Looking for a table saw and compound mitre saw.

I'm looking to set up a small woodshop in my barn to DYI projects around the old house here and make the occasional piece of furniture.
I need a table saw first off, and probably a compound mitre saw too. I know there's allot of debate about brands and people have their favorites but I really want to hear from experiance, the good the bad and the ugly.

For the table saw I need a portable space wise and mobility. I'm down to a Bosch (current fav) a Dewalt 744X , Makita, Ridgid 4510 or a Rockwell RK7241S Table Saw . These are all 10" portables but not the really small contractor type. These are like one step up like this Bosch 4100-09 with gravity cart, that is in first place at the moment.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S5 ... d_i=507846

This Rockwell seems like a good buy too?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004UL ... PDKIKX0DER

Anybody have experiance with these or can give some real work advice.

On the compound mitre saw, My first question is do I need a sliding model? I'm looking at a 10" saw but would a 8" be sufficient? There seems to be allot of cheapo's out there for $200 and then the brand names at $500. The non sliding saws are allot less money thus my question on do I really need that wider sliding ability? The dual bevels are more than single also. Is that work paying for?

Thanks for your help in advance.

The Bosch is the best portable table saw, hands down. The motor is more powerful than anything else out there, it has soft start, and it has the best dust collection system on a portable. Also, if you buy their dado blade insert you can make a strip of wood to fit in the wider blade cutout area, then bring your blade up through this strip of wood, and now you have a 'zero clearance' blade insert. This makes cutting small pieces safer and further reduces the amount of dust that ends up in your lungs. But get the older, larger model. I wouldn't bother with the newer, more compact saw they recently came out with.

As for the miter saw, if you can find a used Hitachi C8FB in good condition, it's one of the best saws ever made and uses the stable, less expensive 8 1/2" blades--so they discontinued the saws. Though it's an 8 1/2" it will do almost everything you need. If not, you might as well go for a 12" slide compound. I've used almost every one out there. The DeWalt is a lot of saw for the money which you can often get on sale. The Makita LS1212 is a gear driven saw, very powerful, very smooth and can also be found for under $500. That's my 2 cents.

For the kind of money that first one is I'd be looking at full size table saw.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/10-Hybr ... es-/G0715P

I'm lucky as the one showroom is only a about 1 hour from me. No shipping......

Steve,

I would go with this for a table saw:

http://www.sawstop.com/products/contractor-saw/


But then again, I am one of those every 9 minutes type of guy.

Which ever type you get make sure that it has a good fence system. Don't cheap out here or you'll pay later.





Rick

Steve,
Keep an eye on craigslist; there's usually something available. You might find an old Craftsman that will do the trick. I have a Ryobi direct drive 10" portable that has been workable for many years now. I guess you could overbuy and also underbuy.

I've seen finish carpenters with nice setups on some of the high end homes I've been involved with. One guy had a setup with extension tables big enough to cut large panels with. I've always wanted a verticle panel cutter rig, they can be very pricey though.
I have an older Ryobi 10" chop saw, non compound. I forgot it once and I was down the shore working. Went to Lowes and got a cheap Delta compound 10" and got through the job and still made munny. I use the non-compound much more for typical 45's etc.

I would really like to find a blade sharpener like a Foley, I've got so many dull blades lying around, same with my boxes of dull drill bits.

There was a guy that invented a table saw that would brake the blade in a millisecond if it came in contact with carpenter flesh
I saw a demonstration video, the guy touched a hot dog to the spinning blade and it stopped instantly
The guy could not market that device due to liability issues

That has that brake on it. Nice, but a little rich for my blood.

Richard S. wrote:That has that brake on it. Nice, but a little rich for my blood.

WOW He defenitly believes in his product.
But in the real world you are pushing the wood thru the saw much faster and with force, just wondering if any tests were done pushing the hot dog thru faster and with force, not by just holding his finger there with out movement.
I certinly don't want to take any thing away from his creation,it defenitly took balls to stick his finger in a rotating blade.

The test with the hot dog was realistic.

My .02 supports your first choice on the table saw (as a portable saw, pricey, but well worth it).
I prefer a sliding compound saw....10" is the minimum from my experience, and I have Hitachi (10'), Bosch (12") and a Dewalt 12" and Makita 12". I know they will all do the job and I support Dan: keep your eyes peeled on Craigslist and I'll bet you will find a few 'killer deals'. I have several portable table saws and 3 contractor saws....Hitachi, Makita, Delta, Jet Panel Saw, Rockwell......and recently a Grizzly contractor saw from Craigslist. You aren't gonna be married to the damned things, take a 'ride on the wild side.' High end table saws are terrific, but VERY pricey for the basic shop. Norm Abrams.....sure, but most of us don't need that kind of precision.

Just a learned thought---it's not the saw, it's the operator---get something within your affordable range with a decent name behind it. You can add on any kind of jigs,stops, etc you want. Personally, I'm an old Porter Cable/Rockwell kinda guy. YES, keep an eye on CL--you can smell if a saw has been abused. Like WN said---you ain't marrying the damn thing. And remember---always wear & drink with moderation

Personally, I really like the Track Saw made by either Festool or Dewalt.

They work great and just about eliminate the need for a vertical panel saw.

Richard S. wrote:The test with the hot dog was realistic.

I totally agree.
What I was saying was push the hot dog thru, not just hold it there. Just courious to see what the hot dog would look like in real world conditions.

I was a carpenter for 8 years with my dad and my brother before working for the gov. The Boch table saw and at least a 10" slide compound would be my choice. Personally, I have a 10" Dewalt portable table saw and a 10" Makita dual bevel sliding miter saw. I've had the table saw since 1998 and it's been an awesome saw. I used to have a Craftsman 12" compound saw and got rid of it. I bought it about 8 years ago. I thought to myself that since I was only gonna use it around the house, it would be good enough. I was wrong. There is nothing like a sliding saw........believe me! I bought the Makita used and sold the Craftsman to a friend of mine. My brother has the Bosch table saw like the one on Amazon and has a Hitachi 12" dual bevel sliding miter saw. He uses them almost everyday and he absolutely loves them both. Just my $.02 Steve.

Thanks guys, great stuff.
I watched that Saw Stop video myself before. Pretty scary stuff to be honest! I agree that in the real world in a situation where someone might cut their finger off, I have to believe that it may stop (before you finger's severed) but your still gonna need a stitch or three! Nice for the High school Shop class but too pricy for a guy like me who is going to make the occasional bit of furnature and mostly just maintainance around the house.

I will do the Craigslist and Uncle Henry's search on the sliding compound mitre saw, but this half a yard or so of table saw money is burning holes in my pocket and the Lumber yard down the street has got a new Bosch coming in on the truck this afternoon! Have to at least go over and fiddle with it.

I have always heard that a tablesaw is the most important tool in the shop and low and behold it is true. I worked in a cabinet shop for 3 years and have made furniture for myself and others. Believe it or not, if you're making furniture, a shaper table is more important than a mitersaw, think about this thought for a second......a chop saw is a convienance, cuts material to an aproximate length, unless your making outdoor stuff which can be done with a circular or hand saw, furniture grade projects should be finished trimmed on a tablesaw, a real good tablesaw. You can do everything with a tablesaw, can't say that about a miter saw.