help with a table saw purchase

[Anonymous]

Hi all as i am new to this forum be gentle.

I would like some advice on purchasing a new table saw i currently own a clarke table saw and in a word its useless so i have been doing a bit of web surfing and come across the jet jts-10 i know or at least im under the impression that jet is a well known and decent manufacture of woodworking machinery. The problem i have is space i dont have a workshop and my house is no mantion so everytime i need to use a tool like a table saw i need to set it up outside in my back garden and when i am finished put it away again so something like a cast iron table saw is out of the question. any help or advice would be greatley appreciated as i don't want to make another bad purchase.

Regards, Derek.

 

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the forum Derek

I believe another moderator here, Neil, has bought that very saw and will answer all of your questions soon.

 

[Midnight]

welcome aboard Derek...

have a looksee in the Tool Reviews section, should be a thread there called Forum Users Tablesaws.. might be of some use.....

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Derek

Welcome to the forum.

I believe another moderator here, Neil, has bought that very saw and will answer all of your questions soon.

Sorry I can't help as I have the Jet SS.

As Mike mentioned why not have a look at the user's table saw thread.

Cheers
Neil

 

[Anonymous]

my heart is not set on the jet its just that i was surprised to find out that jet made a table saw in that price range i don't want to spend to much as having to lift it in and out of the house when i need it it is going to end up with a few war wounds. So if anyone has any ideas on a table saw similar to the jet i would be pleased to here your ideas or experiances.

Regards, Derek.

 

[beejay]

from one newcomer to another, welcome.
I bought the EB PK200 last year to replace an old noisy Axminster unit and absolutely love it. I too have a space problem and wanted the Kity 419 which I couldnt find hence the EB. I chucked the base and buit the unit onto a wheeled base which is easily moved outside the shop when required. I also buit side extension tables as they are expensive to buy and my budget was limited at the time.
It really is a lovely quiet and accurate unit and ideal for the smaller shop I bought mine seconmd hand but almost new for £300 including the folding base.
beejay

 

[Jorden]

Hi Derek
The best advice i heard was to buy the best table saw you can afford, it is a crucial piece of equipment used every day by serious hobbyist. That means if you buy a cheapie, you will curse the saw every day!

I have a Record RSTS12 which I've been threatening to replace for months now, usually when I have to change the blade height. If I were to get a new saw right now I'd be looking at the SIP cast iron one or the Xcalibur 8040101 from Woodford WW Machinery

Dennis

 

[Chris Knight]

Derek,
You don't say what you want a table saw for and it is a question worth thinking through. A band saw can do many things that a tablesaw can do at less cost in a smaller machine.

The (admittedly) expensive Festool circular saw plus guide is loved by several folk on this forum, including me; you can't beat it for cutting sheet goods to size.

If I were to add to the two tools mentioned above, a router table, then I could do nearly all the things I use a table saw for and those I can't are not run of the mill operations by a long chalk.

If you can define your needs and ambitions a little more closely, you may get a more helpful answer.

 

[Alf]

The best advice i heard was to buy the best table saw you can afford, it is a crucial piece of equipment used every day by serious hobbyist.

Ah ha, that explains everything. I must be a frivolous hobbyist! :lol:

Anyway, I'll go with wot Chris said. Could be that a T/S isn't the answer, especially in a restricted space. I actually have a tablesaw as part of the <spit> Maxi26, and so useful have I found it that it has a piece of ply permanently fixed to the top onto which I put my oilstones. I know, I know, I hear you all screaming "but your a rabid neanderthal, you mad bird", but I'm not as neander as you might think and I don't miss the T/S one jot. As Chris rightly says, consider the joys of a circular saw and some guides for sheet goods (doesn't have to be a Festool, despite the impression you might get from the membership :wink: ), the wonders you can achieve with a really good router table (or a 'Rat...). If I've boringly said it once, I've boringly said it a million times; for what it can do without removing the provided safety features*, a tablesaw's flexibility to space consumption is atrocious.

Cheers, Alf

*Obviously, the choice there is up to you.

 

[Adam]

How about the Festool circular saw with the guide - seems everyone here raves about it, and reckon you can get rid of your table saw - isn't this the perfect answer - it packs up to a tiny space, is as vertsatile (or more possibly?) than a table saw, leaves as good, or better finish than many good tablesaws.......?

