Learn me table saws

My girlfriend (who is much more of a carpenter and woodworker than I am) wants to start building furniture as a sideline business. She's already built some nightstands, a nice sideboard, and a few other little things. She's told me she wants a table saw for Christmas. I have NO IDEA what I should be looking for in a table saw. I'd like to spend between $150 and $200...can anyone guide me to what I should look for, or recommend a specific model?

And before anyone says it, yes, I know I'm a lucky man because I get to buy her tools I'll use as well.

psteav wrote: My girlfriend (who is much more of a carpenter and woodworker than I am) wants to start building furniture as a sideline business. She's already built some nightstands, a nice sideboard, and a few other little things. She's told me she wants a table saw for Christmas. I have NO IDEA what I should be looking for in a table saw. I'd like to spend between $150 and $200...can anyone guide me to what I should look for, or recommend a specific model? And before anyone says it, yes, I know I'm a lucky man because I get to buy her tools I'll use as well.

I think I paid around $150 for my Craftsman 10" table saw many, many years ago, and while it still works, and I have used it a fair bit over the years, it has its flaws. If I was looking to get another saw, it would probably be over $1000, since the saws that aren't "portable" with larger tables get quite expensive quickly.

Any saw is only as good as it's blade, and I highly recommend that you get a premium quality carbide blade with a number of teeth appropriate to the kind of work you'll be doing. A great blade can make a mediocre saw seem better than it is. And be careful if you're not partial to the nickname "Lefty".

We bought a Dewalt DWE7480 10" saw last year with some gift cards we got for christmas. Just read some reviews on several different models and picked one that sounded good. Works great for what we use it for, just household projects, and stuff too large to cut with the mitre saw.

$150 -$200 really isn't much to get a decent saw. Unless you can find something used.....

About 10 years ago I spent $500 on the Hitachi contractor saw at Lowes and it's about the cheapest/lightest thing I'd consider using to make furniture on.

Really cheap saws use general purpose motors that overheat easily and are unpleasantly loud. Something that can run on 220 will net you a MUCH better experience.

Get thee to Craigslist and find an old contractor saw- the belt driven kind with a big cast iron table. This will serve better than 90% of new saws on the market. $200 should be able to get it done, but it might be close.

I have a Delta table saw that the blade bolts straight to the motor. Decent saw and could do well on furniture, but if she want's to get serious then go contractor.

Then follow 1988RedT2's advice about the blade- perhaps that can be the next gift?

Another vote for used. I have my grandfather's 10" Craftsman that is about 35 years old and it cuts much nicer than any new saw you will find in that range.

+3 vote for used. The problem with the low priced table saws are they don't have the power or accuracy for furniture work. I had a kinda OK Craftsman saw from the early 90's: cast iron table and extensions, 10" blade with a direct-drive motor. I made a few minor modifications to make it run smoother and improve dust management, but it was still ham-strung by the small table (couldn't use a better aftermarket fence) and weak motor.

A third vote for used, especially saws with the cast iron table. These are built to last for years, whereas the new saws in your price range are for occasional hobbyist use, not for serious/quality furniture building.

If you go with new and home-use grade, my observations from looking at them a few months ago is that there appears to be one contractor in China that makes them private label. The ones sold at Lowes are identical to the ones at HF, but with a different name, and sometimes price.

I also agree that a used professional grade saw would probably be better than a new home grade saw. But I'm not a wood worker. I mean, I use a saws-all or a hack saw for minor wood work about half the time.

Another vote of a good used one.

Here you go. Perfect for all your woodworking needs for a FRACTION of what it would cost new.

Holy crap thats a deal.

Damn DAT delta!

Ive got a 50's era craftsman cast iron unit ill give you if you want it.

That Delta is a steal!

Keep in mind - anything you end up with will need to be tuned up to make sure it the blade and fence are parallel and that 90 degrees on the angle marking is really 90 degrees. This will probably be easier if you buy a nicer tool to begin with, but even if you get something really good, don't expect it to be set up perfectly right out of the box.

Agreed with the blade statements as well. Makes a huge difference.

Another vote for used cast iron beast. While you can acheive good results with a cheap portable saw it's going to require her to spend a long time finishing the cut edges. That gets long fast if she does a lot.

Also, another vote for a good blade. You could easily spend your budget on the blades alone.

Portable saw with high end blade > Big iron table saw with el cheapo blade

PHeller wrote: Holy crap thats a deal.

No kidding - that's an incredible deal. Hard to tell for sure, but that could be a $2000 (new) saw. The only downside for home use is it likely needs 220V power.

cmcgregor wrote: That Delta is a steal! Keep in mind - anything you end up with will need to be tuned up to make sure it the blade and fence are parallel and that 90 degrees on the angle marking is really 90 degrees. This will probably be easier if you buy a nicer tool to begin with, but even if you get something really good, don't expect it to be set up perfectly right out of the box. Agreed with the blade statements as well. Makes a huge difference.

Very much the truth. When I bought my saw in '92, I knew next to nothing and was never happy with how well it cut. Then I read a few wood-working articles about setting up a table saw and started checking the settings on my saw. Needless to say, the accuracy of the factory assembly left much to be improved. And my saw was US-made.

This goes for just about any wood-working tool. When I bought a DeWalt circular saw a few years ago, I had to spend a few minutes going through the adjustments to make the blade parallel after the first cut using a straight-edge had the blade binding up on the material.

The Delta in the ad above almost sounds too good to be true, it could be a scam...In any case, for that level of saw make sure you're not looking at one with a three phase motor.

Wow, this kinda blew up. What do y'all think of this one?

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/tls/4763676370.html

dusterbd13, I'd love to take you up on your offer, but you're about eight states away, and I don't even wanna think what shipping that thing would run. Thanks though.

Pretty small for furniture making. The $250 Delta is far better for what it sounds like you want.

we pitched a 1940's Craftsmen table saw from my grandfather into the scrap pile. you spent a lot of time clamping fences and keeping the wood from cutting a taper. the motor had an open belt that was scary. I hated that saw.

i went and bought the $250 Delta for my little projects - works good for that stuff but i was making cabinets I would buy a giant used one like the Delta link above.

Here's my input.

1. Avoid cast iron. it rusts, it sticks, it's usually uneven.
2. Belt drive.
3. Tilting Arbor (both ways)
4. 10" Blade.
5. a good fence that moves smoothly and is square when clamped (mine isn't and it takes time to set)
6. Try to find a Delta or Rockwell unit. Some Craftsman stuff is "OK"
7. A rolling base is always nice.

The one you posted has a fence like mine. It sucks!

Edit: This is on your CL http://stlouis.craigslist.org/tls/4796394416.html

Edit 2: This one has a router table built in as well http://stlouis.craigslist.org/tls/4731288797.html

psteav wrote: Wow, this kinda blew up. What do y'all think of this one? http://stlouis.craigslist.org/tls/4763676370.html dusterbd13, I'd love to take you up on your offer, but you're about eight states away, and I don't even wanna think what shipping that thing would run. Thanks though.

I think that's a high price for that particular saw. It's not a bad saw for what it is, but it has a tilting table instead of a tilting arbor - if you want to make angle cuts you have to tilt the whole table instead of the blade, and it's difficult to get a decent cut even on small pieces; forget about it if you have a piece of wood of any size.

I waxed my cast iron table when I inherited it about 15 years ago and neither rust nor sticking have been issues.