IMHO...

I'm going to give you my opinion from the low end of the spectrum. Do NOT, I
repeat, Do NOT buy a bench top model! It is all I owned when I decided to
get into woodworking and it truly is a POS. Worked great for rough cutting
2x4 and some framing needs but doesn't even come close to the precision and
ease of use you will find yourself wanting as you get deeper into
woodworking. It has taken a lot of work to make mine somewhat usable with
new blades and making a tight sled which leads to other limitations (I'm
saving to get a bigger saw now, the current one might serve as a boat anchor
but with my luck, it will probably float!). The only dado blade I could find
to fit the arbor is a wobble blade and I hold my breath and stand to the
side everytime I use it! None of the other jigs will fit it. Making my own
jigs has also presented problems as the slot is to loose.

If you DAGS on TS, many will tell you to get the best you can afford. That
is my intent, I may even reach beyond what I can afford if I truly decide I
have the talent and desire to pursue getting deeper and deeper into working
with wood. Many have said that you get what you pay for. After not heeding
this advice in the beginning, I learned my lessons. Seems like most of us
have space constraints so I as I look at future saws, I am also looking at
various mobile base options and keeping them in mind as I continue to change
the shop layout.

Dave

"GigaNews" wrote in message
...

I am just getting into this hobby, so please bear with me if I ask stupid
questions.

After getting married and buying a house, I find that I have a desire to
do
some of my own woodworking in addition to the myriad home improvement
projects I have going. I'd like to be able to make some furniture (baby's
room, maybe), maybe some cabinets, etc. Trouble is, the house isn't huge
and
I have some severe space limitations.

I'd like to have a table saw, but no matter how hard I try I can't find a
place where I could put a good woodworker's table saw or even a
contractor's
saw permanently. I really need to be able to fold the saw up and put it
away, which is a severe limitation.

I have been looking at the so-called "jobsite" saws from DeWalt, Bosch,
and
Ridgid. Are these saws even remotely useful for general woodworking, or is
their practical use limited to homebuilding? Assuming they are in fact
useful, I need some advice on which features will truly be important to me
and which ones I don;t really need to worry about. I have been unable to
see
a Bosch in person - stores in Maryland tend to favor tools that are
yellow -
so I am having to rely on internet info for that one (unless someone out
there knows where I can go look at one):

(1) The Bosch and the DeWalt don't have a T-grooved miter slot for
supporting the miter off the table or a groove in the fence for jigs. How
important is this?

(2) I like the cool rack-and-pinion fence on the DeWalt as it seems very
solid, but the table seems a good deal smaller (particularly in front of
the
blade) than the other two, and the miter slot doesn't have a t-groove, so
I
was beginning to rule it out. Any comments on this saw?

(3) By all accounts the Bosch has a superior motor, which seems important
since these things are direct drive and the quality of cut is in question.
I
like the fact that it comes with outfeed and side support rails. The lack
of
a decent stand, a grooved fence, or T-groove miter slot make me question
it's value beyond homebuilding. Am I right? I am willing to buy a better,
more portable stand for this saw if it really is superior, although there
is
a fair amount of pain associated with the fact that this drives the price
up
close to what I would spend on a decent contractor's table saw or a DeWalt
woodworkers table saw. I don't have the space for them, but if I'm paying
the money and not getting one it hurts.

(4) The Ridgid has a nice, solid fence and a fairly large table for this
category of saw, but possibly not as nice a motor and there seems to be no
way to attach outfeed or side support to the saw. How serious is this? It
also comes with a really nice stand (available separately, so it would fit
the Bosch or DeWalt for extra $$$). I am worried that this seems to no
longer be an Emerson product but is now a Ryobi product, and I haven't had
much luck with Ryobi in the past. Also the complete lack of information on
the internet or available accessories makes me question how easy it is
going
to be to improve my setup in the future. The last thing I tried to order
from RidgidParts.com is still pending after months because their website
somehow managed to let me order a power tool from the vaccum cleaner
division, and they can't figure out how to either fill it or cancel it.
This
saw seems like the best value, if it is capable of doing the job. Any
thoughts?

(5) Assuming I bought the Bosch or DeWalt saw, I could get another stand
for
it to increase portability. Are the Rouseau stands which make larger table
surfaces sufficiently easy to set up and store again later? How portable
are
they? Can they make it up and down stairs? How good is the fence?

I have read the recent jobsite saw review in Workbench Magazine, but it is
fairly sparse on details. They say things like "It's a great saw, but
lacks
a few features" without saying *which* features. Or they say controls are
"average" or "above average" without saying *why*. And they seem to focus
a
lot on the quality of the stand when I'd rather they had focused on the
saw.
So I am finding it less useful than I had hoped.

Any help and/or opinions on these subjects would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks,
Bill Cook _/)_