Looking for a decent table saw?

[Dalejones]

Ok I'm looking for a well recommended table saw it has to be very strong and ideally have a cast iron bed, my budget is £700 what do you recommend? Thanks

 

[Dalejones]

I am really considering a Dewalt Dw745 Anyone recommend this machine?

 

[dzj]

Why are you looking to buy a jobsite saw?
Do you need a portable unit for your work, or do you have limited space in your shop?
I think this model doesn't have an induction motor, so it's pretty loud.

 

[Dalejones]

It's for my garage which is 10metres from my house, a quieter machine would be ideal really, what's everyone using?

 

[wallace]

For that money you could get something decent like a startrite, sagar or wadkin

 

[Lons]

I've got a SIP 01332 with cast iron tables, as have a number of other members and there are several similar clone machines with different badges, you would get one of those s/h well within your budget or if lucky an even better machine as Wallace suggested.

 

[david123]

A lot depends on what you require of a saw, it goes without saying that induction saws are the way to go for quietness in running, but of course a lot of the noise is in the cutting of the wood, so good quality blades are essential. What type of woodwork do you intend doing? That will help advise on, depth of cut power etc.

 

[mahomo59]

I have the dewalt with the rolling stand, very good saw and accurate. I cannot fault it other than the noise, can't bring myself to sell it so I keep it for site installs.
When I got a bigger space I bought a second hand Startrite TA275, once I sorted out the dust extraction it's proved to be a great saw. Very solid piece of kit.
Folk on this and other forums, will always ask... "What will you be using it for?"

 

[shed9]

but of course a lot of the noise is in the cutting of the wood, so good quality blades are essential

^ this

A good blade is quite key and should be as much a factor in selecting your saw IMO. Also remember to account for extraction noise if it's in use.

 

[heimlaga]

I am with Wallace.

For that kind of money you can get either a very good secondhand saw or a rather small and not very well made new saw. I would prefere a secondhand saw of good quality because such a saw will last you a lifetime and maybe your gradkid's lifetime after that and you aren't likely to ever need an upgrade.
However if you have very tight time contraints a new saw would be more suitable for you but then you will most likely need to upgrade in the future and your low grade table saw will be almost worthless on the secondhand market so all money you spend on it will be wasted in the long term.

 

[user 19915]

Dale i have sent you a pm

 

[RogerP]

I am with Wallace.
For that kind of money you can get either a very good secondhand saw ...........

...but where? I just combed eBay and gumtree for something of a decent make under 500 quid and all I found was was a Startrite in terrible condition. Every other desirable saw was much, much dearer.

Maybe with plenty of patience, time and luck something may turn up ............


ps I did see some rather nice fret/scroll saws at affordable prices.

 

[wills-mill]

I am with Wallace.
For that kind of money you can get either a very good secondhand saw ...........

...but where? I just combed eBay and gumtree for something of a decent make under 500 quid and all I found was was a Startrite in terrible condition. Every other desirable saw was much, much dearer.

Maybe with plenty of patience, time and luck something may turn up ............


ps I did see some rather nice fret/scroll saws at affordable prices.

The wonder of ebay is that most of what you generally see is 'optimistically' priced machines that have been doing the rounds for months without selling. If you glance at ebay it seems that £1200 (or whatever) is a reasnable price, but in reality, anything that sells by auction is significantly cheaper.
Sometimes it's worth looking into the 'advanced search' page and clicking on 'completed listings' which will show you unsold items (in red) and items that have sold (in green).

I bought a complete Startrite TA225 for £550 through ebay (it was a local machine up for bids, but I gave them a ring early on and went along to have a look and make an offer). It needed a clean up, decent blade and new belt, but it's a lovely saw.

 

[mahomo59]

My Ta275 £1000 fully refurbished with new 240v 16amp motor. All the hard work done, but I paid for it. Would I do it again...yes. Useable straight away.

 

[wallace]

I know its frowned upon putting current ebay listings on a post but heres a cracking little saw. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Startrite-TA2 ... Sw1S9WgAWB. Nearly all the Wadkin stuff is dealers trying to get lucky. Not that there not worth the money there asking but theres so much good stuff out there if you wait stuff will turn up in the new year. I paid £350 on my wadkin pk, I was lucky because it was listed as spares or repairs. A bit of spit and polish and I don't think anything new under £20K would come close to its quality. If you wanted something like an old wadkin I could ask around.

 

[Ian B]

Another vote for what Wallace says. There's another Startrite saw on Ebay, buy it now of 300 quid, for a 12". The motor's a 2.2Kw, not a 22Kw! It's 3 phase, which might be a problem for you (I live in the Netherlands, all houses have 3 phase supplies).

I bought one very much like this, similar condition, same price. I refurbished it, and I love it. Don't worry about a bit of rust on the table - a scraper followed by emery paper soon dispatches this. Although it wasn't strictly necessary, I retrofitted a 3Kw motor, upped the spindle speed to 4K rpm, replaced the bearings, machined up a new spindle to take 30mm bore blades and did a few other mods. The saw itself is of very good quality, especially the tilting mechanism. Really nice.

And yes, get a good quality blade - I have a 12" Freud on mine, it works really well.

Ian

 

[custard]

I live in the Netherlands, all houses have 3 phase supplies

Paradise

 

[heimlaga]

In Finland and Sweden we also have three phase 400 volt everytwhere.....except for a very few town houses.