Which Table Saw

[Andyb350z]

Hey everyone, hope your all having a great christmas !

So im currently having my garage / workshop extended by another 6 x 4 meters so i would like to get a decent table saw in there, Im looking to build my own speaker cabinets in the near future, so ideally i want to be able to rip up 6x4 sheets of ply, mdf etc but im a little unsure what i should be looking for in a table saw in terms of praticality and accuracy.

I have seen a few people take their table saws and mount them into a workbench to give extra workspace, i love this idea but i would then need to make or purchase an additional fence system to run the full length of the table.

I currently have a Dewalt DW472 flipsaw which im going to stick on ebay, its breat but not so great as a table say, the fence only lock from one side of the table and there is to much movement in the fence when ripping sheets of wood down.

So, im thinking should i buy a light jobsite table sav and mount it in a large table, such as the Dewalt DW745 or am i better buying a stand alone machine, i have seen this Charnwood on ebay,
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221582375654? ... EBIDX%3AIT

However the motor is only 11002 whers as the dewalt is 1700w.

Can anyone give me some advice as to which is going to give me the more accurate cuts etc, i dont really want a great big machine taking up all the sapce and love the idea on mounting one in a table as when the saw is not in use, you can lower the blade and its then back in storage !

love this !
http://tableplanpdf.com/wp-content/uplo ... lans-3.jpg

any advice would be most appreciated.

 

[deema]

Buy a wall saw, and a small table saw. A wall saw is far easier to handle for a person on their own lugging sheet material around. There are usually a good selection on the auction sites. They take some setting up, but once done a joy to work with.

 

[marcros]

Are you looking at building a set of speaker cabinets or making them professionally.

In either case, I would look at building something like the festool mft table (plenty of discussion about self building these on the forum or online generally) and combining this with a track saw, for example the festool ts55.

Handling full sheets of mdf is no fun on your own and ideally you want the saw to be moving rather than the sheet. A wall saw would also do this- very much depends on the budget.

 

[Andyb350z]

I am looking at building x4 large speaker cabinets, I just find today's very boring ! all mdf / chipboard wrapped in a bit of black tolex. I want to get a bit more creative but the principle will be the same. I'm 35 years of age, and after many years of Muay Thai boxing, I am getting to the point of needing operations, mainly me knees and shoulders are giving me a lot of trouble so im looking at easing into wood working, I have always enjoyed the projects I have done to date, such as decking, shelves, made a dog bed etc., I by no means a expert but looking to learn more, I have been lucky enough to have a successful media business which can fund the build of the workshop and the tools, I would like to open a sister or subsidiary company of my media company that is a wood based workshop, what I will build I am not sure of, but I like the idea of one day retiring or taking a step back from the business and enjoy a life / career creating physical products, I am a keen guitarist and own the UK GUITAR AND AMP EXCHANGE page on facebook which has approx 17,000+ members, all guitarists in the UK, we buy, sell and trade a lot of gear between us, and I would like to make my own and maybe promote it on here, even guitar pedal boards etc etc, I am very creative and like to raise the standards which is why I like to think I have been able to build a successful media business which focuses on design and user experience.

So I am a bit of a novice to say the least, but a very determined and a keen one and a bit of a perfectionist at times.

So all in all im looking at building myself a workshop that has every tool in there i will ever need, i have currently bought all sorts of machines such as a large band saw, scroll saw, thicknesser / planer, bench sander, pillar drill, dust extractor, router table, sliding compound mitre saw and various hand tools such as sanders, drivers, saws, etc etc.

Im looking to get sliding mortice, wood turning lathe and some sort of table saw solution where I can cut sheets, but maybe i might be best to cut them down rough with a circular saw and then use a smaller table saw to get them accurate, any part of a cabinet is not going to exceed 1m square. I also recently did a course on a WoodRat jig, loved it and will be getting one of these too.

So, sorry for the life story (yawn) but that's where I am at and looking for any help and advice I can get with regards to buying tools, machines, alternative solutions and recommended products etc..

