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Thread: What's your favorite contractor's saw?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2016
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    Northeast PA
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    What's your favorite contractor's saw?

    So I recently bought a Ridgid portable table saw for jobsite use, and I returned it after using it once. What a piece of junk! Very disappointing, as I have owned Ridgid tools in the past and found them to be of acceptable quality for the price. Not this one. It was like a $550 Fisher Price my first table saw.

    Thinking about the DeWalt DWE7491, but I'm wary of buying another piece of junk with lousy tolerances and plastic everything. What are you guys using?
    Last edited by brian zawatsky; 06-24-2020 at 8:55 PM. Reason: Misspelling
    ---Trudging the Road of Happy Destiny---

  2. #2
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    Feb 2014
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    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
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    I doubt you can even find one, but I bought a Powermatic 62 new in 1974. That was the model before they figured out how to cheapen them to make the model 63. It's heavy though, with cast iron wings, as well as top. It also has the best mobility kit ever for a contractors saw. There are wheels that stick out a little behind the back legs, and a handle on each of the front legs. You just pick the hinged handles up, lift to a comfortable height, which makes the wheels lift the rear legs, and move it like a wheelbarrow.

    It still cuts accurate, and smoothly, but like all contractors saws, has non-existent dust collection possibilities.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
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    So Cal
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    The Bosch gravity rise stand is a good one very easy to load and unload in my truck. I put a thin kerf Forrest blade one it when it was new and the cuts very clean.
    I also sold it very quickly for a little less then half of what I paid for it.
    What a great reputation the saw has.

    Good Luck
    Aj

  4. #4
    I own ,and have owned several Delta Model 10 contractor's saws. Like most Delta tools, they were the "Gold Standard" for many years. Used,twenty year old models are now selling for about 100% of their original costs.

  5. #5
    I have the saw stop jobsite, the build quality is excellent and I get great results with it, however for what it costs you can get a decent used cabinet saw.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
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    Mid-Hudson Valley
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    I had a Jet contractors saw with cast iron wings, Xacta fence, BiesemeyerT-Splitter, zero clearance insert, and a dust collector pan (??). It was a great saw but after about a year and a half I upgraded to a 3 HP Jet cabinet saw and sold the contractor saw to my brother... Shortly afterward he suffered a job site injury to his spine and the saw went unused. The saw is still at his house...

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
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    Michiana
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    Surprised to hear the poor review of the Ridgid. I have had a Ridgid TS3650 for over 10 years and it's been a solid performer. I understood their jobsite version to be the same saw with a different base and perhaps a smaller table.

    https://www.finewoodworking.com/2005...-ts3650-review
    Sharp solves all manner of problems.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
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    Marina del Rey, Ca
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    Watch for a used Delta in excellent condition.
    "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Shorewood, WI
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    It sounds like you are asking about a job site saw. The term "contractor's saw" refers to a much heavier type that was used by an earlier generation of contractors. You have gotten responses about both.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Northern Michigan
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    490
    I own the DeWalt DWE7491 and like it quite a bit.
    Had to sell my cabinet saw as was moving and new shop area far smaller than what I had.
    I like that it is compact when stored, easy and quick to set up. Fence so far has been really good at staying calibrated. Plenty of power so far but have not tried using my dado blade set yet. Functionally it works perfectly fine. The saw is actually not that loud although hearing protection is still needed. I like the fence as it gives good support and is accurate. Love the 32” width adjustment feature.

    Issues -

    The table is far smaller and is really an issue when using my Incra miter gauge or my Woodpecker sled. The very short surface and narrow width need to be understood as it will be the same on all portable saws. The miter slots were not perfect and I have had to file and sand on them to get smoother sliding of my miter gauge. Adjusting blade height takes lots of cranking. Adjusting the blade angle is fine if you only do 45 or 90degree cuts. Fine adjust of blade angle does not exist as you have no wheel for that so I needed to use stop blocks. When the saw is set up the legs by design extend out at angles for support but take up quite a bit of space and I catch my feet on the back ones at times. My saw had gaps in the blade shroud for dust collection as it was missing 2 screws. Fixed that and the dust collection is ok but no where near as good as my old Bridgewood cabinet saw was.

    Hope that helps. All small portable saws have issues and the Dewalt for the price had the best base and saw for the money for my needs.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Columbus, OH
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Luter View Post
    Surprised to hear the poor review of the Ridgid. I have had a Ridgid TS3650 for over 10 years and it's been a solid performer. I understood their jobsite version to be the same saw with a different base and perhaps a smaller table.

    https://www.finewoodworking.com/2005...-ts3650-review
    +1. I've had the TS 3650 as well for about 10+ yrs now and it's been a great saw.
    Brian

    "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger or more complicated...it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." - E.F. Schumacher

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Western Nebraska
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    My construction company has two of the Dewalts you mentioned and a Bosch jobsite saws plus 3 other bigger saws. We've had most of the other pass through to, and they have been sold because we didn't like them. The Dewalts are really good though, better than anything else. They are tough, accurate, the dust collection actually works pretty well, and they are easy to move. In fact, if there is something being built in the shop and a tablesaw is required, it is common to see that one of the Dewalts is set up instead of using one of the cabinet saws or the slider. Reason is the little things really do work well and they are so easy to move to the lumber instead of the lumber to the saw. We build some beautiful stuff with these saws. Also common to use them on 16 foot stock with a sawhorse set up on in and outfeed side for support. Highly recommended.

  13. #13
    I have the Dewalt Jobsite saw. I really like it, but haven't really used any other ones latelyto compare. My friend is a builder and says he thinks it's the best for the money.

    It's not a cabinet saw, but I am very happy with mine.

    My 2 pennies, ron

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    65,685
    From context, you're interested in a portable saw, not a "contractors' style saw" which is larger and heavier.

    If I really had to get one of those, it would be the Bosch with the telescoping stand.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    SE Mass.
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    229
    '80s vintage Delta. Almost too heavy to be called a contrators' saw, but it's worked flawlessly for years.

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