I will be buying a portable table saw. I haven't done much research
yet but the Ridgid TS2400LS caught my attention mainly due to the
table saw stand/cart. I am a carpenter that needs it for side jobs
(evenings/weekends)who is 99% of the time working by himself so the
convenience of the portability is critical. I will not be building
furniture with it but I do not want to waste my money. Basically I
want bang for the buck.

TB wrote:
I will be buying a portable table saw. I haven't done much research
yet but the Ridgid TS2400LS caught my attention mainly due to the
table saw stand/cart. I am a carpenter that needs it for side jobs
(evenings/weekends)who is 99% of the time working by himself so the
convenience of the portability is critical. I will not be building
furniture with it but I do not want to waste my money. Basically I
want bang for the buck.

Congratulations on your decision. ;-) May you and your saw have a long and
fulfilling relationship.

-- Mark

"TB" writes:
I will be buying a portable table saw.
snip

What ever you pick, it will be a direct drive unit.

Translation:

They are all garbage.

Lew

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 03:24:55 GMT, "Lew Hodgett"
vaguely proposed a theory
.......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email


"TB" writes:
I will be buying a portable table saw.
snip

What ever you pick, it will be a direct drive unit.

Translation:

They are all garbage.

I tend to agree, although I would say limited rather than garbage, but
what is the option for a portable sawing station, as the guy requires?
************************************************** ***
Dogs are better than people.

People are better than dogs for only one purpose. And
then it's only half of ofthe people. And _then_ most
of them are only ordinary anyway. And then they have a
headache.........

"Old Nick" writes:

I tend to agree, although I would say limited rather than garbage, but
what is the option for a portable sawing station, as the guy requires?

I don't have an answer to your question.

I'll soon be starting to finish out the interior of a boat.

I could certainly use a decent portable saw, if I could find one.

Lew

Wed, Nov 17, 2004, 12:32pm (EST+13) (Old=A0Nick)
asks:
snip but what is the option for a portable sawing station, as the guy
requires?

I would say depends. If he's only cutting 2X4s and such, a miter
saw would probably do. The only real info he gave was, "carpenter" and
"portability", no mention of what he would actually cut. Hell, if he
wants portable, a handsaw and a couple of sawhorses would do, or a
circular saw and sawhorses.

Details, details, details, everybody always leave out the details,
and then expect people to read their minds.



JOAT
Any plan is bad which is incapable of modification.
- Publilius Syrus

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 02:02:00 -0500, (J T)
vaguely proposed a theory
.......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

I agree. More info.

Wed, Nov 17, 2004, 12:32pm (EST+13) (Old*Nick)
asks:
snip but what is the option for a portable sawing station, as the guy
requires?

I would say depends. If he's only cutting 2X4s and such, a miter
saw would probably do. The only real info he gave was, "carpenter" and
"portability", no mention of what he would actually cut. Hell, if he
wants portable, a handsaw and a couple of sawhorses would do, or a
circular saw and sawhorses.

Details, details, details, everybody always leave out the details,
and then expect people to read their minds.



JOAT
Any plan is bad which is incapable of modification.
- Publilius Syrus

************************************************** ***
Dogs are better than people.

People are better than dogs for only one purpose. And
then it's only half of ofthe people. And _then_ most
of them are only ordinary anyway. And then they have a
headache.........

On 16 Nov 2004 17:29:34 -0800, (TB) vaguely proposed
a theory
.......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

You need to supply more info. Seriously. What are you _doing_ with the
saw?

I will be buying a portable table saw. I haven't done much research
yet but the Ridgid TS2400LS caught my attention mainly due to the
table saw stand/cart. I am a carpenter that needs it for side jobs
(evenings/weekends)who is 99% of the time working by himself so the
convenience of the portability is critical. I will not be building
furniture with it but I do not want to waste my money. Basically I
want bang for the buck.

************************************************** ***
Dogs are better than people.

People are better than dogs for only one purpose. And
then it's only half of ofthe people. And _then_ most
of them are only ordinary anyway. And then they have a
headache.........

tburic asks:

I will be buying a portable table saw. I haven't done much research
yet but the Ridgid TS2400LS caught my attention mainly due to the
table saw stand/cart. I am a carpenter that needs it for side jobs
(evenings/weekends)who is 99% of the time working by himself so the
convenience of the portability is critical. I will not be building
furniture with it but I do not want to waste my money. Basically I
want bang for the buck.

