Cheap Tablesaws--how bad?

[Matt Meiser]

I've got a '40-something Unisaw I love. Except when I work on something in the house or over at my parents' house. Here, I'd be using it for things like ripping down a piece of trim, cutting a shelf, etc. I'm wondering if a cheap (i.e. Ryobi, Delta, Craftsman, etc) universal motor tablesaw wouldn't meet my needs for those times. I've seen lightly used examples on Craigslist for as low as $35. (I've also seen beat-to-heck examples for $100.) I've never used one though--how bad are they?

[Brian Greb]

The universal direct drive saws are good machines if your using them for what they where designed i.e. contractor job-site work. They tend to be underpowered and vibration prone but if your not building fine furniture with them then this is not an issue. If your buying one used ask what it was used for... stay away from one that was abused by a contractors crew, look for one that a DIYer upgraded away from.

There is my 2 cents on that.

[Prashun Patel]

Matt-

IMHO, you'd be better served by an accurate 8-10" miter saw, a circular saw, a shop-made straight guide, and a couple of saw horses.

For molding, you need accuracy. For shelves, you need support. A cheap tablesaw gives you neither.

[Dan Schocke]

For $35 I think you'll get a much better apreciation for your unisaw :).

I have the Delta benchtop saw that I purchased before I had enough room for a real table saw. I knew it wasn't going to be a great saw, but I hoped it would allow me to keep woodworking until I coould find more space. I was able to use it to build some nice pieces of furniture, but it always took a lot of setup work for each cut (fence needed a lot of tweaking to make it the same on infeed and outfeed side of the blade), and you have to be very careful about tipping the saw if you are ripping a long board. I would hate to use it indoors because it's about the loudest powertool I've ever heard. I also don't think you can accurately cross-cut anything over about 3 inches wide.

If you're used to a unisaw, you're probably going to hate one of the jobsite/benchtop saws, but it will get the job done.

[Myk Rian]

I've got a '40-something Unisaw I love. Except when I work on something in the house or over at my parents' house. Here, I'd be using it for things like ripping down a piece of trim, cutting a shelf, etc. I'm wondering if a cheap (i.e. Ryobi, Delta, Craftsman, etc) universal motor tablesaw wouldn't meet my needs for those times. I've seen lightly used examples on Craigslist for as low as $35. (I've also seen beat-to-heck examples for $100.) I've never used one though--how bad are they?
I bought the Delta cheapo for $40 on CL. Cleaned it up and sold it for $60. It wasn't worth the $40. It's the same saw HF sells. Plastic case. Will only spin a TK blade. Sounds like a vacuum cleaner.

[Neil Brooks]

Some of the cheapies have NON-standard sized miter slots ... a royal PITA.

DAMHIK ;)

Neil
Whose low-end Ryobi is now a paperweight....

[phil harold]

I wood avoid Ryobi, Delta, Craftsman, look for makita, bosch, dewalt,

the whole problem with these saws are the fence
I have a Rousseau 2700XL Saw Stand
this almost turns my makita in to a cabinetsaw

[Jeff Sudmeier]

I have one that I use when we are building sheds. It works great but I only need the cuts to be within a 1/4 or so :)

For on the job use, I would pick up one of the saws with the built in stand.

Be careful with them, they can be tippy, especially when you are used to a beefy cabinet saw..

I have a craftsman jobsite saw. My first tablesaw, built a lot of nice stuff with it, but now it sits in the shed till I need it :)

[David Bodkin]

Eh, I'd try to find a used contractor's saw or something similar. Anything other than one of those cheap benchtop saws. I had one before I got my Grizzly 1023. I hated it then and I can't imagine using it now. They're underpowered, tippy, and it's hard to crosscut anything longer than about a foot. Maybe look into a Sliding Miter saw. It should be able to do what you want and be portable.

[Robby Tacheny]

I have a 10" Hitachi contractor saw as my main saw until I can afford a cabinet saw. I believe it is a C10RA3 that I got at the Borg for $169 about 5 years ago. Its not that bad. Its easy to adjust the blade parallel to the fence, and cuts pretty good with a 50 tooth freud combo. It has non-standard miter slots, but I still made a sled for it which works fine.

The fence is a little sloppy, but I have learned to pull back on it while sliding it to position so that it remains parallel. There is no tapping it for fine adjustments, or it goes out of parallel. So I slide it referencing the ruler for fine changes.

Its not perfect, but is 4x better than my old Delta which was I was never able to even get parallel to the fence. I have done a lot of cutting with this saw and it is still fine. I plan on keeping it even when I get a cabinet saw and will keep a dado stack on it full time.

-R

[John Grabowski]

Matt...I had a really light, small and carryable craftsman that I used when I need to take it with me...Put a nice sharp blade on it and go to town...I even pushed 4/4 hickory through it and it cut nicely. Only problem I had with it is dust collection was less than adequate.

I say go for it.

John G

[Van Huskey]

You would actually be surprised what you can do with one. You just can't treat them like a cabinet saw. If you take a little time to tune them (as best as they can be) they aren't half bad even the really low end stuff. I always think it is funny that by the time you get the knowledge to tune and use one of these POS correctly one almost always has bought a better saw.

[Tony Shea]

Iknow they're a lot more expensive than the cheap portable job-site table saws but the Dewalts are actually capable of some good precision work. They also have standard size miter slots therefore will accept aftermarket accessories. IMO you will not be happy with anything below this grade of table saw especially being used to a Unisaw. The Dewalt fence is really a joy to use on jobsite work as it is micro adjustable and stays true to the blade when locked. I've enjoyed using the Dewalt jobsite saw on small jobs that required it. It is tough getting used to not having an outfeed table, it's amazing how much I take that thing for granted.

