Shopping for a table saw

Eric Miller wrote:

> comments on Amazon.com and I believe is resonabaly priced at $499. Any
> suggestions on other brands I should look at would be appreciated as well.
> Unfortunatly my major constraint is room.

For that kind of money, I'd hate to settle for any jobsite oriented portable
deal unless I intended to lug it around to jobsites.

I have an extremely small shop with an extremely large table saw. It's a
contractor's saw with 24" rip capacity to either side of the blade
(Crapsman). The motor sticks way out, the fence rails stick way out. It's
definitely a PITA to work around, and I had to consign several machines
(belt/disc sander, router table, grinder) to benchtop, or even floor
mounted use, plus I had to evict my metal-cutting bandsaw entirely, and put
it in my house, in the middle of my den (which SWMBO loves).

Everything about having such a huge, heavy saw really sucks. Until I use it
to make something. I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE that saw!! It's worth every
bit of the PITA factor. Every bit of it.

I grew up on a Skil 3400, whose two greatest advantages were that I got it
new for $50, and it was extremely light and portable. The saw sucked, and
required a lot of compensation on my part to make up for its failings.
When the time came to replace it, I spent a lot of time looking at things
like this Bosh you're talking about, similar saws from DeWalt, etc. I
couldn't find a reasonably small, portable saw that didn't force me to
trade away an important consideration. I looked at the BT-3100 too, for
its lightness, but in the end the space demands were about the same, and if
I was going to have to use up 3/4 of my available floor space for a saw, I
was going to get cast iron. Aluminum saw tables suck.

So I did. No looking back.

I think if I had a garage scenario where I could put this thing on a mobile
base and move it around, it would be even more desireable to have this over
any jobsite deal. In my installation, I don't have anywhere to move it TO.
It's just there, eating up most of my space like a great gray battleship.
But damn this thing can do good work, and it's only a lowly Crapsman.

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/

Just to clarify, I am not looking for a saw that can be hung on the wall
when not being used. I have enough floor space to store a saw once it has
been broken down and taken off a stand. I realize that a cabinet saw is the
ideal choice, but unfortunatly I don't have the room for one right now. Nor
do I have the resources now to build a home for one....although that is
ultimatly what I would like to do.

Thanks

Eric

"Eric Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I am currently in the market for a new table saw. I have looked at various
>models and manufacturers and I am interested in the Bosch 4000-07 10" table
>saw. My question is, does anybody have experience with this saw...both
>good or bad? My workshop consists of a two-car garage that I have to share
>with two cars and various other items. Therefore, I need something that
>can be stored out of the way when not in use. This saw has received very
>favorable comments on Amazon.com and I believe is resonabaly priced at
>$499. Any suggestions on other brands I should look at would be
>appreciated as well. Unfortunatly my major constraint is room.
>
> Thanks
>
> Eric
>

Grizzly G0444Z check it out,



"Silvan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Eric Miller wrote:
>
> > comments on Amazon.com and I believe is resonabaly priced at $499. Any
> > suggestions on other brands I should look at would be appreciated as
well.
> > Unfortunatly my major constraint is room.
>
> For that kind of money, I'd hate to settle for any jobsite oriented
portable
> deal unless I intended to lug it around to jobsites.
>
> I have an extremely small shop with an extremely large table saw. It's a
> contractor's saw with 24" rip capacity to either side of the blade
> (Crapsman). The motor sticks way out, the fence rails stick way out.
It's
> definitely a PITA to work around, and I had to consign several machines
> (belt/disc sander, router table, grinder) to benchtop, or even floor
> mounted use, plus I had to evict my metal-cutting bandsaw entirely, and
put
> it in my house, in the middle of my den (which SWMBO loves).
>
> Everything about having such a huge, heavy saw really sucks. Until I use
it
> to make something. I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE that saw!! It's worth
every
> bit of the PITA factor. Every bit of it.
>
> I grew up on a Skil 3400, whose two greatest advantages were that I got it
> new for $50, and it was extremely light and portable. The saw sucked, and
> required a lot of compensation on my part to make up for its failings.
> When the time came to replace it, I spent a lot of time looking at things
> like this Bosh you're talking about, similar saws from DeWalt, etc. I
> couldn't find a reasonably small, portable saw that didn't force me to
> trade away an important consideration. I looked at the BT-3100 too, for
> its lightness, but in the end the space demands were about the same, and
if
> I was going to have to use up 3/4 of my available floor space for a saw, I
> was going to get cast iron. Aluminum saw tables suck.
>
> So I did. No looking back.
>
> I think if I had a garage scenario where I could put this thing on a
mobile
> base and move it around, it would be even more desireable to have this
over
> any jobsite deal. In my installation, I don't have anywhere to move it
TO.
> It's just there, eating up most of my space like a great gray battleship.
> But damn this thing can do good work, and it's only a lowly Crapsman.
>
> --
> Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
> Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
> http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
> http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/

I bought the Rigid and am completely satisfied. I'm not a professional
cabinet maker, but not a hack either. The fence works well, the table
extends to handle most things I do, rolled up and stored against the wall -
it doesn't take up a lot of space; doesn't rust out in the garage. And the
dust collection hooked up to my Sears shop vac works well.
I was only so-so on a direct-drive saw, but I can say I've haven't had
anything to complain about with respect to the power of this one. Moving it
around like a luggage cart is not something to be taken lightly. Try doing
that with anything on a square fixed base.
Dave
"Eric Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I am currently in the market for a new table saw. I have looked at various
>models and manufacturers and I am interested in the Bosch 4000-07 10" table
>saw. My question is, does anybody have experience with this saw...both
>good or bad? My workshop consists of a two-car garage that I have to share
>with two cars and various other items. Therefore, I need something that
>can be stored out of the way when not in use. This saw has received very
>favorable comments on Amazon.com and I believe is resonabaly priced at
>$499. Any suggestions on other brands I should look at would be
>appreciated as well. Unfortunatly my major constraint is room.
>
> Thanks
>
> Eric
>

"Eric Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> when not being used. I have enough floor space to store a saw once it has
> been broken down and taken off a stand. I realize that a cabinet saw is
the
> ideal choice, but unfortunately I don't have the room for one right now.