Go for the Ridgid, or the Craftsman Job Site saw. I reviewed a bunch of these
saws for a trade magazine, and those were the top two.

Charlie Self
"Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of
nothing."
Redd Foxx

Lew Hodgett responds:


"TB" writes:
I will be buying a portable table saw.
snip

What ever you pick, it will be a direct drive unit.

Translation:

They are all garbage.

Utter nonsense, Lew. For his purposes, some of these saws are close to ideal.
For boatbuilding, they leave a lot to be desired, but the so-called
contractor's saw is one helluva load for a guy working alone to deal with...I
used to work one of those 250 pounders on and off pick-ups by myself, but I'm
past that age, and, in truth, if I'd had good sense I wouldn't have done it
then, as the saw gets knocked out of adjustment after you bust your chops
moving it. You spend more time farting around with the saw than you do working.

In other words, for moderate to light duty cutting, I like these job site saws,
direct drive universal motors or not.

Charlie Self
"Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of
nothing."
Redd Foxx

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 03:24:55 GMT, "Lew Hodgett"
wrote:

What ever you pick, it will be a direct drive unit.

They are all garbage.

What's _wrong_ with direct drive ?

OK, so most junk saws are direct drive. But could a _good_ direct
drive saw be built, perhaps as something lightweight and portable for
this type of trim work ? is there any fundamental reason why all
direct drive saws have to end up as junk ?

--
Smert' spamionam

Andy Dingley writes:

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 03:24:55 GMT, "Lew Hodgett"
wrote:

What ever you pick, it will be a direct drive unit.

They are all garbage.

What's _wrong_ with direct drive ?

OK, so most junk saws are direct drive. But could a _good_ direct
drive saw be built, perhaps as something lightweight and portable for

It can be built, and it exists. I have a nice Metabo table saw with
direct drive, and the only drawback is that you are stuck with a speed
just below 3000rpm due to the asynchronous motor.

--
Dr. Juergen Hannappel http://lisa2.physik.uni-bonn.de/~hannappe
Phone: +49 228 73 2447 FAX ... 7869
Physikalisches Institut der Uni Bonn Nussallee 12, D-53115 Bonn, Germany
CERN: Phone: +412276 76461 Fax: ..77930 Bat. 892-R-A13 CH-1211 Geneve 23

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 13:40:18 +0000, Andy Dingley
wrote:

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 03:24:55 GMT, "Lew Hodgett"
wrote:

What ever you pick, it will be a direct drive unit.

They are all garbage.

What's _wrong_ with direct drive ?

OK, so most junk saws are direct drive. But could a _good_ direct
drive saw be built, perhaps as something lightweight and portable for
this type of trim work ? is there any fundamental reason why all
direct drive saws have to end up as junk ?


besides, the ryobi BT saws are a 2 belt drive. not a bad saw, for what
it is....

otforme (Charlie Self) wrote in message ...
Lew Hodgett responds:


"TB" writes:
I will be buying a portable table saw.
snip

What ever you pick, it will be a direct drive unit.

Translation:

They are all garbage.

Utter nonsense, Lew. For his purposes, some of these saws are close to ideal.
For boatbuilding, they leave a lot to be desired, but the so-called
contractor's saw is one helluva load for a guy working alone to deal with...I
used to work one of those 250 pounders on and off pick-ups by myself, but I'm
past that age, and, in truth, if I'd had good sense I wouldn't have done it
then, as the saw gets knocked out of adjustment after you bust your chops
moving it. You spend more time farting around with the saw than you do working.

In other words, for moderate to light duty cutting, I like these job site saws,
direct drive universal motors or not.

Charlie Self
"Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of
nothing."
Redd Foxx


Amen to that. No doubt some are garbage, for some purposes. Some are
very powerful, and capable of very accurate work. The one I have
requires ear protection in a confined area, and benefited greatly from
a flush throat plate.

OTOH, experts such a Ian Kirby have pointed out that contractors' saws
have such flimsy tilt mechanisms that he recommends locking them at 90
deg and making jigs for beveled cuts.

When you see what a Rousseau extension can do with a Makita or Hitachi
saw, it's a no-brainer IMHO.

