I started out 3 - 4 years ago using a Delta 36-540C bench top saw. It was
all that I expected and what has been said here. But, I do not have any
room to use a table saw in my small shed/shop. All my WW must be done
outside, so portability is a prime factor as is a small storage foot print.
This summer the old POS packed it in. I searched around and decided on the
Craftsman Job Site Saw, model 137.27138. It got a pretty good reveiw in one
of the magazines and it was on sale at Sears at the time. The original
blade leaves a lot to be desired and I replaced it with a Freud LU 82 combo
blade that performs very well. Doesn't quite leave a glue line finish but
close.
I have had a 3/4" dado stack on the saw and it worked well in western red
cedar. I don't know how it would work in white oak (but I might find out
next year).
All in all this saw works very well. Just like Jay's experience with the
Dewalt DW 744 the Craftsman was almost dead on out of the box.
"Jay" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Ned J. Clarke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> > Howdy gents. I'm looking to buy a brand new benchtop table saw for my
> > little shop. I'd like to hear some opinions about my various options.
> > Also, would I need to buy a new blade, or would the stock blade be good
> > enough nowadays?
> >
> > Thanks a zillion!
> >
> > Ned J. Clarke
>
> Dewalt DW744:
>
> I _OWN_ a DW744 bench top (As opposed to merely having an opinion
> about it). Other than the distance between the front and the blade, I
> love it. The fence is excellent, accurate, and stays put. Dust
> collection is pretty good with a shop vac. Light enough to move
> around, heavy enough to stay solid when properly clamped down. GET
> ROLLER STANDS, you'll need them. Yes, it's screaming loud. Get Peltor
> WorkTunes. Nice paddle switch. Follow the directions for getting it
> tuned, very easy to do. Mine was dead-on out of the box, except for
> the fence guage, which had to be re-zeroed.
>
> This is my first saw, I've had it for a year. I knew going into it
> that I would "Cry again" and eventually buy another saw. But, I knew
> that it would be small and portable, and that one day when I buy a
> big, heavy, immobile hunk of steel, this saw will still be able to be
> thrown in the back of the pickup or will dutifully hold an old blade
> for cutting tubafours.
>
> Blades (for this saw):
> The stock blade that comes with it is very good for ripping 2X4's and
> cedar fencing. Don't try it on ply.
>
> I have a Freud TK306 ($30 at lowes) which works incredible on plywood
> and crosscuts on this saw.
>
> I own the $20 8" stacked dado from HF and use it on the saw. Great
> dado for the money, wouldn't use it when the dado shows. I can spin
> 3/4" dadoes at 3/8" depth in plywood without problem on the DW744.
Here's an online review (though old - 1999):
http://www.woodnet.net/reviews/archive/benchtop-saws/
On 29 Oct 2004 23:24:26 GMT, "Ned J. Clarke" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>Howdy gents. I'm looking to buy a brand new benchtop table saw for my
>little shop. I'd like to hear some opinions about my various options.
>Also, would I need to buy a new blade, or would the stock blade be good
>enough nowadays?
>
>Thanks a zillion!
>
>Ned J. Clarke
Andrew Barss wrote:
> : Howdy gents. I'm looking to buy a brand new benchtop table saw for my
> : little shop. I'd like to hear some opinions about my various options.
> I've never owned one, but the Ryobi BT-3000 has a quite devoted
> following. I think there's Yahoo newsgroup devoted to it.
And yet, the BT-3000 still strikes me as sort of pointless. It's as big as
a contractor's saw, so space saving is a wash. It's in the same ballpark
price wise as lower end contractor's saws. It's aluminum. It has that
confangledy flabbing sliding table instead of miter slots. I think it has
a screaming universal motor too. Think. It's been a long time since last
February.
I looked at those hard because of all the happy BT3000 users, but I wound up
buying a (Crapsman) contractor's saw. I recommend one over any benchtop or
lighter duty machine hands down. They're heavy as a dickens, as large as
an aircraft carrier, with 12 acres of table surface, and realllllllllly
unwieldy in a tiny shop like mine, but it's still worth it. My benchtop
(Skil 3400) was such a POS.
I concede that the BT would be much better than that Skil, but in my shop
the biggest question was size. The BT doesn't save you much of any room at
all. The only small shop advantage I can see is that it's probably light
enough to move around a bit. With 13,000 pounds of iron in my way, and
only 12" of clearance between the fence rails and my workbench, I do miss
having that little bitty Skil out there.
Until I fire this thing up and cut off a bunch of stuff, and leave the
cutoffs on the table because they ain't goin' nowhere. It's amazing what a
difference 13,000 pounds of iron makes dampening vibrations. It's also
whisper quiet, with practically the only noise being from the saw teeth
chewing up wood. I love this thing! Benchtop saws suck so much.
