Tablesaw

[southernsis]

We are getting ready to buy a table saw and need some input on which one to buy. We want one that will last, do the job,  but not cost us a fortune. Also, input on a nail gun. Should we get one and a compressor or not? Going to start building our 1 1/2 story soon. Any help for the equipment challenged.  Thank you. :-/

[MountainDon]

No opinion on the tablesaw as I haven't looked at what's available in a long time (keeps me from wanting to spend more money) I have an old Delta that still serves me well.

As for the nail gun you're likely to get a lot of opinions on this. I favor the Senco brand. I have four Senco's; a gen purpose framing, a large finishing and an extra small finishing nailer, as well as a stapler. They have never given me a problem.

They are time and arm savers. As long as you follow safety procedures you won't waste any of that saved time with trips to the ER or worse.  

[PA-Builder]

I built my cabin with a DeWalt 7 1/2" circular saw, and speed square (and a few more tools).  I have a radial arm saw, but just didn't need it.  You will definitely want to invest in a nail-gun and compressor.  Porter-Cable (FR-350 ? I believe) worked well for me.  Not the best, but will get the job done.  Also got a cordless DeWalt Drill Driver, that I would never do without.

[glenn kangiser]

I also have the FR350.  I like the larger sized small compressors for portability.  There are some pretty good discussions here on compressors - a search should bring them up but mostly for a single gun get at least 4 cfm at 90 psi.  Amazon has some good combo's sometimes.

I have an old Craftsman table saw at both places - not my choice - just what I bought cheap on the second one - think I bought the other new about 25 years ago.  Both still working but nothing special.

[JRR]

Take a look at the fold-up Ryobi (10 in ?) table saw.  Lightweight, easy to roll about ... yet does the job.  Avail at Home Depot.  One of the least expensive I've seen ... approx $200.

Sometimes I use mine sitting on the ground, with the legs folded under (the saw, not me).  No tipping over this way (the saw), when ripping a long board single handed.

[glenn kangiser]

I just bought a double battery charger and 2 batteries for my 18 v Ryobi stuff.  I am still happy with all of the Ryobi stuff I have bought.  For shorter run times on the cheaper batteries I now have the dual charger and 6 batteries.  

Their standard corded tools have been great also.

[peg_688]

True a guy doesn't have to have a small job site saw , but they sure do come in handy

The best small saw , that I've used  right now,  is the Dewalt

 

Factory-Reconditioned DeWalt DW744R 13 Amp 10-Inch Portable Table Saw

1 Used & new from $349.00

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Factory-Reconditioned-DeWalt-DW744R-10-Inch-Portable/dp/B00005AUYA/ref=sr_1_3/103-6153475-2262219?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1174709558&sr=1-3

And it's the fence that makes it the best IMO of all the small saws.

I have a older Makita 10"  the fence is not as good but the motor is strong .

The Dewalt would be my choise if it was my only tablesaw , it's almost big enought for a home shop , and almost to big for a saw to pack around every day.

So in my world I have a Grizzly 10" in my shop ,



And the Makita , in the saw stand ,

 

Your world may differ , who was it who wanted to build a house with ONLY hand tools  
Not me  



 

[glenn-k]

Nice saw, PEG.  

That is a good point about the fence.  The fences on the Sears Craftsman tend to be a lot of trouble.  I don't even know if I could fool with it a bunch and get it to work right -- maybe with a torch.  The handles always slightly tweaked in the way.

You tall guys are really handy a lot of times, PEG.  Put up sheet rock on the ceiling with no ladder.  Most of the guys that work with me are about 10" taller then me.  I can strut right into a McDonalds in between a couple of them and nobody ever bothers me.

Kidding aside -- nice pix.

[peg_688]

#1:   Most of the guys that work with me are about 10" taller then me.

#2:  I can strut right into a McDonalds in between a couple of them and nobody ever bothers me.

quote]

#1: One of them needs to invest in suspenders   Wow 10" taller , you must be short or you work with some tall dude , are you like 5' 2"  :-/ :-?

#2: No one should "strut " in a Mickie D's    

[glenn-k]

I'm not real short - the guys are 6'6 and 6'8.  I'm about 5'9 1/2   --When you are that short the 1/2 is important.  

We all be a lot healthier if we didn't strut into a Micky D's :-/

[MountainDon]

I used to be able to call myself 5'10" until the hair started evaporating. Now I'm down to 5'9 1/4"    

[glenn-k]

Hmmm - that must have been what happened to me.  I'll leave out the bad jokes on this one. :-/

[hobbiest]

who was it who wanted to build a house with ONLY hand tools  
Not me  



 

that was me PEG.  BTW, it will be a small house!  No sheet goods.  I have the Ryobi in topic, have used the makita, and dewalt, prefer the ryobi.  Fence is pretty rock solid.  saw has good power.  Rigid makes a good, inexpensive, versitile framing nailer.  Never liked the Senco myself.  Be careful you don't drop the rigid too hard though, some plastic parts in the wrong areas break.  Doesn't affect the use of tool, just makes you cry a little inside :'(.  I have found ryobi to be quite good, but you have to pick and choose a bit.  10 inch miter saw needs adjusting frequently, sawzall is easy to break, skill saw isn't well balanced.  Many people may not be as picky as I am though.  I am pretty tough on tools, yet I take care of them as well.  Plunge router definitely paid for itself, cordless drill, and impact work great.  Table saw is awesome (especially when you consider the price), my mom went out and bought one after using mine!  BTW Glenn, mom is 5'5 1/2".  She likes the half too.

