand ...

Look for a 10+ year old Craftsman 10" with between 1-2 hp, cast iron table and cast iron extensions. Don't worry about surface rust. It will come off.

They are built like a brick **** house and most of the time have seen very little use and sell for $100-$200.

Worst case is you might want to upgrade the fence and miter.

 

[RKA]

Another compact option is the boch GTS1031.

*edit* looks like amazon temporarily stopped selling due to several units being returned for excessive runout on the arbor. The 4100 is a solid choice.

 

[RKA]

Listen to what clabow said. If you can't get the fence parallel to the blade, it's not worth wasting you time with. It'll just end up ruining your wood and rearranging you face.

 

[darkk]

For less than the price of one of those saws, I purchased a used Jet 10" jtws I'd rather have a higher quality used tool...

 

[mmack66]

Today is 'brand new poster resurrects an old thread' day?

You never know, the OP could still be weighing his options, two years later.

 

[camarotoolman]

2nd. on a used one on cl, passed on a nice Rockwell for $50 not long ago. Power miter box are nice to have too.