Advice needed for Table Saw

[System3 Plumbing]

Hi, I'm a newbie here and in fact I'm actually a plumber or bathroom fitter to be exact! I make bespoke bathroom furniture, nothing fancy but better than the quality of the commercially made stuff. I've got a small workshop mainly for plumbing but I've got a router, Ryobi table saw and a few other woodworking tools all of which are mostly for worktops and vanity cabinets, shelves etc. I expect that you probably get asked this a lot, but as I've trauled through 100's of reviews of table saws, I'm stumped and decided to ask the experts as to the best one for my needs.
The one I did like appears to not be on sale in the UK? It's the Bosch 4100 with digital readout and gravity table. I was recommended by a builder pal the Woodstar ST12 and Dewalt DW745. My Ryobi has been ok'ish up to now, but the accuracy isn't great for (hopefully) improving on the next stage and producing better quality and more elaborate bathroom furniture.
I've got a budget up to about £800 tops but would prefer something cheaper if possible and semi portable, but accuracy and reliability are the most important features. Your advice as to the best one would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
C

 

[devonwoody]

Welcome to the forum.

I had a Triton 2000 Workcentre for 5 years and it never let me down, it is definitely portable. To me the only drawback I found was the blade did not have any facility to tilt. A second hand one would still be a good investment.

 

[System3 Plumbing]

Thanks. I do need the blade to tilt and the saw be able to cut mitres too and preferably 70mm minimum thickness cut in wood. Are Bosch saws any good or the Woodstar ST12 one from Screwfix?

 

[mack9110000]

Have you had a look at the flipover saws by Makita & Dewalt.Both can be picked up for less than £800 and as they are both contractors saws are easily portable.
HTH
mack

 

[jasonB]

Have you had a look at the flipover saws by Makita & Dewalt.Both can be picked up for less than £800 and as they are both contractors saws are easily portable.
HTH
mack

The DW (Elu) flip over is quite heavy and the table size limited, can't remember the last time I bothered to take mine on a job, if you add the extensions it becomes costly.

I have read of several people having problems with the Woodstar stuff like handles breaking.

Personally I would go with something less portable but more accurate and make up the units off site, any final adjustment can be done with a decent circ saw and or router. I do quite a bit of the same sort of thing and thats what works for me.

J

 

[System3 Plumbing]

Thanks everyone. Jason what would you reccommend as something accurate, reasonably priced for in my workshop? Are Metabo any good or is Bosch a good buy (as I've read reviews) or Axminster. So much choice but I don't want to spend money on something that I'll need to upgrade again in the near future so I hopefully want to get the right one. Accuracy is important and reliabilty along with a decent table soze/extensions when required for larger sheets. I'm a plumber, so please bear with me! LOL

 

[jasonB]

Well if you could get away with 60mm max cut then I would say go with a kity 419 with side tabel and sliding table, not a truely portable saw but you could unbolt the legs and get in in a van easy enough.

I have a Kity Bestcombi 2000 which uses the same saw parts, have a look at the following albumsto see what can be done on it. here, here and here

Axminster do a very similar saw teh TS 200 which quite a few members have. I've only got a couple of Metabo sanders so can't comment on their saws but if they are as good as the sanders you should be OK.

 

[danielddr]

Hi,

I have the UK equivalent of the Bosch 4100, here it's referred to as the GTS10 and comes with a few less accessories than the US model. That said, the saw works very well and is extremely accurate straight out of the box. It also appears to have more than enough power for everything I've faced it with; including some pretty sizeable chunks of oak.

I don't have the wheeled stand for my saw, instead I rely on Bosch's cheaper fixed stand. In this configuration the saw is 'movable' and I guess the wheeled stand would only make that easier. However it's still a big bit of kit to shift on a regular basis; if portability is a real concern I'd look elsewhere, although I personally don't consider a table saw as a mobile bit of equipment. One thing I have heard is that the wheeled stand for the saw isn't height adjustable, so it may be worth your while trying one out to ensure that the table is in a position that you can use comfortably and safely.

Cheers,


Daniel

 

[System3 Plumbing]

Thanks Jason, very impressed by your work and the Kity looks ideal. Thanks also Daniel, I'm also impressed by the Bosch and it's had great reviews. I'll compare like for like and hopefully come to a decision.

Thanks for your advice.
Colin

 

[mike/builder landscaper]

i had the same dilema as you and after a lot of research and questions to the guys on here i bought the makita mtl100 from axminster for £380. it is excellent. i like the fact it has wheels on it and it can be moved out of the workshop into the garden, keeping the dust down in the shop and freeing up space while you are working. also the hieght of the table moves up or down so it con be stored underneath your workbench. check out axminsters website.

 

[woodbloke]

I reviewed the GTS-10 recently for F&C and I found it to be a cracking little saw straight out the box. The worst thing about it was the brush motor which made a hell of a racket, but apart from that I found it difficult to fault...highly accurate as well, but the stand isn't height adjustable and it's a little too high - Rob

 

[System3 Plumbing]

Thanks, I'm favouring the Bosch at the moment and several dealers are doing a deal on it at the moment.

 

[flounder]

The makita 1704 should also be on your shortlist. A great saw with height adjustable stand!

 

[Tusses]

What exactly do you mean by 'accuracy' ?

what problems are you having at the moment ?

 

[System3 Plumbing]

What exactly do you mean by 'accuracy' ?

what problems are you having at the moment ?

The Ryobi's fence isn't good and the mitre guide is terrible. I have to keep the fence aligned with clamps which is time consuming and not what I want and it often struggles with anything more substantial than mdf and soft woods, but it's given me good service for the £150 I paid for it. It's ok for light use and DIY. I want something more professional, with an accurate fence, good power and reliable. The Bosch seems to fit my criteria so far. I'm going to have it for a long time so this purchase has to be a good one.

 

[dance]

Isn't the Jet 315 Site saw supposed to be a fantastic little saw? Accurate and well made?

 

[System3 Plumbing]

Isn't the Jet 315 Site saw supposed to be a fantastic little saw? Accurate and well made?

Thanks, It looks almost identical to the woodstar ST12 which is on my short list. Badge engineered maybe?