Advice for buying a table saw

[NickJ]

Hi guys,

I'm not much of a wood worker, but I am about to fit an oak floor, skirting boards and door frames in my house.

To help with this project I'm looking to buy a reasonable table saw for cutting boards and mitering skirting boards and door frames with some accuracy.

I have a budget of around the £200 mark and had been considering three saws:

The Woodstar ST10 from machinemart

The Ryobi ETS-1526AL

The Ryobi ETS-1525C

Any thoughts or advice on these products or alternatives around my price range would be really appreciated.

Thanks loads,

NickJ

 

[RogerS]

Hi Nick and welcome to the forum.

I bought the Ryobi 1525 for precisely the same reason as you and it worked well for me. It's not super super accurate but for flooring etc it's very good. Sadly I sold it as I upgraded to a large Dewalt but now wish that I hadn't as I needed a good site saw on my renovation project. It would have been ideal. So I ended up buying a cheapie SIP which is very mediocre compared to the Ryobi.

You might also like to think about getting a good crosscut saw for making sure that the ends are cut bang on 90 degrees.

Roger

 

[jasonB]

For the type of work you describe a chop/mitre saw would be a better tool. A table saw in that price range will only be of use for cutting the floorboards lengthways which will probably only be the last board in the floor. This could be done with a circular saw, jigsaw or handsaw.

A mitre saw will cut your floorboards to length, mitre architraves and skirtings and if you get one with trenching facility then you can cut housing joints for door frames (not usually mitred)

And welcome to the forum.

JAson

 

[NickJ]

Thanks for the advice guys.

JasonB: would something like the Ryobi EMS2026SCC Mitre Saw 10" be the sort of thing you're talking about?

I have to admit the table saw appeals for it's long-term versatility, but I'm also after the right tool to do the best job I can with this flooring.

Thanks again,

NickJ

 

[jasonB]

That should do the job, just make sure it has the ability to lock the blade height for trenching cuts, can see it in screwfixs details.

Jason

 

[NickJ]

Thanks again for the advice.

One final question:

If I did want to buy table saw capable of doing the job (bearing in mind the skirting and arkitrave will also be oak, so no filling or painting over gaps) how much would I be looking at spending?

Cheers,

NickJ

 

[jasonB]

What you will have to think about is how to accuratly and safely pass say a 12ft length of oak skirting over the saw while keeping it flat and at right angles to the blade which will be tilted at 45deg. The standard mitre guide that runs in a slot on the table will not be upto this so you will need a saw with a sliding carrage that can support at least 1/3 the length of the skirting. even then the overhanging weight can be enough to tip a small table saw over.

Jason

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Nick

Welcome to the forum.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[NickJ]

Thanks again for the advice.

I think, given my intention to do the best job I can I will go for a mitre saw.

So - some more questions:

1/ I've seen an offer on the SIP website for a mitre saw (SIP01502) and stand for £180. Is this a good saw, and is it a good offer.

2/ Are there any there recommendations for a mitre saw at around the £150-£200 mark.

Cheers,

NickJ

 

[jonny boy]

Nick, no problem getting a cheaper mitre saw but it is worth getting a decent good quality blade for it, especially for cutting oak. The best thing I can suggest is, for £200 you could probably get a fairly new Makita Ls 1013 off ebay which would give more accurate cuts and outlast many cheaper models. Good luck with it.

jon.