Just finished reading the article “Portable 10 inch Tablesaws” in the May 2010, issue # 210 of Fine Homebuilding. As I am getting ready to purchase a portable table saw in the near future I have a couple of questions.
On page 73, Kevin Ireton states that the motor issue surrounding the Bosch 4100-09 was fixed by Bosch by the end of 2007.
1. Has anyone experienced a motor problem recently of a saw that was purchased in – lets say – 2009?
2. Does anyone know if there is a way to know when a Bosch table saw was manufactured by looking at the serial number plate?
I am a homeowner and do not have room in the garage for a cabinet or a contractors saw. I am planning on using the saw for woodworking projects around the house and maybe some craft type items, e.g. outdoor furniture, try my hand at cabinet making, buiding some shelf units…you get the picture. So I am trying to decide between a Bosch 4100-09 or a Makita 2705X1.
Can any of you provide any feedback to my questions?
Thanks as always.
Stan
Replies
Stan
Hopefully here's a link to a recent similar discussion:
http://forums.finehomebuilding.com/help-and-feedback/editors-corner/bosch-portable-table-saw-motors
For what you have planned and for approximately the same cost you might want to look at one of the track saws from Festool, Dewalt and maybe Makita.
The circ. saw would be inconvenient to use for cutting framing lumber. However, for breaking down sheet goods to manageable sizes for cabs, track saws make it easy for one man. Nice true finish cuts w/o man-handling a big 4x8 sheet.
Easy for me to say. I've got all of them and their use is constant and whatever is easiest or appropriate at the time.
Save yourself a few hundred bucks and look at you local craigslist.
Here are the 1st 2 hits today in Seattle area, $50 and $70, probably could even talk them down,
buy a aplliance dolly for $20 at HF and the 9" CI crafstsman (those old ones are GOOD) is a protable, the ryobi looks like ya could lift it with one hand. .
http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/tls/1661411331.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/tls/1661652255.html
10" Table Saws
We got Bosch 4100 last winter to replace a 12yr old DeWalt. I went with the Bosch over the DeWalt because the DeWalt rack and pinion can get knocked out of wack on a job site, or from being tossed in the truck. Even though the rack and pinion fence is much nicer than the Bosch fence, it is a real pain to re-adjust. It is a nice saw, though.
Except for the fence, the new Bosch, is way nicer than the DeWalt... and the fence issue is really just a nitpick. It moves a little when locking down, so it has to be set twice sometimes. The gravity rise stand is great, and the riving knife is excellent.
No motor issues. Has stood up to any job, so far.
Haven't ever seen a newer Makita on a job, but the old ones are the toughest saw I've seen... If they make a new fence that actually works, might be a winner.
I think either one of those would meet your needs; get the best deal you can, new or used.
Your skill, judgement, and experience will be far more important than the limitations of either saw.
BTW, I've got a monstrous 1950's Unisaw with the full size Beisemeyer fence, outfeed table, etc, and a Porter Cable jobsite saw. The portable saw gets used 9.5 times out of 10. You won't regret buying it.
I've been going through pretty much the same dilemma, though my new saw would replace a mid-eighties vintage direct-drive Delta import I'd worn out. I'd love to have space, etc. for a Unisaw or something in that class, but I don't.
I settled on the Bosch which I picked up yesterday. My first impressions are that it will be at least as capable as my old saw with several advantages, such as the ability to move it around as needed or move it outside if I want.
It's much quieter than the old one, though ear protection is still required. I like the riving knife and blade guard that is actually useful.
The downsides, so far;
1. One of the tires wasn't inflated, and I couldn't get the bead to seat without resorting to a compresser. Luckily I own one.
2. I really miss my magnetic featherboard, and I'm rediscovering all the shortcomings of featherboards than mount in the miter slot.
Craigslist is certainly worth exploring, a saw a couple of genuine good deals and a few reasonable deals. But quite a lot of what was there were rusted hulks that looked like they'd spent the last 10-20 years in someone's leaky barn, and described as in "good condition".
I'd worn out
Just curious, how do you 'wear out' a TS.
Bearings, pulleys, belt are all replaceable, and are about the only things that could 'wear out'
T-slots can be peened, carriages adjusted, fence guides adjusted, etc........
Agree that if the 'direct drive' was a 'big speedometer cable', that might not be worth fixing......
You're absolutely right, just about anything is fixable, with enough application of money or time, or both. And, I'd much rather fix than replace, most of the time.
It wasn't one of those "Speedo cable" types, and I've done various fixes on it in the past, but it didn't IMHO have enough fundamental quality to warrant a major fix which is what it was looking like it would need.
On the other hand, if it hadn't broken down, I would have happily not spent the money on a new saw.
>>>Just curious, how do you
>>>Just curious, how do you 'wear out' a TS.
>>>Bearings, pulleys, belt are all replaceable, and are about the only things that could 'wear out'
Agreed, for the most part.
I've got a 1950's vintage Unisaw that is about as easy to fix as you can get, a great tool, and a pleasure to use.
But today's portable jobsite saws have plastic bodies, all sorts of lightweight parts, and universal motors. It's a shame, but sometimes the sensibility of replacing all those parts that break gets trumped by simply buying a whole new machine.
bosch table saw
I bought a reconditioned 4100 right around that time to install an onsite staircase. It worked fine...when it worked! But more and more it would not start when I turned the switch on. I took it to my local repair guy and he reset the brushes. It has been better than new ever since and I run a thin kerf combo blade on it....couldnt be happier!!
Bosch 4100 Motor "issues"
Stan,
First, let me say that this is a fantastic saw. The cuts are smooth, the blade doesn't chatter, the overall feel is solid! Can't ask for much more from a truly portable unit! The gravity rise stand works great!
My 4100-09 suffered a motor fault within weeks of my reading that same article. Curiously though, my failure was not described exactly as in the article. In my case, the saw suddenly accelerated to an excessively high speed. Though the failure was not the same as in the article, the motor problem is.
Knowing that a motor cannot run faster without either increasing the voltage, or changing the windings, and since I know the 110V feeding the motor didn't change (it's wall power, after all), it was obvious a winding failure occurred in the motor. Needing the saw, and being fully familiar with electrical motors (I'm a senior electrical design engineer for a major aerospace firm), I opened the motor to see if I could find the shorted coil. It didn't take long, as I found where two coil wires that crossed over, had arc welded themselves together after they had vibrated thru the enamel insulation. The short was easy to correct by just lightly pulling the two wires apart, the arc weld was just at the surface. Putting the motor back together, it ran at the correct speed, however the electronic control module that gives the motor a soft-start at turn on was damaged.
The good news is Bosch has repaired the saw at no charge. I purchased mine at Lowes in 2008. Took longer for me to see the failure, since I'm only a "weekend warrior," not a contractor. Curiously, it appears from the paperwork that the armature coil was replaced, and not the field coil where the short occurred. Hopefully, they applied some fix that isn't described in the paperwork. Time will tell. Still, the motor parts aren't too expensive, and the motor is fairly easy to repair. I like the saw too much to let that stand in the way.
Back to your request, I am not familiar with the Makita, but I will say that I am extremely pleased with the Bosch saw. They appear to have recognized the motor issue. Newer units will hopefully not have this issue. All in all I am pleased with the customer support. They could have easily said it's out of warranty and stuck me with the repair cost. I have no problem recommending the Bosch saw.