# Another Table Saw Question Thread



## Ward H (Jan 5, 2008)

I have read the table saw threads but I still would like some advice on a lower cost saw. 
My budget is under $300. I want a portable bench saw as I will be storing it in a shed and pulling it out when I need it. I am not a carpenter and will not be building cabinetry for the house. I just need to rip and cut the occasional boards for shelves and hobby. I've been borrowing a $100 saw but I would like something a little bit better.

Craftsman, Ryobi and Hitachi seem to be the choices for Sears, Home Depot and Lowes. The Craftsman and Ryobi have sliding miter tables. All are aluminim, 15 amp and cost $249 to $269.

Here are the links:

Home Depot Ryobi Bench Saw 


Lowes Hitachi Bench Saw 

Sears Craftsman 

I appreciate your comments and suggestions on these saws.


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

Personally, I'm not real big on Craftsman tools anymore. Once upon a time (25-30 years ago), they made terrific tools with a lifetime replacement warranty. No more. 

My recent experience has been far less satisfactory. I haven't tried their table saws, but I have no reason to suspect they would be any better made than their recent hand tools or small power tools, a mere shadow of their former quality, with limited life spans. 

MHO, for whatever it's worth.


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## Bunker (Feb 7, 2009)

I agree, forget the Craftsman power tools. They tend to become obsolete rather quickly making repair and replacement parts unavailable. 

I would suggest looking into a 12" or 14" band saw instead. They tend to be a better value and 99% of what you will need to do with a table saw, you can do with a band saw safely.


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

I have the Ryobi saw you referenced. I love it. I got it for $200 on sale at HD. It cuts well, and like you, I'm not doing fine carpentry with it. It is easy to move and setup...you just wheel it out to the layout area and cut. When stored, it takes very little room...and that was important to me. Mine lives standing up at the end of one of my benches. It's takes up about a 1' x 3' of space on the floor.One leg has a spring loaded foot so it is self leveling which makes setup even faster. All the parts have places on the saw for storage...blades, wrenches, fence, and miter-slider. I really like the mitering set up as the whole left side of the table top slides on bearings and making accurate miter cuts pretty easy. The only downside to the whole saw is the fence...it just clamps on. There's no fine adjustment on it's position.

I've have also used the DeWalt Jobsite tablesaw. That's their version of the 10" contractors saw. It has a much better fence...but it's harder to use...no wheels or legs on it. You end up lugging this one around by hand...and it takes up more room to store as it sits flat when not used. On the other hand, it's rugged. Contractors just throw these things in the back of their pickups and set it up on the tailgate. I don't recall if it has the fixtures to hold all the parts onto the saw...blade, wrrenches, etc. But...it's a good saw too.


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

I don't recall if it has the fixtures to hold all the parts onto the saw...blade, wrrenches, etc.
It does. Extra blades are stored on a bolt and wing nut sticking out a couple of inches on one side. Wrenches are stored in a slot, and the miter crosscut guide in another slot.


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## Ward H (Jan 5, 2008)

Well, 
I visited HD three times yesterday. After looking at the Ridgid TS2410Ls I couldn't put my money down on the Ryobi and left. Went back again to get the Ryobi, again started comparing it to the Ridgid and left empty handed. 
My darling wife said quite screwing around and get the saw I wanted so after a third trip to HD I now have the Ridgid TD241-LS in my shed. Went over all the adjustments and spent most of the day cutting wood for car shelves. 
It may be overkill for what I need it for but I hpet o have it for a long long time. 

Thanks for you help.


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## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Ward,

It's kinda late for me to chime in, but maybe my low-budget solution might work for someone else. I bought a 10" Asian Special, used, at a garage sale. It was light, cheap and cut wood. (with a new blade).

I took a BBQ trolley, removed the BBQ tub, put plywood stretchers and braces where I thought they'd do the most good, and bolted the saw onto it. I sawed off one set of supports for those slatted tables, and used the other set for handles. But larger wheels on to get over the ground easier. Worked just fine.

Saw quit one day. Just died quietly. No fuss or sparks. Now I've got my 10" chop saw on the cart.

FWIW, Crapsman is really crap, these days, and since about the late seventies.


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## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Dwight,

I'm not either. They used to be great. In ca 1980, I bought their top-of-the-line bandsaw and set it up with the rest in my garage workshop. Temperature varied between 45 and 110 deg through the year. After two years, I went out to use it one day an it was stuck. I started looking it over and the _castings_ that mounted the wheels had cracked and crumbled. Sears would NOT replace it. Said I'd abused it.


