Table saw blade size.

[spadge]

Hi,

Not sure how relevant the accuracy argument is because if you only need (or only have room) for a 10" table saw then you will be able to buy one that is accurate enough (and there are loads of threads on which is the best table saw).
So it seems to me the question you should ask yourself is whether or not you will regularly need to rip 4" timber (which a 12 saw will do) or will a 3" depth of cut do (which a 10" saw will do).
I am a hobbiest with a small celar workshop and I can make anything I want with an 8" table saw, an 8" depth of cut bandsaw and a 10" planer thicknesser. Have to work round things sometimes, like cutting 4" square legs slightly oversize with the bandsaw then running them through the planner thicknesser to square them up, but it's a hobby and I don't need the speed required in a professional shop.

Just my 2 p's worth.

 

[ProShop]

Gary,

IMHO if you have the chance to buy a 12" saw and have the room then get it.

There'll always be a time now & then in the future when you'll be glad you did.

As for accuracy then that is dependent on the machine and the quality of the blade being used, not the size.

 

[engineer one]

gary mate, i do wonder about this and your thought process.

i have a dewalt 744, which is now on a moveable base, because in my restricted space it takes up a lot of space.

i wonder whether there is anything to re-consider, and that it might be more sensible to re-consider a circular saw and rail might be more effective use of space and allow you to have a decent assembly table.

we often forget that the table saw is not used as often as we would like to believe. i understand your feelings about your leg, but you actually would put a lot of pressure on it with the table saw. with acirc and rail, on a lower dismantleable sawing table, might actually be less stressful, whilst giving you and your good lady more room in the workshop.

since you expect to move relatively soon, i would consider doing a pros and cons list, and get used to a saw and rail before jumping into the morass that is table saws. i think a 10x16 shop could well be big enough for a table saw, but maybe a job study would give you a better view on your needs.

hope that helps

paul :wink:

 

[engineer one]

couple more thoughts gary, if you are cutting sheet materials, then you need to allow for the room around the saw to pass it over the table saw.
which is why many say use a saw and rail which is contained within the length of the board.

if you are only using "real" wood, then obviously the space requirements are different, but you still need the outfeed length, unless you cross cut before ripping, but then you need the width there, so it is an interesting
thing to consider.

as i said ealier, do what the heath and safety suggest, and do a job assessment to decide what you are intending to do, and what it needs,then you can more carefully look at the table saw, or an alternative.

have you considered a band saw and a saw and rail, as you are aware many suggest a band saw as the first one to buy, because of its ability to resaw more easily.?

hth

paul :wink:

 

[ike]

I use a 12" contractor saw (Scheppach TS315) in the shop. It does the job just fine, and as Scrit says, it pretty much all goes through the jointer/thicknesser afterwards anyway, so slight inaccuracy on the saw is not an big issue IMO.

My problem is not the power, depth of cut or accuracy, just a limited table size and fence movement.

Ike

 

[garywayne]

Thanks guys.
A lot of food for thought.

Paul.
When you say, "saw and rail", do you mean a circular saw and cutting board, or a Festool setup?

 

[Colin C]

Also so This or This

Paul has the mafell and I ( plus a few others ) have the EZ, I dont have a table saw in my workshop but have a bandsaw.

I am self employed and I am happy with what I have

 

[engineer one]

gary having been moaned at elsewhere for promoting one thing or another, i would not promote either :^o

however i would go with a decent circular saw and a guide rail.
whether festo, mafell, or the ez unit, at least to start. whilst a board and saw is not a bad way to go, the accuracy is more suspect over the long haul, so an integrated type system makes more sense.

i take the view that it is important to discover what you are actually going to do, rather than what you might like to do. better to be spending money on wood than too many tools that do more than you need :twisted: :roll:

given your physical and possible location situation, i would look at making things in the simplest way, then if the work you do warrents it move toward a table saw when you move. you can get mdf and plywood cut to reasonable sizes in sheds like b&q, and other wood is actually maybe easier to deal with the the guide and rail.

hope this makes it even more difficult :lol: :lol:

all the best mate

paul :wink:

 

[Shivers]

i take the view that it is important to discover what you are actually going to do, rather than what you might like to do.

probably the best statement on the thread---------it takes years to realise this kind of experience.


regards

shivers.

 

[garywayne]

Thanks Paul. What you say makes sense.

Colin. Thank you for those links. Very interesting.

Anyone know of a good circular saw to go with the EZ system.

 

[Colin C]

Gary

What are you looking to spend as they are lot of saws to use, I dont think there is not any that will not go with it.

What I think will be a bit different is some of the features you will get on some saws e.g. in the US a lot more people are getting one of the Hili saws but it would seem that the US have a better line up of basic saws .

They can get they's with brakes for a round $150 but not many over here.

This is the saw I use and I am very happy with it but some on a budget have some thing like this one and still get a good cut.

What you do need to look for is a 7 1/4 - 7 1/2 bladed saw so you can cut through doubled up mdf, if you want to that is or a smaller saw but I think that would limit what you can cut.

Rant over

I hope this helps

Ps I have a 7 1/2 blade in my saw which is fine, plus I get a good cut with cheaper blades ( 40 tooth)

 

[Shivers]

One of these type of machine sare nice---there are cheaper versions out there,& they can take a skill saw or a router setup

regards

shivers.[/img]

 

[Shivers]

One of these type of machine sare nice---there are cheaper versions out there,& they can take a skill saw or a router setup

regards

shivers.


http://www.sawtrax.com

 

[woodbloke]

Who is this Norm guy :roll: .... am I missing something here? I use a Kity419 (very good and accurate little saw), complete with sliding table which has 200mm (8") blade giving me a depth of cut of about 65mm which is adequate for most of my needs. When I bought the saw some years ago from Axminster there wasn't really anything else comparable in the price range... they sold an Electra Bekum model which I thought flimsy in comparison. In my view it doesn't really matter much wether the blade is 200, 250, 300mm etc. What does matter is that it is a good quality blade, with the right number of teeth for the particular job in hand, that there is no resin build up on it and that it is set up dead square to the table - Rob