Painfullyslow
Member
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.
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.