Everything else being equal, I say sacrifice something else and get a real
saw. Benchtops are good for cutting the ends off tuba fores. If you
realllly work hard at it with enough jiggery and patience, you can do good
work on one (my chess box hasn't exploded yet, and I glued the board up
straight off that POS saw) but in terms of the joy factor, it just isn't
worth the frustration in retrospect. I wish I had dumped my benchtop a
long time ago. I just suck in my butt when I squeeze past it, and life is
good.
--
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/
brian lanning wrote:
> with sheet metal screws. I had to operate the stack without a throat
> plate. Very dangerous. If I were you, I'd head over to grizzly and
Same thing as the Skil. It's almost an identical saw. Not only what you've
said, but it's also damn near impossible to make a zero-clearance insert
for the thing. I never did come up with anything that worked.
(Of course my Crapsman contractor's saw is another variation on the same
theme. Caveat emptor. Standard oval hole doesn't mean it takes a standard
oval part. The casting on this one means the new insert has to be quite
complicated, with all kinds of little stuff routed out of it. Cutting a
piece of oval plywood and slapping it in the hole ain't gonna do it. I
never have gotten one of those fitted right either. <sigh>)
--
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/
[email protected] wrote:
> It was designed as a BENCHTOP saw, meaning light weight.
It's too damn BIG to be a benchtop saw though, and it isn't all that light
either.
--
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/
On Fri, 29 Oct 2004 18:33:06 -0500, Robert Galloway
<[email protected]> calmly ranted:
>Hate to be a shill for a vendor but...
>I've never seen a stock blade or most replacement blades that can hold a
>candle to the Forrest WWII.
And they cost -only- half the price of the benchtop table saw.
According to Charlie Self, the Freud F410 is less than half
the price and just about as good. Put it on a Grizzly G0444
and he'd have himself a nice starter setup;until he hit the
steeper end of the slope and headed back for the Griz G1023S.
Goto www.grizzly.com , Ned.
--
"Given the low level of competence among politicians,
every American should become a Libertarian."
-- Charley Reese, Alameda Times-Star (California), June 17, 2003
Larry Jaques wrote:
> On Fri, 29 Oct 2004 18:33:06 -0500, Robert Galloway
> <[email protected]> calmly ranted:
>
> >Hate to be a shill for a vendor but...
> >I've never seen a stock blade or most replacement blades that can hold a
> >candle to the Forrest WWII.
>
> And they cost -only- half the price of the benchtop table saw.
>
> According to Charlie Self, the Freud F410 is less than half
> the price and just about as good. Put it on a Grizzly G0444
> and he'd have himself a nice starter setup;until he hit the
> steeper end of the slope and headed back for the Griz G1023S.
The Freud F410 is about the same cost as the WWII.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004T7PV/104-3554622-0868761?v=glance
--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA
(Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)
I had the delta bench top saw. It was complete junk. The origial
blade was even worse. I was able to live with it through the
completion of a little table though. So I'd say that they are usable.
Accuracy and repeatability are an issue though, as is power. I had a
real hard time cutting through 2.5" of poplar with this saw. I was
able to get about 1/2" worth of a stacked dado set into the saw. It
was dangerious though because the throat plate was flat metal held in
with sheet metal screws. I had to operate the stack without a throat
plate. Very dangerous. If I were you, I'd head over to grizzly and
pick up their entry level contractor's saw. That way, you could
upgrade to a better fence, cast iron extensions, and maybe even a new
motor as things progress.
brian
"Ned J. Clarke" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Howdy gents. I'm looking to buy a brand new benchtop table saw for my
> little shop. I'd like to hear some opinions about my various options.
> Also, would I need to buy a new blade, or would the stock blade be good
> enough nowadays?
>
> Thanks a zillion!
>
> Ned J. Clarke
I just bought a Delta 10" benchtop for my small garage. I use it mainly for
ripping 1x4's since it is not good for anything else. Worst $100 ever
spent, but I got what I paid for. When funds are available I will throw
this in the garbage and get a Grizzly contractor or cabinet saw.
Scott
"Ned J. Clarke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Howdy gents. I'm looking to buy a brand new benchtop table saw for my
> little shop. I'd like to hear some opinions about my various options.
> Also, would I need to buy a new blade, or would the stock blade be good
> enough nowadays?
>
> Thanks a zillion!
>
> Ned J. Clarke
On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 10:19:23 -0400, Nova <[email protected]>
calmly ranted:
>Larry Jaques wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 29 Oct 2004 18:33:06 -0500, Robert Galloway
>> <[email protected]> calmly ranted:
>>
>> >Hate to be a shill for a vendor but...
