I'm looking for a small footprint saw with accurate cuts, for hobby work, guitar laminate necks, picture frames, boxes etc. I can't fit a cast iron table in my shop, but I can fit an ally-topped one on my bench (I don't think they do an iron one for benchtops?).
I'd love a Festool TKS80 or a Sawstop JSS, but they are either unavailable in the UK or simply crazy money (all things considered). Yes, I value my fingers, but £2600 with fence/guide/table is 4 times the competition and way more than I can afford, so they are taking the water and holding safety to ransom (the extra hardware is surely around £50, it makes me angry to think how many people have suffered for their greed).
Aaaanyway. My budget was £500-700, but the more I look at it, the more it seems I'm looking around the £800 mark. If it will do a good, accurate job for a long time, that's fine. I need a good mitre/slider and fence with some out-tray supports (I won't do many big sheets, but that's great if it supports it).
I've been leaning towards Makita because they seem to do accurate cuts and can be adjusted to be more accurate than most others. The MTN100 seems a bit flakey, but the 2704 looks like it can do a good job. I love the sliding mitre tray on the MTN, but it's had so-so reviews and I've been doing a lot of work to correct my previous mistakes cause by tools being 'slightly out' and, frankly, f**k that.
I'd appreciate it if anyone has been in a similar position and can offer some insight or alternatives to consider? I'm finding it hard to be sure that there isn't a newer version of some brands out there. e.g. the Makita 2705? Seems discontinued... what's going on with the model numbers?
I've looked at the Dewalt 7492 , Skil SPT99-11, Bosch CRJ10(?). But the Makita 2704 seems to edge the Dewalt 7492 as my current 2nd place option, but they are very close. I'm happy to reconsider if someone is familiar with both.
TLDR;
1. Is there an affordable option to get SawStop technology in the UK? i.e. imports or something. The Festool TKS80 doesn't come with a fence and the minimum cost is £1800 with one (it has other shortcomings, like non-standardisation but is excellent otherwise).
2. What's your opinion on the latest/best option from the Makita and Dewalt brands in the sub-£1000 bench/jobsite/contractor table saw?
