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Thread: Job site tablesaw

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
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    Okotoks AB
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    I would like to emphasize the point made already, that if you don't have to have the "pick it up & go" portability, a job site saw is not a good choice. For $500 you can get a far better machine.

  2. #17
    I don’t plan to take it on a job site. I’m a stay at home diy woodworker. What is your opinion of the skillsaw worm drive tablesaw. I’m still going back and forth on weather to keep the magna saw or not. My concern is once I get it to where I going and I go to use and it breaks. Now I spent money to transported it fo nothing.

  3. #18
    I use the magna saw for ripping and cross cuts only. It has a setting for beveled cuts that has not been used in a long time.

  4. #19
    I made a lot of great things on my Dewalt, and I think it was THE best choice even though I wasn't carrying it around. I just didn't have space and cash at the time for something better. I made this sink using it, and ONLY it, cutting way over thickness by flipping the boards. It was my TS, jointer, and more. Get everything adjusted perfectly, and it will do that. I think the only power tools I had otherwise were a couple of sanders.

    Bathroom remodeling - table.jpg

    Bathroom remodeling - finished02.jpg

  5. #20
    I bought a rigid R4516 a few months ago and I am very happy with it. Easy to align the blade and fence. Only thing is there are no zero clearance inserts for it and when I get around to it I will make my own.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    Kamiah, ID
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    I still have a Makita 2708. Has to be over 20 yrs old. It got used almost daily for 10-ish yrs, then off and on since. I still use it occasionally and it still works great. I have a Rousseau table to go along with it. More stability, more rip capacity and waaaay better fence. Both companies are still in business!

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    NE Ohio
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    6,983
    Things to look for on any saw:

    -Standard size miter slots that are straight and will accept accessories.
    (My Hitachi job site saw had odd sized miter slots & it became an extreme frustration to deal with it. Try making and using any sort of sled))

    - A decent & reasonable insert that will allow you to either buy or make zero clearance inserts.
    (Again, my Hitachi had a weird insert & yes - it was an extreme frustration to deal with)

    - A splitter/guard that works.
    (Way too many of the lower end table saws have horrible splitters that are usually attached to the guard. They are flimsey and won't stay straight. Having one fall over in the middle of a cut & block you from being able to continue causes you to have to let go of the work and shut the saw off - with the blade still buried in the wood. Good luck when it happens while you're cutting a full sheet of plywood. All you can do there is push the plywood off to the side so it binds and the breaker trips. I took mine off the Hitachi when it blocked a sheet of plywood on me.)

    - The ability to take a dado blade.
    (A dado blade is just simply too handy to not have. Same goes for it's smaller cousin, the box joint blade. Again, the Hitachi didn't have the ability and it frustrated me no end.)

    Those, along with the lack of a nice heavy cast iron top a contractor saw has, made me get rid of my job site saw and never look back..
    Well - - almost never...I would like to pick up a cheap used one for the job site. Every once in a while I need to rip something that's too small to put under the track saw.
    My granddad always said, :As one door closes, another opens".
    Wonderful man, terrible cabinet maker...

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Great Pacific Northwest
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    I have a Dewalt DW745, primarily because I do not have space for a full size table saw. I would pitch it in a heartbeat if i had room for a real table saw. I had a terrible time keeping the blade square. Took me a long time to discover the table is swaybacked, if I squared the blade to either side of the table, the cut was off using the sled. Squared with the sled, the cut was off using the miter gauge.

    I just accept it for what it is - a decent saw for framing a house, not good for anything else. I now do everything I can on a bandsaw and anything done on the Dewalt is rough cut oversized and finished up with handtools.

    You get what you pay for on these saws.

    Tom

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Kapolei Hawaii
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    3,236
    I'll toss something out. I think, and I could be wrong, that the only jobsite saw that can rip a 4x4 is the Skil wormdrive. If that's important, that'a what you need.

  10. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by Kyle Iwamoto View Post
    I'll toss something out. I think, and I could be wrong, that the only jobsite saw that can rip a 4x4 is the Skil wormdrive. If that's important, that'a what you need.
    As I showed above, I ripped a bunch of 4x4 hardwood by flipping it over. With the saw perfectly adjusted, that worked fine with just a bit of sanding to clean it up a bit.

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    fayetteville Arkansas
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    629
    I purchased one of the early Dewalt job site saws many years ago. It was the one you carried and placed on a folding stand. Carried it around to jobsites, great saw and pretty much indestructible. Used it a couple years as a shop saw, now it gathers dust, I'm too fond of it to let it go. I would say if I were buying in today's market the little Bosch saw looks mighty attractive, very portable and user friendly.
    Last edited by julian abram; 06-19-2018 at 8:56 AM.

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Marshall, Michigan
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    Of the job site saws mentioned, which ones are the easiest for an old man with a bad back to move around. The Bosch looks like the only one that is "wheel ready". Wheel ready means to me that it already has its wheels on the ground ready to move around.

  13. #28
    Bosch has the much better mobile design. I own both.

    The rack & pinion fence on the Dewalt is nice though.

  14. #29
    Quote Originally Posted by Michael Callender View Post
    I’m going from a older contractor saw my dad bought in 1960. It’s a magna 710 tablesaw magna is no longer in business. So going to be moving soon don’t want to take it with me. I’m thinking portable something newer. Price wise 500.00 top of my budget. I read some information on the skillsaw worm drive tablesaw. One thing I’ve heard is these saws are loud. I’ve read reviews people say the table is not flat,the fence won’t stay put. That’s what I am thinking.
    Stay away from that skill wormdrive
    It’s is good for framing but has to much slop for trim
    Don’t ask me how I know...
    ugh
    Carpe Lignum

  15. #30
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Marshall, Michigan
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    Thanks for the reply, John. This thread has got me thinking about a move I will be making in about 2 years and downsizing my shop but not downsizing capabilities. I have a General tablesaw on a stand I made and it seems to take up a lot of space in the middle of my two car garage/shop. When I move I suspect things will be smaller so thanks again for this thread.

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