>> >I've never seen a stock blade or most replacement blades that can hold a
>> >candle to the Forrest WWII.
>>
>> And they cost -only- half the price of the benchtop table saw.
>>
>> According to Charlie Self, the Freud F410 is less than half
>> the price and just about as good. Put it on a Grizzly G0444
>> and he'd have himself a nice starter setup;until he hit the
>> steeper end of the slope and headed back for the Griz G1023S.
>
>The Freud F410 is about the same cost as the WWII.
>
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004T7PV/104-3554622-0868761?v=glance
So I see. I must have picked that bad tidbit of info up from some
other source.
I got my HF set of Silver & Demings out yesterday, opened the HF box
containing the 1/2" chuck for my trusty B&D 3/8" VSR, installed it,
chucked a 3/4 S&D bit in it, and proceeded to drill out the 60T and
40T HF blades to fit onto Dina. All went smoothly, cheap bits thru
cheap metal. I sure wouldn't want to make my living with HF bits.
I just hope it lasts through the entire dado set...
Anyway, Dina now has a new set of teeth.
--
"Given the low level of competence among politicians,
every American should become a Libertarian."
-- Charley Reese, Alameda Times-Star (California), June 17, 2003
"Ned J. Clarke" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Howdy gents. I'm looking to buy a brand new benchtop table saw for my
> little shop. I'd like to hear some opinions about my various options.
> Also, would I need to buy a new blade, or would the stock blade be good
> enough nowadays?
>
> Thanks a zillion!
>
> Ned J. Clarke
Dewalt DW744:
I _OWN_ a DW744 bench top (As opposed to merely having an opinion
about it). Other than the distance between the front and the blade, I
love it. The fence is excellent, accurate, and stays put. Dust
collection is pretty good with a shop vac. Light enough to move
around, heavy enough to stay solid when properly clamped down. GET
ROLLER STANDS, you'll need them. Yes, it's screaming loud. Get Peltor
WorkTunes. Nice paddle switch. Follow the directions for getting it
tuned, very easy to do. Mine was dead-on out of the box, except for
the fence guage, which had to be re-zeroed.
This is my first saw, I've had it for a year. I knew going into it
that I would "Cry again" and eventually buy another saw. But, I knew
that it would be small and portable, and that one day when I buy a
big, heavy, immobile hunk of steel, this saw will still be able to be
thrown in the back of the pickup or will dutifully hold an old blade
for cutting tubafours.
Blades (for this saw):
The stock blade that comes with it is very good for ripping 2X4's and
cedar fencing. Don't try it on ply.
I have a Freud TK306 ($30 at lowes) which works incredible on plywood
and crosscuts on this saw.
I own the $20 8" stacked dado from HF and use it on the saw. Great
dado for the money, wouldn't use it when the dado shows. I can spin
3/4" dadoes at 3/8" depth in plywood without problem on the DW744.
Hate to be a shill for a vendor but...
I've never seen a stock blade or most replacement blades that can hold a
candle to the Forrest WWII.
Just one man's opinion.
bob g.
Ned J. Clarke wrote:
> Howdy gents. I'm looking to buy a brand new benchtop table saw for my
> little shop. I'd like to hear some opinions about my various options.
> Also, would I need to buy a new blade, or would the stock blade be good
> enough nowadays?
>
> Thanks a zillion!
>
> Ned J. Clarke
Personally, I'd look for an old Craftsman benchtop tablesaw, the kind that
has the cast iron top and trunnion and the motor hangs off the back. All the
direct drive benchtop saws I have dealt with have been loud as hell,
underpowered and flimsy.
"Ned J. Clarke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Howdy gents. I'm looking to buy a brand new benchtop table saw for my
> little shop. I'd like to hear some opinions about my various options.
> Also, would I need to buy a new blade, or would the stock blade be good
> enough nowadays?
>
> Thanks a zillion!
>
> Ned J. Clarke
On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 14:11:14 GMT, "Sherfey's"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I just bought a Delta 10" benchtop for my small garage. I use it mainly for
>ripping 1x4's since it is not good for anything else. Worst $100 ever
>spent, but I got what I paid for. When funds are available I will throw
>this in the garbage and get a Grizzly contractor or cabinet saw.
I don't know about that... I've got the Delta 10" deluxe tabletop saw
with the extension wing, and my only two real complaints are that if I
want to upgrade the fence, I'm going to have to make one myself,
because the table is too short to accept an aftermarket one, and the
arbor is too short for a dado stack (but it will still use a wobble
dado)
It may be that you are talking about their "standard" 10" benchtop,
which I'll agree looked like a piece of junk in the store, but the
deluxe model is a few steps up in quality as far as I can tell.
