Table saw size.

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Ulises Victoria

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Hello all. I am in the market for a table saw. I just checked out the 4" Jim Byrnes saw. Looks very nice and seems that everyone agrees that this is the Rolls Royce of the small sized table saws, but it says cutting capacity 15/16". I think this is too low... or not?. I also looked at a DeWalt 10" which is even cheaper than the JB, but maybe not the same quality.
My question is: What would be the best choice in terms of blade size to use in our hobby? Do I need the 10" or would the 4" be enough?
Would love to hear advise from experienced penturners here. :smile:
 
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I would go for a 10 inch saw unless you will never cut anything other than pen blanks or hobby sized pieces of wood. A 10 inch saw will give you much more versatility and has a greater blade selection to choose from. I just dedicated a 10 in Makita to small work no greater than 1 inch. I built a special fence guide for it and put a 7 1/2 inch thin kerf blade on it. I do however have another table saw for larger work.
 
I also would go with the 10 inch, unless it is complete junk. I have a 10 inch Delta Unisaw that has been in my family since my dad bought it used in 1950. It works great and is true.
 
I have a 10 inch and it can do lots. However, I know the feel to have a very accurate small saw dedicated to pen making. You can use a 7 1/2 inch thin kerf blade of 1/16 inch. Some larger table saws are too hard to keep aligned without using jigs.

A well tuned bandsaw can give you some fairly nice cuts too with thin kerf.

That said, I made my own small saw with an approximately 7 inch saw purchased while I was in Japan. (I lived there until a year ago.) I also had access to some good hardware stores in which I could buy 5 inch (120mm) blades with 1 mm kerfs and I bought several. I brought all of that home with me. I made a few jigs and a couple are in the link below but all are not pictured there. (They are still packed. :frown: )

But there is nothing like a dedicated saw to make and work on blanks.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/f30/home-made-table-saw-pen-making-3838/
 
10-inch absolutely. One thing to keep in mind is that while pens may be your focus at the present time, consider what else you would eventually build. When it comes to cutting blanks, a tablesaw is overkill. I am firm believer in using bandsaw or hand cut. Got a 10-inch 3-hp cabinet tablesaw and have never used it for cutting blanks.
 
I have a 4" dremel 30 plus year old table saw the small saws are great for small work. There are a number of them Proxon has one and Micromart has another. The biggest problem is the belt drives and they will slip if you push them. But it is great, I have recently started thinking about this one Item # 93211from HF it is a 4" direct motor drive, Yes you still can stall the the motor with to hard or large of stock. Max cut capacity is 3/4" it currently on on sale for $37.99 not counting the 20% coupons. For hobbyist use Not using it 16 hours a day/7 days a week it should work. For what they want it might pay to get the two year extended warranty for walk in replacement.
They have a 24 tooth carbide blades but there are others out there.

One word about the low buck 10" portable table saws. Other than the color of the bases and names they are all the same. I have had three of them, they are what they are need some slight tweaking but will run till they give up the magic blue smoke.
:clown:
 
Hmmm... thanks all for your comments.
Now a second question if I may...
I was talking to a friend telling him about my need to get some power tools. I mentioned to him first that I would need a band saw to cut blanks out of scrap or random pieces of wood. He said that if I needed straight cuts I better go with a table saw because the band saw sometimes go out of alignment when hitting like a hard spot. Is this so?

So what do you guys think about table vs. band saw?

I also build sailing ship models, so I want some tools I can use in both my activities, like cutting thin strips of wood for planking.
 
If I could only have one, I would go with a good bandsaw. My tablesaw choice would be a 10". You can always use a small blade on a big saw, but you can't go the other way very well.
 
With a good fence, and a good quality blade If I was going only to have one I would pick the band saw. Other than cut large sheet products. or long boards for larger furniture type projects.
:clown:
 
Bandsaws: for the most part 9 and 10 inch are the ones that give the most trouble with blade wandering. Be careful. The main reason is that they do not allow enough tensioning of the blade.

From what I have read, the Rikon 10 in and its counterpart at Sears does well.

I have a 9 inch Delta that I used here Stateside when I was living in Japan. I regretted buying that. I tuned and tuned but it did not do well cutting blanks from hardwood. Others have had similar experience with other 9 inchers. Every once in a while someone gets one that does do well, but if you are not familiar enough from the beginning in tuning, stay away from them.

Some 12 in and more specifically 14 inch bandsaws do well. They need to be tuned and tensioned, but with the right blade (not the stock or cheapest blades available) they can be made to cut almost as smooth as a good table saw blade.

I am leaving a lot out on this - mostly each person has to familiarize himself/herself with the machine, how to set up and tune, and what blades to use for specific uses. The same for Table saws.

Personally, I use both about 50/50. IF I had only one, I would start with a decent TS. But I know others who use the BS as their primary and only saw. If you are not experienced in working with TSs, I would start with a BS. While both can be dangerous, the TS leads the way on danger. Improper and even proper use of riving knifes, fences, blade height introduce dangers. Cutting blanks with the rip fence introduce dangers that can even be fatal. Overall, the BS is safer.
 
