Table Saw Help

[Scott Lemmers]

I am trying to buy a new table saw. I have looked at the following saws (pictures below).
I am going to use them to build kitchen cabinets and other projects, dressers etc.
Can anyone give me their two cents worth as to selection?
For the novice woodworker, am I going to need a 12 inch saw?
Is there enough benefits with the 10 inch Craftsman to justify spending the additional $300? Or is the Rigid all the saw I will need? I could always use the savings to go towards a new planer.
Your thoughts please.

OK, I am trying to upload the pictures again. I cn't get the Rigid image to load, but everybody knows which saw this is. The Craftsman does come with the Biesemeyer Fence.

Which one of these two do I buy?

[Corey Hallagan]

Scott, you definitely don't need a 12 in saw. I don't even have a wood working buddy that I know of that owns a 12 in saw. I would guess 90% have 10 in saws. THe pics didn't post so don't know what saws you are referring to... however there are alot of good $500-600 contractor saws and alot of good hybrid / cab types out there as well between the 500 and a 1000 mark. If you are referring to the Craftsman with the Beis, it is getting very good press where ever you go it seems and the fence is top notch, comes with a good Lietz blade. Is it worth 250 more than the Ridgid, probably but that doesn't take anything from the ridgid either. I think if you weigh everything out on the Ridgid saw, it is a good saw for the money and you just want to be sure you don't get a defective arbor which the saw has had problems with. I think you can go to the Ridgid forum and you will find picks of what the bad arbor looks like. All in what you want I guess. The Ridgid will do what you want to do with it I am sure. Check it out, kick the tires on it. There are plenty of happy cstomers with it.
Corey

[lou sansone]

a good 10" saw will provide plenty of power for your work. Corey is right that most do not have larger saws than that. But keep your eye out for some shop tours that might show a larger saw!

lou

[Corey Hallagan]

lol..... HINT HINT!

Corey

[Mike Holbrook]

I am very happy with my General 50-185 Contractor Saw. You can find a review of all the saws in Fine Woodworking's 2005 Tool Buyer's Guide. The General saw won Best saw, Best Value and Best user rated, not may tools capture all three of those.

http://www.general.ca/product/inter/50175an.html

[scott spencer]

Ditto what Mike said about the GI....

http://www.epinions.com/content_91326418564

Scott - After seeing the pic, I'd give a strong nod to the 22124 over the Ridgid. There are several advantages in addition to the Biese fence that may merit spending extra money. 12" wide cast iron wings, cabinet mounted trunnions, extension table, outfeed table, excellent stock blade, enclosed cabinet and motor, stronger motor, 4" DC port, available in home warranty, shorter belt length. On sale, the 22124 is a pretty strong contender IMHO.

[John Branam]

I have the Ridgid 3650 and I have been very happy with it.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

IMHO, there are several better choices than the ones you spoke of. The GI, The Grizz, the Woodtek, etc. But of those two, I'd go with the Craftsman.

[Tom Jones III]

From painful personal experience,
If you think you will be doing this for a long time .. or If you will be doing fine furniture ..then get the best you can afford. If all you want is to make some built in's or furniture for your toddlers bedroom then get a $300 Ryobi and throw it away when you are done.

Take a long hard look at the Powermatic 66 cabinet saw. Understand what features make this an outstanding saw. Do the same with the Ryobi BT3000 tabletop contractor saw.

Use that knowledge to evaluate the contractor saws you are looking at. Some of these contractor saws get features and quality amazingly close to the PM66 (for the price). Other contractor saws cost twice as much as the $300 Ryobi and you don't get as good quality or performance.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Scott......at the insistance of my wife I bought the TS 3650 and have been happy with it but really have used it very little. The Ridgid TS3650 wasn't available for review when FWW reviewed table saws a year or so ago but....following that issue they did test the Ridgid and gave it "a lot of bang for the buck" rating. Where I live we have limited local sources for woodworking tools and I'm one of those who wants to "see it" before I buy it. If I was in your shoes I'd climb all over those two saws, compare specs and I'd also consider some others....Griz...General..... Most people have to live with a major purchase for some time to come. As stated by Jim Becker and I hope I don't misquoted him "the most expensive tool is the one you have to replace early and often!" Good luck with your decision.

