Good Choice of Table Saw for very casual home use ??

[PeterD]

Do be careful not to buy something that has been abused to the point it is ready to fail. Specifically smell around the motor for burned smells (showing it had a major overload long enough to overheat the motor) and for other wear.

Easiest is the specification plate that *should* be found on each unit. Figure *roughly* that 10 amps is about 1 HP for an electric motor. (the number is less, but inefficiency in the motor and system drive it higher). So ignore a '2.3 HP rated' sticker, and look at the power drawn on the nameplate for a good indication of how powerful it is.

That said, power is not critical unless you need speed. You can cut a lot of wood with a less powerful saw, it just takes (much) longer!

Absolutely! A good high quality blade is really important. I've used saws with bad blades (and bought at least one for virtually nothing because the blade so was dull that it would not cut, and the seller didn't realize it was just a bad blade, and not the saw).

[Dioclese]

If I were wondering like the original poster, at this point, you reverse sold me. There is no "depends on the setup" for rips for common plywood. There is no limitation on table length in RAS vs table saw. The guard on a RAS, like a hand-held circular saw meets the lumber after its been sawn, not before. Most remove that guard for obvious reasons regarding a rip cut.

[dpb]

Dioclese wrote: ...

This subthread has absolutely nothing really to do w/ the original thread. I told the OP to go w/ the circular saw and a straight edge for the initial cut-to-size and then a small TS _might_ be of some use.

The limitation is the setup for any individual shop. I have 20+ ft for the RAS, but _by_choice_ not nearly as long an outfeed table on the TS. Hence, the setup is much better.

As for the guard, you're simply wrong. The guard on the RAS for ripping is rotated down until it touches the fed material on the infeed side--it is a complete blockage against getting into the blade from the feed direction as it functions to hold the material down as well as the blade guard. Meanwhile, in the rear, the movable portions of the guard on either side drop down and also ride on the material. This is not the same orientation as in crosscutting.

You can protest or disagree or whatever else you care to do; I'm done.

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[Michael Dobony]

And home of Ted Kennedy, a murderer in congress, who takes his phone off the hook so people can't call in to complain about his stupidity and still gets reelected.

[Michael Dobony]

Aprons are a shop no-no, per machining 101.

[aemeijers]

Tell that to my 7th grade shop teacher- he made us all run out and buy one the first week. Same store that sold the phys ed uniforms. I think they got a kickback or something. And yes, everyone wrapped the strings around and tied them in front.

-- aem sends...