Table saw for DIY

davidoc4

I'm looking to get a table saw for some DIY, small furniture making, frames etc. Looked at the lidl and aldi brands but reviews are not the best. For a budget of about 150-200 would anyone have suggestions? Thanks

jack of all

Unfortunately your budget is very low, most "table saws" in that price range will be hobby/ DIY rated and will have flimsy and inaccurate fences- not suited for any kind of dimensioning work other than rough ripping perhaps. I have a Dewalt site saw which is a good compromise for me but costs around €700 new. You might get something closer to your price range second hand- but any of the second hand stuff I've seen for sale in this country tends to be well over-priced for worn out machines or at best a decent machine that requires work (and unless you have the tools and know-how it may be uneconomical).

recipio

A mitre saw with the table on top would be a lot more versatile and still in your budget. Most carpentry involves cutting accurate right angle crosscuts and mitred angles. A good 60 tooth blade would make all the difference.

timfromtang

You may do well building one from quality ply and mdf, have you seen Matthias Wandel's work on you tube?
A common approach is to insert a handheld circular saw upside down into some sort of flat surface, and provide a sliding fence arrangement.
you could end up with a quality result with some care and research, I imagine the thrill of achievement after building your first piece of furniture with the saw you constructed might be quite worthwhile.
tim

Sparks

The axminister ones seem to be pretty decent (cast iron tables, induction motors and so on)... but they're a little over 400. That does seem to be the entry point for decent table saws when buying new.

davidoc4

Thanks everyone for your replies, looks like I may have to wait for a second hand one to pop up or save a little more! If I was to push the budget up to the 200-400 mark would anyone have suggestions? timfromtang - great suggestion to make one, but not sure id have the skillset at the moment. Thanks

basillarkin

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DeWalt-DW745-Heavy-Lightweight-220V-240V/dp/B000Y8TZV8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469446302&sr=8-1&keywords=dewalt+table+saw

comes in at a little over 400e delivered to aparcel wizard address in NI

Yelnahs

I recently made a table saw using a combination of Matthias' and a few other YouTubers methods. I would highly recommend going down this route if you're on a tight budget. I also added a router to the table so mine is 2 in 1. Got it all done for about 300 including router and circular saw.

eoinp11

Yelnahs wrote: »

I recently made a table saw using a combination of Matthias' and a few other YouTubers methods. I would highly recommend going down this route if you're on a tight budget. I also added a router to the table so mine is 2 in 1. Got it all done for about 300 including router and circular saw.

Would you have plans for this? Or some of the videos that led you close to it?

I have a circular saw, but it's not amazing. What kinda specs for the circular saw would be required?

Any info is welcome!

Yelnahs

I don't have any exact plans but it looks a lot like the one made here (minus the inverted jigsaw/scroll saw) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P14zJ2mkL8o

Here is Matthias' table saw but he is a freak of nature (meant in the best way possible) and for my purposes was over the top, I did steal his fence design and clamp. Also his has dust extraction which the one above doesn't have: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBucMKhrL8M

Finally, another good design is by the Italian Makers here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-IufFlTuIQ

The purists on here may disagree with building your own table saw but it meets my needs perfectly and was dirt cheap to put together. Plus it's a very interesting project.

jonon9

If you really want a table saw and got space I would save the pennies and go for something good. I brought a cheap table saw years ago and it caused nothing but arse ache. Now I'm not saying spends a few grand but a 5-8 hundred quid saw will be of very good quality The dewalt table saws or site saws as they are called are decent for the price I love their rack and pinion fence best in the market I think.

recipio

jonon9 wrote: »

If you really want a table saw and got space I would save the pennies and go for something good. I brought a cheap table saw years ago and it caused nothing but arse ache. Now I'm not saying spends a few grand but a 5-8 hundred quid saw will be of very good quality The dewalt table saws or site saws as they are called are decent for the price I love their rack and pinion fence best in the market I think.

Belt driven makes all the difference....;)

eoinp11

Yelnahs wrote: »

I don't have any exact plans but it looks a lot like the one made here (minus the inverted jigsaw/scroll saw) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P14zJ2mkL8o

Here is Matthias' table saw but he is a freak of nature (meant in the best way possible) and for my purposes was over the top, I did steal his fence design and clamp. Also his has dust extraction which the one above doesn't have: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBucMKhrL8M

Finally, another good design is by the Italian Makers here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-IufFlTuIQ

The purists on here may disagree with building your own table saw but it meets my needs perfectly and was dirt cheap to put together. Plus it's a very interesting project.

They are some excellent videos. I've watched that mathias guy before, his stuff always seems WAY to advanced for me.

I really like the 3 in one design. Did yours come out perfectly square? Is yours height adjustable? What width did you end up making yours?

EdmondShiels3

If you are still looking for a table saw for DIY, EPT in Carlow have a good range. https://www.ept-irl.com

Yelnahs

Mine did come out perfectly square. I routed out the profile of the mitre saw and then place the saw inside. I then routed out where the blade would appear (as opposed to plunge cutting it). This ended up nearly square. I then shimmed one side of the mitre saw insert with small piece of wood until it was square. Once this was done I bolted it into place and it hasn't moved since.

My saw/router table is 4 foot x 2 foot. The box underneath it is hinged and is 4 foot x 1 1/2 foot. The over hang allows me to lift it and also to mount a fence (which I have yet to do!)

Hopefully that explains it, if you need any more detail give me a shout

edit. Sorry, just saw the date of your post. I wasn't notified about the post for some reason so apologies for the delay!