Recommendations - Table Saw?
 

I will need to buy a table saw pretty soon. A hobbyist / contractor's type, not a big cabinet type. Down the road, I'll need a router / table and drill press too.

Does anyone have favorite brands or models to recommend?

For the table saw, I am looking for:
- Quality construction, rigid, will adjust to and hold precise alignment, as little plastic as possible.
- A guard that detaches and re-attaches easily, a good riving knife, easy-to-reach switch, ideally some way to lock it "off" so little kids can't mess w/ it.
- Available extension table (what do you call this?)
- USA made if possible. I'll spend the $ for a good tool.

I'd buy a SawStop, but their contractor's saw isn't available yet.

SawStop, great product. My dad bought one and seems happy with it. Have you checked on the release date for the contrator's version?

"Late 2006" says the website. My wife wants a particular project done n-o-w.

Just don't lop off any of your fingers, then. That seemed to be a particular pasttime of Portlanders when I lived there last year.

I have a Craftsman tablesaw that I'm not that happy with. It was a gift...my Porter Cable router is perfect. Can't say enough good things about it. I shaved the tip off of my left thumb on a table saw a few years ago...
Christian.

My opinion is most of the 10 inch table saws out there are decent quality the real issue is a accurate fence and large enough table and/or decent extensions. If you are a one man operation it's tough to deal with 4x8 sheets of anything unless you have lots of table extensions. I've had a Makita 8 1/4 table top saw for 20 years and it's still going strong but the table is too small but I have limited garage space. The addition of roller extensions has helped and I rarely am working with 4x8 sheets.

Delta 10" contractor with a Biesemeyer fence system. You'll never need anything else.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000EI965/qid=1151863853/sr=8-12/ref=pd_bbs_12/104-5161993-7771114?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=228013

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...113128583_.jpg

I have the same Delta as above. Real nice saw - no complaints.

AMZN says $1200 + $100 shipping for what you (Mark) pictured. Is that a good price?

I paid $999 from a local dealer for my X5 a couple of years ago and it came with a wheel set coupon.

John - Amazon doesn't always have best prices. I'd google around.

Used my Dad's Delta for years. Great saw.

Anyone else remember an old "Danger!" sticker where they showed bloody fingers flying off a hand? That was in prominent display on his saw

I have Craftsman. It was about $400. Works great, cuts straight, no complaints.

Ryobi's table saw ($299 @ HD) has a lot of nice features and is very adjustable. However, many of the generic aftermarket or homemade jigs do not fit. The adjustability may even be a negative since you will have to spend more time calibrating the saw. I've had mine for about 3 years and am generally pleased, although I wish I had spent the extra couple hundred and bought a Delta or Hitachi.

I've been woodworking as a hobby for over 20 years now.

I've got a Delta - older contractor model - a little beefier than the X5 shown above. I've owned it for about 12 years now, and other than replacement of the power switch under warranty, have had no issues. I got it with the 32" Delta Unifence, table, and mobile base. I'd buy the Beisemeyer fence if I had a choice now. Much easier to attach purchased or home-made jigs to the rectangular body than the odd shaped Unifence.

The Ryobi saw, if under the same design as the past, has a built in motor. When (not if) it burns out, you will have to purchase a direct replacement - as it is not a generic motor frame. Also, standard dado blade sets may not fit - something about the arbor size and or clearance to the table. My Brother in law had one, burned it out, and replaced it with a Powermatic.

BTW, I'm not sure ANY contractor saw is made in the USA.

Have been doing some reading. Seems like Delta makes, for a similar price, a "hybrid" cabinet saw that can run on 115 or 230v and is similar in oomph to the table saw Mark mentioned - but has the cabinet base.

Is the cabinet an advantage for easier dust collection? This thing is going to work in the garage for 1+ year until we get the basement finished with a shop room. Either place, seems like less dust is nicer than more dust? And I'd like to avoid wearing a mask.

Edit - also, what's to prefer between left tilt and right tilt?

Re: Ryobi

Dado blades do fit; it's the other generic accessories that cause a problem. Be careful of Sears Craftsman power tools since I believe Ryobi now makes those as well (not bad quality, just an inherent lack of interchangeability).

MK

I tilt to the right myself...

I have a Grizzly table saw which works great, nice fence. You can see them at www.grizzly.com. Not USA made, but reasonably priced. About $750 for the cabinet saw delivered.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1152122935.jpg