Thread: Jumping the saw horse - Buying a table saw

The dewalt is a lightweight job site saw. Better than no tablesaw but I do not see it as value for money. If you have space for a table saw widen the search a bit. For about the same dollars as the dewalt.
W452 - SB-12 Table Saw | Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse

W486 - ST-254 Table Saw | Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse
You can also check out Timbecon and Carbatec for saws in your budget range.
Regards
John

It depends greatly on what you are intending to cut. You can't really rip anything safely on a SCMS but you can easily cross cut pretty safely on a tablesaw (use a sled). If you are mainly cutting wall studs to length that is easy on a SCMS but difficult on a table saw.

How much space do you have?
Table saw has a reasonable foot print plus you need working space. SCMS has smaller foot print and is much more portable.
I just use a track saw with a movable work table on saw horses. Very portable and can do things a table saw cannot. Not so good on repeatable cuts though.

Don't forget to allow for some sort of dust extraction.

I don't cut any wall studs at all. I don't have a good reason to buy a SCMS over a table saw.
My garage is 5.3m x 4.5m, with Bunnings 600mm wide Rack It shelving running down one long wall. It's not huge but it's big enough I think, especially if I use mobile bases for machinery.
Like probably everyone here I'd like a SawStop saw. A Contractor Saw with 36" T-Glide Rail if I could convince the SWMBO . I'm showing her lots of sausage videos at the moment.

Originally Posted by BEM

I don't cut any wall studs at all. I don't have a good reason to buy a SCMS over a table saw.
My garage is 5.3m x 4.5m, with Bunnings 600mm wide Rack It shelving running down one long wall. It's not huge but it's big enough I think, especially if I use mobile bases for machinery.
Like probably everyone here I'd like a SawStop saw. A Contractor Saw with 36" T-Glide Rail if I could convince the SWMBO . I'm showing her lots of sausage videos at the moment.

Explain the potential ongoing cost of damaged fingers - much greater than the initial cost of Sawstop. Very happy with mine but still treat it with respect when using it.
I have a 6m by 6 m double garage with all my machines on mobile bases as it allows movement to accommodate longer timber,etc.

I had a dewalt table saw, worked great and the fence is awesome but my gawd it was loud and spewed dust everywhere. Was a PiTA to cross cut on anything longer than 6-700 on, even with a sled because the table is so small. Guess you could make one of those giant work stations on wheels but what’s the point ? Saw plus the materials costs more and takes up more space than a proper Ts ( not sawstop ��) Save up and get a proper saw.

On the other hand, I have the Dewalt 7491 table saw and I think it's fantastic and the dual rack and pinion fence is extremely accurate and simple. I have mounted the saw on a stand to bring the table height to match my other 900mm high benches and I can cut larger pieces supported on the TS and benches. It has the advantage of portability to my son's house for his projects. I hook the main dust outlet up to a 40L Wild Boar wet/dry vac and use a bag on the guard outlet with barely any material going to the floor. People will disapprove of both the saw and the use of wet/dry for dust extraction but I find it perfectly good.

A while ago I bought the Harvey HW110LGE-30 saw and I love it.

I too would have liked a saw stop but it was too expensive. But I think it could also give you a false sense of security: It only stops you from chopping your fingers off: that is only half the risk. It doesn't do anything about kickback. Personally I decided to go with the table saw that I knew was always trying to kill me as opposed to the one which had mood swings. At least I knew what the former was going to do.

Thanks Mr Log. That's a good observation. I hadn't thought of it that way.

Lyndon

Hi BEM,

Not exactly answering your question but do you know what you'll like to make? or how frequently you plan on using it? as that would dictate which route you go down.

If its something you plan on using every daily/every weekend then no doubt go the table saw route. However if you're using it monthly or less, i'd consider the alternatives.

For example if you're making bookcases/shelves/cabinets a table saw will probably be what you use for most of the project, however if you're wanting to get into making boxes or fine furniture. A table saw becomes less relevant as most of your time will be cutting joinery, adding embelishments etc.

Also a table saw generally requires dust extraction and that is often overlooked, but should be the most important.

If money isn't an issue then go nuts obviously, but if you're only wanting to spend as little as possible i'd get a circular saw with the Kreg circular saw track. With this you'll be able to break down sheet goods as well docking timber to length

Hi Tony,

I don't know that I'd use it a lot. I'm just attracted to the accuracy table saws can offer. I'd probably get more use from a band saw, but I cant imagine it would be as accurate.
I've seen the Kreg tracks online and been tempted but i'm not into sheet "wood", so I doubt I'd use that much either.
If I could get really accurate rip and cross cuts from a band saw I'd happily go that way. Is it possible with a good fence and cross cut sled?

Lyndon

Getting good accurate cuts on a bandsaw is much harder to do than on a table saw. Mostly because bandsaw's can "drift". A well setup bandsaw will have minimal drift, but it takes much more effort to set up a bandsaw correctly and you'll need to clean up the cuts afterwards with a handplane or similar. Plus once your blade dulls, you'll end up with not so ideal cuts.

Tablesaws are great, don't get me wrong, i have a cabinet saw and use it regularly. However there are definitely times when it will sit there for 6 months or more not being utilised, mostly because i'm working on another stage of the project after i've cut all my pieces. There are many alternatives to a table saw, but choosing which alternative comes down to my first point above. As there are pro's and cons to everything. Whether the con is spending more money, or developing work arounds is up to you.