Konrad in Lincoln Posted December 26, 2003 Posted December 26, 2003 I got a new table saw for Christmas. Quote
ken connors Posted December 26, 2003 Posted December 26, 2003 last time i checked, there were more than one kind of table saw, how about a little more specifics. for instance, in my case it would be "YAY, i got a new RIDGID variable speed (7000-12000) 5 inch random orbital sander with 2 sanding pads (stick on and hook-and-loop)." Quote
Frank Hagan Posted December 26, 2003 Posted December 26, 2003 unisaw? Delta's Unisaw is the Holy Grail to some woodworkers. I think they have 3hp motors, three belts, and are rock solid. For someone doing a lot of production work, or a very serious, semi-pro woodworker they are wonderful. For the rest of us ... well, its a little like putting a dress on a pig! While the pig may feel better, it certainly doesn't look better. Quote
Konrad in Lincoln Posted December 27, 2003 Author Posted December 27, 2003 It's nothing top drawer, it's Ryobi's portable, with the 13 amp motor. But it's all I need, I don't use my table saw but maybe once a month. :wink: But what about those rack and pinion fences on the $500.00-plus table saws? Those things are the cat's ass. Quote
Tom Holder Posted December 27, 2003 Posted December 27, 2003 For the rest of us ... well' date=' its a little like putting a dress on a pig! While the pig may feel better, it certainly doesn't look better.[/quote'] Hmmmmm . . . I've heard stories about California but I would have thought better of you Frank . . . Quote
Frank Hagan Posted December 27, 2003 Posted December 27, 2003 Well, you know ... sometimes pigs want to get dressed up ... Quote
Mike Pennington Posted December 27, 2003 Posted December 27, 2003 Good one Frank! I got an empty wallet, but I bet I am not the only one. But it felt real good, Ol' Santa, spread some cheer and them little critters all got smiles. Happy Hollidays Folks! Mike Quote
Mark Hughes Posted December 27, 2003 Posted December 27, 2003 I know what you mean, Mike. I am a pauper, but my son's excitement at each gift was worth every penny. How did I make out? Well, a bunch of clothes I needed anyway, and about a C-note worth of Big Orange Box gift cards. Now I've been eying that same tablesaw Konrad scored, but I have read mixed reviews... Quote
BobSmalser Posted December 28, 2003 Posted December 28, 2003 Delta's Unisaw is the Holy Grail to some woodworkers... Dave Fleming will likely jump on his errant laddie-buck here, but I've used 10" and 14" Unisaws and Powermatics professionally and semi-professionally for most of my life...the big, honking 3-phase iron. With a good, narrow-kerf blade like a Freud and decent adjustments on a basic contractor's saw, you aren't missing anything... ...unless you are ripping heavy stock all day, every day year in and year out. Look for Freud or Forrest blades on Ebay, true your arbor and fence adjustments occasionally and let your work speak for itself. Much of the noise I hear on the woodworking forums is from folks who still think it's the tool's fault. Quote
capt jake Posted December 28, 2003 Posted December 28, 2003 Heck, for that matter i have been using an 8 1/4" Delta circa 1945 for 20 years. this thing is so true, I love it. I have also used unisaws, and would love to have one, but this little saw, combined with a 10" saw for rough cutting, I can't squak. I found the big brother to it, a 10" Delta circa 50's that I will have soon. Quote
Dave Fleming Posted December 28, 2003 Posted December 28, 2003 Dave Fleming will likely jump on his errant laddie-buck here, but I've used 10" and 14" Unisaws and Powermatics professionally and semi-professionally Nah, Robert me lad, a PM or Unisaw is a fine machine, the older the better. With all the 'bean counters' ruling the roosts of most companies now-a-days I cannot catagorically recommend a new one. If'n I was to recommend a new 10 inch Cabinet Saw to anyone in North America it would have to be the GENERAL of Canada saw. NOT General International, that is the Chiwan type along with a gazillion other clones. Once upon a time woodworking machinery makers used the same types of Cast Iron as did and still do, metal working machinery makers ie: Bridgeport Vertical Milling machines. MEEHANITE is the generic term for a whole family of Cast Iron formulations. Each with its own unique qualities. Delta or Delta/Rockwell always made their own type whilst Powermatic aka PM and General of Canada used Meehanite formulations. The raw castings no matter the maker, would be allowed to 'season' for up to a full calender year sitting outside in the weather looking all rusty and like a big pile of junk. Not so, the weather cycles helped season or relieve the stresses in the raw castings. Then they would be taken inside cleaned off and machined. Today a big oven called a normalizer is used to do this in literally hours. There are other steps in the manufacture that are not done as in the past or done with less attention to detail. And that pilgrims is why I specifiy old arhn over new in most cases. Fortunately the General of Canada line still uses a Meehanite formulation and the company to the best of my knowledge is still family owned with a lot of pride in what they produce. Not the easiest of folks to communicate with...maybe part of their French Canadien heritage but, once you get past that initial reserve, finer folks you would be hard to find. So for stuff up to and including 14 inch Tablesaors, 20 inch Bandsoars, 20 inch planers plus shapers and such I say go for General of Canada. If you really have deep pockets and want new really big ahrn then Northfield is my choice. Always is good to go over a new or used machine with a DI, Precision Straightedge, feeler gauges jes' to check everything out. Feel for burrs on the arbor flange, check the interior surface of the pulley/s, check the table top for flatness, are the belts in good condition and if used how is the wear pattern on them? Any nicks or tears? Be picky afterall it is your hard earned money we are talking about here. Folla? Quote
ken connors Posted December 28, 2003 Posted December 28, 2003 im just a little curious, Frank (and a little worried). do some pigs look prettier than others to you? :shock: :wink: Quote
Mark Gudschinsky Posted December 28, 2003 Posted December 28, 2003 Hey Konrad, I got the same saw. It looks just right for our light duty weekend warrior type of use. It's actually quite amazing what under a hundred dollar will buy these days. There are better tools out there, but for most of our budgets and space, a guy can get well equipped at a Home Depot or Sears for a handfull of hundreds. Quote
Frank Hagan Posted December 28, 2003 Posted December 28, 2003 Have a buddy with one of the Ryobi portables and he loves it. He's not doing a lot of "professional grade" work, but then most of us aren't. I'm a big fan of well made tools, and I'd love to have a cabinet saw, but I just can't justify the expense for the amount (and quality) of work I do. I have a Jet contractor's saw, and I have to say I don't think I would be doing any better work if I had the most expensive cabinet saw in the world. The standard fence on a Jet is a pretty good fence, and I haven't seen the need to get a better one. One thing I would like to do is build a blade guard similar to the Excaliber (and you can build one for far less than the $400 they want for it.) Quote
Mike Pennington Posted December 28, 2003 Posted December 28, 2003 I think the middle of the road is the way to go. Sometimes the most expensive tools for light duty needs just are not justifiable to the Boss of the house. But the dirt cheap ones can disintigrate the first time I start it. Never the less, and my point for this post, I started my Vacationer with minimal tools. A srew driver, a hammer and not much else. I skimped and bought a cheep skill saw for ripping stringers right away, after all, Mr Stevenson could sure make the job look easy. But what I found was the quality of work I was putting out was not to my satisfaction. I re-thought my, "get by as cheep as possible phillosophy and started buying some more tools." A table saw will make your adventure at boat building much easier and a lot more fun. I also think a power sander is better than a block of wood, no mater how many kids you got. So my thought for the day is that you might as well buy it now. Why suffer? Mike Quote
Greg Luckett Posted December 28, 2003 Posted December 28, 2003 im just a little curious' date=' Frank (and a little worried). do some pigs look prettier than others to you? :shock: :wink:[/quote'] Poor Frank. One errant comment and look where it has taken him. Quote
Greg Luckett Posted December 28, 2003 Posted December 28, 2003 I have an old Craftsman contractor saw built in the 60s, which I bought used around 7 years ago. The thing that bothered me the most was the old fence system and ripping. I also replaced the anti-kick back with a European style fence stand off. Those stock anti-kick back things don't work worth crap, IMHO. I have wanted to replace it with a new saw but never could scrape up the extra cash. It has been and still is a good saw, which I tune up once or twice a year, but the fence system sucked. I replaced it with a new fence this month and added a router table extension and now I am happy! Bottom line is that the table saw now has a new lease on life and I am pleased to not be spending a bundle on a new saw. The bearings and motor are easy to replace as needed over time. Quote
MikeStevenson Posted December 28, 2003 Posted December 28, 2003 Mr. Smalser's note about good Freud blades sure resonated with me. In all the boats we did over the years, we never had a table saw. Peter's father-in-law had a ratty one which was used a little bit int he very first toy book, but after that I know Peter decided to just use the circular saw or little jigsaw for stuff. I had some kitchen cabinet stuff to modify, so I got a portable Bosch t-saw (looks to be made by Skil maybe...) It had a nice Bosch combo blade, but I sprung for a deal on Amazon for three Freud blades: a combo, a ripper, and an 80 tooth crosscut. All are amazingly good (to be honest, I haven't tried the 80-tooth one because the combo blade is so smooth already I haven't felt the need.) They were noticably better than the already pretty good Bosch blade. The Bosch saw is good, but still a plastic-and-metal portable (which is just what I need); The blades seem to be the key component. When we used the cirular saws for everything, and a fair amount of building was going on, we used a lot of 7-1/4" blades. They began to get all trendy and wierd in the 1980's, with strange names with psuedo-machismo like Lazer or Raptor or somesuch (they're just sawblades Quote
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