# Table Saw Questions



## King Fisher (Aug 10, 2005)

I need to buy a table saw. I have done some online searching and I am looking for some reccomendations. It will be should be a general purpose saw, but my first project is to build some bunk beds for my grandsons. I would like to keep the price between $200 and $400. Need to know what to look for and what to avoid. Any advise is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.


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## Viking48 (Jan 24, 2006)

Check this one out. http://houston.craigslist.org/for/1310030010.html It appears to be the Craftsman Professional like mine and if it is, that is a deal (it's about a thousand dollar saw new). If that' it, it has plenty of power for most projects, is stable and has a good fence. I see you're in Lufkin - I'm close to Cypress and would be glad to take a look at it for you if you're interested. They are a hybrid - not quite a heavy duty cabinet saw but heavier than a contractor series. I have no complaints with mine and you're welcome to play with it if you like.


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## Viking48 (Jan 24, 2006)

Looking back, I didn't answer your question - sorry. My suggestion is to pay a lot of attention to the fence. You want a stable saw with minimal vibration and enough power to rip boards without bogging down but a cheesy fence will drive you nuts. Make sure it is top quality, moves into position and locks into place without flexing or changing your position. The first saw I had came with a sorry fence and it was almost impossible to line it up square and where you wanted it. It became very frustrating and I dumped it. Good luck with your search.


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## pg542 (Oct 9, 2006)

Viking48 said:


> Looking back, I didn't answer your question - sorry. My suggestion is to pay a lot of attention to the fence. You want a stable saw with minimal vibration and enough power to rip boards without bogging down but a cheesy fence will drive you nuts. Make sure it is top quality, moves into position and locks into place without flexing or changing your position. The first saw I had came with a sorry fence and it was almost impossible to line it up square and where you wanted it. It became very frustrating and I dumped it. Good luck with your search.


 Very true....unfortunately most saws in your price range don't have a good fence system. I went through this same thing recently and came across the Dewalt 744x. It's a lo cost ($500-$600) jobsite 10inch tablesaw that has a unique rack and pinion type fence adjustment that once it is tuned, has great repeat accuracy for a saw of this price range. I put a Freud blade on it and it has worked out pretty well for my projects. It's also wide enough to rip up to 24inches.....just an idea,,,,Jim


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## bill (May 21, 2004)

amazon.com has a lot of new saws in your price range...only thing I can add is to stay away from Skil saws (good saw but they use a 5/8th and not a 3/4 so any aftermarket upgrades would not work on them)

craigslist will get you a used but better saw for your bucks


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## EndTuition (May 24, 2004)

bill said:


> amazon.com has a lot of new saws in your price range...only thing I can add is to stay away from Skil saws (good saw but they use a 5/8th and not a 3/4 so any aftermarket upgrades would not work on them)
> 
> craigslist will get you a used but better saw for your bucks


Got to agree with this !
Keep an eye on Craigslist, sooner or later a super good deal will come around and you will end up with a high quality saw for the price you can afford.


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## Little-bit (Oct 19, 2005)

I built custum cabinets and furniture for years. We used the Delta unisaw at the cabinet shop. They are awesome table saws but high dollar. I have a older model Craftsman Professional model in my barn. I have used this saw for at least 12 years in its pretty been pretty darn good to me. Its a good saw but you need to purchace an extended fence for it. The link to the one on craigslist that Viking48 posted is a very good saw for $300.


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## Slip (Jul 25, 2006)

I agree with others myself. For $300, you will not find a very good saw unless you are patient and can find a used one for that amount to get a nicer saw. I have a 1978 model Sears and have spend more than what I could have bought a Unisaw for with my add ons. I bought the large Biesmeiser fence and that ended much flustration as above post. I remove the guts from saw and brought to a machine shop and had it totally overhauled with zerk fitting for allowing moving parts to be greased where it can be raised and lowered without effort. Had parts machined to closer tolerances. Increased motor size and double belt system. Not much Sears left to the saw, but has been a good saw.

If you watch, you may find a good saw for a reasonable price, but new? You won't get much other than a portable one and depending on space and how much you will use it, you probably will regret it later but can make do with flustration to build things with it. Keep an eye on the classifieds until you can find a saw with a good fence on it and you will be much happier and doesn't have to be the commerial size fences to make life better. The Sears fence that comes with the less expensive saws are nothing but heart ache.


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## biggreen (Feb 23, 2005)

What they said. All of us have done what your about to do and regretted it quick. The lesser saws are innacurate and flat out dangerous. A fence that isn't accurate will cause more kickbacks and burn through your cuts no matter how good the blade is. The cheaper saws are typically lighter and will move around on you while your trying to make a cut, also dangerous. I'm sure you've seen tools that jump when turned on? Maybe start with a base model of a higher end saw and add on to it as you can afford to or buy used. If you get the cheap saw now you'll just end up replacing the whole thing later. That's what I did. I hated that saw. Never got a straight cut. I don't know how many peices of wood I had to retrieve from the neihbors yard after that saw shot them like a jaust. Got a dent in the side of my truck from one of them too. **** saw.
later, biggreen


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## Slip (Jul 25, 2006)

Kinda over the price range you want, but this doesn't look like a bad deal on a Delta tablesaw for anyone. $600 and may take less. http://www.southeasttexas.com/class...d_code=tools&zipcode=&distance=0&type=general


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## Mako Mike (Jun 8, 2006)

If you find a saw you want without a good fence, I'll sell you my extra for $100. Here's a link to what it is, new in box, never been used, with rails. Bought for older table and the fence was a little to big for the saw. I wound up buying a much bigger saw and it came with a good fence.


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