Tablesaw suggestions?

[Bamaboy333]

Hi all, glad to be apart of the site. I have been following a couple months and decided to become a member. I have been a contractor with my dad for about 7 years now. I have always been very interested in the fine woodworking or cabinetry, trim work, and furniture building. As a general contractor I dont get much involvement in such details as they are build, just the finished product at install. We do occasionally do some of the trim ourselves but I have wanted a woodshop of my own for sometime. Well the time has finally come. I have a small one car garage 11' x 20' that will be my new work space. I dont have to worry about sharing with a car because it is never used. Obviously my first purchase should be a tablesaw but I am not sure where to start. We usually use a contractors table saw for portability and durability on the job. I am new to the craft so i dont need to go to crazy nor do i have the space too. I would like something affordable but with some power. The ones we use on site often bind up when ripping 2x4's and such. Any input would be great. Thanks in adavance and once again I am excited to be apart of the site.
Ellis

 

[James Davis]

If you are not in too big of a hurry, keep your eyes open for a used Unisaw. They are starting to show up with regularity on Craig's List. At under $1000.00 they are a heck of a deal and you will likely never have to upgrade when your skill increases. These are just my thoughts, YMMV

James

 

[Charles Lent]

+1 on the Unisaw.

Keep your eye out for a good deal on a clean used one, but make sure it's not 3 phase (unless you have 3 phase power). It'll likely only need some cleaning, oiling, and a set of new belts like mine did. I've owned 4 different table saws before I picked up the Unisaw that I have now. I'm totally happy with it, even though it's almost 30 years old. It will likely last longer than me, and I wish I had bought one a long time ago instead of wasting money on that other junk.

Charley

 

[Vetteman9956]

+3 0n the Unisaw

Picked one up last summer off of Craigslist with a 52" fence and after going through it and adding a shark guard I still have less than a $ 1000 in it. Nice to have POWER!!!!:eusa_danc

 

[pslamp32]

I'll offer an alternative viewpoint. If you are going to get into WWing you WILL be investing a lot of money. No 2 ways about it. Between the various power tools, of which I'm sure you have many, you'll most likely need a tablesaw, jointer, planer, bandsaw, routers, clamps (more than you can imagine), dust collection and innumerable measuring type items. I know the company line is always...'wait for a unisaw' and if you have no budget sure. My strategy was to get to it as quickly as possible so I broke things down like this...For the price of a used unisaw you will possibly be able to get all 3 of the Big 3, TS, planer and jointer. I got a new Delta contractor with a unifence, a mint but used Dewalt 734 planer and a new delta 6" jointer. I have, to this point, never felt restricted in what I could create with this toolset. As far as the TS, I rip 8/4 oak and just about everything you could imagine with my saw without any problems. Would I love a Unisaw or the equivalent? Sure. Would I love an aircraft carrier jointer? Yup. A 20" planer? Uh huh! At some point I may eventually upgrade some of these things and when I do I'll sell what I have for a decent amount and do so. If I had bought more expensive tools right off the bat I might still be outfitting my shop. For the last 3 years since I've started this hobby I've made countless things with my tools and been pretty happy doing it. So if you have the money to 'go big' right off the bat, then by all means...me, I'd rather get everything I need to begin with and start creating! Now I'm not advocating buying junk like HF or something like that. Good luck with whatever path you choose. One lesson I'm just learning now, though, is to put good dust collection (not shop vacs) right up near the top of your priority scale. It will make the journey much more enjoyable (and cleaner!). :icon_thum

 

[Gofor]

Welcome to a great place on the I-net.

If you can afford a cabinet grade $1000 saw, get it. If you don't have 220v access, don't bother. However, if you can't afford the $1k:

I would suggest a good reliable contractor/hybrid grade saw. Cost will be in the $500-$700 range new (Good used ones for much less are often available). You said you use a contractor portable saw. We are talking two different critters here. If I understand correctly, the saws you use have the blade attached directly to the motor armature, small table surface (probably aluminum or stamped metal), wings/extensions are flimsy or stamped metal, and the fence is iffy as to stability. Miter slot is a wasted item. Portable but not stable.

