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

By 'different sockets' I did mean different circuits - I have a 3-phase distribution board in the corner of the shed, so its easy to have the sockets independently wired back to the board.

Worst case for me is a 6" jointer and a 2hp dusty running on the same 10A circuit, but since I can't switch both on exactly simultaneously (arms not that long....) this works fine.

As I said, my only regret is not getting several 15A sockets wired in when the shed was built..........but that's part of the plan for the next bigger and better shed

I'm having trouble finding a heavy duty 15" thicknesser with a 3-phase motor option (Carbatec don't offer this), as I could run this off one of my vacant 3-phase points. I know their 20" thicknessers are available in 3-phase, but don't really need anything that huge !

Sooooooooo, getting back to the first Q...........whats the best value table saw either contractors or cabinet

Originally Posted by Psych 101

I also went to Gregory Machinery at Richlands to check out the Jet Proshop (JPS-10) which is selling for $1625.00. This TS looked very high quality and robust. I realise looks can be deceiving but it looked like a very well made piece of machinery in comparison to the TSC-10HB (although the display model at carbatec was not well presented and the blade gaurd was missing). The fence system and mitre gauge on the proshop felt much more precise than the TSC-10HB. Best price here was $1625 with a mobile base thrown in or $2000 with a mobile base and Jet 1HP dust collector.
$400 for 1HP dust collector seemed a bit rich so if I decide to get this TS I will probably just get the TS and mobile base for $1625 and buy a Carbatec 2HP economy dust extractor.

What do people think of the options?

Buy the Jet you won't be sorry, I have the contractor with full cast top and wings, it is an excellent saw. Easy to adjust stong fence and accurate.

Originally Posted by Tonto

Sooooooooo, getting back to the first Q...........whats the best value table saw either contractors or cabinet

Almost impossible to say. Depends on your priorities. Best read over the various threads on the subject and see.

Also your trying to hit a moving target. The TTD saw I bought seems to have gone up $120, while carbatec have a special on right now on a hybrid for $995, so now there's only $100 in it. Mine has a bigger depth of cut and 2hp motor theirs has a 3 hp, requires a 15 amp plug and is a 10" instead of a 12" (obviously you can run a 10" blade on mine). Mine has a router extension wing and a pressed steel one while theirs comes with 2 cast iron wings. The fences look the same but theirs adds a micro adjust.

And that's just comparing 2 saws. It's a big matrix of pro's and cons, features and most of all what matters to you.

All I can say is I am very happy with mine. YMMV.

As I said before for a little over $2k I got an incra system 12" table saw and triton router. It's compact and does a lot of different things very well.

With a different budget or a different goal another setup might be better.

Good work Psych, I bought the same saw via Jet Townsville 2 weeks ago at the same price but didn't push hard enough obviously, as I didn't score the mobile base! I will collect mine today so that will be fun.

I finished setting up my new Jet Proshop this eve. I have not yet made a cut (too buggered after setting it up) but I did a dry run passing a piece of timber past the blade and under the blade gaurd to see how the blade gaurd functions. I was a bit confused on how this is supposed to work. The only way the workpiece will pass under the blade guard is if I first lift it up by hand to get it started otherwise the blade guard gets caught at the front and raises up in the air at the back until the workpiece has passed through a bit and then the blade gaurd drops (crashes!) back down. Can someone please explain how the gaurd is supposed to work? Is lifting it a little bit to get the workpiece under at the front the only way for this to smoothly function? I would have thought that you shouldn't have to do this. There does not seem to be any way of setting the height and it just freely pivots accordingly to the thickness of the workpiece.

Please point it out if I am missing something really stupid here.

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 had no worries accessing the trunnion bolts with the dust hood off the back of the cabinet and the table right way up. I bought a 'deluxe alignment system' from Carbatec and discovered the back of the blade was out (away from the left mitre slot) by 0.004" so I needed to loosen the rear trunnion to make the adjustment. The bolts on the rear trunnion were relatively easy to access and loosen with a mini socket wrench. I made the adjustment by loosening the bolts and then using a sash clamp between the left hand edge of the table top and the mounting studs for the blade guard and splitter (with blade gaurd and splitter removed). This gave me mircro adjustment and I was able perfectly align the blade so that there was no discernable difference between the front and rear of the blade relative to the mitre slot.

I think it would be harder to do if the rear trunnion needed to be moved in the opposite direction (i.e. toward the fence and away from the left mitre slot) as there would be no easy way to use the sash clamp method.

I also read in the manual where it says to put the table saw upside down to make the adjustment but this makes absolutely no sense to me and I can see no reason why you would do this. Access to the trunnion bolts would be no easier and the process of putting the saw upside down and then right way up again (even if possible when assembled without breaking anything) is probably more likely to put things out of alignment. Plus there would be no way to know if you had made the right amount of adjustment with the table upside down.

