A bit of a story and a new table saw - Hercules 10" from Harbor Freight. Kind of surprised.

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Painfullyslow

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I've been on the lookout for a used table/cabinet saw for about 6 weeks now. Twice I found a good deal only to have it sold out from under me. Once I drove 45 minutes only to find that the saw was not functioning, and two days ago I went to look at a 'nice' Jet which ended up being completely rusted and seized. To say that I am fed up is an understatement.

My current table saw is a 15 year old Ryobi that I bought to rough cut lumber. It was dirt cheap back then and it doesn't even have miter slots in the table. It wasn't very accurate right out of the box and time has only made it worse.

I am not about to shell out big money for a 'top end' saw for this hobby so I started looking at the contractor saws, figuring anything that I could get would still be worlds better than what I was currently using.

I stopped at Home Depot on the way back from looking at the Jet and checked out the Dewalt as I have always had good luck with their tools in the past and as expected, it was decent enough. Then I went home and started doing some research online. Surprisingly the Harbor Freight "pro" line of Hercules had gotten some very favorable reviews when compared to the Dewalt.

Now, I appreciate Harbor Freight for what it is but when it comes to any kind of precision tool I would normally be looking elsewhere but it just so happens that this exact saw is on sale this weekend for $300 out the door so with a healthy dose of skepticism I went and picked it up, figuring that I could always just return it if it was garbage.

Obviously I cannot speak to any longevity but I have to say that initial impressions are quite good. Rigid, steel frame, powerful motor that is still significantly quieter than my Ryobi, and surprisingly I got a dead nuts 90.0 degrees on the blade when I checked it with my digital angle finder. Fit and finish on it is on par with the Dewalt that I saw at HD which was surprising to say the least. I threw a coat of paste wax on the table immediately after unboxing and then put it to work.

The blade that it comes with is actually pretty good as I spent most of yesterday ripping apart 3/4" plywood for sleds and jigs. without any burning or motor bogging down. I also picked up a dado stack and cut 3/4" dados in the sled for T track all without issue.

I wanted a table saw specifically for segmenting so I ordered up a 7 1/4" Freud thin kerf blade which should be here today.

Now, the bad stuff:

It is still a contractor saw so although it is quieter than my old Ryobi, it is still pretty loud.
The fence on it is "ok". I would use it for dimensional lumber without a second thought but it is not what I would call super precise. This is ok because I am going to be using a sled almost exclusively with this saw.
As with all contractor saws, sawdust goes everywhere.

All in all though I have to say that I am pretty happy with it thus far. Time will tell but at least for the moment I am impressed with it.
 
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jttheclockman

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I bet it can do a decent job with good quality blades and jigs. It is a Jobsite table top saw and not a contractors saw. Even though contractors do use them. The difference is it is a direct drive saw. This means the blade is connected directly to the universal motor and no belt like on a contractor saw. The motor is why they are so loud. It is like a shop vac motor. Good luck and can not wait to see your jigs for it.
 

penicillin

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I looked at that Hercules saw on the Harbor Freight website. It is a typical jobsite table saw, not a contractor table saw. I owned a jobsite table saw and liked it for the compactness and easy portability. I did a lot of good woodworking on it, but eventually replaced it with a cabinet saw. The reasons were:
  • Jobsite saws have a very short lead in distance from the front of the table to the blade. Keeping the wood aligned with the fence when rip cutting longer boards can be scary.
    • My solution was to use a long auxiliary fence that extends out the front to make guiding and aligning the workpiece easier.
    • Infeed support is important, too.
  • Jobsite saws have aluminum tables. They scratch, dent, bend, and warp easily. They don't work with magnetic accessories.
    • My solution was "be careful" to avoid dents.
    • I also decided that all of my future table saws would have cast iron tops. My cabinet saw has a cast iron top, and it is great to be able to use those magnetic accessories.
  • You get a "portable" fence with a jobsite saw. Contractor and cabinet saws usually have better fences.
    • Make sure you do a careful job of aligning the blade and fence with the miter slots. Check the fence alignment often. Kickbacks suck.
  • Miter slots are farther away from the blade on jobsite saws compared with contractor and cabinet saws. I have seen it on Bosch, SawStop, and other jobsite saws. I do not know whether it applies to the Hercules saw.
    • The Rockler thin rip jig doesn't extend far enough to work on jobsite saws. That doesn't matter, because there are so many other thin rip jigs (commercial and easy-to-make-your-own) available, but it makes you wonder what else won't work?
There are many other feature differences (e.g., power at the blade), but the list above were the "operational" issues that led me to move to a cabinet saw.
 

Painfullyslow

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Thank you all for the correction on the 'jobsite saw'. I definitely understand that this is an entry level saw and recognize the shortcomings of it but I am hoping that with proper blades and sleds, it can do some decent segmenting. If not, I have 30 days to return it =)

I just got my 7.25" blade, the kerf on it is 0.051...pretty damn thin. I am at the point where I needed the blade to move forward on the sled but I am 3 margaritas deep at the moment so I think staying away from sharp, spinning things is probably a good idea.

I will make some updates tomorrow with the progress on my sled.
 

jttheclockman

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Thank you all for the correction on the 'jobsite saw'. I definitely understand that this is an entry level saw and recognize the shortcomings of it but I am hoping that with proper blades and sleds, it can do some decent segmenting. If not, I have 30 days to return it =)

I just got my 7.25" blade, the kerf on it is 0.051...pretty damn thin. I am at the point where I needed the blade to move forward on the sled but I am 3 margaritas deep at the moment so I think staying away from sharp, spinning things is probably a good idea.

I will make some updates tomorrow with the progress on my sled.
Many times it is not the size of the tools but the craftsmanship of how to use them. You can make sufficient jigs that can take out some of the deficiencies of a saw so have fun and show us what you got.
 

Painfullyslow

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Connecticut
Happiness is...

Screenshot_20220501-230710_Calculator.jpg


My first tablesaw sled is in progress! Using the 5 cut method and that is the variance over 20". I can live with that!

I should be able to have pictures of it up within the next day or two.
 

farmer

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Jun 16, 2012
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My biggest Lathe is made by Hercules It is a 25x 80 with a 25 hp motor .
I have no idea if its the same company or not , I have never had to order any parts for my lathe yet but the brake isn't working right .
I like my Hercules lathe
I hope your Hercules table saw works good for you like my Hercules lathe has worked for me .
 

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