Advice required: Best Table saw for £100

[Gary S]

Morning all,

I have plenty of tools filling up my workshop but believe it or not a table saw isn't one of them...

I would like one that's fairly compact (but not table mounted) with its own stand and I don't really want to spend much more than £100.

I'm gravitating towards the SIP Table Saw - £99 at Screwfix. Does anyone have particularly good or bad experiences of this or can anyone recommend a different table saw?

Cheers

Gary

 

[bigjoe]

Hi,
Ive been looking at this tablesaw and would welcome any reviews,i relaise its not going to be top quality but for general cutting etc it could be ideal for me.

Joe

 

[mr]

I would examine it very carefully before you buy it if I were you. I bought a £100 table saw once upon a time. I use it mainly for storing things on. The problem is that the fence is so poorly made that it's nigh on impossible to get it straight or if you manage that to lock it fast enough to maintain straightness. As for flatness of the top thats not even worth mentioning. As with everything it's a case of you get what you pay for. If you dont need accurate cuts etc then you may get away with a cheapie for the rough stuff. But I suspect you might find that it sits there takign up floorspace and annoying you more than it gets used.
Cheers Mike

 

[Gary S]

Gulp...

Thanks Mike.

In your opinion what sum of money is required to get an 'acceptable' level of accuracy? Currently I'm using a band saw to rip boards to width, so probably even the SIP table saw is more accurate than that...!

At a push I could go to £150-£200, making sure SWMBO still thought it cost £99... 8)

 

[John McM]

Don't do it. Tablesaws in this price bracket are pants. Very very noisy ornaments. For a bit more you can get a site saw (Jet, Sheppach), they have induction motors and are actually quite good. Cheers

 

[mr]

Im afraid I couldnt tell you, not having anything other than my dust supporting floor space consuming model) though I would guess that you're at the low end of the contractors style kit at at the £200 mark, with the better workshop kit coming in at around £400 and up. In your position I would continue to use my bandsaw and get a jointer plane to clean up the boards with after ripping. Having said that I haven't got a bandsaw either so Im not much use really.

Cheers Mike

 

[George_N]

I looked at cheap table saws a couple of years ago and came to the same conclusion as the posters above...mostly rubbish. I already had a hand held circular saw so I went for the Triton Workcentre. It costs a bit more than your £100 budget, especially if you need to buy a circular saw, but it is capable of very accurate work. Something else for you to consider anyway.

 

[Gary S]

How about...

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.asp? ... e=1&jump=0

Just under £200 and says it's suitable for "Light Trade"?

Given that I have limited space and budget something like this would probably be OK for a hobbyist I guess? I have a P/T so can always run it along the jointer if the cut isn't perfectly true (or does that just defeat the object - I could just stick with my bandsaw!)

 

[It looked straight]

I looked at cheap table saws a couple of years ago and came to the same conclusion as the posters above...mostly rubbish. I already had a hand held circular saw so I went for the Triton Workcentre. It costs a bit more than your £100 budget, especially if you need to buy a circular saw, but it is capable of very accurate work. Something else for you to consider anyway.

I had the same experience as George, and came to the same conclusion. Chuffed to bits with my Triton - if you get one just make sure you follow the instructions VERY closely, and the training DVD is worth every penny.

 

[mr]

How about...

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.asp? ... e=1&jump=0

Just under £200 and says it's suitable for "Light Trade"?

Given that I have limited space and budget something like this would probably be OK for a hobbyist I guess? I have a P/T so can always run it along the jointer if the cut isn't perfectly true (or does that just defeat the object - I could just stick with my bandsaw!)

That saw may be fine I can't say, however I would say that IMHO if a table saw isnt cutting perfectly true then it's not worth the floorspace. Which is why Ive never replaced mine - ie not having the wherewithall or will (nor permission) to spend upwards of £400 / £500

Cheers Mike

 

[Gary]

If you buy a cheap inaccurate table saw you will only regret it and replace it. For what it's worth I would wait until you can afford a decent one. £100 will just about buy a circular saw and trend guide, which would be far more accurate and useful.

IMHO.


Gary

 

[wizer]

i bought a £100 tablesaw once.. it scared the rubbish out of me.

 

[mr]

i bought a £100 tablesaw once.. it scared the rubbish out of me.

Thats another reason I don't use mine (apart from the noise, the dust, the lack of accuracy) I remember what happened when the arbor broke on my cheapie chopsaw (spinning blade with nothing to hold it in the saw other than a transparent plastic guard). I generally have the horrors around machines these days.

:shock: :evil: :shock: :roll: that for a game of soldiers.

