2nd table saw: Doing my head in
Afternoon all:
I'm sorry that this topic has been done to death and here I am, throwing another handful of dirt on the grave. I've been mucking around with woodworking now for a year or more and enjoying it. I'm making the odd bit of furniture with some more lined up, making things for the wife and her hobbies and generally having a good time not launching things downrange using my el-cheapo Ryobi contractor saw. Having to measure the wood first (because the ruler is rubbish) and clamp the other end of the fence is getting a little tiring, as is sawing without a riving knife or splitter because the guard is a giant pain in the rear. I'm thinking its time to upgrade.
I have a budget of around about $2k, +/- a little. While I don't have a 15 amp plug available, I do have a 15 amp circuit in the house and one can be run I'm sure. We wear P2 masks under the house so dust is just whatever it will be. Generally I expect to be working with pine/plywood etc, maybe some other woods down the track when I'm actually getting good. I do like the idea of a bolt on router table. Space can be a slight issue so I do like the idea of having it on wheels so I can scoot it here and there.
So I started looking. The Harvey HW110LGE-30 seems to be universally loved and is around about the right price but not available until August at BBTA (can't find it anywhere else for a comparable price). Then I hear that it just a rebadged Grizzly and maybe I could buy the same thing somewhere else with maybe a local support network that would be just as good! Hooray! I think. Then I found more table saws that I could poke a stick at and I'm hopelessly lost. Hares and Forbes, Carbatec, Harvey, I've no idea. Some look the same, some don't, there's a hi-lo fence, a lo-hi fence, an aloha fence and I'm expecting any moment to find one with a built in camera that only turns on when you start swearing.
I'm getting to the stage where I'm going to go "F#(&# it, buying the Harvey" (on turns the camera). I suppose my main concern with the Harvey is local support/warranty etc. Can anyone supply some much needed guidance to a rather confused IT guy who just wants a saw that'll last him a good few years that'll give him some faithful service?