Sat, Jun 12, 2004, 6:11pm (EDT-1) [email protected] (Sanbar) burbled:
Any recommendations on a low budget table saw.
For what? New? Used? What's low budget? How much you willing to
pay?
Not enought details to give a valid answer.
JOAT
You know it's gonna be a bad day, when you turn on the news and they're
showing escape routes out of the city.
"Sanbar" <[email protected]> wrote
> Any recommendations on a low budget table saw.
I'm pretty happy with my Unisaw. I paid $200 for it. Is that low budget
enough?
Sorry for the gloat. My recommendation is to be patient and buy used.
Good luck,
Jim
Delta TS300 retails for $299.99 & is a good low-budget table saw. It's rare
to find a table saw with a good fence like this model has for the price.
This place sells them new http://www.bimart.com/?item=600251 so does Lowes,
and I also have a used one for sale on eBay which may be a good place to
start.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=57124&item=3821146783&rd=1 ,
I wouldn't get anything of less quality for woodworking projects, but if
it's for construction type work then any cheap junk saw will do.
Regards,
Lumberjack
"Sanbar" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Any recommendations on a low budget table saw.
>
>
On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 10:28:24 -0400, "Scott Burright"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Like slap a board on the table and nibble 1/64" of of it just by eyeballing.
I'll agree. Is the runout on that saw good enough for an accurate
64th? The example I used had some issues. The router will also
nicely nibble an edge.
>I've also had better success slicing boards exactly in half on the bench
>saw. You can install a dado stack-- granted, only a 1/2" one-- and with
>stop blocks, dog boards, and such, you can cut nice repeatable dados and
>rabbets very quickly. I even find the standard-blade, multiple-pass method
>of cutting dados far easier on the benchtop saw than with a circ saw.
Again, routers do great dados.
>To cut dados with a handheld router, I'd want to clamping fences, so that
>you reference the left one in the first pass and the right one coming back.
>Or a jig that does the same thing. Seems like more of a bitch to set up and
>repeat, and the guides aren't cheap. Then there's multiple passes for depth.
The jigs are very easily made. Multiple passes are easy with the
rotary turret on a plunger.
>Tapering legs, cutting tenons, and raising panels can be done on the bench
>saw, with a little help from our jigs.
I'll agree with tapering, but the other two operations are also very
easily done with the router flipped over, mounted to a board, with a
scrap wood fence clamped to the board. A square piece of ply makes a
great 90 degree miter gauge for tables without slots.
>As for big sheet goods, there are ways.
I don't cut full sheets alone on my cabinet saw. <G>
>I wouldn't trade my benchtop saw for a Festool plunge-cut circular saw and
>guide system. OK, I would, but only so I could sell it and buy a better
>table saw. The point is, I think the better benchtop saws are whole worlds
>better than circular saws for weekend warrior projects, and not a whole lot
>more expensive. If a contractor's saw is not in your immediate future, I
>say the $179 on a jumped-up bench saw is worth every cent.
I'm glad it works for you. I fully agree that IF a better table saw
is not in the plans for a long time. With your saw, or a good
circular saw and guide, a router is still pretty necessary.
I just like newbies to hear the options.
Thanks!
Barry
On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 16:19:08 -0400, "Scott Burright"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>This was just my reasoning. It's all tradeoffs. The 300 seems like a good
>saw. Not an heirloom, but certainly something you can make furniture with
>for a while.
You guys should also keep an ear to the ground. I sold a Jet
contractor's saw, with a 30" fence, decent blade, mobile base, link
belt, PALS kit, and some assorted small stuff, for $350 six months
ago.
That saw served me extremely well for 6 years, and I'd still be
happily using it if I didn't need a whole bunch of 44" wide panels.
<G> I paid $500 + $49 for the base, six years ago.
Keep the ear close to the ground, 'cause mine sold in four hours, out
of a local bargain shopper rag / website that covers NY, CT, MA, and
RI. While the buyer was looking at it and loading it up, several more
calls came in.
Barry
"Sanbar" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Any recommendations on a low budget table saw.
Check the classifieds and get something used.
> "Sanbar" <[email protected]> wrote
> > Any recommendations on a low budget table saw.
I bought a Delta "Shopmaster" TS220LS for $179. You can do a lot with it
that you (or at least I) can't do with a circular saw and router and guides.
