area123

Setting up my small garage as a weekend workshop, basically I have 1 30' wall to line with tools & want to upgrade my craftsman table saw. Right now I have a nice bosch sliding miter saw, bench dog router table w/ bosch router & some nicer small tools.

I really want to upgrade my table saw to a contractor type under $600 (or $700 if it's really worth it) & I have a nice Forrest blade to go in it. I also would like a portable planer I can roll out on a stand. And I have a spot for a smaller 4" dust collector.

Some of my projects have been cabinet doors, small furniture like coffee tables, book shelves, bathroom vanity using pretty hard woods like Jatoba & some Ipe.

any ideas are appreciated. I'd like to have a contractor type saw that is very portable & has some dust collection ability (if one exists).

rob.hough

If I had that budget I'd probably consider the Ridgid TS3650. You can usually find them at around $500-$550. I was impressed with the fence but that could have just been the floor model I was looking at. With the money you're saving on it though, you could easily get an after market fence to put on there and resolve that issue. Nearly every review I've read on that tool has been positive.

The herc-u-lift should make the saw fairly mobile within your garage I would think, but if you need it to be more portable than that... You might consider something like the DeWalt.



Depending on your area... You could possibly find a really nice used saw in that price range as well. Have you been watching Craigslist? If not... You should be.

area123

I had never thought about the Rigid because I look mostly on Amazon and they don't sell Rigid. but that saw looks very nice. And I have a 20% coupon for HD so I could pick one up for about $440. I'll definitely be looking at it this weekend.

I had been thinking about the Bosch 4100 because I like Bosch so much. but this Rigid gets even better reviews I think.

Any suggestions on other tools, planer, dust collector. My total budget will be about $1000 for everything. So if I save $200 by getting the Rigid saw I'll have over $500 left for a planer and small dust collector.

I'd thought about the Delta 1hp for less than $200 and a delta planer for around $300. Any thoughts??

thanks.

bigredc

Around Christmas Lowes was selling a very nice Delta saw. You got to pick which fence you wanted. Biesemeyer was one. Grizzly has dust collectors in every price range. There is always good tools on Craigs list & E bay. I've got some great deals.

area123

what size DC should I get? the guy at peachtree told me I wouldn't like the 1hp models. But I will only be running 1 tool at a time and I'll use blast gates. But I do want it to suck up all the table saw dust and have the option to use a top mount dc for the table saw as well. I will have 1 4" line running overhead, about 20' in length.

daryl in nanoose

A person really shouln't go under 2 hp if they can help it and with that 6" piping would also be better. Stay away from 90's and use 2 45's and a small piece of straight pipe no t's.

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knotscott

The contractor type saw is pretty much being replaced in the marketplace with a newer design known as a hybrid, which is very similar except that it moves the motor inside the cabinet. That simple move offers many advantages and no downside unless you need frequent access to the motor...smaller footprint, more efficient power transfer from a shorter belt, better dust collection, and less hassle than an outboard motor. Your price range will get you into a very nice hybrid. Most major companies have excellent offerings - Jet, Delta, Craftsman, Steel City, Grizzly, General International, Sunhill, DeWalt, Shop Fox, Hitachi, and Woodtek that I know of, but more are being introduced regularly. They start around $400 on sale, with many good choices in the $600-$800 range.

Most will run on a standard 110v circuit, but check with the manufacturer to be sure. The Steel City and Craftsman offer cabinet mounted trunnions for easy adjust and extra mass. The Jet, Grizzly, GI, Sunhill, DW, SF, Hitachi, and Woodtek all offer a cast blade shroud as part of the trunnion carriage. Most have excellent steel Biesemeyer type fences. All can be made mobile, and with good alignment and good blade selection all will perform well for a hobbyist. I'd pay particular attention to the Jet Proshop line, Craftsman, Steel City, GI, Woodtek, and Grizzly.

If it's a true "stow away" portable that you want, then a jobsite saw would be the type to get.

There are many good choices in portable planers. Some form of dust chute and the ability to lock the cutterhead to prevent snipe are the two most important features in a planer IMO. I'd stick with DeWalts (734 & 735), Delta (22-580 & TP400LS), Ridgid, or Makita.

Gerry KIERNAN

I have the Delta 12-1/2 inch thickness planer, that I picked up at Home Depot, on sale for less than $200, several years ago. It has proven to very acceptable for hobbyist use. My 4 inch dust collector I got from Busy Bee for just over $200, and it seems to able to handle the output from the planer without any problems. I did add a cyclone lid on top of a garbage can to catch the bulky shavings, as they were clogging the blower inlet on the DC. This seems to work quite well. cyclone lid was about $30.