[Rod Sheridan]

My brother has a Bosch portable table saw that he takes to the cottage.

It seems to work much better than I would have imagined..........Rod.

[Brian Kent]

Please don't buy a $99 Ryobi. It was dangerously flexible. I had 2 severe kickbacks, lots of tipping, fence crush during a kickback, splitter removed because it would flex so much it stopped the cut lumber from continuing, etc.

[Dave Cav]

I would go with a used contractor's saw. I see them on CL all the time in the $100 range. If you get a 20 or so year old Delta (make sure to test it before you buy it) with a cast iron top you'll have a good saw that won't drive you crazy.

[eric buggeln]

Matt, the DW745, Dewalts smallest and cheapest in there line can be unbelievable. First, you must throw away factory fence, rails, blade, and throat plate. Get the Rousseau Stand and fence with outfeed, all in one package and an aftermarket zero clearance insert. Finish with a Forrest blade and you have one amazing job-site table saw. Be ready to shell out more then $40.00. Cheap saws arent a good idea if you want to keep your fingers, Eric

[Chip Lindley]

+2 on Used Contractor Saw. After using real Unisaw, you will find most small, cheap TS's laughable. (there are a few exceptions) You usually get what you pay for in a TS. A used Delta or Rockwell Model 10 contractor saw with CI top, would be Light Years ahead of the aluminum types. A real 1.5hp motor that will run on 110v or 220v. Much more bang for the buck!

[David Prince]

A contractor saw is a decent enough saw, but it isn't the easiest to move from place to place by yourself. I can see what you are saying about a benchtop model. I don't like them, but it would have its place.

[Matt Meiser]

I'm defintely talking about a benchtop. A contractor saw and even the nice portable Bosch and Dewalt are too big. If I buy something it has to go up on a high shelf when I'm not using it.

[Glen Butler]

Please don't buy a $99 Ryobi. It was dangerously flexible. I had 2 severe kickbacks, lots of tipping, fence crush during a kickback, splitter removed because it would flex so much it stopped the cut lumber from continuing, etc.

I was going to say the same thing. Stay away from Ryobi. Tin Can with a screaming universal motor. Not fun at all.

I have used Bosch, Dewalt, and Ridgid portable saws. They are are pretty much equal to each other, but my favorite is the Ridgid. Portable saws are great for rough carpentry, and finish work, even stain grade finish work. I wouldn't get one with fine woodworking or production in mind.

[Chris Ambroson]

I've got the lightweight DeWALT DW745 saw that costs ~$350 depending where you look. I'm a weekend woodworker and I don't have a permanent shop. I have to pull everything out of my shed and set it up in my car port. It's a pain but I love messing around building stuff.

For as much as I move the saw around and take the fence off and put it back on, it is actually pretty accurate. The only issue I have with it is that it will not accept dado blades and it only rips up to 16". But then, that's when God invented routers, circular saws and straight edges.

I wish I currently lived somewhere I could by a midsize cabinet saw and install an outfeed table. For now though, I have been very impressed with the accuracy and power of the DW745. Just be sure to buy an outfeed stand with it.

[Randall Houghton]

Hi Matt
I'll take a shot at this since I've been doing carpentry work for 40 years and have use most everything from portable bench saws to euro sliders. Portable bench saws are popular for trim and light carpentry because of their light weight and portability. They are basically a skill saw mounted to a table with a tilt and elevation device. They are loud and the cheap ones have crappy fences and they can be tippy. Having said that I have used a Makita with an after market fence for about 15 years and it has served it purpose well. The newer and larger generation of portable bench saws have better fences and usually a stand of some type and are an improvement of the older models. they are also more expensive. For what you want to do I'd look for an older Sears contractors saw with a steel table and a 1.5 hp motor. They are easy to transport with a pickup or van and will give much better service than any bench top style saw. I think you can probably find one for around $100 if you watch the adds and estate sales. Whatever you end up with make sure you check all the adjustments and alignments before you use the saw. Hope this helps and good luck.
Regards
Randy

[rick carpenter]

Look up the definition of "satisfice" first, and just know that it will work OK for what it's designed for. It's not going to be super accurate or super sturdy, but if you take time to set it up trying to overcome those deficiencies as much as possible, you can be "satisficed" with what you get out of it. I have a $99 borg special that I take to mission worksites (home repair/rebuild with sometimes really crummy conditions). When I need it, it's all I need and I'm glad I have it. For what I do with it, I don't need anything more accurate or more expensive.

[Matt Meiser]

I haven't tried it yet but I just picked up an "older" small saw of some off brand for $50. Looks just like the Skil that was in an old episode of NYW where Norm builds a table to hold a small saw. Its actually made of metal, has a 1/2 way decent looking miter gauge and a crappy but solid fence. The arbor seems solid and I can't visually detect any wobble in the blade. I think it will meet my needs.

[Joe Shinall]

Matt, for small projects you shouldn't have a problem with the cheapie. I have a $100 Craftsman which was actually the first table saw I owned. Wife bought it for me and it has definitely got its $100 worth. It is my project saw when I go to my parents house or a friends to help them with odd and end jobs. Used it to put down laminate floors in my parents house and worked like a charm. Just dont try to cut something like plywood. Almost knocked mine over trying that one.:(

Good blade and a little fence playing and you should be ok for small stuff. Just my personal opinion.:D

[Steven Hsieh]

I would find one on CL...

[Ramsey Ramco]

I have had a Bosch portable saw I use at the job sites for nearly 5 years works great has the built in stand I want to say I paid $500-$600 for it but its well worth it, Nearly impossible to haul around my pm66.:D