TABLE SAWS

[Joe Luberto]

WHAT TABLE SAW DO YOU OWN ?AND WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT IT ? RATING OUT OF 5!

[Brian Kelly]

I also have the Ridgid 4510 table saw and I have been very pleased with it. I bought it for its portability since I have no dedicated workshop space. The fact that I can store it in my shed and wheel it outside to work was a primary feature. I was also very impressed with the features. After using it for a year and a bit I have not found anything that displeases me.

[John Toso]

I bought the PM roller stand for the saw and then extended the table with a steel down leg on a caster. I put a shelf under the extended table and it works great. Someone told me that this saw is over 400 lbs. The roller system makes it a snap to move around in my garage.

AJ Hicks said:

I have the Ridgid model as well as many here. I found the necessity to upgrade the saw blade and mitre accesory in order to obtain accurate cuts. I also found the machine to need a complete adjustment when it was new but have not had to make any adjustment except for the fence since. 

 

I also own a Powermatic PM 2000 model with the 50 inch wide table. I really like the built in caster system to roll away the saw when not in use. The caster system lifts the entire table with ease and rolls well. I upgraded the blade on this model and have aligned the fence to the blade and mitre slots twice in more than two years. My shop is in my garage as well as many and my third stall is mostly woodworking equipment. What I don't like as much about the Powermatic is the blade guard's dust collection system. The saw creates a great deal of dust that doesn't enter the built in system. I am studying options to solve the issue. Also, if you purchase the wide table option, the support legs are grossly inadequate, especially if moving it around like I do, and I found I have to weld the legs to a piece of angel iron wide enough to bolt to the steel table supports and fence guide which have completely fixed to problem of loose legs.

[Robert Perrilleon]

I bit the bullet and bought the 3hp Sawstop,  needless to say the safety factor played a BIG role but the Sawstop is a 5 out of 5, the tilt, best fence I ever had, the dust collection, it cuts better then any saw I ever had.  Highly recommend.

[RON JACOBSEN]

 

I have a RIDGID, model contractor's saw.  I give it a 4.75.  accurate, reliable and relatively inexpensive.

 

Ron J

[RON JACOBSEN]

RON JACOBSEN said:

 

I have a RIDGID, model contractor's saw.  I give it a 4.75.  accurate, reliable and relatively inexpensive.

 

Ron J

[Mark Mumma]

I own an INCA, 1986 Model 2100, 12 inch, 3hp, with the Mortise Chuck and X/Y motion table.  What I like most about this Cabinet Saw is the quality of the construction and design.  Everything about it is very solidly built and mine has the cast iron table extension, rather than the aluminum. 

[Sue Gililland]

I've got the Ridgid 4510, too.  Love it!  Love that it didn't need to be assembled, love that I didn't have to do any adjusting.  The only thing I had to do was level it - a teensy bit.  I love that I can move it around so easily, and that it stands on end when I need to get it out of the way.  I have noticed that material sometimes doesn't move smoothly across the table, but I figure that it's probably something I'm doing rather than a problem with the saw.  Also, thought maybe I'd try out the miter gauge for a cross cut and it seemed a bit wobbly.  Same thing, though, I'm so new at this that it's more than like my problem and not the saw's!

This is the 3rd saw I brought home!  When my old one stopped working I bought a small one similar to the old Delta portable.  Then realized I'd wanted one with wheels so I could easily move it around.  I took that one back (didn't even get it out of the box!) and bought the next one up from that with wheels.  But, the wheels were up higher and only facilitated moving it out of the way!  And, it wobbled.  After trying for 2 weeks to convince myself that I didn't need the Ridgid, I gave in and took back the 2nd saw and bought the Ridgid.

I finally found the right one! 4.75 out of 5

[Brenda Tindale]

I also have the 4510 that Cecil has. I love it for it's portability since I have a very small shop and need to be able to move the tools around to use them.

 

[Adam Authement]

I have a Bosch 10 and it's portable stand. I'll give it a 5+. Easy of set up out the box, stability, accurate cuts, power and not to mention its fold up capability really surprise me how easy it is. My contractor friend used it and said he was going to get one too. I would recommend if you can spend the $600 dollars. I was a cheap person on buying tools. At 60 yrs old I figured this is my last Rodeo and I made a very good choice. I would also recommend Dewalt 12 sliding compound saw and stand, another 10plus on my list of tools.

[Otto Johansen]

I had a Shopsmith briefly because I thought it might be the thing for a small shop like mine. The main problem I had, and the reason I returned it to Shopsmith, was that it was nearly impossible to set dado depth accurately. It also has a relatively small table surface that isn't much good as a work surface, unlike a "real" table saw. I'm much happier with a Unisaw. The Shopsmith came with some plans to build a cabinet for it with storage for a bunch of the accessories and whatnot, but in the meantime you still have to find storage for the optional attachments like the jointer and bandsaw both of which were not "full-sized" versions--more like benchtop versions. The saw arbor is not the standard 5/8" that gives you the choice to use a specialty blade you can buy at Home Depot or Lowes--I think it was a 1" arbor, which means you have a sole source supplier. Those were some of the other things that soured me on the Shopsmith once I had it in my shop.

Gary roofner said:

There is on tablesaw that hasn't shown up yet but my dream to own. Anyone have a shopsmith mark 5 or 7?

I have had chances to pick them up for resonable prices after I bought my Makita on craigslist. I see they now sell predrilled attachments to install for Incra LS 17.

[david swarat]

I have a SAW STOP 5hp cabinet saw , This by far is the best saw on the market. Teaching 4 grandboys wood working and love the safety ,safety safety............5+

[AJ Hicks]

I had three Shopsmith machines at one time. My problem was efficient production and set-up time when moving from one machine (table saw to jointer, etc) to another. I thought I solved the problem with mounting the jointer to one end band saw to another, setting up table saw on another and belt sander and planer on another. The table saw produced poor cuts even with upgraded incra accessories. The main problem was safery. The table is so high and so small, even with an oversized shop made table, I felt always my safety was compromised. Also, dust collection was poor from all machines. The band saw was undersized as well as jointer. The planer worked well. Service required returning the machine to Dayton Ohio or delivering, which I did twice, the machine to the service center direct. I would opt for the Ridgid machine or a cabinet model as indicated several times in this thread and purchase used individual machines as enabled. 

Otto Johansen said:

I had a Shopsmith briefly because I thought it might be the thing for a small shop like mine. The main problem I had, and the reason I returned it to Shopsmith, was that it was nearly impossible to set dado depth accurately. It also has a relatively small table surface that isn't much good as a work surface, unlike a "real" table saw. I'm much happier with a Unisaw. The Shopsmith came with some plans to build a cabinet for it with storage for a bunch of the accessories and whatnot, but in the meantime you still have to find storage for the optional attachments like the jointer and bandsaw both of which were not "full-sized" versions--more like benchtop versions. The saw arbor is not the standard 5/8" that gives you the choice to use a specialty blade you can buy at Home Depot or Lowes--I think it was a 1" arbor, which means you have a sole source supplier. Those were some of the other things that soured me on the Shopsmith once I had it in my shop.

Gary roofner said:

There is on tablesaw that hasn't shown up yet but my dream to own. Anyone have a shopsmith mark 5 or 7?

I have had chances to pick them up for resonable prices after I bought my Makita on craigslist. I see they now sell predrilled attachments to install for Incra LS 17.