Thinking of getting a Makita 2704... Or is there better for the money?

[Chipmonk]

Where about in England are you? I’m in Cheshire so if you’re anywhere near I’m more than happy for you to come and have a go of my Dewalt table saw

Cheers mate! I'm in Boro (NW), so a bit of a trek. Appreciate the offer, though! I'm fairly sold on the Dewalt, despite being a bit of Makita fanboy for the battery compatibility (dammit, just wish they'd standardise that crap). If they had one in stock, it'd be on the way already. I won't buy one for twice the price, though. Unhappy to wait.

 

[Jameshow]

Crazy idea....

Buy a Excell table saw which is a copy of the DeWalt 210mm table saw till you find the saw you really want?

Then you will know what your really looking for in a table saw.
https://tools4trade.co.uk/products/...wWsI4FpsG-ObFGpJ55ucbQAy4vkvt500aAnFYEALw_wcB

 

[Jameshow]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/28461054...tixoXeJTeO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Crazy price but you get the idea....

 

[Chipmonk]

Crazy idea....

Buy a Excell table saw which is a copy of the DeWalt 210mm table saw till you find the saw you really want?

Then you will know what your really looking for in a table saw.
https://tools4trade.co.uk/products/...wWsI4FpsG-ObFGpJ55ucbQAy4vkvt500aAnFYEALw_wcB

This is basically where I'm at right now...

I've completed Fleabay, Facebook-MarkupPlace, Shamazon, all the usualy tool suppliers and the 7492 is now £1190 in the only stockist. I can get the Mak 2704, but when you're spending this much, you want the one you want. Takes the 'ohh shiny' off when you can't get it. I'm sure I won't care, but now I've had time to cool down, the sensible approach of look at something inferior and figuring out what matters makes sense to me.

 

[Armagh]

Thanks man, that's good to know. I am SO on the fence between these two. I love the R&P fence, but there are some reviews saying the Makita is capable of higher accuracy.

Does the 90 and 45 degree stop on the Dewalt snap-in? Or do you have to check it each time?

The 90 and 45 are on adjustable cams, I set mine once and they've been fine ever after. The fence is also easily adjustable with an Allen key. A small amount of fettling after purchase and the saw has been accurate ever since. It's 0.5 mm accurate on the fence and further to that I'd not consider a table saw a precision machine, I'm always going to be working what edge is produced.

 

[ChrisWiduWood]

I really love Makita stuff, but last night, and on the basis of the 'better fence' I tried to pull the trigger on the Dewalt 7492, but it's out of stock everywhere (unless you're willing to pay scalping prices). RRP is around £750 in the UK, but it's going for closer to £900 right now.

I have the 7492, and i love it, the fence is very accurate (rack and pinion front and back) it also houses a push stick so its always to hand, The riving knife is quick release and comes with 2 options 1 for above blade extraction and another that sits below the top of the blade allowing partial height rips with a riving knife (my personal favourite about this saw) i also bought the bolt on table on wheels that makes it so easy to move around and load up 1 man in the van. a great jobsite/small workshop saw. The mitre slider was a bit loose so needed some masking tape to tighten the tolerance and the insert isn't all that but i made my own zero clearance versions and its never let me down. Ive also used the Makita as my friend has it... and he can keep it!! the fence is terrible! but he's a first fix chippy so its good enough for him!

 

[ChrisWiduWood]

Wow I've just checked and they are pricey like you say, i remember only paying around 6-700 for mine... i found this on Ebay 233240584367 which is FFX and they say its available in 2 days.... but their website doesn't say the same.. good luck!

 

[Chipmonk]

Wow I've just checked and they are pricey like you say, i remember only paying around 6-700 for mine... i found this on Ebay 233240584367 which is FFX and they say its available in 2 days.... but their website doesn't say the same.. good luck!

That’s much more reasonable, but it’s 110v and my workshop is 240v. I’m not sure about converters, but I’ll ask my dad, see if cheap ones are viable. Guessing not!

 

[Chipmonk]

I think if you value accuracy over portability then a cast iron saw would be better tbh.

That DeWalt saw is still a £900 site saw!

I’ve been thinking a lot about that last sentence…. Is the difference between the two quite noticeable?

 

[davethebb]

Chipmonk, have you considered the DW7485. I use one of these and they are great (accurate and very consistent) and a lot cheaper than the 7492.

 

[johnnyb]

I've got the bigger bosch saw its pretty good with a couple of issues that need solving

 

[Chipmonk]

Chipmonk, have you considered the DW7485. I use one of these and they are great (accurate and very consistent) and a lot cheaper than the 7492.

Briefly, I’ll have another look. Ta.

 

[Chipmonk]

The GTS10xc? @johnnyb ? Are the issues fixable? I like the sliding rail.

 

[johnnyb]

yes plenty of youtube bumf to fix its issues. my fence seems to lock square and true ish. the sliding rail bit seems great but it's got a lot of waggle but it can be fixed by most accounts. the stand is super. and the motor is quite powerful but slow start so it doesn't trip any fuses. for me it's a bit heavy I'd prefer the 10 inch dewalt as its lighter.

 

[Chipmonk]

yes plenty of youtube bumf to fix its issues. my fence seems to lock square and true ish. the sliding rail bit seems great but it's got a lot of waggle but it can be fixed by most accounts. the stand is super. and the motor is quite powerful but slow start so it doesn't trip any fuses. for me it's a bit heavy I'd prefer the 10 inch dewalt as its lighter.

That kind of swayed it. Went for the dewalt 7845. Light and accurate. Not too pricey.£600 with 3 Freud blades.

Thanks for all the help, guys!

 

[BALDRIG]

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?

Did you buy the Makita 2704?

 

[Chipmonk]

Did you buy the Makita 2704?

No, in the end I went with DeWalt DWE7485-GB (240v). It was about £450. It was more the reviews than the price, but I think I'd have been happy with either. I think it was the rack and pinion fence that edged it (it's nice). Overall a well thought out and executed bit of kit.

I'm impressed with it, it's well made and with a diablo/freud blade it cuts beautifully. it almost looks finished. I spent a long time setting it up accurately, so it wasn't perfect out of the box. the table isn't super-flat, but it's pretty good. it rolls off to the corners, which I think it the usual issue people have with non-cast iron tables. It's some sort of alloy, but it's good enough. I used it to do a complex picture frame with varying angles of cut, which came out really well, so I have no complaints.

Oh wait, I do! It is NOISY! I never turn it on without earguards. The startup is quite aggressive, and I was scared of popping my fuse in the conservatory, so I installed a soft-start module, which cost around £15 and took about an hour of faffing until I was ready to risk it.

If you're interested, this is the module I used: Soft Start Module Softstart for Maschinen Electric Tool 230V To 16A (3036-2) | eBay