It has its limitations, mainly having to do with the short miter gage. My
first "project" was a miter gage improvement with a sliding bed. After
working with that a bit, my next project is a full-fledged crosscut sled.
I chronicle my experiences with this thing at http://benchsaw.blogspot.com/
BTW, I never see used table saws in the classifieds here in the Washington
DC area. I think the market for them is just too hot.
--Scott
"nuk" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I opted
> for a Ryobi BT3100, a nice little saw from Home Depot for about $300,
> less if you time the sales right. Lots of dedicated help over at the
> forums at www.bt3central.com, and an interesting review at:
> http://benchmark.20m.com/tools/BT3100/bt3100index.html. Like I said,
> neat saw, but not always the saw for everyone. Works for me, though.
There's now a cut-rate version of the 3100 with a similar sliding
table/miter gage idea. $169 @ Borg. They seem awfully weird to me, but I
guess you could get used to them.
--Scott
"B a r r y" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Mon, 14 Jun 2004 10:21:45 -0400, "Scott Burright"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> >I bought a Delta "Shopmaster" TS220LS for $179. You can do a lot with it
> >that you (or at least I) can't do with a circular saw and router and
guides.
>
> I respectfully ask, like what?
Like slap a board on the table and nibble 1/64" of of it just by eyeballing.
I've also had better success slicing boards exactly in half on the bench
saw. You can install a dado stack-- granted, only a 1/2" one-- and with
stop blocks, dog boards, and such, you can cut nice repeatable dados and
rabbets very quickly. I even find the standard-blade, multiple-pass method
of cutting dados far easier on the benchtop saw than with a circ saw.
To cut dados with a handheld router, I'd want to clamping fences, so that
you reference the left one in the first pass and the right one coming back.
Or a jig that does the same thing. Seems like more of a bitch to set up and
repeat, and the guides aren't cheap. Then there's multiple passes for depth.
Tapering legs, cutting tenons, and raising panels can be done on the bench
saw, with a little help from our jigs.
As for big sheet goods, there are ways.
I wouldn't trade my benchtop saw for a Festool plunge-cut circular saw and
guide system. OK, I would, but only so I could sell it and buy a better
table saw. The point is, I think the better benchtop saws are whole worlds
better than circular saws for weekend warrior projects, and not a whole lot
more expensive. If a contractor's saw is not in your immediate future, I
say the $179 on a jumped-up bench saw is worth every cent.
(Of course, one thing it will do is whet your appetite for a real table saw.
Eventually, you *will* part with the money!)
--Scott
"B a r r y" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Is the runout on that saw good enough for an accurate
> 64th?
If you're super-retentive on the setup, you can get (and keep) a Delta bench
saw to contractor saw tolerances, unless parts are damaged. It seems you
have to take this kind of trouble to tune more expensive saws also.
You're right: A router is definitely necessary, and can do some of these
jobs better than the bench saw. Thing is, you'll need a router even if you
get a Unisaw. So I have started out with an inexpensive fixed-base Ryobi
router and an inexpensive saw. Got me cutting!
A word of warning on cheap routers: The lower-end Skil plunge routers are a
pile of pony waste. On every model I've tried, there's 1/8" of play in the
base when you lock the depth down. Cheap fixed-base routers do not have this
problem.
Tuning circular saws is a big problem also. My mid-range Skil is just
slightly out of parallel and plumb with the footplate, no matter what I do.
This means saw marks and other nasty things. Unless you spend $120 or more
on a circ saw, the cheap footplate spells nothing but rough cuts for you.
The bench saw, on the other hand, can be adjusted 11 ways from January, and
it doesn't cost a lot more than a good Milwaukee circular saw.
Your post is right on, though. Good info, and newbies should have it all.
--Scott
"Rick Samuel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Delta's TS300 is about as low as you can get and still do
> pretty good work. "Course with skill you can
> do anything with nothing. At least thats what I
> hear.........no skill here.
None here, neither.
To me, the TS300 is still half a table saw. And it costs half as much as a
real one. That's a 1:1 ratio of cost to capability, and I figured if I was
going to sacrifice capability, I should get a better discount on the price.
Thus the TS220LS. I mean, once I'm spending $300, I'm thinking, why not
$550? But $179 is a different story. That's the price of a good circular saw
+ blade + clamping guide.
I'm not sure what the 300 can do that the 220 can't.
