Novice needs new portable table saw

[Dick Davidson]

I'm wanting a new table saw. The one I have is very cheap and my main gripe is that you have to measure both ends of the fence and adjust before each cut. Then hope for the best. I'm wanting to do a couple of projects that is beyond this saw(and maybe beyond me). My problem is very limited space. I think I will have to go with a portable. Am looking mostly at the Bosch 4100-09, Ridgid R4510 and Dewalt DW744X. Am impressed with the Ridgid, but the way Home Depot displays them, you cant really get the feel for it. Really like the way the fence works on the Dewalt. That and the small size is maybe all it has going for it. Have seen some comments about burned up motors and poor customer service on the Bosch. Would appreciate all comments and especially comparing the fence on all three. Thanks.

[Rich Engelhardt]

My problem is very limited space
1st - welcome to SMC.

2nd, can you define "limited space" a little better?

I made the mistake of trying to go with a portable as my first "real saw".
While it worked ok, it was lacking in so many other ways I broke down and bought a better saw. (a Ridgid TS3660)

The strong suit of a portable is just that - portability - and to enhace portability, they make them light.
They still take up a fair amount of space, even stowed for storage.

[John M Wilson]

I can't comment on all 3, but I do own a Bosch 4100, and I can tell you of my experiences.

This saw does everything I need it to do. Granted, I am a hobbyist and not a furniture maker, but I'm not expecting to get cabinet saw precision out of a portable saw. I find the fence to be solid and accurate, and I do not have to worry about alignment when it's locked down.

Some of the advantages of this saw are the built-in and easy to use safety features, including a riving knife, that encourages them to stay on the table, instead of being removed and ultimately lost. I think that safety is critical, especially when learning new tools or techniques.

I'm not sure if the Ridgid or the Dewalt are available with outfeed or left side table extensions, but if they are, I highly recommend getting them. I have both extensions on my Bosch, and they are very handy when working with larger stock, and quickly tuck away when not needed (or when storing or transporting the saw).

I have not contacted Bosch customer service about this saw (no problems) but I did call them about some missing pieces for a router table. They were quick and courteous in my case. I cannot comment on burned up motors for this saw, but the comments I have read on this forum and others probably run 100-1 positive.

The gravity rise table is the class of the field -- no other stand offers the same portability, ease of use, and stability once set up. (I liked it so much, I bought their miter saw stand as well, but that's another thread...)

My workshop is also our two car garage, which is used to house two cars. So when I am done "playing", my toys must be put away. This saw is ideal for my situation, and I have never regretted owning it.

I hope you have the same sense of satisfaction, regardless of which one you end up purchasing.

[Erik France]

On some smaller saws it helps to put some force on the fence to snug it against the rail. Pull back on the handle when you are locking it down.

You might also take a look at the Craftsman 21829. It is the latest version of the Ryobi BT3100. I've been using one for a few years now in my tiny 10x12 shop. It also comes with a sliding miter table and an accessory router table. It has a riving knife and good dust collection. It'll be even better with a shark guard.

There are a lot of customizations you can do to it too. I added a set of half rails on mine and a router table top with a router lift. Now I have a 5'-9" saw deck with over 48" of rip capacity and a router table that will fold up on the gravity rise stand into an 18x30 floor space. There's a website dedicated to the BT3. There's a lot of support for the saw and lot's of ideas for jigs and accessories.

[richard poitras]

I would go with the Ridgid or the Bosch, I currently have the Ridgid and have been happy with it.( about 6 years now) Some of the guys were I used to work had the Dewalts and have had bad luck with them. I do know recently that the Bosch have gotten high marks in reviews. Good luck.
Richard

[Neil Brooks]

Another place to watch John Wilson and me in a good old-fashioned Bosch Love-Fest, is .... here. (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?162983-Job-site-table-saw)

I find only one fault with my 4100: it's a good enough saw that ... I've pushed the purchase of a used cabinet saw WAY down toward the bottom of my list :)

[Prashun Patel]

Once you determine you need a 'better' saw, it's a slippery slope to cabinet saw lust. If that's not out of the budget, then I humbly suggest you look into one of these or even a hybrid. On a mobile base, these can either move out of the way, or covered with a sheet of ply, can become a second worktable when not in use.