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Like everyone says go for the 10". My wife works at Lowe's and pick up a Hitachi 10" that they discontinued. It sold for 699.00 but she pick it up for 58.00 brand new in the box.
 
For table saw a 10" as mentioned before you can always put a smaller blade on it, and as for the band saw I use the craftsman 12" (I think they replaced it with the Rikon brand now) and I upgraded it with Carter Guides, and use the Stabilizer whenever the cutting requires a lot of curves.


With a good resaw blade, and it is setup right I can cut veneer thickness.

Thanks
Danny
 
I would use a 10" table saw and buy a zero clearance insert so the cuttings don't go through the gap. Also, it's all in the blade. Buy a Forest or a Freud blade and be prepared to spend $100 on the blade. It will pay for itself and can be sharpened professionally.
 
I beleive that the tablesaw is the best all around large power tool you can own. You can rip long boards into thinner strips for your own blanks, and then use it to crosscut them for blanks.

That being said, I used a radial arm saw as my primary saw for almost 20 years before I bought a table saw, and I personally love it, so I am not really a "table saw snob". I also own 2 bandsaws -- a 10" Delta benchtop model for small model work, and a 14" Powermatic that I use a lot for resawing stock very thin to make laminated blanks for wine stoppers, tool handles, and other large turnings. And I also own a jointer, a planer, a drill press, a router table, a lathe, and I've lost count of the power hand tools ... :smile: Maybe I am not the best person to recommend choosing one tool over another!

If you get a 10" table saw, look online and in books for plans for crosscut sleds. Pretty simple to make, and they will make your life easier (and safer), when crosscutting small pieces to make blanks.
 
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Well, I appreciate all and every input here. Seems to me that the 10" table saw wins the poll. Now, at the risk of being considered abusive :tongue: I will ask one more question.

In terms of price range (primarily), and brand name, I've set my eyes on this baby. http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW745-10-Inch-Job-Site-Capacity/dp/B000HXT2N6/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Has anyone had any experience with this brand? Or can you offer another suggestion? Sorry to be so insistent, but I just can't make up my mind on this matter. :redface:
 
What I ended up with

I just got done with the new saw hunt. I sold my big cabinet saw that was 5hp 220v, with Vega & Excalibur add on's. It was just too big, and my wife wanted some garage room back. (Something about wanting to park a car in there or something?)
Found a great article in the October 2009 of Popular Woodworking. (Still can be viewed online) covering newer style beanchtops/portable 10" saws. Long story short.... I ended up with the Ridgid R4510. Wonderful saw, gravity stand that folds up great and includes wheels. Cuts are great, with a good blade and very little tune up it is wotking like a champ. Lifetime warranty and all. I'm a Prime Amazon member so shipping from them would be free, but their price shows they must have figured that in. I found it much cheaper at my local Home Depot for $499.00.
glad I bought it, and don't miss the big saw at all. (Still would never want to be without my bandsaw, using it more than the tablesaw for pen work..that said, love the Ridgid and it's new design) Best of luck in your hunt!
Kenn
 
I'm a little late to the party here, but here's my 2 cents. I have 9 and 10" table saws and 10 and 14" bandsaws. I also used Unisaws when I taught. They are great saws, but few of us need that much saw. For pen blanks and other small work I use the 14" bandsaw almost exclusively. I use hook tooth metal cutting blades, a fence, and miter guage with a backing board and stop. A well-tuned bandsaw with a good blade will service you well. If I were doing small woodworking and needed a good inexpensive table saw, I would not buy any of the newer saws. If room was an issue and I didn't think tilting the blade was important, I would buy any of the older Delta tilting table saws and give it new life with bearings and a tune-up. The motor can be mounted under the saw to take up less room. The old Delta 34-500 and 34-600 are also good small tilting arbor table saws with cast iron trunions, but the motor hangs off of the rear. You can always use smaller blades and zero clearance inserts to improve performance.
 
I was browsing the web and came across this very interesting small table saw, built by a professional model ship builder - Fred Brinks. It's a 4" saw, but... oh, what a beautiful machine it is! I particularly like the sliding table and miter guage. And the fence looks very robust. Yes, I said a sliding table!

This is his prototype model. I emailed him asking when he was planning to start selling this on the market - he said he and his partner are shooting for early March (which is next month).

Most Accurate Small Table Saw in the World by Fred Brinks - YouTube

His model ships are built from scratch and are simply a wonderful work of craftsmanship.
 
10 inch is my choice it will give you the option of buying bigger wood to cut down to pen blanks instead of having to find the small wood to fit the little saw. When I was buying wood I was able to buy larger pieces cheaper and get more blanks out of it (making my blank cost cheaper) than spending more for less...plus I do alot more than just pens
I have 13in band saw 10in table saw 10 in miter saw 12in thickness planer drill press scroll saw and my lathe I can do just about anything with no worries
 
Okay my 2 ¢ I have both a 10" table saw and a 14" band saw. If I was forced to have only one since most of my woodworking time is on a lathe I would opt for the band saw. But a good one not one of the small cheap ones. The band saw is more versatle for a turner I can pre-round a bowl blank easily and less worries when cutting pen blanks out.
 
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