Cheers Mike

 

[DomValente]

Gary S, just as Gary said wait until you can afford a good table saw you won't regret it.
Have PM'd you.

Dom

 

[Alf]

Mike, there's an aspect of keeping the guards in place that's seldom considered I reckon. :shock:

Gary, I'm a known non-fan of tablesaurs - one of the reasons being the hopeless inaccuracy of the one I've been exposed to. (There is actually one thing worse than buying a cheap inaccurate tablesaw; it's buying an expensive inaccurate tablesaw. In fact s'cuse me a moment while I go and kick the Maxi again...) I'm very much inclined to favour a circular saw and a few easily-made jigs over a cheap tablesaw. Not as impressive perhaps, but infinitely more useful. And it'll still be useful when you've saved up for a decent TS. If you still feel the urge to spend on one, I can't help but think they must be available secondhand?

Cheers, Alf

 

[Smudger]

i bought a £100 tablesaw once.. it scared the rubbish out of me.

Ditto. It won't even work with the guard in place and the fence is non-existent. Outright dangerous for sheet materials. OK for rough dimensioning smallish pieces of timber.

 

[mailee]

Well actually I do have a cheap table saw! Don't all shout at once I'm sensitive you know. :lol: No actually what I was going to say is that I bought one of the old B&Q site saw jobbies for around £150 a few years back and as stated it wasn't very accurate but had a three horse induction motor and a 12" blade so I couldn't pass it up. I modified mine with a top made out of MDF braced with hardwood and then routed mitre slots in and made a sturdy accurate fence. It has turned a c*ap piece of kit into a pretty accruate cutting machine. Of course the other alternative is to buy from E-bay where you will buy a better quality saw for less if you know what to look for. Hope this is of some help. I am still saving for a real table saw though. :wink:

 

[Dave S]

How about...

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.asp? ... e=1&jump=0

Just under £200 and says it's suitable for "Light Trade"?

I bought this saw new about 7 years ago. I bought it mainly because it got a pretty good review in a magazine comparison test and because I thought a tablesaw was an essential bit of kit.

I use it a fair bit because it's what I have, but I wouldn't buy it again. Things have moved on: you can now get a cast iron tablesaw, new, for less than £500. It would have cost over double that 7 years ago.

However, I wouldn't buy it again if I were in the same position. It's not that accurate, it takes a lot of care to ensure the fence aligns correctly, there is some runout on the blade which reduces accuracy, the blade can only be changed from underneath the saw, and the small table means all manner of add-ons have to be built to enable even medium sized panels to be cut safely.

I've thought carefully about the work I've done since I started and what I do now. I've come to the conclusion that broadly speaking, I need the ability to crosscut accurately and to dimension sheet material, if possible from full sheets. If I had known that when I started, I could have gone for a reasonably good circular saw and home-made jigs and guide rails, graduating perhaps to a guide system such as the Eurekazone at a later date. I've ended up still having to use my poor quality circular saw and homemade guiderails anyway.

As it is, I've decided to go for the Eurekazone guide anyway, to dispense with the tablesaw, and probably to get a bandsaw capable of ripping larger stock as and when funds allow.

Of course, we all have our own balance of priorities, but I think that is the best solution on a limited budget for my own priorities. Perhaps it will help you in your decision - one thing I would suggest is that you think carefully about what kind of things you would like to make, and what tools will help you make them. Don't make the mistake I made, of buying something because you think it's essential, and then finding it's not the right thing for what you want to do.

HTH
Dave

 

[Colin C]

As it is, I've decided to go for the Eurekazone guide anyway, to dispense with the tablesaw, and probably to get a bandsaw capable of ripping larger stock as and when funds allow.


HTH
Dave

Hi Gary

This is just what I have done and I am self employed.
My work shop is 18"x10" which sounds big but when you have a bench, P/T, Lathe, cupboard with my mortiser on it and two cupboards for tools and flammables. It does not leave lots of room.

I have not been happier since the table saw left the workshop ( which I have to stick on Ebay ), I have been very happy the the guide rail from Eurekazone.

I did get a new saw as the one I had was dropped so I had problems getting it square.

If you did have a circular saw, you can try Ebay or there are some from B&Q, Wickes for a start that will do the job and I have some plans for a home made saw rail that you could have a copy of ( just PM me your address and I will post it )

 

[George_N]

As Colin says, even a home made sawboard can make a hand-held circular saw into a very accurate tool (almost certainly better than a cheap table saw). If you plan to do much work with sheet material a couple of these in different sizes are invaluable for breaking down 8' x 4' sheets into manageable sizes.