I'm sure JohnE, Aragorn, or one of the others can make a better case then me. I still like having a tablesaw, although like ALF, find it makes a great workbench alot of the time*

*Due to space limitations on my part in the workshop. ALF - why don't you simply flog the Maxi?

 

[Alf]

ALF - why don't you simply flog the Maxi?

Technically it's not mine to flog. Plus I'd only blush as I extolled its "virtues" to any potenial buyer... :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

I do own a makita circular saw as well as a few clamp guides an i agree for ripping boards is the ideal solution. I have recently being looking at band saws but i have always thought that they were like a stationary jigsaw and i find that when using a jigsaw i rarely end up with a 90 degree cut but with a table saw if it is set correctly you should always have a 90 degree cut. I do a lot of frame building for fitted wardrobes and the like and thats where i find a table saw usefull especially ripping down thin boards or softwoods where the wood is to narrow to support a circular saw.

Derek.

 

[Adam]

I do own a makita circular saw as well as a few clamp guides an i agree for ripping boards is the ideal solution. I have recently being looking at band saws but i have always thought that they were like a stationary jigsaw and i find that when using a jigsaw i rarely end up with a 90 degree cut but with a table saw if it is set correctly you should always have a 90 degree cut. I do a lot of frame building for fitted wardrobes and the like and thats where i find a table saw usefull especially ripping down thin boards or softwoods where the wood is to narrow to support a circular saw.

Derek.

Derek,

Although in general I agree, but I think the Festool is a very special case. It seems people are using it in preference to a table saw, and John Elliott actually got rid of this circular saw, and guides and bought the Festool circular saw and guides and subsequently sold his pretty mid-to-high end table saw.

(If my memory serves me correct anyway!)

Adam

 

[Alf]

I have recently being looking at band saws but i have always thought that they were like a stationary jigsaw and i find that when using a jigsaw i rarely end up with a 90 degree cut

That's 'cos the jigsaw blade is unsupported/unguided at one end and not under tension, unlike the bandsaw.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Adam]

See:

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... ht=festool

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... ht=festool

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... ht=festool

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... ht=festool

Lots of posts on this, try searching for "Festool" in the search facility

 

[Anonymous]

Although in general I agree, but I think the Festool is a very special case. It seems people are using it in preference to a table saw, and John Elliott actually got rid of this circular saw, and guides and bought the Festool circular saw and guides and subsequently sold his pretty mid-to-high end table saw.

(If my memory serves me correct anyway!)

Adam

Thanks adam you and the other guys have definately given me food for thought as in the past festool has never realy appealed to me i don't know why as they do have an excellent reputation. I think i will do a little research and if anyone knows of any festool dealers in the Sunderland/Newcastle area i will be very gratefull to hear from you.

Derek.

 

[Alf]

Thanks adam you and the other guys have definately given me food for thought as in the past festool has never realy appealed to me i don't know why as they do have an excellent reputation. I think i will do a little research and if anyone knows of any festool dealers in the Sunderland/Newcastle area i will be very gratefull to hear from you.

Aaargh, not another one?! :shock: A last ditch effort to save you from the Festool Slope for your own good... :roll: :lol:

Cheers, Alf

 

[Anonymous]

All this talk of the festool cirular saw and guides is well and good but only for cutting sheet material. No mention has been made as to the reason for needing (or not) a table saw

I have a tablesaw (Kity 419), bandsaw and a circular saw + guide (clearly not festool as I can't afford it).

Quite simply, I use the tablesaw about TEN times as often as the bandsaw and the bandsaw about THIRTY times as often as a circular saw and guide.

Sure the festool is brilliant - but for cutting sheet material, not as a general purpose saw

 

[Alf]

All this talk of the festool cirular saw and guides is well and good but only for cutting sheet material. No mention has been made as to the reason for needing (or not) a table saw

Fair point. How about a series of polls, oh moderating one? What d'you use to cut sheet goods, solid wood (x-cut), solid wood (rip) and any others I can't currently think of 'cos the cider's kicking in now... F'rinstance, I think the bandsaw and SCMS make an excellent team. The bandsaw takes care of ripping, curves, resawing and joinery, while the SCMS does the accurate x-cuts, which really isn't the bandsaw's forte. FWIW.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Anonymous]

as i mentioned in an earlier post my use for a table saw is frame building so correct me if im wrong the festool is geared more around sheet material.

Derek.