I’ve been trying to read up on table saws but still don’t know how much saw to buy. I read the differences between a hybrid saw and a cabinet saw and I don’t fully understand the difference. This will be a general use saw. I’ll use it to build an island cabinet and for general hobbyist use. For years I’ve been doing all of my woodworking with a circular saw and an edge guide. I’ve made some nice stuff but am ready to move up.
I have a 15’x17′ shop and need something that can be wheeled over against the wall when not in use. But otherwise portability is not a concern. I also don’t believe I need more than 3 HP.
Here is what I need, or at least what I think I need. Feel free to critique any of these.
1) Something that can run on a 20 amp circuit for now and later rewire for 220V when I have more room on my panel.
2) A saw that can be upgraded with a higher quality fence, or even comes with a high quality fence from the start.
3) A saw that comes with extensions which will allow me to crosscut lightweight sheet material. In fact this would be more useful than the nicer fence – at least for now.
4) A saw that can double as a router table. Again, this is a feature I’d use from the start.
Thanks for any input.
(Edit) From reading through posts I see that budget is an important concern that many of the experience posters take into consideration when suggesting a saw. Sorry for not mentioning it.
I guess my budget is somewhat open. I’d love to spend $700 on a basic saw and upgrade it as needed. However, if for $900 I can get the same saw with a $300 fence I’ll spend the extra money from the start.
I guess with a nice fence, extension table, and router table attachment I’d like to keep things under $1500.
Edited 5/9/2005 1:50 pm ET by Chris
Replies
Generally speaking, a cabinet saw will require 220
For contractors saws
WOOD just had a review on the $500-$700 saws, including the Sears 22114 hybrid ( the lowest of their hybrids) and the Ridgid TS3650 beat out Jet, Shop Fox, Delta, General, Grizzly and Bridgewood. It comes with a mobile base and the fence seems adequate - Price is $570 You could probably buy an after market router table to fit it and even a power feeder or merlin splitter or any of a number of upgrades - high end miter guage would be my first choice along with a nice dado set and a couple of other blades (thin kerf glue line rip, crosscut and combination) and my first project would be to make a dozen zero clearance inserts.
1 - measure the board twice
2 - cut it once
3 - measure the space where it is supposed to go
4 - get a new board and go back to step 1
Chris, I built a modified version of this contraption which has turned out to be very good for my purposes. I have an old blue Jet contractor's saw and Mulecab fence, none of which is top of the line but it all works well together and I can do just about anything I want with this rig. You'll notice that the cart/sawing center has provision for a built in router table. Good deal in a small shop.
http://us.st8.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/woodstore_1841_11829443
I thought about something like that. Are there any basic plans for something like that on the web?
Yes, You can get them here:
http://store.woodstore.net/mosaroce.html
I bought 4 locking and swiveling 4" poly casters from Grizzly. Cheapest source. There have been several threads about variations of this project at Woodnet. If you are interested do a search under Tablesaw/Router station or Table saw workstation.
I have mine sitting on hd levelers while I'm using it. It would probably be stable enough without them on a reasonably level floor but my shop floor is bad.
Wood had an article with plans on that and they may have them on their website - I believe it was part of one of their Idea Shop articles1 - measure the board twice, 2 - cut it once, 3 - measure the space where it is supposed to go 4 - get a new board and go back to step 1
Take a look at this saw many people have purchased it & seem to be real happy with it. Unlike a contractors saw which has its motor hanging on the back of the saw this saw has its motor inside which will work real well with your tight situation. The comments I've heard about the fence were real good too.
Keep check on this saw as it seems to go on sale often.
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00922124000
Edited 5/22/2005 8:40 pm ET by Bart
Hi Chris - Since the hybrids have internally mounted motors they take up about a foot less space. They also have superior dust collection to contractor saws. The new line of Sears "hybrids" made by Orion go on sale alot and can be excellent values. I stated "hybrids" in quotes because they actually have cabinet mounted trunnions and are technically a home shop duty cabinet saw...most other hybrids have contractor style trunnions mounted from the table top which are harder to align. Specifically, the 22124 has an excellent commercial Biesemeyer fence (~ $350 if purchased separately), two 12" cast iron wings, a 12" right side extension table, a fold up outfeed table, full cabinet, cabinet mounted trunnions for easy blade alignment, a very good stock Leitz blade, a serpentine poly-v drive belt, and a 1-3/4hp motor that runs on a standard 110v outlet and can be rewired for 220v. For the most part they've gotten raves from owners and mags, and often go on sale for < $850....sometimes < $700, and even sometimes < $600 with the right combination of discounts, luck, and negotiation. Mine rolls incredibly well on the Sears universal base. I sold a very good GI contractor saw to gain the features the 22124 offered and so far I'm not disappointed. They also have the 22104 and 22114 with fewer accessories and lesser fences.
The General International 50-220CM1 is a nice hybrid with a General made Biesemeyer homeshop fence for ~ $850. It's available with a lesser fence for ~ $750, but I'd recommend skipping that option.
Sometime soon Delta will offer the 36-717 hybrid that's similar to the 22124 but without the cabinet mounted trunnions and a different feature set.... ~ $950. I've even heard rumor it's made by the same company.
Get a Canadian made General (not the Asian import by same name). I went through too many other saws prior to buying this one, the General is the best cabinet saw I ever owned. As regards the fence, mine was outfitted with an Excalibur which I loved, however there are nowadays many good fences on the market.
Ask an electrician if it is possible within the bounds of the main feed limitations to put in a subpanel of your existing panel This will allow you to move several circuits over to the sub as well as take off 220v for the TS.
Looks like you may have made a decision on what TS to get, but I want to add my 2 cents.
I have the 22124 from Sears. Had it since Nov and has been a joy so far. Sandwiched another piece of MDF to the Bessy ext and made a router table out of it. Use a jig on the Bessy fence to add a router fence and so I have a stable platform for routing.
Though I'm sure I'm the only dummy to pay full price, it goes on sale and with Craftsman Club discounts and wkend sale discounts, there has been a couple of folks got it for less than $700!!! That's with a $350 Bessy fence. Think about it.
Let us know what you get!
Jimmy
as always I wish you enough
I have a RIDGID saw from one of the Big Boxes.. I LIKE IT ALOT..
Not a cabinet saw BUT I could not afford a Cabinet saw...
Best saw I have ever had and I had a few of the others.. Hell, I even likeed by old Ryobi saw but it wore out after siding a few houses,,,
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