First table saw recommendation?

[lou sansone]

just to add to the mix of old american iron that Dev gave should be the rockwell / delta RT 40

definitly a beast

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=18836

not for every one but it has its place

lou

[Dan Stuewe]

I'll throw out my current table saw plan...

I currently have a used Craftsman "hybrid" (mix between a direct drive job site and a contractor saw. I've had it for 8 or 9 years and i've wanted to replace it for 7 or 8 years. Right now I'd like to replace it with the new Craftsman top-of-the-line hybrid (1 3/4 HP with biesemeyer fence). My ultimate, never need to replace choices are the Saw Stop or a Mini-Max combo. But since there is very little way I could justify those price tags (assuming I never have a bad accident that would have been avoided with the saftey devices on these saws) with my current woodworking, i'll continue to dream of getting one of those when the last college bill is paid (probably 20 years from now).

[frank shic]

mark, there are a TON of great tablesaws out there! it sure is confusing trying to pick one out, isn't it? i went through this entire ordeal last year and wound up with the powermatic 64 contractor saw which has worked great for me but since that time, there have been a couple of saws that i would have considered if i had the opportunity.

the sawstop is hands down the SAFEST saw in the world. it's true that the brake will DESTROY your saw blade if it fires, but aren't your fingers worth more than that $100 you shelled out for that forrest woodworker 2?

ridgid's got a FANTASTIC deal with their new table saw going at $549 with an AMAZING mobile base - go ahead and step on it a couple of times the next time you're visiting home depot!

someone mentioned the craftsman hybrid and it's taken the high marks - at least per workbench magazine - in that arena. i checked it out the other day and i could not believe how much LESS room it occupies than my contractor's saw. you can knock the price down to <$600 if you stack coupons and wait for the right deal!

all this being said, i'm not sure how well any of these newer saws would accomodate the delta sliding table which i recently mounted to my table saw. if you want EXCELLENT crosscutting ability on your table saw, you might want to consider one of the older contractor saws like jet, delta or powermatic so that you can mount the table. you could probably do it with any of the newer models if you were willing to spend time on the mods. you could and probably would build the whole thing if you were stu ablett!!!

don't forget to review basic safety: no crosscutting with the rip fence, etc...

good luck!

[Michael Sloan]

Hi Mark,

Three questions: 1) How big is your budget? 2) How much room do you have? and 3) What do you expect to be building?

With respect to table saws, if your budget is anywhere between $1,500 to $3,000 I would break the bank to get the saw stop. Seems to be very well designed and built even in the absense of the brake, and the riving knife alone adds enough safety to justify the additional expense (only my opinion, of course). If you can justify more, and if you have the room, I would step up to a good Euro slider.

Since you have the Festool setup, I would think about whether the table saw should be your next investment. Personally, I would probably go with a good 16 inch bandsaw, and then a jointer/planer combination before adding the table saw.

When you add the table saw, don't forget dust collection.

Mike

[Andrew Ault]

It is always preferable to save for and purchase the best tool for your purposes. There are limits to what is practical. In my case budget and space preclude the purchase of the loftiest dream tools. It is great to purchase what you want, but it takes experience to learn what that is and to justify the expense.

A couple of weeks ago I was able to purchase a used Delta Unisaw with 52" Beisemeyer fence and mobile base for a very good price. I've desired a good cabinet saw for a long time and I am not disappointed with it at all. I'm preparing to install a router insert in the extension table. While it takes up a lot of space in the half a garage I use for my shop, it is wonderful to make safer and easier cuts in sheet goods. I will add as much function as I can to it as with the router table and possibly some storage. The fence is just great, heavy and square to the blade. I'm installing a T-track for Board Buddies and making/adapting the jigs I like to use.

Since you are in a large metropolitan area, you might check out Craigslist and other sources for used tools. Many times tools were purchased for one purpose and then are sold. This allows one to upgrade at a good cost and to sell the old tool. If you buy used, you can recover all of the money when you upgrade.

[Mark Tsujihara]

Holy cow! Thanks everyone for your input. This is certainly the most responsive forum I've been on .

In response to several questions about budget, space, and my plans:

The garage is a two car attached garage, about 24 x 28, with 8' ceilings at one side, going up to 18' at the other.

My budget is variable, most likely up to $5000. My wife buys quality in her sewing and craft tools, so she understands when I want to avoid expensive hardware mistakes. I tend to overbuy with the expectation that I will grow into the capacity of the machine.

Woodworking plans: My father builds furniture up in Chicago in his spare time, and I would like to continue in his footsteps. I am mostly interested in building practical projects for use around the house (desks, builtins, cabinets, etc.) I am also remodelling the entire house one room at a time by myself, so whatever I buy will need to handle structural work without complaint (LVLs, GluLam beams, etc.) Eventually, I would like to build Japanese-style furniture to incorporate into our house, and potentially sell (shoji, fusuma, tea tables, tansu, etc.)

Shop plans: I plan on upgrading house electrical to 200A service and installing a subpanel in the garage. I will insulate the whole shebang, and cover it with maybe shiplap pine on the walls and white drywall on the ceiling to brighten it up. I have to maintain 5/8" fire-rated drywall on the wall adjoining the house, but the building dept. said anything goes for the rest. I am going to see if I can relocate the washer/dryer into a new room when I remodel.

Tool plans: Aside from the saw, I am looking at getting the new Grizzly cyclone DC (3 hp). That should suck anything I can produce. Have not made up my mind on the jointer or planer. That's one thing the combo machines like the Robland have going for them. I already have a 10" Craftsman CMS and Delta variable speed bench grinder (courtesy of my wood club's raffle ).

The Festool stuff is great, but I don't think you can do dados, box joints, etc. on the 55 saw. I suppose I can use my OF1400 router to do them instead.

I am going to a lathe class later this month, I expect to be hooked on turning afterward

Thanks again,

Mark

[John Dingman]

Hi Mark!

Welcome to the Creek! You will find some great folks and some very sound advice here. Sounds like you are off to a good running start. I have a Unisaw. If I had it to do over again I would buy it again. I like your approach to the hobby. I try to buy a tool that I know will last me the rest of my life. It may cost a little more out of the gate, but in the long run, I believe you will come out ahead. Best of luck to you in your new shop!

Kind regards,
John

[Dan Forman]

Mark---I would put the priority on a good jointer and planer at this point, unless you want to get into neander work with handplanes. Being able to work with rough lumber and mill it to your own specs is a huge advantage. Every piece of wood out there has some deree of warp, cup, or twist in it. With your budget, I might suggest looking at the Oasis 8" jointer (Delta DJ20 clone), and either the Dewalt 3 knife planer (forgot the madel #) or a 15" planer form one of the usual suspects. After that, a good 16" bandsaw from Minimax or Laguna should round you out pretty well. A table saw would be nice, but you can duplicate most of the functions with the Festool stuff.

When you do the poser thing, make sure to install enough 220v circuits to cover your larger tools, plus a spare or two for expansion (like when you finally get that table saw).

Dan

[Bud Duffy]

Mark here is the best tip of the bunch if you are going to take a lathe class you might just as well save yourself a whole lot of time and sell all that flat work junk you will have no further use for and buy a bandsaw . Oh yea you will spend about four to ten times the money you spend for the lathe on assesorys and tools. You my friend are DOOMED and dont even know it yet for the slope is very steep and even more slippery!!! Welcome to the creek!
Bud

[Don Baer]

I agree with Bud. Your gonna want a bandsaw when you get into turning. I am getting one and am yet to turn my first tinggie. I got the Lathe, Got the tools, and now a bandsaw in the near future.
I just gotta get over their and pic it up.

[Corey Hallagan]

Welcome to SMC. I can't add anything that will help you on a table saw choice but good luck and enjoy the site!

Corey

[scott spencer]

Mark here is the best tip of the bunch if you are going to take a lathe class you might just as well save yourself a whole lot of time and sell all that flat work junk you will have no further use for and buy a bandsaw . Oh yea you will spend about four to ten times the money you spend for the lathe on assesorys and tools....(snip)
Bud

What's a lathe?

[Paul B. Cresti]

Mark,
I am not sure it fits your budget currently but did you ever consider a European full combo. You can get all quality machines in one. I do not want mention and manufacturers, as of yet, (one comes to my mind ) but these machines offer great value in relation to the capacity and quality of the machine you can get vs separates of equal size. Sometimes it is nice to know all the possible options there are so then you can make a decision based upon what suits your needs.

[Rob Russell]

Mark,
I am not sure it fits your budget currently but did you ever consider a European full combo. You can get all quality machines in one. I do not want mention and manufacturers, as of yet, (one comes to my mind ) but these machines offer great value in relation to the capacity and quality of the machine you can get vs separates of equal size. Sometimes it is nice to know all the possible options there are so then you can make a decision based upon what suits your needs.

Pssst - Paul - check out my response at a bit after 10 this morning

Mak,

I will say it again and especially since your budget looks like it will allow it - check out the combo machines.

Given the Festool stuff you have, you could go the semi-combo route and buy a 12"-16" jointer/planer as your next machine and save for a saw/shaper later on.

Rob

[Dev Emch]

Lou...
Your correct on the RT-40. That is a beast! What I did notice in looking at the photos again was that it has a unisaw layout in terms of where its mitre slots are placed. Most of the stuff I mentioned do not have a standard slot layout. And its got 7.5 HP. The extra power is nice. Dont think you need it? Just wait when your ripping 2 or 3 inch thick slabs of maple or oak and the saw does not even notice it!!!!! That will turn your attitude in a hurry.