Quote:
Originally Posted by RKDinOKC
Looked for a good saw when was considering making some furniture.
Was surprised to find out how expensive table saws were that were accurate enough to make furniture.
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The small DeWalt that runs 300 to 375 dollars is a remarkably accurate professional grade saw, and has a tubular steel support structure. It is as accurate as a 1000 dollar saw, and very easy to dial in to a specific measurement. It is the fence that sets it apart from its rivals. Buy a good blade, and you are set.
I would not buy any other saw for under 700 dollars, even though some are capable of preforming well. The Dewalt saws are solid no frills tools that will last.
I too would rather have a circular saw and a larger sliding miter saw than a hybrid that won't do everything I need. if you are doing small projects, that saw looks like it would do. But if you need to run precise depth cuts, rip rabbits or plow channels, I don't think that hybrid will do the work. I think anyone who contemplates a table saw should get one that will not limit him when his abilities progress. OTOH, many people could probably throw a 40 dollar blade into a cheap Harbor Freight chop saw and go to town with it, or make their own router table quite simply that would do those jobs. It is the back stop and depth and width of cut that separates the top end chop saws from the less expensive models. That, accurate indexing, and the ability to make compound miter cuts in both directions. The HF saws will give you most of that on a lighter, less robust chassis, and some people will screw a piece of wood to the backstop as an extension.
You can get a top quality chop saw and a professional grade contractors table saw for less than 1000 dollars. A lot less if you wait until black Friday and show up at Home Depot at about 7 AM.