My budget for a table saw that will see occasional use only is $200 and I need to buy something by this weekend. The Big Orange Box offers a recent FHB’s recommended “best buy” the Ryobi BTS20 for $200, but I noticed there is another model, the BTS15 for $150. Niether was set up for display so I couldn’t look at them side by side.
The differences I could detect from reading the boxes and since Ryobi’s site doesn’t give you a side by side comparison, are that the BTS20 has a folding stand, belt driven blade, a 27″ rip capacity and a dust port to hook up a vacuum. The BTS15 has a fancy sliding mitre table fence like the old 3000 series saw, a direct drive motor, a 20″ rip capacity and a fixed stand. Both are 15 amp motors.
I cant’ tell if there are differences in the rip fence or other features. Is there a real benefit to the sliding mitre table fence thing? The best rip fence would probably sway my decision. If anyone had any experience with either saw, pros or cons, or can make a recommendation, that would be great. Thanks!
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My experience is that a sliding miter table on a portable saw isn't as handy as a good sliding compound miter saw seperatley. If you have a good miter saw I'd forgo a sliding table and go with the added rip capacity. Can't speak to the Ryobi fence though, someone else would know more. A stand is almost mandatory if you use it on site, it'll save your back if nothing else. Dust collection while not huge is very good when you need it, if you have to set up someplace that needs to stay clean you'll be glad to have it but this wouldn't necessarily sell me. Rip capacity and a decent fence sell me if motor strengths are the same.
We tried to use a customer's Ryobi on a job and couldn't--the miter was made of pot metal and had broken--totally useless. Don't know what model the saw was.
I just took a look online, the current BTS 20 has a standard miter gauge, not the sliding table. It DOES have the dust port and the folding stand with good-sized wheels. I didn't see anything about belt drive. If you want portability and dust collection, then it is well worth the extra $50. You can hook up a shop vac and it will get most of the dust (I've even cut MDF cleanly using a bigger old BT 3000 which has the same type of dust shroud).
The BTS 15 has the sliding table, but it won't get much use if you've got a miter saw. And the sawdust just drops down under the table or flies all over.
D&L
The BTS20 should also have that miter slider, mine did. The BTS20 is definitly a heavy duty tool, and worth every penny I paid for it (I will use it rarely too).
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
> a direct drive motor ....
If the other is belt drive, it'll let you raise the blade higher.
-- J.S.
I returned the Hatichi and (due to blade wobble) and got the ryobi you talk of. Its a bit heavy but works well. As always check alinement. I changed the guard nuts to wing nuts to make it easy to remove and install the splitter. The article was a good read but did they use any of the saws?
I set the BTS15 up yesterday and used it to rip some sub floor patches and then to fix the broken stair nosing that came with my bamboo floor package. The grooves were broken, so I had to rip the pieces down and then cut a new groove. The saw starts abruptly and then smoothes out after a second or two, not a smooth start, say like my DeWalt 12" miter saw. It does seem to have plenty of power and no runout on the blade. Half of what you want in a table saw!
The rip fence wants to align itself slightly to right, which is ok if you are using it on the right side of the blade, but not to the left as I needed to do. It feels reasonably smooth in its slide and the numbers are easy to ready, not that I usually bother with any table saw - I just trust my tape measure. You can can not get the fence close the the bade on the right because the mount for the splitter/guard is in the way.
The black finish on the table scratches easily as I noticed after a few uses. It's easy to lift and carry around as there is a hand hold between the table and the right extension. The rear extending outfeed table thing is useless. It sits a half inch below the table when extended and has cut outs for the splitter bracket, etc. When ripping something narrow like my stairnose on end, there was nothing there to catch the piece coming through. I did not put the leg stand together or try the miter thing and splitter/guard.
It occurred to me that without a miter slot on the table, I'll never be able to use a feather board, unless Ryobi makes one that goes with the slider thing - I have not checked. Also, this saw sends a lot of dust straight through the holes in the front where the blade height and bevel adjustment handles come through.
I am thinking I'll probably pack it back up and go back to the Orange Box for a try of the BTS20. A real miter slot, dust port for a vacuum and built in stand for only $40 more. Still probably a bargain compared to the Rigid or Dewalt for an occasional user like me.
Just a DIYer, but I have the BTS15 and have used it to rip large 2x wood, and some nice trim pretty easily. It does start pretty hard, kind of unnerving, has decent power and the features are OK. Rip fence is crap as mentioned, but I'm not making cabinets here. It was much better than the second-hand saw I had before that decided to die on me one day. The ryobi also has overload protection, which came in handy one day when I had the motor bogged down pretty good. Another saw might've just died.
PJ
Has anyone used the BTS20 and found the same violent start as pjmcgarvey and I have? Looking at the specs on the Ryobi site, they appear to have the same motor.
I don't think all direct drives are like that - about 15 years ago I had a small inexpensive Delta direct drive table saw (not a bench top) and it had a smooth start. However, it was heavy, had tons of blade run out, not much power and the fence was perhaps the worst I've ever used. I gave it away rather than move it. I think Delta actually still makes it, or one very similar.