A friend of mine is a finish carpenter and has an 8" portable table saw
that he could sell to me for $40 or $50. I don't know what brand it
is. I know he doesn't buy junk, though.

Would I be wise just getting a new 10" saw for a little more money? I
don't have room for a full size saw so I was thinking about having a
small one on a base that I roll under my benchtop when not in use.

Mike

For that price, maybe it's an ok first saw to experiment with. I
assure you though that compared to a contractor's saw, it will be a
miserable experience. So keep that in mind and don't get discouraged
about woodworking in general because of this saw. Ear-splitting
universal motor, too small table, too small fence, low quality blade,
no zero-clearance throat plate. I'd recommend grizzly's base model
contractors saw. iirc, it's about $400. The difference would be night
and day. I started with a delta bench top 10" saw. It lasted through
exactly one project before I'd had enough.

brian

This is one of the portable ones I would consider:
http://www.hechinger.com/web/catalog...=10-15419614-2

Mike

wrote in message
oups.com...
A friend of mine is a finish carpenter and has an 8" portable table saw
that he could sell to me for $40 or $50. I don't know what brand it
is. I know he doesn't buy junk, though.

Would I be wise just getting a new 10" saw for a little more money? I
don't have room for a full size saw so I was thinking about having a
small one on a base that I roll under my benchtop when not in use.

Mike

What do you plan to do with it? It may not be the best, but if it cuts a
few pieces of lumber here and there and gets the job done, it is worth the
money. OTOH, if you plan to build fine furniture or a house full of nice
cabinetry, Save up and spend at least $600 or more for a good quality saw
with a good fence.

50 bucks is a cheap way to find out if you are interested in serious
woodworking. For a shelf in the garage, it will do the job.

wrote in message
oups.com...
This is one of the portable ones I would consider:
http://www.hechinger.com/web/catalog...=10-15419614-2

Mike

I thought Hechingers went out of business a few years ago. It is just a
website using the name?

This is one of the portable ones I would consider:
http://www.hechinger.com/web/catalog/product_detail.aspx?pid=72092&cm_ven=Shopzilla&cm_ cat=Stationary%20Tools&cm_pla=Jet&cm_ite=Jet-Tablesaws-72092&srccode=cii_10043468&cpncode=10-15419614-2

I reviewed this tool for the December issue of Woodcraft. That's not a bad
little saw. It's very light weight and the miter gauge is somewhat dinky
but the fence is pretty accurate and the motor has enough power to not bog
down on most of the wood you would cut with it. It comes with a decent
quality blade (which can be a minor pain in the ass to change). And the
tabletop is milled aluminum, not cast iron, but it's good and flat.

Lee

--
To e-mail, replace "bucketofspam" with "dleegordon"

_________________________________
Lee Gordon
http://www.leegordonproductions.com

How about opinions on these ones?

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...RA2&lpage=none

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...300&lpage=none

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS...hResults.js p

Aren't 8 inch blades a little hard to source?


wrote in message
oups.com...
:A friend of mine is a finish carpenter and has an 8" portable
table saw
: that he could sell to me for $40 or $50. I don't know what
brand it
: is. I know he doesn't buy junk, though.
:
: Would I be wise just getting a new 10" saw for a little more
money? I
: don't have room for a full size saw so I was thinking about
having a
: small one on a base that I roll under my benchtop when not in
use.
:
: Mike
:

I really like the Bosch 4000.

"Lee Gordon" wrote in message
...
This is one of the portable ones I would consider:
http://www.hechinger.com/web/catalog/product_detail.aspx?pid=72092&cm_ven=Shopzilla&cm_ cat=Stationary%20Tools&cm_pla=Jet&cm_ite=Jet-Tablesaws-72092&srccode=cii_10043468&cpncode=10-15419614-2

I reviewed this tool for the December issue of Woodcraft. That's not a
bad little saw. It's very light weight and the miter gauge is somewhat
dinky but the fence is pretty accurate and the motor has enough power to
not bog down on most of the wood you would cut with it. It comes with a
decent quality blade (which can be a minor pain in the ass to change).
And the tabletop is milled aluminum, not cast iron, but it's good and
flat.

Lee

--
To e-mail, replace "bucketofspam" with "dleegordon"

_________________________________
Lee Gordon
http://www.leegordonproductions.com

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
A friend of mine is a finish carpenter and has an 8" portable table saw
that he could sell to me for $40 or $50. I don't know what brand it
is. I know he doesn't buy junk, though.

Would I be wise just getting a new 10" saw for a little more money? I
don't have room for a full size saw so I was thinking about having a
small one on a base that I roll under my benchtop when not in use.

Mike

What do you plan to do with it? It may not be the best, but if it cuts a
few pieces of lumber here and there and gets the job done, it is worth the
money. OTOH, if you plan to build fine furniture or a house full of nice
cabinetry, Save up and spend at least $600 or more for a good quality saw
with a good fence.

50 bucks is a cheap way to find out if you are interested in serious
woodworking. For a shelf in the garage, it will do the job.

Just watch your fingers on that little saw. If you're making very, very
casual cuts on small lengths of wood ( 4ft) then it'll be fine, say
picture frames or moulding -- shelving even sounds ambitious.

Also, on a saw this small, you won't be able to dado, which is one main
reason for having a table saw in the first place.

As for getting a new one for a little more money... new or used, 8" (?)
or 10", the table saw is one of those tools you'll want to view as an
investment, not a bargain, unless, as stated above, you're just
experimenting, and you don't need to count to ten. Otherwise, buy a
handsaw, take the time to make your cuts by hand, and then when you buy
a $600 table saw you'll open the box, rip off the plastic, and make
angry love to your new Delta honey!


- Saul

On 3 Jan 2006 12:39:21 -0800, wrote:

A friend of mine is a finish carpenter and has an 8" portable table saw
that he could sell to me for $40 or $50. I don't know what brand it
is. I know he doesn't buy junk, though.

Would I be wise just getting a new 10" saw for a little more money? I
don't have room for a full size saw so I was thinking about having a
small one on a base that I roll under my benchtop when not in use.

Mike

For that money it might be worth it. Check out the fence--a fence can
"make or break" any table saw. Expect to buy a new blade. If you
continue to do lots of woodworking, you'll eventually replace it a 10"
saw when you get more room.

If given a choice, of

A good circular (skil) saw, a good blade and good straight edge guide

an 8" portable "table" saw (That isn't growing up to become a
powermatic 66 or a unisaw)

or nothing,

I'd take the circular saw over nothing over the POS