Being somewhat new to this hobby, I have a couple of major purchases to make, the first being a table saw. Working in a garage space doesn’t offer a ton of room, but it isn’t bad. I have gotten away from the idea of a contractor saw when I saw the DeWalt hybrid w/1.75 h.p. as a sturdier version of a contractor saw. But when you compare the cost of the DeWalt with cast iron wings to the top rated Grizzly table saw w/3 h.p., you really have to wonder about the biggest bang for the buck. I would definitely put either on wheels for mobility, but surely even with wheels the Grizzly will not be the easiest thing to push around. The price of stability I guess. The DeWalt, I think, would be easier to push into the driveway on a nice summer day. That’s not a very important consideration, but I guess my phobia is the size and heft of the Grizzly to a newbie like myself. Any persuasive comments one way or the other?
Would I regret buying the DeWalt 2 years from now? I plan to start with smaller projects and work up to furniture as my skills improve.
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Replies
Dave,
I've been the route of using a contractor type saw for years and then switching to a 3hp cabinet saw. The contractor saw did a good job for me until I started building more furniture and needed to rip 8/4 and thicker material -- it worked, but had to feed slowly because of the power (1.5hp).
As to mobility, I now have a Jet 10" cabinet saw with extension table and router lift/cabinet. The entire assembly is about 6' long and 27" wide. I purchased the best mobile base (made for Jet by HTC). It's normal position is near my garage door and facing outward. I like to roll it over and out a bit when handling full sheets of plywood. Although there is a lot of weight, the mobile base lets me move it with almost no effort. All of the wheels have locks on them, so the assembly is motionless after moving it into position and locking the wheels down.
Good luck!
Bill Arnold
Food for Thought: The Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
Hello and thanks BArnold ! Your comments strengthened my belief that I should buy for the long term.
"He that does not learn from history is doomed to repeat it"
One additional comment about the mobile base. As I recall, there are two models for the base; one that has all joints welded; another that is adjustable and, therefore, has some 'wiggle' in it. The welded unit costs a bit more, but is worth it because of the stability.
Bill Arnold
Food for Thought: The Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
greetings dave! i just bought a powermatic 64 contractor's saw several months ago and love it! i thought that a cabinet saw was WAY too heavy 500 pounds vs 300 pounds to be moving around my two car garage and that i was not going to be doing heavy production work as much as i fantasize about quitting my day job.
if i had to buy another table saw, it would definitely be a contractor or contractor hybrid saw like either the ridgid contractor's saw ($549 and you get mobile base, REMOVABLE blade guard, ADJUSTABLE trunnions) or the dewalt hybrid which you can soup up probably the best SMALL sliding table on the market right now.
good luck and don't forget to watch those fingers!
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