it's time for a new table saw! what should i do?

[dave "dhi"]

okay fellow nc woodworkers. ive decided after 6+ years, my craftsman 2.7 contractors $200 table saw is DONE! after countless bookshelves ,built-ins and cabinet jobs, along with cutting at least 2500+ bdft of RC poplar to trim my house, the old lady is tired and broken. the plastic body its made on is broken in 3 of the 4 corners, which holds the bolt to the metal base! its being held together by bongy's and them lock ties. after seeing the thumb picture with pins in it yesterday on this site, and haveing to go rip 7 4x8 sheets of birch for my recent job, i have lost faith in old betsy.

so my question is, what table saw should i invest in for my pleasure along with business. im leaning towards a cabinet saw and try to fix betsy a bit to take to jobs or buy a new contractor saw that is easy to transport. im tired riping 4x8 sheets with this tiny saw and 2 roller bars. customers watch me in amazement when i tackle this feat! a little practice/patience makes perfect i tell them! but sad to say, its time!! also, wife agrees its time also. thus u know what that means.....

heres a look at old betsy being held to stand with bongy's. with out stand, base would probably break into 10 pieces. ? why plastic? we cant figure out how to add pictures so...

[FredP]

there have been several unisaws on CL lately. a new sawstop will set you back your first born and maybe 2 years of tuition at you prefered college! grizzly gets good reviews but I dont have any of their stuff so... the jet at the left looks good too! prying the wallet open is the hardest part! you are welcome to come cut some stuff on my 60 year old uni to see if thats the way to go for you. I'm only 2 miles out of youngsville.

[Bas]

(a) How much are you looking to spend?
(b) What's more important, having a great saw at home or a decent saw on site?

[JackLeg]

For the price of the new SawStop contractor model, I'd have to give it a serious look. Thumbs and fingers are expensive to repair and necessary.

[Travis Porter]

Delta's new Unisaw looks to me to be top of the line. Full height and angle adjustments on the front, integrated riving knife, Biesemeyer fence, and Made in USA.

[FredP]

Originally Posted by Travis Porter

Delta's new Unisaw looks to me to be top of the line. Full height and angle adjustments on the front, integrated riving knife, Biesemeyer fence, and Made in USA.

OR you could get ursef a *felder*

[dave "dhi"]

i think im looking for a home saw with base so i can work both in garage and out side. shop to come someday! in $1000 area if cabinet saw.'08 tax writeoff! still can use old betsy for small ripping on site untill i invest in new portable saw.
have to check the delta uni saw travis, thx! does woodcraft in raleigh have a big room display on them? never been there. have been to klingspor on capital numerous times! thanks guys and look forward to move recommendations!

thanks again all

[Douglas Robinson]

I will put in a vote for the Powermatic PM2000. Riving knife, built in dust collection hood, retractable castors. Great saw. Bas asked good questions. How much is your budget? Where ya gonna use it most? How much room ya got? etc....

Doug

[Bas]

For $1000, I'd get a new Grizzly 1023, or buy a used saw on Craig's List. In that range, you should be able to pick up a good used Delta Unisaw, JET or General with accessories. This assumes of course that you have 220V available in your garage.

There are lots and lots of reviews out there. The good news is that there really aren't any bad cabinet saws out there. As long as it has a decent motor (3HP), a cast iron top and a solid fence you can't go wrong. There are lots of individual preferences - riving knife vs. splitter, left tilt vs. right tilt, Biesmeyer vs. Unifence etc.. Since you're upgrading from a $200 Craftsman contractor saw, whatever you find will become your favorite

On the portable side, Bosch and Ridgid have good job site saws.

[rcorne01]

I would have to give a plug for the Rigid TS3650 (although I think they a new model equivalent). It is nice and solid, with a real nice "Hercul-lift" mobile base that would let you move it as you wish. Probably around $500. Was a best buy or editor's choice, somethint like that from Wood magazine.

I checked the alignment, and out of the box, it was .2 of a degree off perfect 90. I KNOW I can't adjust it any finer than that. Do a search on that model number and you will find quite a discussion.

[dave "dhi"]

thx bass man, when i built my home, i had my electrician install 2 220's in my garage for this reason. one question tho, call me dumb but whats a riving knife and a splitter? ive allways liked the grizzly brand saws since i used one way back when in my fathers friends cabinet shop.

i like the jet gonzo has for sale to the left, but i may spurge the extra money and buy new and have that warrenty with it since its a big purchase! again, anyone been to woodcraft? need to go downtown to pull a permit for a porch job and wanna maybe make a few stops!

thanks guys!...the few suggestions where ones on my list... know what way to go...hmmm

[LeftyTom]

I gotta plug the Jet 10" workshop saw, with 2 wheels on one side for mobility. Under $500, at about 400 lbs IIRC.

[Travis Porter]

Originally Posted by FredP

OR you could get ursef a *felder*

Hey! That is another one I am still listening to from the wife.

The FFFELLLDDDERRRR. You have to have truffles to go along with the FFFELLDERRR.

You can get them with mobility as well!!!

[Bas]

Originally Posted by dave "dhi"

me dumb but whats a riving knife and a splitter?

A splitter is a piece of equipment you remove from your saw as soon as you've installed it, after which it will gather dust in a corner of your shop.

No seriously, a splitter is a thin piece of metal that sits directly behind the blade. It keeps the saw kerf open so the work piece cannot pinch the blade and cause kickback. Usually, the splitter has some anti-kickback pawls that prevent the wood from moving backwards (i.e. towards you). The blade guard is attached to the splitter.

The problem is that most splitters are very cheaply made, just enough for the manufacturer to comply with safety regulations. The typical splitter doesn't line up very well (making cuts unsafe!), has a cumbersome guard, and requires tools (wrench) to remove and put back. The latter is really annoying if you make a lot of non-through cuts (think dado blade) - nobody wants to fiddle with it for several minutes every time. There are after-market splitters available ranging from very simple (MicroJig splitter) to very sophisticated (Biesmeyer splitter) that address a lot of these problems.

A riving knife acts like a splitter, but it rises and lowers with the blade. The mounting is far more accurate, and can usually be removed/ put back in a matter of seconds without the use of tools.

The PM2000, Sawstop, new Delta Unisaw and Jet Xacta saws have a riving knife. Grizzly has one model as well (not the 1023). I believe Steel City is coming with one soon. We're definitely talking the upper end of the market here.

To me, this is an important feature. A year ago, the cheapest cabinet saw with a riving knife was $2000, so I decided to forego a riving knife temporarily and bought the Jet Proshop. Once the riving knife becomes the norm, I plan to trade up and buy the last saw I'll ever need.

[McRabbet]

Dave,

For Price/performance, you cannot go wrong with any of the Grizzly G1023 models. I have a G1023SLX (can handle 52" cuts off the very good Shop Fox Classic fence) on a mobile base and I love it. My primary blade is a full kerf Forrest Woodworker II with a 5" stabilizer disk that rips or crosscuts very well; it is going out for resharpening this week and I've been using a 60-tooth Delta Blade from Leitz Tooling, which also cuts like butter. The saw has stayed dead-on accurate every since I installed it in 2004, including the fence. I built an outfeed table that stands behind the saw to support larger sheets or long stock being ripped (my shop is 25' long and I can handle a 12' rip). I've cut 8/4 white oak and ash several times and it walks right through the stuff without missing a beat. I also have a Freud SD-508 8" dad set and it works great.

The saw is available in several versions, but I'd recommend that you buy before the first of the new year because it is a known fact that Grizzly's prices are going up (the company president posted that factoid on SMC a few weeks ago).