Gonna buy a portable table saw in the AM
OK, i’ve been ignoring the table saw discussions lately. But mine got swiped today (I know who did it, one of the subs hasn’t seen one of his new hires since 10am today) 🙁 Cops found the saw about a mile away….he must have just set it on the tailgate of his pickup and taken off….it took a tumble down the hiway.
Sooooo, I gotta buy a new portable table saw in the morning to keep the job going. Lowes and HD are nearby, what do y’all recommend I go for? DW, Rigid, or ?.
Thanks,
Replies
In a not-so-funny coincidence, I just had an entire trailer-full of tools stolen from my jobsite. One of the items being a DeWalt portable tablesaw which I have had for about three years. I have used the heck out of it and it has remained remarkably straight and true. I am definitely going to replace it with the same. Good Luck.
It's gotta be the Bosch 4000. Lots of nice features. 25" rip. The miter has limited value. Plenty of power. Adjustments are hassel free. Well made.
If there is way too much input to you're liking and still confused rent severl different brands back to back. Do your own comparison.
A lot brands offer a 30 day money back "no questions asked" garruntee. You could go that route also.
The Bosch is good to go out of the bag nothing to add.
Edited 3/24/2003 3:25:03 PM ET by IMERC
Hey PB
I've used the @#$@ out of my DW portable for the last 5 years and it has been great (for a portable). I would also recommend the front and side table extensions, they have definitely been worth the $80. I think I ordered them from Amazon.com a couple of years ago. I don't know if HD or Lowes carries the extensions. The telescoping fence on the dewalt is what sets it apart for me, its stays very parallel to the sawblade once it's set up.
I don't know about the other saws you mentioned, but I would buy the dewalt again if it got lost....er, stolen (scumbags). Good luck.
Jay
(I meant rack and pinion fence) Jay
I have used the Ryobi BT3000 saw for the last 2 years with no complaints- except I had to replace the fan impeller, and had to change the belt once. The switch seems to be malfunctioning now.... But I like it because it is light (in and out of the truck) and cuts like a house on fire when it runs.
I also have used the DW a couple of times and it seems to be a good machine.
I wish someone would steal my Ryobi...
I hope my insurance guy isn't on line... I think I'd make a claim for the DW or Bosch
You could paint your Ryobi either Dewalt yellow or Makita blue, then maybe someone would "borrow" it when you weren't looking....wouldn't hurt to tape a $20 to it either (he he he). I think Ryobi (are they owned by sears now?) means "crappy tool we can sell to Americans" in Japanese. I've fallen for them too on a couple of occasions, but I learned my lesson.
Jay
Highly recommend the Bosch 4k, mine has taken alot of abuse and still performs well. Sorry about your old saw, reminds me of the time two framing nailers and a sheeting stapler jumped off of their hoses on the side of the house we were framing while we ate lunch on the front porch stem wall. I think it was the same house a unit of 5/8 cd ended up on the neighbors roof nailed over the three courses of existing shingles.
My shopmate does lots of side jobs where he needs to use a portable saw, and he swears by his Makita. (When in the shop, he loves my Jet cabinet saw, but that's a tad big and heavy for portable use ... :)
John
I tend to read a lot of them.
this is what I've gleamed from reading the posts.
DW, Bosch, PC, Mikita w/Resouse(sp) table.
seems to get down to personal preferences after that.
just my take.
bobl Volo Non Voleo Joe's BT Forum cheat sheet
Love my DW, but haven't found a Bosch tool yet that I didn't take a liking to. If Makita has better fences than they used to, they put a heck of a good motor in. Hows that for indecisive.
" If you kill a man, it is a tragedy. If you kill a million, it is a statistic." - Josepf Stalin, attributed.
Love my Makita 2703 from Home Depot. Came with a stand, but the table was too small, so I bought the Makita portable table $256 and then I added a table extension and another table extension on the other side at $105 each. Built 4 Formica covered infeed/outfeed tables. It is truly portable. It is cabinet maker quality and it is just like a boat ... you know ... a hole in the ocean that you pour your money into. The table ended up costing twice as much as the saw.
forget the portacable delta portable saws, had nothing but problems with mine, i really like my new rigid portable, great fence, lots of power, NO blade wobble(although i do use blade stiffeners), stand is excellent, warrantee is lifetime
unfortunately only available at HD
after that my choice would be the dewalt(but we're boycotting them due to move to mexico
steve
sarnia ont canada
I have got to second the Rigid job site saw....this thing is nasty! (in a good way). Super accurate fence, awesome wheeled stand, 25" rip capacity, lifetime warranty, lots of guts, on board cord storage, dust collection port...lots of tricks and treats. Definately worth a second look.
I have that Makita 10" portable saw. I got the Rousseau table with it, which is a gem. The Rousseau fence is excellent and the up-down and bevel controls on the 10"Makita are improved over the old 8". Its a real good framers saw, in my opinion.
Sorry to hear your saw was jacked, hate when peoples tools get stolen...
Also sorry to say I have a .....craftsmen...... portable, 10" *ducking*.... I like it.... *ducking further*
Got it for about 180 or so on speacial, for the price its actually not a bad saw, if I had to do it over I would get a different one though.
I have tried them all and I would lean towards the Bosch. Accurate fence, nice stand, semi-quiet. The only problem I had was the dust, dust collection is a must. A shop-vac was all it needed to stop the saw from throwing it back in your face. Peace Petey
I just bought the craftsman 10 inch 3 hp portable with outfeed support and side extensions with stand for 200 bucks. Seems to work great so far with lots of adjustments possible but it was pretty true out of the box. For the money I think its a great deal althought I would love a DW to match the rest of my tools but I cant see spending 500 bucks on it right now.
Its funny, I use an 8" craftsman direct drive ceap $99.00 saw I bought because it was so quiet and the thing just won't die! I wish it would so I can get me one of those new portables. Peace
The DW jobsight saw is the best I've used, and its as balanced and quiet as some cab-saws. Check out the fence, with its rack and pinion, it's what really sells it. With a stand its $500, same as a Bosch.
been loving my DeWalt for a coupla years now.
Buddy that does similar work......cab's and trim.....along with everything else.....has had the Bosch for a coupla months now and likes his too.
I prefer the DeWalt over the Bosch by a hair....that same hair ya can shave off with a twist of the wrist using the rack and pinion fence.
Get good blades for finish and ripping..they'll both cut anything ya need.
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite