Table saw advise?

[alvin rush]

Ok heres whats happening I got 500 bucks to spend and want a table saw and a inexpensive lathe I am a beginer and my friend is going to missouri and he is taking me and I asked about grizzly is it still in missouri? what would you recomend for a first time buyer and easy to use and what can be done to accommodate a wheelchair bound person for said equipment any ideas or what thanks we will be leaving for the weekend we plan to fish the table rock lake thanks in advance have a great day...........al

[Stephen Edwards]

Alvin, I think that I would choose one or the other, if you're going to buy from Grizzly. If your tool budget is currently limited to $500, you might also consider buying good used machines.

I know nothing about lathes. However, you aren't going to have much of a choice, IMO, from Grizzly for a good TS for $500 bucks. (And, I really like Grizzly machines!).

There's another member here who's also in a wheel chair. Perhaps he can chime in with some sound advice for you.

Note to Mods: Perhaps Alvin would get more responses to his thread if one of you could please edit his title to be more descriptive.

Best Wishes,

[Chuck Isaacson]

Alvin, are you the one that is in a wheelchair? Or is it your friend? I myself am in a wheelchair. I have an entire shop that I built to be wheelchair accessible. I personally had a little more of a budget and was able to get a General Access 650. It is designed for wheelchair users. Or those that are just really short. If you want something that is good for a wheelchair useron a limited budget, especially when you want both a table saw and a lathe, you are going to have to go used. Ifyou have a friend that can cut and weld metal, a contractors saw would be great. You can just cut some height out of the legs. My saw with a mobile base it at about 30". I think that it is a good height. A jobsite or portable saw I think is going to be a little too wobbly. Another option for the contractors saw is to unbolt it from the stand and build a new base for it. It just depends on your skill level and how much you want to put into it. Like this:


This is might be more than you need but it is an example of what I am talking about. You can just build it to suit your height. Another good thing about this is that you can close up the bottom and add some dust collection. That is always a goods thing. If you have an more questions, feel free to PM me.

[Van Huskey]

Consider trying to find one of the closeout Rigid granite 4511 table saws for $300 at HD, being a contractors saw the legs could easly be shortened. I do not think Grizzly has a TS cheaper than $635 and yes they are still in Springfield (1 of their three stores). That would leave you with about $200 but that will only get you a pretty small benchtop lathe new. New floor lathes are going to be in the $500 range plus your tools. If the budget is $500 for both it is going to be hard to make it under budget new.

[Chuck Isaacson]

+1 on the Ridgid granite top. It is a good saw at that price. Would be great for a beginner.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Don't think you'll be able to get a lathe for less than 500 bucks. The lathe, unlike any other shop tool, has hidden costs, the chisels. A good set of chisels runs as much or more than the lathe. You'll have to check CL and the classifieds. There are a lot of them out there. If you go used, many times they come with the chisels.

Just my $.02.

[Aaron Wingert]

Don't think you'll be able to get a lathe for less than 500 bucks. The lathe, unlike any other shop tool, has hidden costs, the chisels. A good set of chisels runs as much or more than the lathe. You'll have to check CL and the classifieds. There are a lot of them out there. If you go used, many times they come with the chisels.

Just my $.02.

100% agreed. The lathe is one of the smaller expenses compared to all the other stuff combined that a woodturner needs.

I'd focus that $500 budget on a good used tablesaw and get the lathe and lathe goodies later on.

[alvin rush]

thank you folks I want the mini lathe to aid in making more plugs and the saw to cut any stock, I can find it cost just so much more to get blanks for what I need (1x1x6-8 inches) and hate asking people for there scraps. I know there are a lot of woodworkers here I would like to ask for scraps, or the blank sizes I need but it may upset the owner/moderators. so buying a board and attempting to mill it is cheaper and lot less a bother to spend money out of my budget to get it shipped here. money is tight all over and I squeeze and pinch, thought I would get a deal at grizzly but maybe I can get the saw first and continue handcarving for now.Anyways thank you kind folks I LOVE THIS PLACE may you all be blessed.....al

[Van Huskey]

I would get a small bandsaw to saw up blanks, if that was my main focus, then have more money for the lathe and turning tools.

[Stephen Edwards]

I would get a small bandsaw to saw up blanks, if that was my main focus, then have more money for the lathe and turning tools.

I think that is really sound advice. Also, it would be fairly easy to modify a 14" Bandsaw so that it could be operated by someone in a wheelchair. You could trash the base of it and build a cabinet the right height for your needs.

[kenneth kayser]

You certainly don't need a $500 table saw to cut small blanks. You can do that with a hand held jig saw. If you really want to do it on a table saw, get a small one. If the raw stock is quite thick, a band saw might be best. If you take it easy, almost any band saw will slice through 8 qtr maple. A low powered table saw will balk. You could still use a jig saw with a long blade, but the blade may not maintain a perpendicular cut. Also, the band saw will waste less wood than a jigsaw and the jig saw less than a table saw. People who work with small pieces of wood usually use a band saw to minimize waste. I would certainly start by trying a jig saw. You could even buy it a a big store and return it if it did not please you. Most stores and mfgrs have at least a 30 day, "you don't want it, bring it back" policy.

[Rick Alexander]

area, craig's list has old craftsman TS's for around $100 pretty often. I know they get a lot of bad mouthing but heck I used a craftsman for 25 years and it worked just fine for me. Biggest weakness with one is usually the fence but that can be fixed later on with a bies clone as money gets better. It would be really easy to make a shorter stand for a craftsman to make it user friendly for you. This certainly would suffice for making blanks for sure.

As for the lathe, Ricon makes a pretty decent pen lathe or mini lathe for less than 300 bucks new. I'm sure it's no Powermatic but heck the thing looks pretty darn good to me for what it is. Then it's 100 bucks left over for the first good quality lathe tools. Not many in the beginning for sure but it's a start.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Alvin, if you are cutting up material in the 1" X 1" X 6" range for turning on a lathe, the table saw is not the machine you want.

It is extremely dangerous to rip small pieces on the table saw without making specialised jigs.

The best tool for that is the band saw, far safer, and it can cut thick material, as well as cut curves.

If you're running a mini lathe, a small used band saw will do far more for you than a table saw, with a greater degree of safety.

That doesn't mean that a band saw can't saw your fingers off in a flash, you'll want to use all the safety devices required, as well as good work practices when using it.

regards, Rod.

[alvin rush]

I am going to save this money to get supplies for my fishing lures. I think I can make enough to almost double my money, just got to get out there and sale sale sale them. who knows others may enjoy it and if I can find businesses willing to help, the summer tourist may like them who knows if they dont sale I can always donate more to the charities I already donate to. thank you everybody be well and have a great weekend........