Thread: Help with a budget saw - Evolution vs Ryobi vs Bayer

Hi Cumar,

Welcome to the forum.

To answer your question I'd go tor the Bunnings Ryobi if I was limited to those three options. Purely from a no questions asked warranty point of view the bunnings provide. Each of these machines are fairly similar to what they would offer you.

On the other hand I'm one of those guys who will purchase second hand over new any day. For $500 you can easily get yourself a fairly good condition table saw on gumtree or similar, all you need is bit of luck/patience.

However if i had a limited budget I'd question whether I'd need a table saw to begin with as you'll be surprised how quickly an accurately hand saws can rip a panel down. Obviously if you're planning on doing large projects this may be a mute point. With the hand saw route you can probably get away with just a vacuum cleaner, but with a table saw be prepared to spend just as much (and more) on dust extraction.

Before purchasing, have a think about what you want to achieve on the table saw, and ask yourself if a decent track saw (and track) might achieve the same goals, but be a lot easier to store, and potentially use.

If your sole intent is to rip down sheets of goods to make cabinets (as an example), that's a perfect fit for a track saw. Bonus, you can hook up a shop vac for extraction.

When using it, there'a multitude of Youtube videos that cover making sacrificial (and collapsible) frames to cut on.

If, on the other hand, you're set keen on a table saw, ff the three you link, IMO the Ryobi is heads above the others (I have examined the Bayer personally - it leaves a lot to be desired).

I can see the attraction of the Total Tools one for your situation. Can you see and touch one of those in a shop?
A lot will depend on what sort of things you want to make.

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I would take the Evolution over the Ryobi; actually if I was shopping in Bunnies for a table/contractor saw I’d pass on the Ryobi and get the Ozito. The reason I saw that is because the Ozito is a $199 saw that costs $199; whereas the Ryobi is a $200 saw costing $499.

Saying that, all those types of saw are limited in their capacity to do almost anything beyond ripping planks. I had one years ago and successfully built a few bookcases and similar boxwork but had to devise all sorts of ways round their limitations, and I had access to a machine shop. If track saws were as cheap as they are now that is how I would have gone.

Another option I highly recommend you consider is a 2nd hand Triton Workcentre. A well set up one beats all contractor saws hands down as they have larger and wider tables, longer fences and can quickly convert to overhead mode, ie turn into a docking saw. Plus you can add a router table later on too. And they can be folded up and stood on their ends which means a smaller storage footprint than a contractor saw as well. I like them so much I have two!

Originally Posted by Cumars

Hello All,

I am a long-time fan of this forum in need of your opinionon a new table saw purchase.



I am an amateur hobbyist looking to expand my hobby bypurchasing a table saw. As I share myworkshop with two cars I need something that is portable at the same timeprovide the largest possible workspace. Early last year I identified the Timbercon’s Sherwood job site saw andspent the last 6 month saving $550 only to be told it is no longeravailable. My budget is strictly aroundthe $500 mark.




Recently I came across the Evolution Rage 5 Table saw fromTotal tools https://www.totaltools.com.au/evolution-255mm-1800w-multi-purpose-table-saw-rage5s



Or alternatively the Ryobi from Bunnings. https://www.bunnings.com.au/ryobi-1800w-254mm-table-saw_p6210593



Or finally Bayer BT255 2000W 255mm from Sydney tools https://sydneytools.com.au/product/bayer-bt225-2000w-250mm-10-table-saw



Can you please advise which of these will be a goodbuy? For the evolution I need to spendmore money for a decent saw and for the Bayer $80 for a stand. I am looking for a reliable unit with thebest accuracy I can hope for my $500 budget?

Thank you all in advance.




Cumar.

I can across an article on The Saw Guy – Power Tool Reviews, DIY Projects, Woodworking Inspiration that compared table saws. You might get some useful information from it. here is the article https://www.thesawguy.com/best-table-saw/

Hope this helps make a decision

Jumping in on this one, i am also looking at the evolution saw, i was in total tools today and the salesman mentioned you have to use a evolution blade only with this saw as the speed is different.

I checked the evolution blade speed and its at 2750 rpm. Which seems slow, probably because it cuts metal etc.

Would using a better wood only blade be ok as the speed is so low?

Cheers!

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All of those saws use a noisey universal motor with brushes. just like a hand-held powersaw. That's not something you would keep running between cuts.
"Proper" table saws use induction motors which are quiet. So if you have a few cuts to do, you would just leave it running between cuts. Those motors are also MUCH more efficient, and no gears and bearings in a gearbox to wear out.... .Universal motors run at around 30,000rpm, hence the need for a gearbox - induction motors in saws run at 2850rpm.
Why don't you have another look at this one: Planer / jointer 7" wide ?
Even with transport that will be a lot less AND it comes with disk sander, small jointer and horizontal boring table for mortising, for example. You could buy a few good saw blades and sanding disks for the savings.... The footprint is about the same as the cheap saws and it's on wheels like one of them. It will last another 50 years and you can paint it whatever colour you like to make it look "bespoke"....

I also wonder if you would be better off with a 2nd hand Triton Workcentre than one of those table saws. It would be more versatile and easier to pack away.

You can have my one for a bargain if you want. I will have to part with it since I've run out of space. No doubt there will be others available in your area also.

Of course if you can possibly double your budget for a cabinet saw that would be best of all and is what I would recommend but you seem pretty clear on your budget.

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