Dlhunter Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 I assume you are just a hobbiest woodworker. Keep the cabinet saw. Save up and buy the festool track saw if you want one. If your table saw is never going to leave your garage it should be a cabinet saw plain and simple. If you need to break down plywood have whoever you buy it from cut it down to manageable sizes for you. I have a track saw and rarely use it to break down full sheets of ply for cabinets. To me the track saw isn't all that great for cutting down multiple sheets. I'd rather pay the cabinet shop I get my ply from $80 to chop up 10 sheets on his $30,000 slider. Track saws are nice but I think they are a completely different tool than a table saw and shouldn't be compared so closely as most people do. It's like comparing a sawzall to a jigsaw. Close in principle but I have never seen anyone trying to demo a wall with a jigsaw nor cope a piece of crown with a sawzall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlhunter Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 I have a little Black and Decker table saw (2 others including a Unisaw as our main table saw) shown in the link below. I don't know the model #, or when it was built, or even if it's still available. It was one my Dad bought. It has a cast iron top, aluminum legs and fence arms. I use it sometimes if we need a third tablesaw for some setup to run parts. It's considered my portable saw. It got carried down to a dock upside down on a masonry cart ( wheelbarrow with a flat bed) when we built a cantilevered roof over jetski lifts and a boat house. I'm pretty sure it weighs well less than 200 pounds in spite of the cast iron center part of the top. This saw does okay, but this is the smallest saw that I would ever recommend that anyone should buy. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cpsc.gov/PageFiles/72126/02233.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml02/02233.html&h=500&w=500&sz=18&tbnid=G6yuk_djJLxn4M:&tbnh=90&tbnw=90&zoom=1&usg=__IUe8U8U8jcwASScjehSngPBUjfM=&docid=Vnp1fWOBDsJPRM&sa=X&ei=J6tMUsuVMurA7AbepICYDw&sqi=2&ved=0CEkQ9QEwAQ no offense but i wouldn't use that pos if you gave it to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted October 3, 2013 Report Share Posted October 3, 2013 ==> If your performing the same tasks as the pros then you do need. that's a great way of looking at it... it's so true and you see it pop-up all the time... Folks have apple expectations, but oranges workflow/tools/techniques/whatever... They then get frustrated and I suspect many drop the hobby just out of unmet expectations... ==> You may not need the highest of quality but you do need the same style of machinery to perform the same task safely. Looking at this as a safety issue is spot on... I've seen folks doing outright scary things on those benchtop contractors saws... Some of them are really too flimsy for what folks do with them... ==> pay the cabinet shop I get my ply from $80 to chop up 10 sheets on his $30,000 slider. no sh*t... If I could get a deal like there, I'd do it in a heartbeat... In 2010, I did a 12-sheet built-in project... It took me tons of time to breakdown the sheet goods. The entire thing was in sketchup and I had developed a detailed cut-list -- I did'nt even think of having it delivered broken down... I suspect the bill would have been more than $80, but even triple that would have been a deal... I really need to think outside the box next time... thanks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan S Posted October 3, 2013 Report Share Posted October 3, 2013 I currently have a delta TS350 and here are some of it's limitations. this is a pic I found on Amazon for reference http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/df/c2/58bcb340dca0a374904da010.L.jpg. 1. dust collection was bad. I fixed it by plugging all the cracks and what not with some spray foam. 2. depth of cut is limited to 2-3/8" a full size saw is 3-1/8" to 3-3/8". It doesn't sound like much, but it is huge when it comes to designing cross cut jigs and what not. 3. it's a 1 HP saw. unless the blade is really sharp, you need to get creative when you work in stock greater than 5/4". For someone who is doing more and more work in super hard exotics, it has become an issue. 4. ergonomics - just like the saw i linked to, mine is on a portable base, and the front cross member is exactly where I want to put my front foot. next month I'm going to be upgrading to a G0690, because I have out grown this saw, and I'm just a hobbiest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krtwood Posted October 3, 2013 Report Share Posted October 3, 2013 Compared to a full size saw, jobsite saws don't have much operating space in front, so there's not much surface to get the work piece settled before it's into the blade. Like I was saying, there's a tradeoff there when you're crosscutting. It's about 2 feet from the back of the blade to the front of the rail on my contractor saw, which means stretching over the saw every cut. Make a lot of cuts and that leads to fatigue and fatigue is a safety hazard itself. There's hardly any table behind the blade, it's basically unsafe to use it without some kind of outfeed table. So I don't see why we couldn't have have a shorter table with some kind of fold down infeed table to go along with an outfeed table. Sure it would be a bit of a challenge to make that work with the fence rail but it's doable. It wouldn't even have to be the full width of the table, or make it in three sections and you only fold up the part you need and can still get close to the saw. The saw doesn't have to be lighter either, just make the cast iron thicker or add weights to it. My dad used to have a Craftsman 9" TS that was cast iron and direct drive but the motor was quiet. Quieter than my contractor saw actually, but no power. I believe the top was 20" front to back, I still have it. Been thinking about turning it into an end table. Yeah, I'm not married. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theclaxton Posted October 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2013 I assume you are just a hobbiest woodworker. Keep the cabinet saw. Save up and buy the festool track saw if you want one. If your table saw is never going to leave your garage it should be a cabinet saw plain and simple. If you need to break down plywood have whoever you buy it from cut it down to manageable sizes for you. I have a track saw and rarely use it to break down full sheets of ply for cabinets. To me the track saw isn't all that great for cutting down multiple sheets. I'd rather pay the cabinet shop I get my ply from $80 to chop up 10 sheets on his $30,000 slider. Track saws are nice but I think they are a completely different tool than a table saw and shouldn't be compared so closely as most people do. It's like comparing a sawzall to a jigsaw. Close in principle but I have never seen anyone trying to demo a wall with a jigsaw nor cope a piece of crown with a sawzall. Like I said earlier. I'm comparing a table saw to a track saw. Just thinking about my table saw size, considering the addition of a track saw to my tool selection Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theclaxton Posted October 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2013 I think that the verdict is that I'll keep my cabinet saw, or get a grizz G0732 or similar (probably the nicer version of it). Maybe just cut down my fence rails a bit for a smaller foot print. If I got the latter (grizz) I'd build it into a roll around with storage similar to this (http://goo.gl/saKdDj) But, the amount of added storage for a setup like that is not THAT much...so I'd have to weigh the pros and cons as I currently have a great saw that is fully setup. The plan all along IF I got a little jobsite saw was to build it into a cabinet as well that would be longer rather than wider (built in outfeed table/router table) but I don't think with all the cross cutting that I do that the table size would work for me. I need that extra distance in front of the blade for that...which also means that I have to bend over the fence rail more like krtwood was talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted October 3, 2013 Report Share Posted October 3, 2013 Every inch you cut off a saw table makes it just that much less safe just something to think about. Full size saw hand position on a rip cut. Closer to maybe a jobsite saw you decide where you would like your hands. A pumpkin shaped like a butt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theclaxton Posted October 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2013 lol, pumpkin butt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krtwood Posted October 3, 2013 Report Share Posted October 3, 2013 Here's my solution to the shorter table problem, attach more table to the fence. More table than you'd have normally and yet you can get your body closer to the saw when you're at the end of the cut so you are in a more stable position. I switched the fence locking lever to move horizontally since I figure the extended fence would be in the way for the normal way. I'll admit that when you are using a big crosscut sled it's also nice to have that extra table at the front to balance it on, but also a solvable problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted October 3, 2013 Report Share Posted October 3, 2013 no offense but i wouldn't use that pos if you gave it to me. No offense at all. I think it's worth the 75 bucks my Dad paid for it at the flea market though to have as a portable saw, and a third table saw sometimes. It had some part of the motor mount system broken, but I tig welded it years ago, and it's still working as good as it could. After looking at the Grizzly 0732 for the first time in this thread, I realized it's the same saw except for the legs. It has the same rails, top, fence, blade insert, and shrouded blade. I have no doubt it came out of the same factory. Because of the shroud, dust collection is actually not that bad with just a shop vac. I stand by the statement that I think this is the smallest table saw anyone should buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Schaefer Posted October 9, 2013 Report Share Posted October 9, 2013 Guys I have a similar situation to the OP on this topic, and so far I've been happy with how I resolved it. I bought a EQ55 while building built in bookcases because my POS craftsman tablesaw was 1) dangerous, 2) not accurate enough and 3) moving 60 lb sheet goods onto its tiny table was stupid. I've subsequently gotten rid of the craftsman. I have been incredibly happy with the EQ55, but I understand what it is and isn't. I don't cross cut on my table saw because it is very easy, safe and accurate with the TS55. One of the other factors in buying the EQ55 was that I had been using one of the straight edge clamp guides for circular saws from Rockler for cutting the shelves for the bookcases. The clamping mechanism wore out and I was going to have to replace the clamp; I had only made roughly 30 crosscuts with this guide and it was trashed. Recently, I needed to rip a lot of 2x4 cedar down to 2x2s. Now the 55 would do a very accurate job of this, but it would be incredibly time consuming...and that's when I bought the Rigid contractor table saw. I have a tiny shop and the dream of having a full size tablesaw will be realized when I build a new shop, but for now, this was the most that was going to fit in my 10x16 garage. I'm finishing a Palk workbench right now so that I have 1) a portable bench as my projects tend to involve moving about, 2) enough layout space for faceframes and more bookcases and 2) so that I have a proper outfeed table for the Rigid. I completely agree with the above posts about needing a bigger table on the saw and again I think this gets back to safety. Since I'm only ripping on the table saw I have a strict 'no fingers in in front of the blade, on the table,' rule, that's what push sticks are for. The dadoes and rabbets I've cut to date were on the router table and I expect to cut tenons by hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Lyde Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 I had a small dewalt portable table saw that I hated so I bought a Festool track saw. I love the track saw but sometimes still felt limited so 2 years ago I bought a Sawstop 3hp cabinet saw and now find I only use the track saw to break down sheet goods which is very seldom as most of my projects have gone to hard wood construction. I can't imagine doing any job without my Sawstop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodbutcher74 Posted December 30, 2013 Report Share Posted December 30, 2013 One of my mentors told me that if you couldn't stand a nickel on edge and start the saw without it tipping over don't buy it. I had a Craftsman Contractor saw to start off with and almost gave up on woodworking because my results were so poor compared to some of the other people i knew. Bought a Delta cabinet saw and it passes the test and my results have improved greatly. The vibration in contractor saws limits accuracy. My theory is buy better than you can really afford and only regret it once, instead of everytime you use it. Just my opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.