I am in the market for a table saw. This will be a hobby/DYI saw not professional.
I have been looking around at local Home Depot, Lowes and Sears and can't decide what saw I should get. I see prices from $279 to $800 plus. I don't want to go cheap and get junk, neither do i want to spend more than I should. I would appreciate any advice.
thanks
Vic

 

Try to catch one at a garage sale or craigslist & buy a new blade for it. That's a lot of money for a hobby.

 

It's so hard to say...

Sometimes you buy something that you think is adequate and then get more involved and need more. I had an el-cheapo Tradesman(?) brand from a now defunct home center and it did everything I needed for about 5 yrs. Noisy, wobbly, cheaply made...but I didn't push it.

Now I have Ryobi BT3100 (no longer made) and it's done a fine job for 10 years on almost anything I've thrown at it.

Here's my hints of things to watch out for...

Metal teeth on bevel adjustment. Many have plastic and if you try to adjust w/o unlocking, you'll snap them right off. Plastic gears are ok (prob can't avoid them)...but not the teeth.

Metal construction...not plastic...but that might be hard to find in the smaller models.

Ease of blade change. If used...does it have the wrenches needed?

How does the fence lock in?

 

Check pawn shops as well, I have found several decent tools there

 

A lot too depends on what you will be cutting on the saw and how much shop room you have. The bigger the top is the better you can use the saw but if space is a premium ..... you'll need to try and figure out what size will be best for you.

 

Great ideas so far. I have used and abused Ryobi portable table saws. They are good saws. Direct drive motors tend to burn out easily, however, rendering a $200 saw useless, as the motor is $189 replacement cost. Almost disposable.

Found my current jobsite trailer saw, Makita, at a pawn shop. $60. Table top version that I adapted to one of my Ryobi wheeled carriages. Still going strong.

For the shop, I have a Delta 5 hp Unisaw with Beisemyer fence, 7' runoff table with a Jessem router set up at the far end. Serious woodworking tool, serious price, however.

Determine your projects, space available, need for portability, etc. then you will know more about what to look for. You don't necessarily need a new shiny one from the box stores if you plan on an occasional use. Craigs list or pawn shop versions are great.

 

I'm jealous, but my 60 year old Delta Milwaukee makes up for it in sentimental value.

 

It's my SIL's. He is in the roofing business, now, so he has no use for it and can't store it. My 1970's Craftsman is in my barn, so I am storing the Delta in my shop

 

It's tough to know really make a good recommendation without knowing what you plan on doing and how serious you are about it. I think a saw made by one of the discount manufacturers like Grizzy will be suitable for you. The offer a contractor saw that is 1 1/2 HP and a hybrid saw which is 2 HP. The price difference is that much between the two and you get a bit more HP and more table with the hybrid.

You will find that the smaller saws will have a lot more wobble in the blade and fussy rip fences.

 

One thing that is important for a lot of folks is the ability to rip up to 24".
This allows you to split a sheet of plywood.

Many better made "portable" saws can even do this with fence extensions and do work surprisingly well.