Thread: Advice for a new table saw up to $2k

If anyone is thinking off buying a TS dont hang around, prices here in the UK are rising. (I 've seen my own saw rise from £550 to £850 even before two years have completed. ) BS the same.

TiN = Titanium Nitride, the same gold stuff you find on drill bits sometimes.

Its just a hard surface coating.....hard, that is, relative to steel. Nowhere near as hard as carbide mind you. I used to make tools that were TiN coated, but we eventually went over to solid carbide instead (the TiN coatings were being abraded off too quickly)

A few benefits for your saw table top; it would prevent rust (if correctly applied), is fairly smooth and slippery, sufficiently wear resistant to last a long time with just wood running over it, and of course it gives you maximum BLING in your shed !

Originally Posted by Jack E

I have a TSC10HB from Carbatec and love it.

It was recently hi-lighted in another thread that the adjustment to align the blade with the mitre slot on Jet saws is a PITA, that in itself would stop me buying a Jet.

The Carbatec saws are easy to set up and adjust by simply moving the table top.

The main thing is to make sure you get a good fence which the TSC10HB has and I presume Carbatec saws above it's specs would also have.

Space is tight and I am leaning towards a smaller footprint for my potential purchase (i.e. Jet Proshop). Can you direct me to thread about aligning the blade? Can anyone else comment on this aspect of the Proshop and how difficult the process is?

You wont buy your lady a piece of stone coated in Diamond, would you?
Tungsten carbide is tough stuff, this so called titanium, nice word, stuff is a wank because it is just a coating! If it were solid you would pay a testicle or two for it and we know it is only a trick of marketing to get you in!

Psyche, I just did a google on the jet proshop saw, actually the reviews didnt impress me.

Originally Posted by jow104

Psyche, I just did a google on the jet proshop saw, actually the reviews didnt impress me.

I found this one which seemed pretty positive Have also read a lot of good reviews in the forums.

Which review did you read?

Out of interest what review didn't impress you?

I've been pretty impressed with mine so far.

Originally Posted by jow104

Psyche, I just did a google on the jet proshop saw, actually the reviews didnt impress me.

Pysche started the thread saying he was thinking of moving to a cabinet saw.

The first review I opened referred to the jet proshop as a contractors saw, so I was not impressed.

If you want a contractors saw I have no doubts that the model would be OK in competant hands.

Originally Posted by jow104

Pysche started the thread saying he was thinking of moving to a cabinet saw.

"... cabinet saw or similar (e.g. hybrid)..." were the words I used. I think the proshop is a hybrid.

Probably a hybrid will be a better option for me at the moment because I dont have much space but I am still considering a proper cabinet saw because this might work out better for me in the long run. I will just have to rearrange my garage somehow if I go for something bigger. If I got a table with a router table extension such as the Carbatec TSC-10HB-R this might save me some space as I could sell my triton router table although I have been pretty happy with the Triton router table and stand and do not really need to do this.



Anyway I am becoming a bit overwhelmed with the options. I think my key specific criteria are:

• accuracy
• ease of adjustment
• dust collection
• size

and probably in that order.

Psych - no problems with the JET ProShop saw. I read all the reviews, checked out several saws in showrooms, and I'm still happy I bought the JET.

I raised the issue about blade alignment in another thread. Now I have a good mitre gauge (Incra V27), I am belatedly able to check blade alignment relative to the mitre slot. On my particular saw, the blade is misaligned to the slot by 0.25mm. This is only a minor annoyance, but I'd still prefer to fix it and get the cleanest cuts possible.

Trouble is.....the best time to loosen the trunnion bolts on this saw and align the blade is DURING assembly. I had no way of checking alignment when I assembled my saw, and only discovered this later on. The manual for the saw gives detailed instructions on how to do the adjustment if required, its just more of a hassle than on other saws where the trunnion bolts can be accessed (in situ) at the edges of the table.

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

Psych - no problems with the JET ProShop saw. I read all the reviews, checked out several saws in showrooms, and I'm still happy I bought the JET.

I raised the issue about blade alignment in another thread. Now I have a good mitre gauge (Incra V27), I am belatedly able to check blade alignment relative to the mitre slot. On my particular saw, the blade is misaligned to the slot by 0.25mm. This is only a minor annoyance, but I'd still prefer to fix it and get the cleanest cuts possible.

Trouble is.....the best time to loosen the trunnion bolts on this saw and align the blade is DURING assembly. I had no way of checking alignment when I assembled my saw, and only discovered this later on. The manual for the saw gives detailed instructions on how to do the adjustment if required, its just more of a hassle than on other saws where the trunnion bolts can be accessed (in situ) at the edges of the table.

I checked out the relevant thread where you say, "The JET manual actually talks about turning the saw upside down, remove the entire stand, THEN loosen the trunnion bolts to make adjustments." How do you turn a 160kg TS upside down?

Do you have the manual in electronic format?

er....exactly. That's why I haven't done it yet !!

I'm hoping I may be able to wiggle a spanner inside to get at the trunnion bolts if I remove the dust port from the cabinet - this gives a good sized hole in the cabinet to work through.

I only have a paper copy of the manual, but could probably scan the relevant pages tomorrow if you really need to see this.

My point is......DON'T assume that everything is perfectly aligned out of the box, and make sure you align the blade to the mitre slot during assembly (easy). The fence can easily be aligned to the blade when your saw is complete and upright. This saw really does have an excellent fence, by the way. Many people wouldn't even notice the misalignment I found on my JET saw (and its probably within spec), but I know I can get the thing to perform better by spending a bit of time on it.

Psych, I'm glad Mr Bush chipped in regarding his alignment problem, that is the thread I was referring to.

If footprint is your concern I don't understand.

Without looking at the specs there is generally very little difference in footprint and table top size between cabinet saws and contractors saws.

Does the Jet have a motor that hangs out the back, if so it would take up more room and be more cumbersome to move about than a TSC10HB.

For what it's worth, I had an equivalent of a TSC10LB (contractors saw) and changed to the HB within 6 months. It cost $1500 compared to $1000 for the LB but is 10 times better.

If I was spending $2k and there was little difference in physical size I would definitely go a cabinet saw.

I've never understood the cabinet saw thing. Mine is technically a contractors saw because it has an open base, but the motor is inside the box under the blade, not hanging out the back. I just don't see what your getting when you pay 2 - 3 times the price of mine. As I said before it's quiet, collects dust efficiently, and is dead accurate. I haven't even bothered to align the blade because it's only out 1/32 in 27" and it's the "right" way in that it won't pinch the outfeed. That was straight out of the box. $779 with a router wing. What am I missing ?