advice for best table saw £500-£700 for small garage worksho

[fanta0575]

Hi all, looking for best advice on purchase of new table saw, heard good reviews for bosch gts 10xc table saw, are there any similar or better recommendations, portability is a key consideration

 

[adidat]

What sort of things are you trying to do? A modern track saw can't be beaten for cutting up sheet goods in a limited space! They have other uses as well ripping timber etc

Adidat

 

[fanta0575]

ideally looking for a table saw so that I can use jig such as cross cut sled etc

 

[Mrs C]

Add another vote for a track saw plus an MFT style top and dogs to get things square. I dont have room for a table saw, and havent come across anything that It hasnt been able to do that a table saw would. The whole lot will come in under your £500

 

[graduate_owner]

If you go for a table saw, bear in mind the physical size it will take up in your garage. I have a Sceppach TS 250 and with the sliding table and side extension it is 8 feet wide.

K

 

[fanta0575]

just hope the bosch fits into the hybrid range that has the best of both worlds with regards to cabinet and jobsite applications and does not take up too much workspace!

 

[deema]

Have you looked at a Startrite TA275? Either add a mobile base and make it part of your bench by plonking it at the end with the bench acting as an outfeed table. The sliding table and extension arms make it a really versatile saw.

 

[Ttrees]

I have a 275 and its light enough....depending what you want to do with it you can disassemble it and the base is a biscuit tin and can fit in a hatchback
I'm making a mobile base for it at the moment ..but made it large to accommodate other things like storage drawer and overall sturdiness from rocking Also I made use of the all the length I had ...without a base sitting on an uneven floor you can rock it with a finger ...
Don't be put off by three phase as you can power these saws with a less than 100 quid inverter ..Plus these saws have a slot each side of the blade for crosscut sled .

 

[meccarroll]

Have you looked at this:

https://www.campbellmillertools.co....=27376344710&gclid=COqb-vzC79ECFem_7QodmmsEIw

It all depends upon what you want to do. I quite like Dewalt Flip saws but they will come in a bit more than £500.

Mark

 

[Steve Maskery]

I think we would all like to know what sort of work you would like to do.

Don't get me wrong, I love my TS and use it as much as any machine in the shop.

But.

It does only one job. It makes straight cuts in modest-size pieces of wood. It's not good for MDF unless that has already be cut down, it won't cut curves and it has depth of cut limited to 3", 2.5" if I am using my crosscut sled.

And it takes up quite a lot of room.

Tablesaws have a sort of Norm-romance about them, and I wouldn't like to be without mine, but if I were starting now, and particularly if I didn't have a lot of space, it would not be at the top of my list, not by a long shot.

The suggestion of a tracksaw for sheet goods is an excellent one. And although I've not used an MFT, it seems to me that that is exactly the right way to make square cuts.

Tracksaws are not great at ripping, though. There is the width and support issue, as well as having to change the blade from a CC blade to a rip blade and the effect that has on the rubber edging strip. But a bandsaw is excellent at ripping. And cutting curves. And (to the extent limited by the diameter of the wheels) it can even crosscut. And cut tenons. And cut dovetails. And...

And I think you could probably squeeze both out of your budget.

Please tell us more about what you want to achieve with it.

 

[meccarroll]

I think we would all like to know what sort of work you would like to do.

Don't get me wrong, I love my TS and use it as much as any machine in the shop.

But..............

.................... It's not good for MDF unless that has already be cut down

Steve maybe you should expand on this and explain why, because people might think it's not the right machine for ripping composite materials, period.

Mark

 

[Steve Maskery]

Yes OK, fair enough.

I'm not suggesting that a TS does not cut sheet materials properly. With the right blade it produces excellent results, of course.

But sheets come in 8'x4' sizes, and passing that over a TS, especially a portable one of a modest size, is not a good idea. Certainly not single-handedly. It's simply too unwieldy. One slip and the whole thing falls over. I don't want to be there when that happens.

If you are cutting a piece of board that is comparable to the size of the saw's table, then no problem. But for that, you have to have cut down the original 8x4 already, for which a track saw (oh, that's a TS as well, isn't it?), is a much better option. With a setting gauge it is quite easy to make repeated and identical cuts, as accurately as a TS.

 

[dickm]

Not sure it's the size of the actual table saw that is limiting in a garage or similar. For me the big problem is the area needed for the workpiece to move over the saw, which can be several times that of the machine's footprint.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Another good point, ****.

 

[Bodgers]

Hi all, looking for best advice on purchase of new table saw, heard good reviews for bosch gts 10xc table saw, are there any similar or better recommendations, portability is a key consideration

On this info, and for this price bracket, I don't think there are any better site saws.

If it is workshop based, and portability wasn't key, you'd want to be looking at something with a cast iron top and an induction motor.

 

[eezageeza]

I have the Bosch table saw (the model before the current one) and cannot fault it. Accuracy is spot on; DX is average I guess (most of the dust goes through the port, but a fair amount gets into the atmosphere).

I have it on the Bosch wheeled stand; it sits in the corner until its needed, and then gets wheeled into the workspace. I've never moved it beyond my garage, or had to fold the stand, but imagine it would function well if you wanted it as a site saw.

 

[fanta0575]

I can manage 8x4 sheets with regards to space requirement and will rip them down with a circular saw to more manageable sizes, I want the table saw as I can then produce more detailed work to a higher standard, including rebates and utilising crosscut jigs, just need heads up advice as the whether the afore mentioned bosch table saw would produce good results, i prefer this portable option to a cabinet saw as it would leave a smaller footprint in the garage!

 

[Ttrees]

I'd doubt it would be much smaller ...especially if your planning to use it often, not putting it in a corner.
You would need an outfeed table anyway....
Is noise not a factor ? ...
I suggest you have a listen to a saw like that ,which I'm guessing has a universal motor ...
and not an induction motor .
I couldn't listen to a screaming motor in my shop ...I'd find it distracting
I recon, I'd find the table too small too.
Don't be scared bout three phase ...if it says 240v on the name plate ,your good to go.
Just after buying a Huanyang VFD myself which is coming in the post ....
Think it cost £105 ...and a few switches for about a tenner ...
I want to have hands free shutoff so I'm making up a design for it .

I cant even go into my shop at the moment due to allergies, so will have to wait till respirator and suit comes in post aswell.
Will be doing a WIP soon ..but this will be a long winded approach including mobile base and attachments etc
I would not be looking to spend that much on a saw, that the first time you use it you would realise that all those shiny well advertised gimmicks are pointless or made from biscuit tins

 

[Bodgers]

Agreed with the above. If it's only ever getting used in your garage, I'd be looking at something with an induction motor.

Foot print of a TS200 is probably smaller than Bosch anyway.


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