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

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

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

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

Barry

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

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

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.

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

included.

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

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

Darn. Missed another one.

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

Thanks for the tip.