Table Saw purchase advice

[TW Summers]

Hello All,

Been lurking on this site for a while and getting ready to take the plunge into woodworking.

First thing on the list is to get a table saw. Had my sites set on one of the Craftsman hybrids, but have seen the Ryobi BT3100 on sale at Home Depot for $200 plus an additional $50 rebate.

I could spend $600 on the midgrade hybrid or spend $150 for an entry level table saw, $330 for a Yorkcraft jointer and have money left over for a planer.

All comments appreciated...

[roy knapp]

I started with a Ryobi Bt 3000 and i thought and still do that is a great saw.
The only reason i did not keep it when i got new saw was that i did not have the room for the two saws.
For the price that you mentioned i would get it as your stater saw and as you get deeper into the woodworking you will have a good idea what you need and then go for the big one.
If you were to find out that you did not care for woodworking your loss would only be about $200.00 .:)

[Corey Hallagan]

If it were me, I would go for the Jet contractors saw if you can find one at a local lowes. They were selling them for $299. That is an excellent saw that would do you for years and year and very sturdy etc. Of course the BT3100 is a very nice saw that alot of people have owned and made lots of cool stuff with.

Corey

[skip gleichman]

a few years back when I got some divine inspiration (or whatever it was) that convinced me out of the blue to learn to make furniture... I bought a contractors style table saw... (A good one though, the bosch) I like it, but it was not too long, (perhaps 6 month, that I realized that i needed a real saw. I then bought a general 220-50 and was just amazed at how I became a better woodworker imeadiately. The jointer is necessary as is a planer but in my case, by purchasing two saws insread of one, I could have had another machine sooner. Just a thought.

[CPeter James]

I always wanted an newer bigger better saw than my 60 year old Darrah James and last year I found it. $1,000 for a pristine PM66 with a nice table surround and a Forrest WWII to boot. Check the classifieds or EBAY or other such sources. They are out there and I have a shop full to prove it. I like to pay 25 cents on the dollar but sometimes have to go all the way top 30 cents.

CPeter

[Dale Thompson]

TW,
The table saw is generally considered to be the center of most shops. Buy the best that your budget allows. Forget about the jointer and planer for now. They are secondary tools to such things as a router and a band saw or whatever. Given a good table saw and the right blade, some folks have virtually abandoned their jointers. A thickness planer is nice if you have access to inexpensive, roughly planed lumber. :D

Scroll down to "Related threads" and pick up on other member' opinions of table saws. I'm not a Grizzly fan but they can give you some real "bang for your buck" if you are willing to deal with some of the potential problems that occasionally crop up with the "Griz". I have also heard a lot of comments about their Customer Service. The vast majority of them have been very good. :)

If you can afford a "Cabinet Saw" vs a "Contractor's Saw", you will appreciate the difference in terms of dust collection and stability.

By the way, TW, WELCOME TO THE CREEK!! :D We will do all that we can to help you but the "table saw question" is very difficult. :confused: We trade bombardments of strategic nuclear weapons on that subject with regularity. :)

Dale T.

[Cecil Arnold]

IMHO I would look for a good used cab. saw if it is in your range. You won't be sorry with a good one and you won't be wanting to trade up in 6 mo. to a year.

[Bill Fields]

TW--Listen to Dale. Wait for a deal. this purchase will affect your skill and interest level positively or not.

BILL FIELDS

[Brian Clevenger]

I've gotta agree to get the most saw you can for your money. Also, if you are able to buy a quality known name brand saw the resale will be better if you ever chose to upgrade. I bought the BT3100 as my first table saw. I was fortunate that it had a 90 day satisfaction guarantee, as I found out quickly that I was not satisfied. Don't get me wrong, there are several people who make outstanding projects with that saw. It just wasn't the saw I needed (throwing around full sized sheet goods and ripping 4/4 and 6/4 hardwood). I was able to move into a Delta contractor saw, and it did a good job of getting me by for the last year. When I found a great deal on a local, used cabinet saw, I knew it was what I really wanted. I was able to sell the Delta and only lose about $100. I think that was pretty good "rent" for the time I used it.

My point is that the used market is often very kind. Don't give up on that possibility. It will cost you more in the long run to buy something that will get you by, and then have to try to resale it and buy what you really wanted in the first place.

[scott spencer]

Considering that I'm now on my 3rd saw, I'm inclined to advise you to buy the best one you can afford now with the intent on keeping it for life. The BT is a good value IMO...especially at $150, but definitely has more limitations than a larger saw, and you're more likely to outgrow it.

It really depends on how patient you want to be about evolving your shop. FWIW, I'm loving my 22124.

Good luck!

[tod evans]

cast iron and horsepower, used to save a buck. .02 tod

[Donnie Raines]

A saw that has never been discussed is the new Hitachi stationary saw. It has a fully enclosed stand(hybrid in nature) with dust collection. The fence system is very accurate and the saw is extremly smooth. Priced less then $500.00

[Tom Conger]

I just started woodworking last Janurary with the cheapest Craftsman saw, (it had built in dust collection!) for $179. As I got more into woodworking, I actually burned up the motor. I returned it to Sears and upgraded to one of the hybrids for $549. I got the $179 credit, it was already $50 off, and on their website it was marked off another $130. So at the end of the day I got it for $349.
The difference has been huge for me. I can now cut a piece of wood and know that it is going to straight rather than plus or minus a 1/4". It was so frustrating at times trying to cut with that saw that I almost stopped using it. If you cut crap, you make crap, and that is not the goal.
Being new, I didn't want to try to buy used as I had no real idea of what to look for and didn't want to take the chance.

So, take the advice the others have posted and buy the most saw you can. You won't regret it.

[Jesse Cloud]

Welcome to the creek, and welcome to woodworking!

I'll join the 'buy the best you can afford' chorus. I'm on my third saw in 10 years. Burned one out, sold the other for 50% of what I paid. Do look at the used market. Lots of us boomers are getting to the point where the eyesight and muscle structure just won't support fine woodworking and you can find some real deals.

The big deal on this is that a low quality saw will require constant checking and adjustment. If you are just learning woodworking skills, you will probably think its you - not the saw. Working with quality tools is just easier.

Also don't underestimate the need for support around your saw. If you are working with sheet goods (plywood, mdf), take the time to build an outfeed table and side support. This is critical both for quality and for safety.

Give hand tools some thought, too. With a little practice, you can do anything with a handplane that a planer can do and its much more rewarding to do it by hand. Learn how to sharpen your tools and practice will take you the rest of the way.

As far as brands are concerned, I'm sure you will get lots of input. I would avoid craftsman and the portable tool vendors (hitachi, ryobi, bosch, etc.). The house brands for the borgs (ridgid, tradesman) are dicey, too. Having said that, there are woodworkers out there producing good results on all those machines, but they are probably much more highly skilled than me. Grizzly is the low end of the good stuff. Delta and Jet are mid-range good stuff. Powermatic and Felder are the dream machines if you hit the lottery. Just my 2 cents, wouldn't waste electrons arguing with anyone about this.

Oh, one more thing. Save $100 for a really good saw blade. Again, lots of controversy about brands. I like Forrest Woodworker II combo blade. At some point you may want separate rip and crosscut blades, but that can wait. They put some really crappy blades even on high end saws, so plan to get the most from your saw with a good blade.

Sorry I ran on, hope this is helpful.