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

Les - maybe it was 35-40 years ago that they made good stuff. hehehe  

Way back then, I bought a pair of 10" Craftsman ***** to use at work (I was then terminating transformers - i.e. routing 4 twin magnet wire leads to the terminal board and brazing brass bolts onto the ends). That was probably 33-35 years ago, I STILL have them, they are still in excellent shape, and I still use them (though not as much as I did when terminating). 

I was recently looking to buy another pair to keep in my office for the occasional need, and looked at today's "comparable" product from Craftsman. Essentially the same tool from the same brand... the cutting edges didn't even meet in the middle, and they were so cheap I wouldn't own them. I bought another brand. 

It's truly sad because at one time, they were known for their quailty and lifetime warranty, being (if memory serves) "Made in the USA." No more.


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## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Dwight,

I dunno the time. I have a 10" chop saw I bought in '91, and I've used the snot out of it. I routinely cut 4" limbs for firewood. Not so much as a squeak out of it. Cast steel base, even. Heavy sucker.

My very best ever, which used to kinda sorta embarrass me was, my dad bought these old Craftsman visegrips for 50 cents someplace when I was in grade school. We lived on a farm. I worked the farm as a young man, doing most of my own mechanicking. One day the adj bolt broke clean through. I looked at 'em for a minute, then said, "What the heck, all they can say is 'no'." So I took 'em to Sears (ca 68) and handed these incredibly used, rusty 'grips across and said, "This broke. I want another one." The guy behind the counter looked at it, turned it over, looked some more and finally said, "Sir, we don't carry this style anymore. Would a new pair--different style, work?" I allowed as how it would. I had 'em for years until someone stole my toolbox out of my truck.


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

Ward, 
Af ew years back (look in the archives) I too pondered my options ona table saw as I was under a time constraint I ended up with the Ridgid TS3660 and I've not so far been sorry. It went together with a minimum of fuss even though the instructions were incorrect and that it took a second trip to HD to figure out. It runs true and smooth right from the box. The instructions told me how to adjust the blade but upon measuring with a set of digital Mitituyo calipers I found the factory settings less than .005 of an inch off. I'm happy with that. It also runs dangerously quiet too! not so quiet that you forget it's running but wow I'm not used to a machine this size being that hush, hush. I'm also running on the original 40 tooth combination blade as well. I've got a 60 tooth for it but I've not felt like messing with the original settings and blade yet. So far so good. 

I later went and purchased the Ridgid 12 compound miter saw with the MSUV for it. Love the saw, not so much in love with the MSUV cart. It's pretty flimsy for the price... 

Chas


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I have a 10 inch craftsmen with a direct drive. It bogs down very easily. One thing on protability. I bought a used pallet jack at a sale. All my equipment legs have cross brackets around the base or they are mouned on a cut down pallet. That way I can move all my equipment very easily. Eveh my 4 ft x 8 ft out door bench can be moved by my pallet jack. Mounting them on pallets rasied them which is easier on my back and makes they more stable and lowers the center of gravety becuse of the weight on the base 

I am always looking for a better table saw when I see one on sale I will snatch it up.


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

Currently, I think it is Popular Woodworking, has "giveaway" on a Sawstop cabinet saw if you care to sign up on their website. WAY overkill for what you want but hey a several thousand dollar saw for free? Worth an entry I figure. 

Chas


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## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

John,

Now there's a great idea, mounting the tools on pallets or the like. I gotta think about that some. I don't have a pallet jack, but for concrete floors, maybe I can figure out something.

Thanks for the idea.

Les


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## Ward H (Jan 5, 2008)

Chas, 

Yep, I read up on the TS3660. It got a lot of good reports and I believe I read your earlier thread on it. That was one of the threads that moved me towards the Ridgid saw. I like the fact it has an iron top. Have you seen the new magnetic feather boards HD has for it? The MSUV for the bench saw is very stable. I next tool will probably be a compound miter but 10", not 12. I will certainly look at a Ridgid and if it has the MUSV cart, that will swing my choice. My tools are stored in a small shed, where I can use one at a time in bad weather, or wheel them outside in good weather. 
The 24 tooth blade that came on my saw seems to be a little too coarse. The saw dust is very large shavings, although the cuts are OK. I am thinking I would do better with a 40 tooth as a good combination blade.


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

Ward,
As I said I did NOT like the MSUV. Came broken out of the box from HD. It was broken just like the floor model was. The extensions are somewhat delicate and if you don't read the instructions on them the release gets broken to fold up the flimsy support leg and gets jammed in the extension bar. Huge dis-assembly to get it apart and figure out what parts are required and I've not re-assembled mine. A good friend recommended the 12" over the 10" simply becasue it will cut thru a 4x4 in one pass without turning the board. I thought of the compaound sliding miter saw too but for the extra few hundred dollars I could not justify that expense. It took up a LOT more space with the extension parts hagning off the back.

Chas


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