If you can provide any advice on how the blade gaurd is supposed to function and whether you have this figured out it would be appreciated (see my post on this problem above).

Good info on the alignment adjustment here - similarly I reckoned that it made no sense to turn it upside down. Luckily mine was aligned ok. I have cut a few pieces and am happy with the result, though I agree with others assessing the blade as just 'ok'.



Re your query about the pawls ? at the back of the blade - others have commented about this making 2 neat scratches on the timber. I didn't have any trouble with it working, just slide the timber into the blade and it all worked.

Well I have been using my new Jet Proshop all day today and I have to say it is bloody fantastic compared to the Workcentre and definitely worth the significant cost. I took the time to set it up properly and it has really rewarded me with perfect accuracy every time. I didn't bother with the standard ripping blade which people have said is crap and swapped this for a CMT 48 tooth fine cut off.

The blade guard has turned out not to be so much of an issue in actual use with 19mm stock but I think it will still be a pain when cutting thicker timber as I will definitely have to hold it up to get the workpiece under at the start of the cut.

Next purchase will be a Wixey digital fence readout I think. Best place to get this? I also heard Carbatec sell a clone but haven't been able to find this in their catalogue or website. Can anyone confirm this?

Good to see you make the decision to buy a JET saw, psych101. Sounds like good quality all around. You just got it in time - there are no more available in Australia for 3 months or more, and I hate to think what the price will be when they finally arrive.

I was very interested in the way you aligned it. I am not sure about the trunnion layout. Aren't there two mounting points bolting the trunnion front and rear to the underside of the table, with each mounting point having 2 bolts? Did you leave one mounting point bolted tight and pull the other into position with the clamp?

Have you tested the blade / slot alignment at 45deg? I would be interested to see how far out that is with the blade dead parallel at 90deg

regards,
Jill

Originally Posted by JillB

Good to see you make the decision to buy a JET saw, psych101. Sounds like good quality all around. You just got it in time - there are no more available in Australia for 3 months or more, and I hate to think what the price will be when they finally arrive.

I was very interested in the way you aligned it. I am not sure about the trunnion layout. Aren't there two mounting points bolting the trunnion front and rear to the underside of the table, with each mounting point having 2 bolts? Did you leave one mounting point bolted tight and pull the other into position with the clamp?

Have you tested the blade / slot alignment at 45deg? I would be interested to see how far out that is with the blade dead parallel at 90deg

regards,
Jill

Jill

You are right in your assumptions about the trunnions except that each trunnion has three bolts not two. I did only adjust the rear trunnion using the clamp and this was all that was needed. It makes it far easier to align this way.

In relation to testing the mitre slot to blade alignment at 45deg, I am not sure how I would do this with a dial gauge (or an alternate method with the same level of accuracy) but it is perfect at 90deg so based on the laws of mathmatics I assume that it would be perfect at 45deg.

Originally Posted by Afro Boy

Hi Psych,

I just called Carbatec in Melbourne and they have two TS-10L in stock. I've claimed one for me, but that might be another option for you as well. It's gotten some really good reviews in this forum.

Well they're gone now (dammit) for anyone like me looking for leads on this saw

Based on those really good reviews (Big Shed) I rang them on the off chance there was one left and prepared to pay for shipping to Perth. Actually it's worse - there is one but it has a sold flag against it so effectively not there.

I looked at the CTH-110LT in the perth showroom and wondered about it. Re TiN coating, it's the go to coating for quality motorcycle forks and works great for similar reasons that make it a good choice for table saw coating. The Melbourn shop talked to me a bit about it and told me it was a Chinese saw rather than Tiawanese.

To Psyche and other Jet owners,

I'm coming to the conclusion that the Jet Proshop is the saw for me based on intended use, features I'd like and perceived quality. I say perceived because I can't see one in the flesh in perth so I'm going on other's reviews.

The thing is that by the time I pay $300 shipping to Perth I can have a TSC10HB in whatever colour for the same price. My impression is that the Jet will be 'nicer' (for want of a better word). 1.75hp v 3hp doesn't worry me so much but it'll be lighter by 70 odd kg and I wonder about trunnions and general rigidity.

So if the Jet had been $300 more expensive ie the same price as the full cabinet saw do you think you'd have made a different choice?

Cheers
Cow

Originally Posted by cow

Well they're gone now (dammit) for anyone like me looking for leads on this saw

Yep, that must've been mine. I finally paid it all up a few days ago and it should get her on Wednesday. Can't wait. I'll be sure to post heaps of pictures to rub it in!

Good luck finding another one. Have you called around to various carbatec stores? Others may have them that aren't on their systems (I've found them to be a little disorganised at times).

I also know that they have a newer model of the same saw, but can't remember the new model number. You might want to question them along those lines and see what you can find out.

Good luck.
Af.