You probably could make do with one with cast iron top, cast iron extensions, belt drive motor, Ridgid or biesmeyer-type fence, 10" blade, 15 amp (or close), and on four legs (casters optional). Look at Grizzly, Delta, Jet, Ridgid (older used ones like the tablesaw 3650 may also be good), to name a few brands in no order of preference (I have a Ridgid TS3650 and am very happy with it, but others have done great work with other brands). Stay away from direct drive (blade on motor armature), stamped metal wings, aluminum tops, and stamped metal fence assemblies. You will probably want to buy an after market miter gauge like an Incra or Osborne brand ($100 - $200) unless you want to make home made jigs that can do as accurate a job (depending on your ability and also will cost for materials). Plastic (except for the blade/belt guard cover) is cheap, will not last, and is not suited for any lasting mechanical part.

Keys to ripping 2 x material without it binding are the splitter (riving knife is much better, but a home made insert with a splitter blade may solve your current on-site problems) and a stable correctly adjusted fence. Let us know what type saw you are using and we may be able to help with that one.

Keep in mind a good accurate miter saw on a portable stand is probably the most important tool for trim work, and also is a great asset in furniture work. The one I have is many years old and they don't make them anymore, so I will defer on those recommendations to those that have more current models.

HTHs

Go

 

[Bamaboy333]

Thanks so much for all of the input, all great information. Well after taking it all in I think I would have to go with pslamp32's suggestion. I want to get started right away, and that seems to be the best method. I would love to go with the unisaw,, and who wouldnt, but i have a son who will be turning one in a couple weeks, and I am not thinking the wife would go for me spending a grand on a table saw haha. I have a planer, radial arm saw, mitre saw, router (going to build a router table first project), and various hand tools. So a nice affordable table saw and a decent jointer seem like the way to go. Thanks again for all the input. It makes me feel so much better having such a great resource only a click away. I am sure I will be one here quite a bit with questions for a while, so just bear with me.

 

[woodstarfarms]

Thanks so much for all of the input, all great information. Well after taking it all in I think I would have to go with pslamp32's suggestion. I want to get started right away, and that seems to be the best method. I would love to go with the unisaw,, and who wouldnt, but i have a son who will be turning one in a couple weeks, and I am not thinking the wife would go for me spending a grand on a table saw haha. I have a planer, radial arm saw, mitre saw, router (going to build a router table first project), and various hand tools. So a nice affordable table saw and a decent jointer seem like the way to go. Thanks again for all the input. It makes me feel so much better having such a great resource only a click away. I am sure I will be one here quite a bit with questions for a while, so just bear with me.

I understand not wanting to spend alot of money in this economy. I have a Ridgid Granite top table saw that I have had for about 6 months now, and love it. You can pick one up at home depot on sale for $299, if you can find one in stock. I know of alot of NCWW's that have them and love it. It is heavy and solid, and with a little 2" square tubing and 1" angle iron you can expand your rip fence. The home depot in Shallotte had 2 in stock, it might be worth the drive.
Good luck.

 

[SubGuy]

I would recommend a man in your shoes (that seem to fit so oddly familiar) follow the advice given above. I hate my Firestorm Tablesaw with a passion. Unfortunately I will be leaving home for about a year and some change so I decided to delay my upgrade to a new saw. I personally want a SawStop, but used Uni sounds good and I have never heard the first bad thing about the Rigid Granite Tops. Also, to start cheaper than the Used Uni and alittle more amenities, look for a used Jet Contractor (who some on here have sworn by) that can be wired for either 110 or 220 (for future upgrades). Even used Grizzly/Shop Fox. Powermatic's, Uni's, SawStop's and nicer Grizzly's are GREAT saws, but if you go used NICE Contractor Saw, you won't have to wait as long or risk aggravating the boss. Go too cheap like HF and "Others" (to keep from offending) and you'll be in my boat praying for the day the new one arrives in your shop and planning a charter plane to drop the old one in the Bermuda Triangle:evil:. Just my $0.015 Cents!