10" table saw purchase advice please

[Saaje Cannoncro]

Hello. I am looking to buy a 10" portable table saw around $500 or less. I recently got rid of my craftsman because it had alignment problems that was impossible to fix. So, I need a saw that is user friendly when it comes to tweaking needs. I would just love it if anyone can offer their personal advice as to which saw they have had success with (or failure as I can avoid that model). I am looking to mainly cut strips (appx. 2" wide and larger) out of 1/8" to 1/4" thick birch plywood. I need the cuts to be very accurate and straight. Is there a perfect saw out there for this and beyond? Please let me know!! Thank you so much.

[Bill White]

I have the Grizzley G0444Z. Very pleased with all the Grizz stuff I have.
Bill

[Mike Sandman]

Take a look at those three. All of them have accessory stands that allow you to roll the saw around like an handtruck. There are also Sears and Delta versions but they're a lot lighter duty.

I have the P-C and it's OK for thin plywood & synthetic wood flooring. 3/4"plywood is about as thick as you'd want to go. But the Porter-Cable doesn't have enough power to rip thicker stock -- ripping a 2x4 is slow and so balky that it's unsafe, IMHO, and ripping a 3/4 thick piece of hardwood is almost as bad. Cutting with the blade tilted to a 45 degree angle effectively increases the cross section of the cut, so it's like cutting a thicker piece of wood. So be careful about bevel cuts on 3/4" stock with these saws (or at leaston the Port-Cable).

The tables for all these saws are small compared to a contractor's saw or cabinet saw, so if you're cutting a large sheet you either need infeed & outfeed support or a helper -- or both. You need to check the alignment of the fence every time you move the saw & set it up again.

You may be able to get a better price for any of these three if you look for a refurbished one on Amazon.

Mike Sandman

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Saaje, your requirement to have very straight and accurate cuts is at odds with a portable saw.

To have straight cuts, you need a long, straight fence, that maintains its alignment with the blade after being moved.

Accuracy is a function of stability, and light, flexible tops/bases and saw parts don't help.

A better bet, may be a used contractor saw.

I guess the one requirement you haven't explained is the portability, do you need to pick it up and put it in a vehicle, or do you just need to move it out of the way in a shop?

Regards, Rod.

[Drew Eckhardt]

Hello. I am looking to buy a 10" portable table saw around $500 or less. I recently got rid of my craftsman because it had alignment problems that was impossible to fix. So, I need a saw that is user friendly when it comes to tweaking needs. I would just love it if anyone can offer their personal advice as to which saw they have had success with (or failure as I can avoid that model). I am looking to mainly cut strips (appx. 2" wide and larger) out of 1/8" to 1/4" thick birch plywood. I need the cuts to be very accurate and straight. Is there a perfect saw out there for this and beyond? Please let me know!! Thank you so much.

I bought the previous incarnation of the Bosch so I could cut nice materials in my basement and MDF which makes a huge mess outside.

The fence locks down solid and straight, if the fence cursor hasn't been bumped it's accurate to 1/64th inch, and it has enough power to rip 3/4" hardwood. Needs a zero clerance insert to prevent tear-out on the bottom veneer of birch plywood with thin face plies.

The table isn't as deep as a contractor saw so you need a sled to cross-cut anything wider than 6.5-7" (T-shaped miter slots on the new model might be more usable with the gauge hanging off the table). A deeper table + longer fence would also make it harder to snipe the ends of longer ripped pieces - I leave things long and chop off the last inch. Maximum rip capacity is about 24-25". The miter slots are sloppy too.

It's not unusable but a contractor saw would be better for the same money unless you need the portability.

[Andrew Minear]

First, I would like to reply to your statement the the Craftsman table saw you were using had alignment problems that were not fixable. In my opinion any tool can be aligned if the problem is accurately analyzed. With that in mind, any saw, except those with the poorest construction, can be utilized for their inherent intent, if tuned properly. Identify the specific problem with the cut and then confer with the experts in the forum on a solution. The forum will cure all ills.

[Saaje Cannoncro]

well, thank you everyone so much for your responses. I will do some more research, taking your inputs into consideration.

[John Callahan]

Mike, what kind of blade are you running? No problems at all ripping a 2x4 on my PC 3812. I normally (believe it or not) run either a full kerf Freud LU84 or a Woodworker II. I've spent quite a bit of time using coworker's Bosch 4000's .............. still prefer my PC.

[scott spencer]

Hi Saaje - General International offers a unique portable in the 50-090K (http://www.general.ca/pagemach/machines/50090a.html). It's based on a stationary cast iron style saw mounted on a stowaway mobile base. It houses a belt drive induction motor and uses a single piece cast blade shroud/arbor carriage like those used on several hybrid saws. It also has more mass than most portables. Saws of this type tend to have lower inherent vibration and less flex, thus better accuracy than the lighter saws made of plastic and aluminum. It's not in the same class as portables intended to toss in a truck and take from site to site, but it does offer some storage solutions not found in other cast iron stationary tools.

I don't have hands on experience with this saw I thought it worth mentioning due to it's unique features.