1. Home
  2. Woodworking Forum
  3. More than 500$ for "decent" TS? Really? was: Re: which Table saw for $500 or less?
  4. Page 2

More than 500$ for "decent" TS? Really? was: Re: which Table saw for $500 or less?

formatting link
(link may not work)

Hmmm, might be a respectable buy. I don't know the models, but I'm sure others know them well and can respond to you.

Bob

Reply to
BillyBob
Loading thread data ...

My first saw (which I still have) was about $1300. I had more money than experience. I was dumbfounded when I got it assembled, lined up and came to the step "mounting the blade" and there was none. What was even more surprising - the dealer who sold it to me in person did not ask if I needed any blades with it. Yep, the little "extras" to support a tablesaw sure can get ya.

Bob

Reply to
BillyBob

Allot of people like the BT3100, a friend has one and likes it. That said I have used his and I would not trade my Delta CS for the BT even if you tossed in $800 to sweeten the deal! Greg

Reply to
Greg O

Or spend $20 and 1 hour building a simple sled.

Barry

Reply to
Ba r r y

Hi, this was good advice.

A GOOD table saw lasts a very long time and is user-maintainable / repairable (assuming that the user has a couple noodles in his bowl).

At a garage sale, I bought a $150 Craftsman contractors saw with the original fence. I trued up the trunion so that the blade runs parallel to the miter slots (okay, it's out of parellel by about .001") and I added a sub-face to the fence. I also got a few zero-clearance inserts and decent blades (the DeWalt 40 tooth carbide is

Reply to
W Canaday

My neighbor has a older Craftsman cast iron topped table saw that was given to him by his father in law. He tuned it up, bought a Biesmeyer fence for it and uses it regularly. They are a good saw in general. The stock fences are poor compared to what is available so that upgrade is a must. It is a better saw than the $500 saws available today. Greg

Reply to
Greg O

There's no doubt in my mind you can find a saw at this price point that meets the needs you have expressed, and I believe knowing the constraints you have, you will be happy with it. For that money and with some care a new saw will get a contractor's type saw with a motor in the 1.5 HP range, and enough accuracy to do quality work assuming the saw has a respectable fence.

I believe others who advise to spend a few hundred more for a higher end saw are saying that, among other things, you might find the motor a little weak for certain kinds of woodworking, a little flimsy in the construction. You might also find that you do better with a thin-kerf blade married to a blade stabilizer, when working with hardwoods.

For what it is worth, the advantages a cabinet saw has over a contractor's saw are significant if you see yourself using the thing a lot.

I myself was faced with the same question you are, decided on a Grizzly cabinet saw which was in fact about $400 more than you budgeted. It suits my needs and I appreciate the power to cut through thicker/harder materials, smoothness of operation, accuracy, dust collection, that you get.

In my opinion it is another notch below a Delta/Jet/Powermatic cabinet, and if I thought I was going to use the saw day in / day out, I would go with the best I could get.

Reply to
Jim Weisgram

Don't recall OP stating his location, but if it's anywhere near Chicago, this may help:

formatting link

Reply to
Lee DeRaud

included.

Wish he'd been selling this earlier this summer when I bought my Jet JCS-10. Nice deal for somebody.

Reply to
Unquestionably Confused

I don't think you're missing anything at all. Some people here are just like the ones who scoff if you don't have the top of the line computer for simple word processing.

I recently bought a Jet JWTS-10JF "contractor's table saw" on sale for $ 499. It was better built than the comparable Delta available, and has all the features I'll need for a long time. The table is sufficiently large and the fence is decent. It has plenty of power.

If I need a commercial grade saw in a few years, what's the risk? Why spend $ 1200 extra now for features I don't need, when I could spend the same money down the road IF NECESSARY and maybe take as much as a $ 250 loss on my old saw if I sell it? It's not a very economical tradeoff.

The $ 500 table saws from Jet, Delta, DeWalt, etc. may not be cab> More then 500$ for a "decent" table saw? Really? We're talking about a

Reply to
Mike Berger

Darn. Missed another one.

Reply to
Hedley

And yes, I'm in the far NW suburbs of Chicago.

Thanks for the tip.

Reply to
Hedley

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.