Aldi table saw

[Jazzman]

Any thoughts on the Taurus table saw on sale at aldi on thurs for $179?
72mm cutting height at 90deg, 45deg motor rotation & cross fence tiltable +/- 45deg. It has a 1 year warranty. 24 & 48 tooth blades. 1700W. laserguide.
It wouldn't get too much work building my plywood boat.
I have cheapo Ozito bunnies circular and jigsaw and they have been great.
would this be OK? Never bought a tool from Aldi.
Any ideas most welcome.

[ravna]

Have a look here (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Taurus-Table-Saw-/230627926468)......may be worth the trip.

[michael_m]

I've had mine a year now. Honestly, I wouldn't have been able to afford a table saw otherwise, so it already wins for me on that count.

My saw (can't speak for any others), cuts square to the fence, has mitre tracks that are square to the blade, does actually cut at 0 and 45 degrees (after a bit of fine-tuning). Because the laser and safety guard are attached to the top of the riving knife, it does need to be removed for non-through cuts (and until I got rid of it, the laser got in the way for angled cuts)
It's actually pretty good for the price you get it for. I've used it to slab redgum sleepers and old hardwood house frames to make cutting boards and boxes, and while it doesn't like doing that at the full blade height on non-through cuts (which is probably not a sensible use of it in any case), I haven't had any issues with it not having power for doing sensible things.

Things that are a bit of a pain: the laser died after about 3 months (too much dust in it?) so I unbolted it, and don't really miss it. It was alright for freehand cuts, but since they increase the risk of kickback, it's probably a good thing I don't do much freehand anyway. You can't put a zero-tolerance insert in, and forget dado blades - the shaft is too short. If you build a crosscut sled, you'll need to take the back extension table off, or replace it with a wood one with mitre tracks routered in, as there are no tracks in the extension table. Unless the fence is tightly clamped, it can vibrate loose - I tend to hold its clamp handle when starting to check it is OK (But I think I just need to tighten a screw to fix this - something to do one of these days).

So there you go. I like it, and think I got good value for money. It cuts straight, it keeps on going and the only real problems I've had are due to me, not it. I'd love to have a better one (and a bandsaw too, but some things aren't going to happen any time soon), but it's not a useless POS for someone who doesn't have a table saw already. Just don't try non-though ripping 120mm thick hardwood with the fine tooth blade and it should do just fine.

[Jazzman]

Hi Micheal,
Thanks for your thorough appraisal!
Funny you mentioned the laser dying- I thought that probably would happen but didn't think I needed it anyway!
Reckon I will get one!
Thanks, Brad.