Somebody stop me!

[garym]

Buying one of these that is:

http://www.bunnings.com.au/dewalt-18...-saw-_p6260316

After 5 years of use I have finally decided to replace my $150 Aldi tablesaw (best $150 I have ever spent) with something a bit better.

Initially I decided to splurge out on a cabinet saw from Carbatec or Hafco, I then ran into the following problems:

I don't have a 15 amp circuit (very expensive to add one)

I don't have a vehicle capable of transporting the size of table saw I was looking at nor the means of loading and unloading the weight (>50 kgs) if I did (and delivery charge quoted was ~$400)

My solution is to buy a contractors saw as I have an existing shop-built table saw workstation with a DIY biesemeyer style fence.

Ideally I only really need to buy the main body of a table saw but I don't know of anyone who sells just that.

The DeWalt DW745 seems to get a lot of good reviews, this is a DW745-XE but it seems to be the same as the DW745 with the obvious modifications for Oz.

As this is available from Bunnings I have at least solved the delivery problem.

The price is the usual over the top markup we are all used in in Australia but it seems competitive to other suppliers where there would be delivery charges or delivery problems.

I could go the next size up (DWE7491-XE) but Bunnings don't seem to sell those.

If anyone can see a flaw in my logic I would greatly appreciate being put right.

Cheers.

Gary

[Superbunny]

Yep a nice saw but I would buy the one on eBay for $363 plus $65 post from the USA but check it' ok for 240v first.

SB

[garym]

Yep a nice saw but I would buy the one on eBay for $363 plus $65 post from the USA but check it' ok for 240v first.

SB

Aaaahhh wouldn't that be nice? Wouldn't it be great if things like table saws had the voltage selector you find on many electronic products?

[WoodenJoys]

So it has been a couple of months since you started this thread garym - so i was wondering how you have found the Dewalt DW745-XE?

I have been looking at this machine among other portable contractor saws for a while to put into my DIY tablesaw/router bench.

At the moment i have a cheap Ozito, which can only rip straight cuts at full blade height - after building it into a DIY tablesaw bench and making a homemade rip fence.
This was very cheap at the time (like $120 new) but with the couple of mods above has produced accurate rip cuts, coming in very handy when ripping down large sheet products as required.

However, I am looking to upgrade to something that would allow me to adjust blade height and angle .... but not sure whether to go with another Ozito (being budget conscious), a Ryobi or splurge a little and go the dewalt.

[garym]

WoodJoys, with the advent of spring I have been breaking my back out in the garden and so have had nowhere near as much time to play with it as I would like however I can make the following observations:

Firstly straight out of the box every thing I measured was plumb - I was amazed! The blade was in alignment with the mitre slots, it was at 90 degrees to the table top, and the fence gets aligned when you assemble it - so I was very happy with all of that - I may have just been lucky I don't know.

There are 2 issues that I already knew about and didn't worry about, the first being that the mitre gauge is as sloppy as all get out and IMHO useless as is - I don't think it would be hard to fix by cutting a slot in the bar and drilling and tapping a thread adjustment into it - there are other possible means to correct it but as I use a crosscut sled I'll just throw it into the accessories drawer where it will, no doubt, soon be lost to the world.

The other issue that I was hoping wouldn't bother me but has so far is the fact that the angle of the blade adjustment is a slide mechanism rather than an indexed (geared) mechanism and that means there are only 2 angles you get easily 90(0) and 45. I haven't heard anyone else complaining about this so presumably I will eventually get used to it - after all those two angles represent about 99% of anyone's cuts.

When I think of all the good use I got out of my $150 Aldi table saw it is hard for me to recommend this TS on price - that is,. I don't think it is 5 or 6 times BETTER than the Aldi saw, however that appears to be the price we pay for living in Australia and the only other choice is to go up another notch and get a Carbatec or Hafco TS - if you have a cost effective way of transporting one of those then that's what I would recommend if you want to go to the next level of quality - I don't unfortunately but that's life.

I think I need to get a significant project under my belt and a few more months of use before I can be sure if I did the right thing or not - so far I am happy with it but I am still stinging a little over the price I had to pay for it - that may wear off over time ;-).

Cheers, Gary

[WoodenJoys]

Thanks Gary.

Reading all the reviews around the traps, by all reports this is a quality portable tablesaw. I have read the mitre guage is a let down so wasnt expecting too much from it there.

With regards to the blade angle this might be easilly fixed through a magnetic digital angle readers ..... simply attach to blade and adjust to desired angle. ��

Can you confirm the maximum rip size on right side of blade? Bunnings has it listed as 20 inches (508mm), but the dewalt australian website says 608mm (30inches).

I am a little torn ... the reviews say its a solid unit but the price tag has me cautious. Just a little more than i was looking to spend, as like yourself i only had a cheap one before.

Thanks
Simon

[garym]

Simon, it's 20 inches.

Yes I shared your reluctance, these things sell for as low as $220 in the US so you can see how they manage good reviews - at that price it would be fantastic value - in Australia they seem to price things such that it is pricey enough to have to wavering and work on the principle that they will sell just a few at a high margin rather than low margin high volume.

Ultimately I felt I had no choice if I wanted to step up a notch.

[code4pay]

When I think of all the good use I got out of my $150 Aldi table saw it is hard for me to recommend this TS on price - that is,. I don't think it is 5 or 6 times BETTER

Cheers, Gary

Off topic but i just finshed putting a plywood to on my aldi saw. It has made such a difference in using it.

[zoovegroover]

I have that Table Saw...I love it. For $800 it's really, really good.

[garym]

Glad to hear it. Do you use it as is. in a workstation, as a contractor's saw etc?

You have no problems with setting the blade angle (for non-90/45)?

[code4pay]

Glad to hear it. Do you use it as is. in a workstation, as a contractor's saw etc?

You have no problems with setting the blade angle (for non-90/45)?

I haven't tried to be honest, here is a pick of what it looks like now.

[garym]

Ahhh my apologies I thought you meant the DeWalt - The Aldi saw has quite a good blade tilt adjustment mechanism. Alas for me, in the search for perfection I adjusted the blade to be perfectly aligned with the mitre slots only to find that when the blade was tilted that alignment was totally lost and no amount of fiddling has been able to correct it. It's a pity as the adjustment method is not too difficult EXCEPT that when loosened, the weight of the motor causes some deflection of the structure - meaning that when tightened again the alignment changes.