[Walter McNeil]

My decision came down to the dewalt and the bosch, and I got the dewalt. I don't have any direct experience with the bosch, but the reviewers all seem to think it's a 'better' saw, and they're probably right.
I got the dewalt for two reasons:
1- The dw744x was significantly cheaper.
2- The dewalt saw and its folding stand are a lot more compact than the bosch saw/gravity stand assembly is when folded.
If I were a contractor, constantly wheeling the thing back and forth between the van and jobsite, I'm sure I would have a bosch. But I'm a hack at home and mine spends most of its time stored away. And it would be a huge hassle to have to unbolt the saw from the gravity stand to get it in the trunk of a car.

[Myk Rian]

Where are you located?
I have a vintage Power King TS that has a cast iron top, and is portable.
$50 will pry it from me.
196739

[Dick Davidson]

Rich, I hate to admit how much limited space I have. For now I have just the space the saw sits in. Along one sidewall of a 10 x 12 shed, I have just inside the 4 ft door and against the side wall, my current saw, a bench with a vise, drill press, sander and bench grinder. Next to the bench to the rear is a miter saw which has to be moved for most cuts. For mini cuts, the table saw stays there. For most cuts, I pull the saw straight out 18 inches with the open door on the right and shed aisle on the left. For more involved projects, I move the saw from the shed on to the patio or into the garage till that project is complete. I do not do any full sheet cuts on the table saw, nor plan to. Not a good arrangement I know. I need a portable dust collector and I think I can put one where the miter saw currently is by moving it across the aisle to last wall space available. To put a Bosch or Ridgid where the current saw is will require squeezing things tighter. The Dewalt would probably fit better and pull out from the wall easier. I hope to help this situation in the near future by building another shed just for a shop. This will still only be about 10 x 16 or 20 and will go where I now keep my RV.
Walter, how do you like the fence on the Dewalt. I have put up with a bad fence for so long that it is an obsession with me to get a better fence above all else.
Anyone, I know I'm not talking cabinet saws here, but can you reasonably expect a square cut with any of these saws without measuring and bumping the fence each time you move it?
Thanks all !!

[Myk Rian]

Where are you located?
I have a vintage Power King TS that has a cast iron top, and is portable.
$50 will pry it from me.
Just saying.

[rick sawyers]

I bought the Dewalt 745 after using one on a jobsite last fall. Its a little workhorse and very light weight yet at the same time seems very durable--comes with a nice riving knife and has some well thought out little extras which in my opinion is why I like Dewalt tools.

I have used the Bosch which is nice, and the Dewalt 744 too, but niether were as easy to carry nor as nice to use as the Dewalt 745. It 's a great little saw with all the power you could need, great capacity, and very portable.

[Dick Davidson]

Myk, I'm in Arkansas, where you?
To all who responded to my question, thank you.

[frank shic]

i've owned dewalt (the one with the roll cage), bosch and ridgid portable table saws. i liked the bosch's gravity rise and bladeguard but i absolutely hated the fence so i sold it and bought a ridgid instead. the stand isn't nearly as easy to set up but at least it's got wheels. the fence is much more beefier. the dewalt is light enough that you can actually carry it in one hand and i absolutely love the fence. for a first-time DIY'er if you were going to only use the table saw occasionally i would highly recommend it. currently i have a ww2 sawblade on the ridgid and dado stack on the dewalt.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

If I were very limited on space, I would also consider not using a table saw, and instead using something like the Festool system with a circular saw. That said, I had intended to purchase the Bosch that you mentioned until i was able to trade a firearm for my Ridgid non-portable table saw.