The TS300 does have a cast iron table. But this means it lacks portability.
I figure if I'm going to get a real stationary saw, I want one with an
induction motor and standard-sized table. Otherwise, I want to be able to
heave it into my car.
This was just my reasoning. It's all tradeoffs. The 300 seems like a good
saw. Not an heirloom, but certainly something you can make furniture with
for a while.
--Scott
"B a r r y" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I sold a Jet
> contractor's saw, with a 30" fence, decent blade, mobile base, link
> belt, PALS kit, and some assorted small stuff, for $350 six months
> ago.
> ....mine sold in four hours, out
> of a local bargain shopper rag / website that covers NY, CT, MA, and
> RI. While the buyer was looking at it and loading it up, several more
> calls came in.
Yes, this is the problem. For every one person who gets his hands on such a
bargain, there are X persons jostling for it and coming away with nothing.
If you spend time (and Einstein proved time = money), and you know what
you're looking at, and you're willing to travel, you may eventually snag a
deal like this. I think that when the time comes, I'll just spend the extra
$200-$300.
But your mileage will vary. For some, The Gloat is all. If you're that
type, then the joy you get from buying a real saw plus accessories for the
price of a Ryobi BT3100 will be well worth the trouble.
And Barry.... next time you have tools to sell, write me, dang ya.
--Scott
On Sat, 12 Jun 2004 18:11:54 -0500, "Sanbar" <[email protected]> wrote:
>Any recommendations on a low budget table saw.
>
A good straight edge guide, with a good circular saw. Need dados or
rabbets? Use the same guide with a router. Heck, you could actually
skip the saw and do your cutting with a router and straight bit.
The portable stuff will still come in handy even after you get a good
table saw.
Here's a good example:
<http://shop.woodcraft.com/Woodcraft/product_family.asp?family%5Fid=3701&gift=False&mscssid=A042A47DD6EE43CD902137B2E6B280D6>
Barry
On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 10:03:36 -0400, "Scott Burright"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>And Barry.... next time you have tools to sell, write me, dang ya.
>
>--Scott
I've got a 6" Rigid jointer, with extra knives. All knives have been
recently professionally sharpened, to a point better than new!
$275 OBO in CT. This jointer is $390-400 + $30 for the spare knives,
new.
I bought a DJ-20, otherwise, I was very happy with the Rigid.
Barry
On 16 Jun 2004 06:56:08 -0700, [email protected] (Keith Bozek) wrote:
>Hi Barry,
>
>You mentioned a "local bargain shopper rag / website that covers NY,
>CT, MA..." I live in NY. Just curious do you have a URL to that
>website.
>
>Keith
http://www.bargainnews.com
Have fun!
Barry
On Sat, 12 Jun 2004 18:11:54 -0500, Sanbar <[email protected]> wrote:
> Any recommendations on a low budget table saw.
Lots of good recommendations so far. A good circular saw and router
would be very useful anyway, so spending some money up front on those
might not be a bad idea. In the mean time start shoping the
classifieds, and check out some books on tuning up saws, as a lot of
what you see there will help you to tell if a saw has been abused, or is
going to be more of a PITA than you want to deal w/. Other options
include getting an upper-end bench or lower end contractor saw to begin
w/ while you decide how serious you want to pursue woodworking. I opted
for a Ryobi BT3100, a nice little saw from Home Depot for about $300,
less if you time the sales right. Lots of dedicated help over at the
forums at www.bt3central.com, and an interesting review at:
http://benchmark.20m.com/tools/BT3100/bt3100index.html. Like I said,
neat saw, but not always the saw for everyone. Works for me, though.
Enjoy,
nuk
--
I know more than enough *nix to do some very destructive things,
and not nearly enough to do very many useful things.
On Mon, 14 Jun 2004 10:21:45 -0400, "Scott Burright"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I bought a Delta "Shopmaster" TS220LS for $179. You can do a lot with it
>that you (or at least I) can't do with a circular saw and router and guides.
I respectfully ask, like what?
Thanks,
Barry
i purchased a Jet from Woodcraft for 500.00$ and i have been very
satisified with it and the stock fence isn't too bad either.
LonE
On 13 Jun 2004 05:46:54 -0700, [email protected] (WebsterSteve)
wrote:
>"Sanbar" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>> Any recommendations on a low budget table saw.
>
>Check the classifieds and get something used.