Gerry

lance3951a

I upgraded to a Ridgid table saw, the lift system is great for moving it around, it did take me some time to adjust it as I have a some what spongy floor so I put it on a platform. You shouldn't have that problem. Also I found that if you don't clean underneath for the tilt it won't go back to 0. The fence is pretty good for what I do but a Biesemeyer would really be great.

area123

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area123

KnotScott, what is your opinion of the Ridgid TS3650? It looks like a very good saw to the novice like myself. Is it a hybrid saw or a contractor type? Pros for that saw include that I can get it for $440 right now.

bigredc

I haven't bought a dc myself yet. Grizzly was recommended to me, so I got their cataloged. They have models from $175 and up. I've been dragging my shop vac around. I was wondering how much power would need to pull thru 4". The 2 hp advice sounds good to me. On another thread it was recommended to get a air filter. I was in a guys basement / shop the other day. He had a filter running. I couldn't believe how clean his shop was. There's a layer of dust on everything in my basement / shop. Something else I didn't think of. Keep $100 aside for a good blade. You can't imagine the difference till you see it. Or you could just get it down the road. I just wanted to let you know what they cost.

daryl in nanoose

A air cleaner plus a HP dust collector is a good set up. There is a little controversy about having it on while your cutting. The theory is it pulls the dust past your nose but I where a mask now when I'm cutting so no problem. You can build your own air filter if you want to save a few bucks but that's another story.
Here's mine.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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knotscott

The 3650 is a contractor saw with an outboard motor...the basic guts are essentially the same as the early Emerson made Craftsman saws. $440 is a good price, and makes it more attractive to me than regular retail. The Herculift system is good, it's got cast wings, and is very capable. I'm not a fan of the fence, but many seem to like it as is. It's about 135# lighter than some of the heftier hybrids, which is a fair amount of mass to give up and a big percentage difference (~45%), which equates to a notable difference in stability.

It really boils down to what level you want to buy and what the price difference means to you. If you get a good blade or two, get it aligned, the 3650 should cut well, but IMO none of the contractor saws offers what the better hybrids do....BTDT and was surprised by the difference.

bigredc

daryl, building a dc is a great idea. What kind of fan do you have inside. Would a box fan work. I think I may build one this weekend.

aclose

heh, bigred, you beat me to my question!

there's an article in a shop mag i picked up last month (don't remember the title off-hand) regarding building your own dust collector.
the author used a squirrel cage motor that looked like it came from an HVAC unit. actually, he mentioned that some HVAC shops may have old motor/blower units from older furnaces that they'd be willing to sell fairly cheap.
i'll try to remember to post the name of the magazine and article when i get home...

daryl in nanoose

Squirrel fans are a favorite choice but you could use a box fan but a furnace fan moves more air faster. You need at least 2 (3) is better filters. The one facing the room is the courses one and the one closes to the fan is the finner one.
Here are a few

http://www.woodcentral.com/shots/shot763.shtml
http://www.woodcentral.com/shots/shot522.shtml
http://www.woodcentral.com/shots/shot634.shtml

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Gerry KIERNAN

Now there are some practical and inexpensive dust collection units.

How did you stumble on to Shop Shots Daryl?

Gerry

bigredc

Thanks daryl. I'm on a
mission. There is an HVAC supply store near me. I'm going to stop by and price a blower. I just got done pricing dc hose. Woodcraft gets $20 for 10 ' of 2 1/2" hose and $25 for 10' of 4". Grizzly gets $9 for 10' of 2" and $11 for 10' of 2 1/2" and $14 for 10' of 4". I priced pool hose at HD it's about the same as Woodcraft. I happen to have a Woodcraft 15 min. from me, so even though they are expensive, it's convenient. Do we just use common sence to size the hose. Like 4" for a planer, 2" for a miter saw. Did you check out the wiring diagram for the one 3 speed blower. That's a Rub Goldberg if I ever saw one.

area123

I really don't want the motor hanging out, I didn't realize it did. I might just go into the store and check some saws out but HD and Lowes don't really have many of the models you mention. I guess I'll look around.

Seems like most of the models you listed were in the 800+ range, what is the best value in your opinion? I'm looking to spend around $600 or less and didn't see any of your favorites in that range.

And I already have a Forrest WW 2 blade that I love on my cheapo craftsman. That is the only reason that saw lasted me as long as it did. It will rip 5/4 Jatoba and anything else as long as it's not too long for me handle w/ that light of a table.


thanks a lot for all the help.