[Von Bickley]

Dick,
From everything I see and read, the 2 best portable TS's will be the Bosch and the Dewalt. I think either one of these will serve your needs. I would go with the one I could get the best deal on.

The trim carpenter that trimmed my house and built my cabinets used a Dewalt and I'll put him up against anybody.

[Chris Tsutsui]

I owned a bosch 4000. Had to keep the fence and rails clean and dry lubricated for it to function well. I sold it to a big flooring contractor that the owner said he's tried all the jobsite tablesaws for his flooring company and the bosch was hands down the longest lasting. This one he bought from me would be his 4th unit. (Not because they keep breaking down, heh)

Just yesterday I built a speaker using my tracksaw because I'm currently without a tablesaw.

I think it makes a decent tablesaw replacement for small projects. I have the festool TS55.

A friend borrowed it from me to make a sink plunge cut in 1.5" thick butcher block. Said it cut like butter. The rail can store flat against a wall and the track saw unit is very small and portable. The cut quality I get from it is very clean, you just lose some of the ease of repeat cuts you can easily do with a tablesaw with a good fence system.

A thin kerf high quality blade like a Freud diablo or Forrest Woodworker II will improve the jobsite saws performance. You also might look into craigslist for some used contractor's saws that are also fairly small, and can have a mobile base added to them.

[Myk Rian]

Myk, I'm in Arkansas, where you?
To all who responded to my question, thank you.
Well, on the right side of all my messages, in my profile, it says The Hartland of Michigan.
A little far I suppose.
Maybe if you updated your profile, it would help with your questions.

[Andy Favors]

I have a dewalt 745 and love it. Never had a problem with it, and very portable.

[Dick Davidson]

Will do. Thanks

[Rich Engelhardt]

The trim carpenter that trimmed my house and built my cabinets used a Dewalt and I'll put him up against anybody
As the old saying says, "It ain't the arrow, it's the Indian". :D
My best guess would be that 1/3 of the posters here @ SMC could take an old butter knife, file teeth on it & use that to turn out stuff I could only dream of coming close to making even if I had the best and most complete shop full of power tools! :D

Dick,
It sounds like the general consensus is the DeWalt. I looked at all three back when I bought my jobsite Hitachi. I went with the Hitachi based on price alone. I paid $200. for it, rehabed a couple of houses and built some shop stuff, the sold it for $100 a few years later. Come time to replace it - in a couple years maybe - I'll be back in the market for another portable.
If it helps any, I'm leaning heavily towards a DeWalt simply because of the smaller footprint it has.

[Bill Trouard]

I have the DEWALT DW744XRS 10-inch Job Site Table Saw with Rolling Stand. I also added the over priced Side and Out-feed Supports. I can not complain it serves its purpose in a 2 car garage shop that needs to still park cars when done

In the year I've had it the only issue I can speak of is that the blade alignment can get out of whack when its folded down to a dolly some times. the other is poor dust collection.
I can say I'm satisfied with the saw overall. its better than a thought a portable saw would be.

[Kevin Stricker]

You might want to check out the Bosch GST1031 as well, it's Bosch's new mini-tablesaw and it looks pretty sweet. The Bosch 4100 is a nice saw, but the fence on the DW 744/745 is much nicer. To me the fence (and the weight) are the key factors in a portable TS. The Bosch takes up almost as much room as a contractors saw, it's just easier to move. If I had the limited space you have I would look into getting the DW745, Bosch GST1031, or an old Makita 2708 and a Rosseau stand. That way you can store the TS on a shelf and hang the stand on the wall. Or buy a beater Craftsman contractors saw and store it outside under a tarp.

[Dick Davidson]

A lot of good information. Thanks to all.
This is a great forum.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I don't know if the OP will come back and read this in time - but - it looks like Lowes has a DeWaly on sale right now for $299.00 for Father's Day.