A novice buying a table saw

[mike myers]

I am looking to buy a table saw and need some advice from the more experienced individuals. I will just be using this to put in florring, stairs and move on to other small projects around the house and start into doing woodwork. I've read many reviews and see that the Jet JWTS-10JF , Powermatic 64 and Delta DW746X are all good buys. I only have my garage to work in but want a reliable and durable piece of equipment. I'd like to keep the cost under $1000. Space is a factor but quality is the most important issue. Any suggestions?

[scott spencer]

Hi Mike - All the saws you listed are good machines. They all have different strengths and weaknesses and different price points. Amazon has the PM64a on sale for $769 delivered (plus I think an additional $25 off), which makes it a great value. That saw also has the best fence of the three you mentioned.

Another consideration in that price range would be the new Craftsman 22124 home duty cabinet saw (aka hybrid). MSR is $950 but sale prices of alot less than that or easy to come by.

I'm very happy with my GI 50-185M1 ($699). It's held FWW's #1 rating for two years now, has a licensed Biesemeyer fence and a decent stock miter gauge.

[mike myers]

Thanks for the quick answer. I don't want to limit to just those 3 though. who is GI 50-185MI? I've read many unfavorable reviews about ZCraftsman and it seemed to be mainly about the fence

[Tim Morton]

If you are serious about spending up to a grand, then you should seriously consider the Grizzly 1023SL cabinet saw. But for installing wood flooring you might be also want to shop for a miter saw in order to have the saw in the same room as the floor. I hate to think of you spending more than 600 on a contractor saw unless you get a beisemeyer style fence, and I hate to have you spend more than $$700 without giving serious thought to a cabinet style saw.

[Corey Hallagan]

I doubt your talking about the same Craftsman saw Mike. The fence that comes on that particular model is a Biesemeyer and I don't think I have heard anyone complain about it. I think I would check out the Grizzly line up as well, but if I was spending money in the 1000 class, I would probably look at the General line up. Oh, btw, the GI saw that Scott referred to is a General International. Part of the same company, just depends on where it is made.

Corey