zph0eniz Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 I am looking through craigslist for a table saw. I want a compact contractor saw. I can guess the portable ones on wheels are bench tops. The huge 1000$ ones are cabinet. There are few that is 100-300 range that could be a contractor. When I look up the model, it is difficult to tell if it is a contractor not. What should I be looking for? What are some indications that it is or isn't a contractor saw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerkface42one Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 For the most part, contractor saws are designed to be mobile, since as a contractor you would likely be taking from job to job. So, folding bases and wheels to make it more mobile are common. Not always, though. Even without a folding base and/or wheels, contractor saws are usually light enough to move around without too much hassle - i.e. you likely won't see a cast iron table on a contractor saw. They are also usually direct drive vs. belt drive. They generally have less powerful motors than a cabinet saw and some can't accommodate things that a cabinet saw would like a large dado stack. Really, there is a good amount of overlap in what might be considered a bench top table saw and a contractor saw. I would ignore whether it is labeled as a contractor saw or not and find something in your price range with the features that are important to you. That's what counts. Not the label. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zph0eniz Posted January 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 I didn't know contractor could be that mobile. I saw on Amazon that they weigh 200 lbs! I am confused what direct drive and belt drive is. What is the difference? I tried searching it and it seems direct drive is louder and lighter...sounds like universal motor. My main concern is noise. I want to minimize the noise as much as possible. I've read that induction motor's are quieter than universal. From what I seen on youtube, it is a big difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerkface42one Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 Starting to realize that posting while under the effect of some pain meds from tweaking my neck earlier today probably wasn't the best idea. You can basically replace contractor in my original reply with portable. I misread that as a portable job site saw, like the Dewalts that you see at the home center. Yeah, contractor saws can definitely get that heavy, often because they DO have a cast iron table. Sorry for the confusion. As far as your other questions, with a direct drive motor, the motor is essentially connected directly to the blade. With a belt-driven system, there is a belt and series of pulleys that transfer the power to the blade. The belt-driven saws are going to run smoother and can be a bit quieter in my experience (depending on model and size of the motor). If noise is your main concern, I would try to find a good deal on a lower-end belt driven cabinet saw. The type of blade you use is by far the biggest factor in the amount of noise generated, though. Most saws running on their own aren't going to be too crazy loud. I can comfortably talk over mine in the shop. As soon as you start cutting, that is a different story and where the choice in blades can have an effect. Thin kerf blades can have a pretty big impact on reducing noise, in my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knotscott Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 Some light reading that should help explain the differences... The ABC's of Table Saws 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zph0eniz Posted January 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 Thank you for the info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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