What Table Saw to buy

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I went for a Dewalt DWE7485, its pretty good, the fence is nice and its working well for me as a newbie wood worker.

It's currently selling for £490ish, a bit more than what I paid last year.

But I was able to get it for just under £390 by waiting for the regularly occuring ebay discount code that knocked off £60, buying from the ffx ebay store, and by using quidco or topcashback to get another 5% off. Cost £464 - £60 - ~£20 = £390ish
 
Another vote for the Dewalt - the rack and pinion fence is brilliant: can be adjusted to the half millimetre. It’s unique to dewalt I think.
 
picking up on this if your main use is for jointing planks then with your budget I’d be looking at a track saw & a jack plane
Dont forget the edging plane ;)

Dont forget the edging plane
It's just this type of post that makes me run off and buy just such an item. Gad, really fancy that Lie Nielsen one now.......


.....and as fate would have it theres one finishing in ebay UK in 7 hours. :LOL: :LOL:
 
Iansmith030, as you say this is a minefield with loads of competing opinions. I was looking for a new table saw during the first lockdown. Ideally 255mm blade and compact as a replacement for my old large 12 inch saw. I was looking for something smaller and light enough to transport and go on a shelf in the workshop. I looked at bosch, Dewalt, Makita etc. All seemed to require some fettling, stocks were low because of lockdown and prices were high.

A video review from a couple of years ago from an American guy for a Dewalt 745 talked of prices of 259 dollars, same saw in uk when I was looking was £449, more than twice the price.


In the end I decided that prices were too high and there were no deals available because of lockdown and worldwide shortage. Then I saw an advert for a Scheppach HS81S for £89 including vat and delivery from a tool shop in Kendal so went for that. Put a decent blade in it, fence is fiddly to adjust, pressed steel top, no soft start, 216mm blade but depth of cut is ok. Overall I am pleased with it for the price. Perhaps one day I will change it but it suffices for now and I use my sliding mitre saw and track saw far more than a table saw.

Mounted the new saw on some plywood with handles so easy to lift from shelf to bench, sold the old saw for £140, now have more space in garage and £50 towards something else.

It may be worth your while to wait until the economy picks up and we get more competition in the market. Also accept that every saw in your price range will have its detractors and for top quality work will need some fettling, according to the reviews. As you say, it is a minefield of confusion and really you need to find somewhere where you can physically check and compare the machines before purchase.
 
Iansmith030, as you say this is a minefield with loads of competing opinions. I was looking for a new table saw during the first lockdown. Ideally 255mm blade and compact as a replacement for my old large 12 inch saw. I was looking for something smaller and light enough to transport and go on a shelf in the workshop. I looked at bosch, Dewalt, Makita etc. All seemed to require some fettling, stocks were low because of lockdown and prices were high.

A video review from a couple of years ago from an American guy for a Dewalt 745 talked of prices of 259 dollars, same saw in uk when I was looking was £449, more than twice the price.


In the end I decided that prices were too high and there were no deals available because of lockdown and worldwide shortage. Then I saw an advert for a Scheppach HS81S for £89 including vat and delivery from a tool shop in Kendal so went for that. Put a decent blade in it, fence is fiddly to adjust, pressed steel top, no soft start, 216mm blade but depth of cut is ok. Overall I am pleased with it for the price. Perhaps one day I will change it but it suffices for now and I use my sliding mitre saw and track saw far more than a table saw.

Mounted the new saw on some plywood with handles so easy to lift from shelf to bench, sold the old saw for £140, now have more space in garage and £50 towards something else.

It may be worth your while to wait until the economy picks up and we get more competition in the market. Also accept that every saw in your price range will have its detractors and for top quality work will need some fettling, according to the reviews. As you say, it is a minefield of confusion and really you need to find somewhere where you can physically check and compare the machines before purchase.

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I have managed to find a Bosch that I'm actively bidding for at the moment. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one. If not, I think I'm going to opt for a cheaper model.
 
good saw, I had one for 12 months and pleased with it for the price

How is it for dust extraction? I'm told even the best table saws are notorious for spitting at least some dust out, but that's my biggest issue at the moment with the one I have (when it's working - long story - shared elsewhere on here).
 
It’s not brilliant to be honest, it collects from an outlet underneath, would help if there was collection on top/close to the blade too.
 
I have the Bosch GT10 and regret buying it.

It's reliable and accurate, but the tracks are so completely different to any else out there that it's impossible to get any accessories. Even the accessories that claim to have adjustable track fittings don't seem to fit

As a fairly new woodworker I didn't foresee this to be an issue, but as I've used it more, so it has caused me issues.

I've built my own cross cut sled, but even that doesn't sit particularly well due to the odd shape of the tracks.

So.. as a generic table saw it's great. However, if you want to move your woodworking skills forward then buy something that can more readily take the aftermarket add-ons that you'll probably want / need.
 
I have the Bosch GT10 and regret buying it.

It's reliable and accurate, but the tracks are so completely different to any else out there that it's impossible to get any accessories. Even the accessories that claim to have adjustable track fittings don't seem to fit

As a fairly new woodworker I didn't foresee this to be an issue, but as I've used it more, so it has caused me issues.

I've built my own cross cut sled, but even that doesn't sit particularly well due to the odd shape of the tracks.

So.. as a generic table saw it's great. However, if you want to move your woodworking skills forward then buy something that can more readily take the aftermarket add-ons that you'll probably want / need.
that's a shame, im really pleased with mine for what it is - ive made a crosscut sled which is accurate , not really sure what other accessories I would need. The mitre gauge I will admit is rubbish, but I have a mitre saw for those types of cuts so its not something I need the table saw for.

What other issues have you come across?
 
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