"Budget" Table Saw recommendation

[Sideways]

Small shop, regular use, get something small but quiet. Brushless motor or ac induction. Not some cheap tat with a brushed motor. You can do useful work with 1kW of power.
Cast tabletop, alloy is ok and lighter to move. An accurate, stiff repeatable fence is the thing to look for.

 

[tony359]

Thank you - noise is not a concern as I’m not using it very often and I’m happy to wear ear defenders when using it.
Totally understand the importance of the fence but for my needs - correct me if I’m mistaken- the mitre tool is also important and I’ve read bad things on the 745’s - maybe fixable with some tape but still disappointing to hear.

Are there other budget - but good - tables that are usually recommended by this community?

thanks for all the hints so far!

 

[Terrytpot]

I thought the Charnwood W616 would be a significant step up. It wasn't.

Being quite local to Coalville myself I also thought the W618 I picked up from Charnwood as an ex display model would also be a huge improvement and the solution to all my table saw woes..unfortunately that too was not the case. My biggest issue being the saw trunions attach directly onto the underside of the table and not the cabinet so squaring up the saw blade to the mitre slots is next to impossible rendering anything thats easily done using mitre slots a constant source of errors. I eventually unbolted all the attachments and built it into a huge table (far too big but thats another story itself) with the intention of building a false top over the table so I could have mitre slots parallel to the blade (oh, and also a decent T square bissemeyer type fence) but that would obviously affect the depth of cut but I never quite got round to finishing the project as there were so many easier ways to get by without the use of the saw. Theres a lot you can do with a handheld cordless circular saw and a straight edge. These days youtube is a wonderful source of inspiration for me , not just in finding a new way to cut finger joints but anything of a build it yourself way to make something so much easier.

 

[boschboy]

you will need ear defenders for the dewalt 745 as

 

[sunnybob]

factory supplied mitre fences are great paper weights and door stops. Nothing else. Even the dewalt (which has the most amazingly brilliant fence) is the same. I have a box full of them under the bench.

I bought a UJK pro mitre fence (from a member here) and its extremely good and I use it on the bandsaw and table saw. and also router table.

 

[MusicMan]

I started with an Evolution table saw and an Evolution sliding mitre. The latter I still have. It works fine, with care you can set it up to be accurate enough. Like others, I finish all cuts for anything that needs high accuracy or good finish with a shooting board anyway. It is very convenient to be able to cut wood reasonably accurately to length in a few seconds. I know I could get a better one but it is good enough, as long as I change the blade now and then.

The Evolution table saw OTOH is long gone. It is good value for not a lot of money and does work quite well (especially, as mentioned, the fence). It is very noisy. I agree that the plasticky angular settings are not very good. So that was replaced by an old Wadkin (AGS10) which with a very little work (mainly new blades) is wonderful. I use a 415V inverter from Direct Drives for the three phase, which includes soft start and software stop in 8 seconds. Quiet, and soooo accurate. I don't have a planer (yet, though one is due next month) and it is accurate enough to make a 90 degree cut on a piece of timber then use the cut face as the bottom surface in the lunchbox thicknesser. It licks the pants off the Evolution in accuracy, speed, power, convenience and low noise. But it does need space. I had room for a 12' x 6' extra shed, which this sits in, so it is set up for long ripping, up to 8' when the door is open. A router table sits in the corner and also acts as the outfield table. There is also a lathe and a small Inca bandsaw, a disc sander and a bobbin sander. Crowded and certainly no room for a bench, but yes, this is the dusty shed with the best dual-motor Camvac. Obviously I can't do wide crosscuts, but I don't work with sheet material unless I get it cut at the dealer.

Agree with MikeG that you don't have nearly enough room for a table saw like the Wadkin or Charnwood in your half garage unless it was almost the only tool in there. In those circs I'd go for the Dewalt, as SunnyBob suggests, which seems the best of the "site saw" types.

I have just got a small Inca 7" table saw and am setting it up. I admit this is an indulgence, as I like Inca tools so much, but I am setting it up and collecting the accessories to focus it on small, precise jobs such as tenon and mitre cutting. They do appear from time to time on auction sites. This would be an option for a small workshop and can be portable - only 9 kg plus another 9 for the motor. But you can't just buy one when you want.

 

[tony359]

I've found a local good deal for a DeWalt 745 - came with a Makita VC2012L dust collection hoover, a not-so-good-but-good-enough table for the saw and all the pipes and adaptors to plug the 745 and another tool to the Makita. Also, a cyclonic bucket to get most of the dust. Price was right so I got it.

Now I'll slowly start familiarising with the tool. As mentioned very often I will fight the urge to plug it and cut stuff straight away

Cheers for all the suggestions!

 

[marcros]

I have just got a small Inca 7" table saw and am setting it up. I admit this is an indulgence, as I like Inca tools so much, but I am setting it up and collecting the accessories to focus it on small, precise jobs such as tenon and mitre cutting. They do appear from time to time on auction sites. This would be an option for a small workshop and can be portable - only 9 kg plus another 9 for the motor. But you can't just buy one when you want.

purely thinking out loud here, but I wonder whether it would be possible to use a similar model as a base and somehow power it with a lithium ion battery. it would be a handy portable tool.

 

[MusicMan]

It would be light enough. It is only 9 kg without the motor. But the recommended power is 3/4 - 1 HP, with eventual arbor speed of 4000 rpm, which is demanding for the usual portable-tool batteries. Not for an electric car of course!