[glenn-k]

There you go, hobbiest.  That extra half inch really matters.

[peg_688]

I forgot the nail gun answer , I use Senco. Habit  :-/? MTL . Bostich has some coil nailer that are pretty good , the older Bostich guns are really loud , and sort of banged /jumped around in your hand / on the wood    when you shot them.

 The first nail guns I ever used where Senco's they where old, about 20 years old then some still are working today, ( 40 year old tools )  and still worked good the drivers had been changed  a few times , and they didn't/ don't  have the safety's  new gun now have .  So that may be where my Senco habit comes from.

I pretty sure I'd never want to build a small house just with hand tools , maybe I'm lazy or spoiled. I do like to use hand planes , saws , etc. but mostly because they are the "right" tool for the job, not so much for the ethereal lure of hand tool work. But pushing a  razor sharp hand plane down a board and feel the cut and hearing the sweet sound of that blade effortlessly cutting away that shaving does have it's joy 8-)

I'd like to some day build a small wooden boat ,  it won't be build exclusively with hand tools but they will play a part.



Link to the designer site , http://www.by-the-sea.com/archdavisdesign/davis_penobscot14.html

 Just in case your interested

Back on topic for compound miter saws the Hatachi , the older verios is hard to beat for finish work , where a depth of cut / rabbiting capiablies are needs , the Dewalts are a bit tougher so for siding , timber framing (light duty type timbers / trellis's , arbors and the such ) that would be my saw of choice.

I'm not much of a Ryobi fan , their  tools,  ten years ago where cheap crap , so I never really look at thier tools , Ridgid   tools seem ok , never used any,  one of the guys at work has the cordless set , lil saw , sawall, screwgun/ drill. He seems to like them .

If you can stay in the industrial line of tools they will MTL serve your purposes well. Sears , Harbor freight , etc YMMV widely . But if you don't know what a good tool will do , balance , power etc , you may aways think it you who can't cut the mustard so to speak . I tell my freinds and you all (who are sort of friends in a cyber way) buy the better tool it can never hurt , [highlight]the quailty will be remembered long after the price is forgotten         [/highlight]

G/L PEG

   

[hobbiest]

I tell my freinds and you all (who are sort of friends in a cyber way) buy the better tool it can never hurt , [highlight]the quailty will be remembered long after the price is forgotten         [/highlight]

G/L PEG

   

I second that.  Buy the best quality tools you can afford.  $$$ doesn't always mean best quality, but in many cases it does.  Get the tool buyers guides from Taunton press, to see some pro opinions.  I usually take the middle ground, knowing that I can then buy more tools with the savings, or pay a bill!  Like with contractors, don't choose the cheapest, or most expensive one, and it will usually work out well.  Most important thing is to take care of the tools.  No need to baby a good tool, but one that is well cared for should last well.

[desdawg]

I have several Ryobi tools. Recently bought the entire set of 18v cordless tools and they are great. I looked at a Ryobi table saw at HD and didn't care for it however. Table saws are made of a lot of plastic these days. It is good for portability but I don't know about durability.

[glenn-k]

I am happy with my 18v cordless Ryobi stuff too, desdawg, and find no matter which brand I use the batteries never last long enough so I just bought the double charger and 2 extra batteries for $69 giving me 6 batteries.  Note that the charger will run off of a 350 watt inverter charging 2 batteries off the power plug in my Dodge truck.

[peg_688]

With my Dewalt's and the PC cordless's Ive used 4 to 6 hours of good screwin was normal in cabinet shop use.

And no I didn't need to got to the Doctor due to , oh wait I won't go there , eh Glenn!!

[glenn-k]

You sailors.

[peg_688]

We have fun ! Join the Navy and see the world , well now the Red sea / Arabian Gulf My kind of sailor's at work .

[glenn-k]

I would end up staring face to face with an Iraqi resistance fighter's  IED.

I better stay over here with my old Craftsman table saw.

[bayviewps]

   I'd consider getting a table saw with the finger saving sensor.  I know from experience that it would be less expensive than the doctors visit.

http://archives.cnn.com/2002/TECH/industry/09/09/woodshow.technology/

[glenn-k]

I haven't seen one of them available yet.  I read about it once and at that time it was a one time action then back to the shop for saw repairs.  I haven't heard any more about it yet.  

At the very least I would recommend making yourself a push stick for whenever your fingers are near the blede.

[MountainDon]

PEG, those are EA-6 somethings?

Re: the finger saver. Good idea, but as the article noted "... false positives that put the brakes on the blade could be costly and time consuming." It's a good idea in some ways, but there are many dangerous pursuits where the practioner must follow the safety rules. Let's hope the Safety Nazis don't grab onto to something like this and legislate their will on us.

Both push sticks and "finger boards"  (right name??? ....) used to hold work tight against the fence are very good ideas.

I have a knuckle scar from a time when this knuckle head somehow managed to get it in the way of a sawsall. The sawsall did. Fortunately it wasn't serious as in amputation. Then there's the finger tip, the fingerprint area that I nearly sliced right off with an R/C aircraft knife edge fibreglass propellor. Don't try to reach through a propellor. Good thing it was idling; left it hanging by a thin strip. Had it sewed back.  In each case it was momentary loss of concentration that caused the problem.