this post was submitted on 21 Mar 2024
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Woodworking

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What's a good basic table saw? I look at them online and can't really tell much a difference. I'm tempted to just get a harbor freight one but know the fence will probably be loose and other annoyances...

Anyone have a specific recommendation for someone who is only occasionally playing around with simple carpentry?

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[–] IMALlama@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Have any size/weight/portability restrictions?

It looks like the Rigid R4560 is the current incarnation of the table saw I have.

It's hard to go wrong with craigslist if you live in a decently dense area. Worst case, you can always sell it for around what you paid for it.

If you're going to be cutting large pieces of wood, having a heavy saw will give you more stability. You're also going to need something to help with indeed and out feed if you're going to try to cut something like a 2x4.

As an alternative, or potentially a companion, consider a track saw and sawhorses or even a circular saw with something like this. I break down large pieces of wood this way now and then being them to my table saw.

[–] gibmiser@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

That looks real nice but feels like it's too expensive for my use. Guess I'll be shopping used.

I don't trust myself to cut straight with a track saw, otherwise it sounds like a good idea.

[–] IMALlama@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

A track saw is rigidly mounted to the track. As long as you clamp the track square, you should be good to go.