Picky detail to counter another generalization: some portables (maybe
most?) are reduction-geared, not direct-driven, making precision arbor
location as simple as for any other. Get over it.

John

John

"Charlie Self" writes:

Utter nonsense, Lew. For his purposes, some of these saws are close to
ideal.

Having tried to use a couple of these units, I'll stand by my observation.

For boatbuilding, they leave a lot to be desired, but the so-called
contractor's saw is one helluva load for a guy working alone to deal
with...

I'm with you.

Trying to use a contractor's saw as a portable job site sevice is out of the
question, IMHO.

The only way I would consider it would be to have a C/S permanently mounted
in a trailer, but then you would also have to probably add a generator along
with a suitable tow vehicle.

That turns into a major investment in a hurry.

In other words, for moderate to light duty cutting, I like these job site
saws,
direct drive universal motors or not.

One of the things I have thought about is to add a sled along with miter
sled and some 30-60 and 45 degree drafting triangles for trim work.

What do you think of such an approach?

Lew

You want details...mostly for plywood (3/4") and trimwork.

On 17 Nov 2004 21:12:10 -0800, (TB) vaguely proposed
a theory
.......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

You want details...mostly for plywood (3/4") and trimwork.

He didn't actually. I did G

However. By plywood are you referring to large sheets? Table saws of
any type a very limited at this. You are better off using a circular
saw, and fences or some sort of guide, using foam sheets to lay under
the wood. Trying to handle sheets of ply in even a large table saw can
be a nuisance and dangerous. With care and good blades, you can get
good cuts. Table saws take more care than many people think to get
good cuts too GG

For trimwork, maybe a sliding compound?
************************************************** ***
Dogs are better than people.

People are better than dogs for only one purpose. And
then it's only half of ofthe people. And _then_ most
of them are only ordinary anyway. And then they have a
headache.........

Lew Hodgett responds:

In other words, for moderate to light duty cutting, I like these job site
saws,
direct drive universal motors or not.

One of the things I have thought about is to add a sled along with miter
sled and some 30-60 and 45 degree drafting triangles for trim work.

What do you think of such an approach?

Sleds are always great for accuracy, but, believe it or not, I found the fences
accurate on these saws, with some relative ease in adjustability. The miter
gauges were highly variable. The Porter-Cable had about the best, but, IMHO,
miter gauges are for quick and dirty cutting--which can make them fine for
carpentry. Anything that will outdo a Skil style saw in miter accuracy is a
help there.

Have you tried any of the new (about 18 months old) versions of these saws.
Actually, the DeWalt has been around about a decade, and is still good, while
the Bosch & P-C have been around a bit, too, though not as long. The Ryobi is
OK as a super cheap, super light saw, but the Ridgid and Craftsman are the tops
of the job site versions. The Ridgid wins on size--it is slightly larger than
the Craftsman, with more space in front of the blade. But it doesn't have an
extension tables in back.

I'm told the Craftsman is being modified and the new model will be out early
next year.

Charlie Self
"Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of
nothing."
Redd Foxx

Subject: Portable Table Saw
From: Andy Dingley

OK, so most junk saws are direct drive. But could a _good_ direct
drive saw be built, perhaps as something lightweight and portable for
this type of trim work ? is there any fundamental reason why all
direct drive saws have to end up as junk ?

--
Smert' spamionam


Taking a different tack, what about build-
ing a belt-drive saw with the motor underneath instead of at the back?
Part of the problem with moving a belt-
drive saw around is that they are so
back-heavy.

"Charlie Self" writes:

Sleds are always great for accuracy, but, believe it or not, I found the
fences
accurate on these saws, with some relative ease in adjustability. The
miter
gauges were highly variable. The Porter-Cable had about the best, but,
IMHO,
miter gauges are for quick and dirty cutting--which can make them fine for
carpentry.

Once again, I consider the factory miter gage a very modest step above
useless, thus my sled comment.

Have you tried any of the new (about 18 months old) versions of these
saws.

No.

Actually for a boat building project, the only purpose of a portable saw is
to have it in the boat so you don't have to climb the steps every time you
need to cut something.

At this point it is a toss up whether I get a portable saw or a chop saw for
use in the boat since the contractor's saw is still at ground level.

Probably a more important finish tool for trim work in a boat is a 12" disk
sander.


Lew