Thread: 10" Table Saw's - Post your model and give it a rating out of 10!

Well, I'll give it a go. I don't think it will mean much, be cause you do not have them available in Australia I would suppose. I have a Steel City uni type saw. Model 35619. 10", 3hp, 220 volts. It is a good saw, modeled after a Delta uni-saw.

I don't feel any newly purchased table saw deserves a 10 rating, because to my knowledge, none come with anything but an adequate fence or miter gauge. If they did, there wouldn't need to be all these nice aftermarket fences and miter gauges available. I upgraded my fence and miter gauge to the Incra system. I also have an Osborne miter gauge, both far superior to what comes on most table saws. The fence that came with my saw was a clone of the Biesemeyer fence, but not quite as good. I had trouble keeping it parallel to the blade. Seemed to always need a little tweaking.

The other slight draw back to the Steel City saw is it is not one of the more common saws, like Jet or Delta, so you can't walk into a wood tool store and buy zero clearance inserts or some of the other accessories for it. You either make them or order them through Steel City. I ordered a couple ZCI's from them, and form now on I will make my own.

But the saw has served me well, with no mechanical problems to date. It has plenty of power and I as of yet have not had to adjust the table top or anything else, nor have I had to replace the belts. I have had it around 6 or 7 years.

Steel City customer service has been very timely and responsive when I have used them, so no complaints there. I recommend the saw to others, but I explain the few short coming I have experiences.

With what that I rate the saw at a 7. In my view that is a good rating, but it is not a 10 because of the short coming I mentioned, which most new saw have.

I used to have a MJ2325 from Carbatec, used it for 3 years ish. its reasonably priced for what it is, I would give it a rating of 6...

I've had a Laguna Fusion 10 inch Saw for about six months now.

I'd rate the Laguna Fusion about an 8 out of 10.

Overall, I've been very happy with it. The motor doesn't bog down on full depth rip or crosscuts in Red Gum, like my old Carbatec did. The built-in wheels make it super easy to move around the shop. It's got a good quality fence as standard. And, the dust collection system is pretty good (the under table mechanism has, so far, stayed pretty free of saw dust build-up).

The down sides .......

• The Zero Clearance Inserts from Laguna (Gregory Machinery in Australia) are expensive. Rockler do sell after-market ZCIs for some brands of US made saws, but the Laguna's are not on their list. Unfortunately, due to the complex shape of the Inserts, I have not yet had much success making a satisfactory 'shop-made' zero clearance insert. They always end up too thin and if using MDF, they end up being too weak and crack easily. I'll keep trying, and will try other materials, maybe UMHW next. I'd really like to have a set of ZCI's for different dado blade widths, so successfully making my own is important.
• I have a number of 10 inch thin kerf blades that I used on my previous table saw. Unfortunately, I can't find a source for a Thin Kerf Riving Knife to use with the thin kerf saw blades. Making my own thin kerf riving knife would be an option, but I'm not equipped for the metal work at the moment.

Regards,

Roy

Originally Posted by AussieRoy

I've had a Laguna Fusion 10 inch Saw for about six months now.

I'd rate the Laguna Fusion about an 8 out of 10.

Overall, I've been very happy with it. The motor doesn't bog down on full depth rip or crosscuts in Red Gum, like my old Carbatec did. The built-in wheels make it super easy to move around the shop. It's got a good quality fence as standard. And, the dust collection system is pretty good (the under table mechanism has, so far, stayed pretty free of saw dust build-up).

The down sides .......

• The Zero Clearance Inserts from Laguna (Gregory Machinery in Australia) are expensive. Rockler do sell after-market ZCIs for some brands of US made saws, but the Laguna's are not on their list. Unfortunately, due to the complex shape of the Inserts, I have not yet had much success making a satisfactory 'shop-made' zero clearance insert. They always end up too thin and if using MDF, they end up being too weak and crack easily. I'll keep trying, and will try other materials, maybe UMHW next. I'd really like to have a set of ZCI's for different dado blade widths, so successfully making my own is important.
• I have a number of 10 inch thin kerf blades that I used on my previous table saw. Unfortunately, I can't find a source for a Thin Kerf Riving Knife to use with the thin kerf saw blades. Making my own thin kerf riving knife would be an option, but I'm not equipped for the metal work at the moment.

Regards,

Roy

Roy, it might be worth checking the place out. You would also have to email them to check on shipping internationally. They have three thicknesses of riving knives .090" for thin kerf. Might be worth checking our, emails are free so doesn't cost anything to ask. I know these people make quality stuff. http://www.thesharkguard.com/zrklaguna.php

I recently bought a 10" SawStop contractor saw. This is my third saw so I'm fairly familiar with the pro's and cons of contractor saws. I would rate this one at a 9/10

Originally Posted by centron-sg1

I recently bought a 10" SawStop contractor saw. This is my third saw so I'm fairly familiar with the pro's and cons of contractor saws. I would rate this one at a 9/10

Wow Centron!

I suppose that the fence and mitre gauge on those things are top notch? Did they supply a spare stopper thingy?


Miko

Got the standard fence and mitre gauge. They are average but I use my incra fence and mitre gauge anyway. Original fence still in the box. Saw is awesome.... Quiet, accurate and powerful.

I have had the above saw for about 10y ears.

I bought it on price and because I considered it better than either Hafco or Carbatec models of the same type.

It came with the Jet rip fence and mitre gauge. The mitre gauge has some minor slop but that can be readily fixed.

The fence is easy to use and pretty accurate. Its main problem is that it does not sit flat on the table at the
feed in end. This can be overcome with a supplementary fence made from MDF and fitted to the existing fence.

Power is 1.5 HP which is adequate for what I do.

I use a homemade sled for crosscutting.

Zero tolerance inserts are easy enough to make should you want one.

One real bugbear with the saw is the guard/riving knife set up as it limits the size timber you can put through unless you remove the whole assembly.

Sharp blades make a huge difference to the performance o0f any saw, so keep your blades sharp!!

Overall I rate this at 6/10. For my needs I give it 7.5/10

Many thanks to all you coves for this very interesting and informative thread.

Originally Posted by PLD

Roy, it might be worth checking the place out. You would also have to email them to check on shipping internationally. They have three thicknesses of riving knives .090" for thin kerf. Might be worth checking our, emails are free so doesn't cost anything to ask. I know these people make quality stuff. http://www.thesharkguard.com/zrklaguna.php

Thanks for that. It's exactly what I've been looking for. I've emailed them for a freight quote - so I should know something by early next week.

Thanks again.

Roy

I can't give a personal review but I am in a similar position to you and from my research I am just tossing up between the Luguna Fusion or the Harvey HW110LGE. If I can swing the extra money and 15A power supply I will go for the Harvey, but will not be upset if I end up with the Laguna.

I purchased my Laguna Fusion at last year's wood show. I would rate it at 8/10 but for the uses I put it to, it's 9/10.

I'm watching these reviews as I'll be buying a new one soon. I was leaning toward the Laguna but now thinking the Harvey. I think I'll wait and see what others think.

SB

Just bought the Laguna fusion.

Nothing major ripped yet but seems nice quality. 8/10 on out of box setup and first impression.


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