Aside from some height difference, a cabinet saw doesn't take up much more
floor space than a contractor's saw even if it has been taken off the stand.
In fact, taking a contractor's saw off its base and having two pieces to
store would probably end up using more space than the cabinet saw. The only
real difference is weight (and cost). To handle the weight factor, a cabinet
saw can be put on a mobile base.

"Eric Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> I am currently in the market for a new table saw. I have looked at
> various models and manufacturers and I am interested in the Bosch
> 4000-07 10" table saw. My question is, does anybody have experience
> with this saw...both good or bad? My workshop consists of a two-car
> garage that I have to share with two cars and various other items.
> Therefore, I need something that can be stored out of the way when not
> in use. This saw has received very favorable comments on Amazon.com
> and I believe is resonabaly priced at $499. Any suggestions on other
> brands I should look at would be appreciated as well. Unfortunatly my
> major constraint is room.

This is primarily a job-site saw, made for portability, rather than fine
woodworking. Gets tossed in the back of a pickup truck regularly, etc.

The new Ridgid saw, in the same price range at Home Depot, has earned some
nice comments lately. Comes with a well-engineered stand, a decent fence
and should roll away nicely. If you need to hang it on a hook, though, I
think you are out of luck.

However, with the Bosch, you could build a car port, and convert the whole
garage to it's rightful use...

Patriarch

Eric, if your wallet can stand it, you might look at the hybrid saw from Jet
or the new one due out soon from Sears. They have full size tabletops
(roughly 27X44), cast iron extensions, etc., but the motors are contained
within the cabinets rather than extending out from the back. Therefore,
their storage footprint is much smaller than a contractor saw...not much
bigger than the job site saw you're looking at.

According to some of the woodworking mags, these seem to be a very good
compromise between a contractor saw and a cabinet saw.

"Eric Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Just to clarify, I am not looking for a saw that can be hung on the wall
> when not being used. I have enough floor space to store a saw once it has
> been broken down and taken off a stand. I realize that a cabinet saw is
the
> ideal choice, but unfortunatly I don't have the room for one right now.
Nor
> do I have the resources now to build a home for one....although that is
> ultimatly what I would like to do.
>
> Thanks
>
> Eric
>
> "Eric Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >I am currently in the market for a new table saw. I have looked at
various
> >models and manufacturers and I am interested in the Bosch 4000-07 10"
table
> >saw. My question is, does anybody have experience with this saw...both
> >good or bad? My workshop consists of a two-car garage that I have to
share
> >with two cars and various other items. Therefore, I need something that
> >can be stored out of the way when not in use. This saw has received very
> >favorable comments on Amazon.com and I believe is resonabaly priced at
> >$499. Any suggestions on other brands I should look at would be
> >appreciated as well. Unfortunatly my major constraint is room.
> >
> > Thanks
> >
> > Eric
> >
>
>

Eric, I have the big cast iron Rigid at HD that you're not interested in.
My brother (a carpenter in MI) tried to push me toward the Rgid fold-up
that's been mentioned. Says once it's setup on a job site, everyone uses
it, and he sees those holding up well to a lot of use.

Dave


"Eric Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Just to clarify, I am not looking for a saw that can be hung on the wall
> when not being used. I have enough floor space to store a saw once it has
> been broken down and taken off a stand. I realize that a cabinet saw is
> the ideal choice, but unfortunatly I don't have the room for one right
> now. Nor do I have the resources now to build a home for one....although
> that is ultimatly what I would like to do.
>
> Thanks
>
> Eric
>
> "Eric Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>>I am currently in the market for a new table saw. I have looked at
>>various models and manufacturers and I am interested in the Bosch 4000-07
>>10" table saw. My question is, does anybody have experience with this
>>saw...both good or bad? My workshop consists of a two-car garage that I
>>have to share with two cars and various other items. Therefore, I need
>>something that can be stored out of the way when not in use. This saw has
>>received very favorable comments on Amazon.com and I believe is resonabaly
>>priced at $499. Any suggestions on other brands I should look at would be
>>appreciated as well. Unfortunatly my major constraint is room.
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> Eric
>>
>
>

On Sun, 28 Nov 2004 14:21:20 GMT, "Eric Miller"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Just to clarify, I am not looking for a saw that can be hung on the wall
>when not being used. I have enough floor space to store a saw once it has
>been broken down and taken off a stand. I realize that a cabinet saw is the
>ideal choice, but unfortunatly I don't have the room for one right now. Nor
>do I have the resources now to build a home for one....although that is
>ultimatly what I would like to do.
>
>Thanks
>

a cabinet saw doesnt require any more room than a contrators saw. the
motor on a contractors saw generaly hangs off the back taking up more
space that a cabinet saw top. the fence system is apples to apples on
higher end saws. the main difference size wise between the two is the
weight factor. if you put the cabinet saw on a mobile base you can
store it while not in use. hope i understood your post corectly.

skeez