Thread: ryobi 1500W table saw

Why not? You have to start somewhere I wouldn't class myself as an expert. I have a triton.

Have had a look at carbatec website and nothing for the same dollar range.

have you looked at machinery ware house?
http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/Sawbench-TableSaws
couple of options for you to look at

check the rigidity of the fence, the locking mechanics as this will be used every time you operate the saw.
stand at the machine and imagine a large lump of timber on the table, are the controls easy to reach etc.
see if the stand seems sturdy and doesn't flex.
There is bound to be someone on this forum that will help you in your quest.

cheers

i did look on there, but i have no experience with any of those brands and was very wary of getting a total dud then having to pay to ship it back.....

Originally Posted by Hangfire

i did look on there, but i have no experience with any of those brands and was very wary of getting a total dud then having to pay to ship it back.....

For a $100 more you would pick up a second hand contractors saw from CarbaTec. 10 times better then what you are looking at. Suggest you keep saving

Originally Posted by Damienol

For a $100 more you would pick up a second hand contractors saw from CarbaTec. 10 times better then what you are looking at. Suggest you keep saving

i emailed carbatec after you sent this to ask what they have available (no reply as yet)

should i not be wary if second hand equipment?

what is a contractors saw?

sorry if my questions are simplistic but i have never bought/used this equipment.

thanks

Originally Posted by Hangfire

what is a contractors saw?

sorry if my questions are simplistic but i have never bought/used this equipment.

thanks

http://www.carbatec.com.au/carba-tec...ors-saw_c19216
one of these

hi that looks very nice, but my budget will not stretch as far as that.

i am stretching to 400 bucks

(in part as i turn 40 on wednesday and it is a present to myself).

are you saying that a budget of 400 bucks cannot get me something worth having?

if so then perhaps i should be looking at a different tool to add to the shed

Originally Posted by Hangfire

i emailed carbatec after you sent this to ask what they have available (no reply as yet)

should i not be wary if second hand equipment?

what is a contractors saw?

sorry if my questions are simplistic but i have never bought/used this equipment.

thanks

Carbatec are usually a bit slow on replying to emails, but usually do. Could be up to a week.
Nothing simplistic about your questions, and if you don't ask them you could make a big mistake.
Secondhand saws quite often come up for sale, either in the Market Place here, or on sites like Ebay and Gumtree, usually quite reasonably priced, and appear to be in good condition.
You are best off looking for something that is free standing rather than bench mounted as they will be more solid. Cast iron top rather than alloy or pressed steel. A good solid fence is also very important.
1500W is ample power for most tasks with a sharp, good quality blade. If you go over 1500W, quite often you will need a 15amp outlet rather than your standard 10amp.
Hope something suitable pops up in the near future, and $400 should get you a good secondhand machine.

I've seen a few cast iron topped contractor saws in the $400-$500 price range locally on gumtree. In fact I sold my old one recently for $400.

It sat there with $450 on it for two weeks before anybody even contacted me. I'd recommend one of these as everything is adjustable or can be tweaked. I'm guessing the ryobi will be as difficult as the makita to adjust.

I'd steer clear of the ozito/hafco $200 generic, as I was never satisfied with mine and quickly gave it away to a colleague.

what is the quality level of a triton?

there seem to be plenty of those on gumtree.....

what should one go for second hand?

A lot of people started off with Triton and eventually saw the light and moved on to a proper tablesaw. In the early days it was more economical to buy Triton compared to a dedicated tablesaw, but now the price of tablesaws has come down making them much more affordable in comparison. There is more messing around setting up a Triton. For one you have to set the fence parallel with the blade, it doesn't do that itself. You can't tilt the blade when in rip mode (not sure if you can on the 2000 models). The tables are only pressed steel so not exactly flat. Unless the Triton comes with a decent 9 1/4" saw you will have to buy one.
This is just my opinion as I started that way, but wouldn't go back now. Your $400 should certainly buy you a reasonable tablesaw secondhand.
If you find one and you have a friend who knows a bit about machinery that could look at it with you, and I am sure you would be able to get something that suits your needs.

hi,

i am still pretty wary of buying secondhand as i lack the expertise to see if it is a dud or not.
dont have mates available to do a check for me.
hence looking at places like the green box for something suitable.
i am looking for rip down some 6ft pine boards to build a bookcase as my first project, with a view to kicking on from there with more stuff.

i have never done things like the clever joints etc, mostly end up with simple butt joints or dowels etc.

I think that you would be able to find an experienced forum member locally to come along to check out a potential saw with you. Looking at the ryobi in the big green shed it seems a similar style to the makita. Gregory machinery had a newletter a while ago with a feature article of a guy building a wooden boat with the woodfast branded version of a similar saw from memory.

I wasted the money I spent on my first saw ($220 red one from hare and forbes), as it was nothing like I imagined it should be. And although my contractor saw was not the best it was much easier to align and use. My current saw is a full cabinet saw that I won and it is much better again.

I ignored the advice I read early on regarding this. (Buy the best you can afford.) Mainly as I didn't know how serious this hobby would be. In hindsight I should have got the contractor saw straight up, as I would still be using it if I didn't fortunately win the cabinet saw. I generally use it every weekend now.

Honestly, you could do almost everything with hand tools such as planer, circular saw and router and a few jigs. The table saw is just so much easier. My advice from having played this game is the same that I ignored with a little extra.

• Buy the best you can afford.
• Second hand extends the range of what you can afford.
• You should focus on your projects and not get caught up with tool/machinery upgrades. If you have a real need you'll find a way.
• Finally take all advice with a grain of salt and examine your needs. The ryobi takes less space to store than a contractor saw, so if that is important to you don't discount that option.

Here is the boat gallery from the Gregory machinery post with the woodman saw for interest's sake.

https://plus.google.com/app/basic/ph...ource=appredir

IMHO if you buy that Ryobi you will live to rue the day you wasted your money!

I have had a look at this saw in Bunnies and it is just not going to do with any
comfort what you want to do with it.

Take heed of what others have said, look for a good second hand contractor's
cast irn table saw and go with that.

Machinery Warehouse are good people to deal with. To have a fear of getting
a dud is a bit unreasonable if you go through established reputable businesses.