I had a lot of trouble whipping it into shape and learning how to use
it within it's limitations, but now that it's all set up, and I've got
about a hundred hours in with it, it really is a pretty good little
saw for the price. Vibration is not a factor because I built my own
steel frame to mount it on, and then laid concrete blocks in the
bottom of it. The whole thing is nice and solid.
>Scott
>"Ned J. Clarke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> Howdy gents. I'm looking to buy a brand new benchtop table saw for my
>> little shop. I'd like to hear some opinions about my various options.
>> Also, would I need to buy a new blade, or would the stock blade be good
>> enough nowadays?
>>
>> Thanks a zillion!
>>
>> Ned J. Clarke
>
In alt.woodworking Ned J. Clarke <[email protected]> wrote:
: Howdy gents. I'm looking to buy a brand new benchtop table saw for my
: little shop. I'd like to hear some opinions about my various options.
: Also, would I need to buy a new blade, or would the stock blade be good
: enough nowadays?
: Thanks a zillion!
I've never owned one, but the Ryobi BT-3000 has a quite devoted
following. I think there's Yahoo newsgroup devoted to it.
All the others, by Delta, Skil, etc. are pretty much not liked by anyone
trying to do precise woodworking.
-- Andy Barss
Andrew Barss <[email protected]> wrote:
> In alt.woodworking Ned J. Clarke <[email protected]> wrote:
>: Howdy gents. I'm looking to buy a brand new benchtop table saw for my
>: little shop. I'd like to hear some opinions about my various options.
>: Also, would I need to buy a new blade, or would the stock blade be
>: good enough nowadays?
>
>: Thanks a zillion!
>
>
> I've never owned one, but the Ryobi BT-3000 has a quite devoted
> following. I think there's Yahoo newsgroup devoted to it.
And a web site: http://www.bt3central.com/
I've owned one for about ten years and while I wouldn't say I'm devoted
to it, it has served me pretty well. If I can believe some of the tales
I hear about the other brands, I'd guess it holds alignment better than
them. The dust collection is great, the sliding table works, fence rails
are easy to move and realignment is easy, comes with a removeable
extension table with cutout for mounting a router or jig saw. On the con
side, it does lack power and you do have to take it slow when ripping
thick hardwoods.
LD
>
> All the others, by Delta, Skil, etc. are pretty much not liked by
> anyone trying to do precise woodworking.
>
> -- Andy Barss
>
>
Ned J. Clarke wrote:
> Howdy gents. I'm looking to buy a brand new benchtop table saw for my
> little shop. I'd like to hear some opinions about my various options.
> Also, would I need to buy a new blade, or would the stock blade be
> good enough nowadays?
I had a Delta bench saw for a couple years before its shortcomings exceeded
mine. ;-) I upgraded to a Griz contractor saw, which I really like. If I
had had the space I would have kept the Delta as it worked very well for
some things.
I recommend you get a good thin kerf blade and blade stabilizers. The
thinner kerf takes less horsepower. Keep the stock blade to put back on
when you sell it... That's what I did. ;-)
-- Mark
It was designed as a BENCHTOP saw, meaning light weight.
On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 03:46:30 -0400, Silvan
<[email protected]> wrote:
>And yet, the BT-3000 still strikes me as sort of pointless. It's as big as
>a contractor's saw, so space saving is a wash. It's in the same ballpark
>price wise as lower end contractor's saws. It's aluminum. It has that
>confangledy flabbing sliding table instead of miter slots. I think it has
>a screaming universal motor too. Think. It's been a long time since last
>February.
Several years ago a job site construction foreman comment he had to
buy 3 new BTs 3 times a year for each of his 4 crews. They's use
nothing else.
On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 20:04:36 -0400, Silvan
<[email protected]> wrote:
>[email protected] wrote:
>
>> It was designed as a BENCHTOP saw, meaning light weight.
>
>It's too damn BIG to be a benchtop saw though, and it isn't all that light
>either.
In article <[email protected]>, Nova wrote:
> Larry Jaques wrote:
> ...
>> According to Charlie Self, the Freud F410 is less than half
>> the price and just about as good. Put it on a Grizzly G0444
>> and he'd have himself a nice starter setup;until he hit the
>> steeper end of the slope and headed back for the Griz G1023S.
>
> The Freud F410 is about the same cost as the WWII.
>
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004T7PV/104-3554622-0868761?v=glance
> --
> Jack Novak
<de-lurk>
Ouch! I bought my F410 last year from a local dealer (CB Tools San Jose)
for about $60. Perhaps they get a better deal than amazon?
</de-lurk>