table saws

[Roonaldo]

Hi,

I sent this post yesterday but it seems to have been lost in cyberspace. Apologies in advance for any repetition !

I bought an old (50 years ! ) Craftsman table saw last year,it was only 10 bucks and I thought it would give me a chance to learn how to use the tool before investing any more. It can only handle rips up to

8" or so, so Ive now decided to upgrade.

Does anyone have any advice as to a good medium-price-range saw to invest in ? I have around $400 to spend but would like to get something that will last me several years. I've been looking at a Black and Decker Firestorm, some Deltas and Pro-Tech models. The Black and Decker seems to have the best fence, but I've been less than impressed with a couple of their other tools that I've bought.

Any Ideas anyone ? Thanks in advance

Simon Burke

[Edwin Pawlowski]

IMO, you'd be better off suffering with what you have until you have more to spend. When you hit the $800 range, you get a superior fence, more power, cast iron tables, etc.

If you buy the $400 model, you may be wanting better in another year or so while the better contractor saws will last you the rest of your life. There is no comparison is use. It will be worth the wait to get a saw with a Biesemeyer or Unifence.

[patriarch]

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in news:Rk83d.20426$ [e-mail]:

Ed's right. The only other option seems to be to find one that someone is selling, in order to trade up to a cabinet saw. Or finding an estate sale. The $800 new contractor saw Ed describes may be able to be found for $400- $500 used, and well cared for. You don't want one which has been abused.

Patriarch

[Robert Bonomi]

Give the Ryobi BT-3100 a _hard_ look. There's nothing in its price range that can touch it, and you have to spend about twice the bucks to get something 'materially better'.

For 'casual' work, treat it with kindness, and it'll do wonders.

For 'serious' amounts of work -- as in you'll be doing it something approaching full-time -- something 'better' is required. e.g. a good 'contractor' saw at a minimum, maybe a 'cabinet' saw. You're in the circa $800 (and up!) price range for that kind of a tool; the lower-price ones are *not* worth the money, given the requirements.

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN]

I don't believe there's anything out there that I'd want that costs $400 new. If you're willing to go up to the $600 + range there are several saws that are pretty nice.

On the assumption that that's a bit too stiff for you, I'd watch the ads for a used saw. In my area, I see table saws fairly often for sale that would be quite acceptable. There's a for-sale newsgroup that I follow that's very active up in Raleigh (even though I live 3 hours away). I picked up a Porter Cable round head framing gun from it a week or two ago.

Don't think of these things as "used". Consider them "field tested".

[Jim Behning]

I will add that I have gotten some great deals at pawn shops. I have found a few shops that have good deals on tools. I stop in when I cannot control myself. I have gotten just smaller hand tools so far but I have a Bosch hammer drill, a Bosch router, a Paslode framing nail gun, a Milwakee 3/8" drill, some smaller nailers, a Makita 7 1/4 saw with brake and other stuff. Evverything under retail by a lot and all have worked well.In my basement I have a bunch of 20 year old Delta and Rockwell tools that I got for free or 1/4 of the equivilant new prices. A few of the Delta tools were virgin, others a few hours of use, and one that has a few thousand hours of use. they all work for me.

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote:

[Dan Cullimore]

Simon:

I don't understand why you can only cut 8" rips--is the table size limiting you, or the fence, or something else? The reason I ask is that I have an old (40-50 yrs) Craftsman contractor's saw--to which I've added extensions, off-feed table, a Craftsman "Align-A-Rip" fence, etc.--and with which I can cut full 4x8 sheet goods. It's a pretty damn good saw; a little underpowered, but nothing a bigger motor wouldn't fix.

Ten bucks is pretty cheap, even for a Craftsman saw, which from that vintage is probably worth putting some of that $400 into making into a pretty decent user. I agree with the other posts--if you can only put up that kind of $ don't buy new. Instead, consider putting it into the saw you have.

I sit back in my asbestos suit, waiting the fires to come...

Dan

[Mike Marlow]

I'm right here with the fire extinguisher in hand Dan.