[Greg Johnson]

Scott,

I just recently upgraded my table saw. When I was first married and money was very tight I bought a Craftsman table saw. This was in the late 70's and probably when Craftsman quality was at it's all time low. I built my own home and all the cabinets in it. I have done a considerable amount of side work with it as well. I fought that thing from the very beginning, but it got the job done. Finally, after going through my 3rd motor I decided that it was time to move up in the world. I decided to get a saw that actually had a fence that worked. My wife demanded that I get something that would work well with a dust collector, for health reasons. I have also learned over the years that the cheapest tool is the one that you don't have to replace. I also believe that the table saw is the "center" of the shop. So.... this is basically a long winded way of suggesting that you take your time and buy the best saw that your finances can support. I got by for almost 30 years with a very poor table saw, but had to replace it this year. I spent that time fighting an inferior piece of equipment and then finally had to replace it. If I had bought a good saw in the beginning, I know that I would still be using it today, which makes it the cheaper saw in the long run. I looked closely at the Ridgid and Craftsman that you are thinking of. They are both good saws and significantly better than the one I was using. I finally decided on a Grizzly 1023SL. It was a few dollars more, but for me, at this point in my life it was the best choice. So far, I have been in "table saw heaven" everytime I fire it up. There really is a big difference between my old saw and the Griz. Each time I use it, I can't help but think.... all those years and this is what I've been missing......

Have fun shopping... and take your time.

Greg

[Mark Plotkin]

Scott,


Get the most expensive saw you can afford! My best friend has the Grizzly 10" table saw and is VERY happy with it. I started with a craftsman and fought with it for two years. I now have the Delta unisaw 3hp and it is the center of my workshop. I can cut 4x8 sheets of plywood myself with proper support. I cut 1/4 over size and then do a final cut to the exact size. I paid about $1600 on sale at one of the woodworking shows. There is not a day or cut that goes by that I regret spending the money. How much is your kitchen worth? How much is your time worth?

[Tim Morton]

I think you need to first decide on 2 things. How much are you willing to spend, and do you want a contractor saw or a cabinet saw. The answer to number one, will determine the answer to number two. If you "can" get the budget up to the numbers of a cabinet saw then you will be looking at the sears compared to maybe the grizzly 1023sl or the delta unisaw and several more. But if you think that you want to spend $800 or less then you are looking at buying a contractor style saw and you will find a few preferred choices in that arena. Grizzly makes one, as does General International and Amazon is selling a nice Powermatic. But there are many others to choose from as well. The ridgid is very seldom on peoples short list, but those who own it here seem to like it fine. Personally the Grizzly 1023 would be on my short list if you can swing the extra money. if not then I would back the budget down to 600ish and by one of the 3 contractor saws i mentions earlier. You have not mentioned if you are willing to have the saw shipped or if you prefer to pick it up. Are you wiling to consider used? If I lived in a large urban area like you i would be buying the best used cabinet saw i could find.

[lou sansone]

I agree with the rest of the posts that say to try to buy the best you can possible afford. My brother has a grizz and it is pretty good! As you folks probably know from the series of shop tours ( see shop tour 6A ) that I like machines that are older but in good shape. You might want to consider that avenue as well. High schools / tech schools are one very good place to buy machines. They have not been used all that much. There are auctions as well of industrial eq, but be carefull. some of the stuff is really wooped. I will say though that for those with unlimited funds that brand new italian or german machines are pretty attractive. Believe it or not that is not me.

best wishes
lou

[John Hart]

Scott...I agree with everyone that you should get the best you can afford. I have had my Craftsman 10" 3HP saw for a little over ten years and I'm very happy with it. Keep in mind that what you are planning to work on today, is not necessarly what you'll work on in 5 years. Your tastes may change. Your blade is everything. Nice blades deliver nice results. Ensuring your fence is square before each cut ensures fewer headaches. Weight of the saw brings stability. Mine is all cast iron and I've used saws that are light...there is no comparison.