Also if anyone is up my way it would be great to have somebody who can teach me a few things and steal / borrow my tools workshop in return should they desire. (when finished)

 

[Steve Maskery]

Unless you have aircraft hangar to work in I suggest that a TS that is designed for sheet materials will be too big.
Using a TS and a track, such as the TS55, but there are good rivals, too, will give you as good a finished result as a panel saw, if used correctly. And just as accurate. I use a track setting gauge to position my track and can get a set of panels that are identical - I mean identical, not just nearly so - easily and quickly with no clean-up. The jig is on my first DVD.
To support the sheet you can use a sheet of insulation on the floor, or build a trestle table. There is a design on here somewhere by The Tiddles. Search for Sore Hoarses, IIRC. Yes, here ist is:
sore-hoarses-mkii-now-with-added-plans-t44761.html
It's very good Mine is a bit swollen and weathered from being kept outside, but I shall remake it anew it's an excellent design.
By all means buy a tablesaw. I have the Xcalibur 10" Cabinet saw from Woodford. The current model is even better, I believe, although I haven't seen it. Again, there is a review of it on here I think, but I can't remember who did it. It has good capacity without having a huge footprint.
I think such a setup would be a better option than an enormous panel saw.
My 2p.
S

 

[Andyb350z]

Thanks Steve, that has given me some food for thought, i have started to design my own table saw to sit the table saw, a sliding compound mitre saw and a router that can share a fence with the table saw. so getting these x3 tools mounted on one unit is quite space saving, especially if its on wheels and for full use of the table all you need to do is lower the router blade, table saw blade and move the copunds saw. for cutting up 6 x 4 sheets i designed it so that over 50% of the max width would be on the table before and after the board left the blade. But im still not 100% a Track saw is a tool i have never come across to be honest, but it does seem a great alternative, similar to this (in my mind) it is like i have done before, clamped a large spirit level to the material and ran the circular saw down it, its by no means a track but on the same principle, but as marcos said above, its easier / better to have the saw moving rather than the wood. and that saw horse you linked to before is a fantastic idea ! , Right now and for the foreseeable future i just want to learn, so I cant really justify spending thousands on a wall saw or huge panel saw (although it is tempting as there are some used bargains out there) and then in the future if i do want to look at doing it more as a money maker i could always extend again and upgrade !

 

[sploo]

So im currently having my garage / workshop extended by another 6 x 4 meters

Another 6x4 meters!!! :shock: (very very jealous)

so i would like to get a decent table saw in there, Im looking to build my own speaker cabinets in the near future, so ideally i want to be able to rip up 6x4 sheets of ply, mdf etc but im a little unsure what i should be looking for in a table saw in terms of praticality and accuracy.

OK - I'm certainly no fine woodworker, but when it comes to building speaker cabs I'd say I've knocked up a few in my time.

I generally cut dado and rabett (rebate/rabbit/hair/fox/whatever they're called) lines on the panels in order to glue them together. E.g. here's the lid...

...to go onto this..

The rabbet (the channel cut on the outside edge) is a little bit wider than the width of the board it'll be glued to - in this instance I was using ~18mm MDF, so the dados were 18mm, but the outside rabbet was cut about 19mm wide (i.e. the top panel was about 1mm oversize all the way round).

One dried, I use a trimming bit on a router to trim (in this instance) the top so it's exactly flush with the walls of the box. This means two things:

• Even if the box isn't 100% square, you'll get a perfectly flush edge
• It doesn't really matter if the edge of the top panel was cut by a blind woodsman with a rusty axe

End result here:

My bad humour aside, the point I'm making is that I don't think you need sub-mm accuracy for cutting the panels - though it obviously helps if it is a clean cut (for better glueing) for those panels that aren't being trimmed with a router bit.

You might also want to check out the DIYAudio forum, as there's lots of experienced builders there. I don't post that often these days (same handle: sploo) but that's mostly due to lack of time, and lack of space in the house to accept more speakers :wink: