Oh no not another table saw post..

[ScaredyCat]

​
I'm about to push the button on my first table saw. I'm going to say a few words about my situation first to avoid "buy a Wadkin" replies. My house is a listed building in a conservation area and its garden is akin to the size of a postage stamp, possibly 2 on a good day so we're ruling out "build a workshop then buy a Wadkin". I have to do my woodwork with powered tools outside and I have to store them in the house. This means they all have to be pretty portable to start with and my storage space is an upstairs bedroom. So, really, quite portable.
​
There is a possibility that I could store some stuff in the hallway (it's really a room immediately off the front door, we just use it as a glorified hallway not as living space) but I'd need to build some cabinets to hide it all in so that it looks acceptable to the boss. That's later and really just a sidebar.
​
I've narrowed my choice to 2, but I'm open to other suggestions too.
​
I've seen some people here have a Scheppach HS105 and seem fairly happy with them, so that's one, the other is the Dewalt 745 - this is really at the top of my budget of £450 (absolute) max - which seem to be popular too. The Scheppach leaves me with some money to buy other bits and pieces, the DeWalt does not. Does the DeWalt offer much more for that extra? I do like that the fence clips in and locks. Mitre slots on the dewalt seem to be just over 19mm and from what I've read here the Scheppach are too.
​
​
I plan to built a stand for it and after each session, I'd remove the saw, carry it upstairs and then do the same with the stand, this would make it all a bit lighter. The base of the stand would have keys so that the saw was always in the same place.
​
So, any views on the two saws? Any other suggestions? I did look at the Evolution Rage 5-S but the only 'reviews' I can find are from people who were sent them for free by Evolution - I can't find any where someone went and bought one themselves to give a proper unbiased review. I also looked at the Bosch GTS10XC but that is sadly too expensive. I did like that it had a sliding carriage though.
​
​

 

[cgarry]

I have the Dewalt 745 and I love it, especially the fence. However, it is one noisy beast and I would not run it inside my house.

 

[transatlantic]

I have the HS105, very happy with it. The slots are 19mm and work fine with 3rd party 19mm jigs. The mitre gauge is wobbly (as is with the dewalt) but can easily be sorted with a new 19mm mitre gauage bar from ebay (£6). Dust extraction is poor. The blade guard is poor. The riving knife works well. The fence works well. It locks on both ends which is nice, but if you try sliding it in the wrong place, it can go skewif, but once you learn the sweet spot, it's fine.

 

[RobinBHM]

some people prefer a track saw rather than a table saw?

 

[Andy K]

I bought a Scheppach HS100S and had to return it as both fences where so wobbly that it was virtually unusable. I bought a Dewalt 745 instead and its so much better, rip fence is easy to adjust and rock solid once locked in. Mitre fence is not perfect but much better than the Scheppach.

 

[OscarG]

+1 for the DeWalt

I have the slightly bigger version of the DeWalt, the 7491. I think other than table size and little bit more power there's not much difference between this and the 745. I often think the 745 would have been good enough for me and saved me £300!

It's simply the best tool I've ever bought, the rack and pinion fence adjustment is a delight to use, accurate, built like a tank, good guards, good dust extraction, portable. Even with the stock blade it cuts through everything like butter.

The only downside, it's noisy. Really ****ing noisy!

I couldn't recommend it enough.

 

[Cordy]

Me too; Plus for Dewalt 745

Cuts well and a fence to die for, ear defenders a must

You won't find long forum threads about the 745 -- we just get on with it -- no problems !!

edit, just remembered - there are a couple of holes in front of the tubular frame that I use to hold the machine down on the small table that I made for it

 

[Roughcut]

Scaredycat:
I have a DeWalt 745 (it's been very lightly used is around 18 months old) I'm considering selling it on due to a lack of use by me.
I'm looking for £275 cash, let me know if you're interested?

 

[ScaredyCat]

I took a trip to have a look at a DW745 today, seemed bigger than in the pictures and videos I've seen. Looks solid though.

 

[Marineboy]

I would echo the suggestion re consideration of a track saw. It obviously depends on what work you need to do but I find my Festool invaluable. With some imagination and creative use of jigs it can carry out a wide range of cutting tasks.