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?
Edit: You're telling a person who occasionally does wood work to buy a thousand dollar saw. Do you people even listen to yourselves? I bet you all bought $600+ saws when you were occasional woodworkers right? What a joke this thread is
Surely you can see how silly that is. You can cut your finger off with all kinds of woodworking tools. Does Sawstop make a hand saw? How about chisels?
You're missing my point: A thousand dollar table saw is not a basic saw. It's not something anyone but a serious wood worker is going to buy unless they're rich. This person is going to buy a used Ryobi because the suggestions in this thread are so dumb. "Go buy a $650 saw! Go buy a $1000 saw!" How is that helpful at all? Do you recommend buying Snap On to your friends who want to turn a few bolts? This thread is a pile of gate keeping by people who either have way too much money or are serious woodworkers. And I'm getting downvoted for calling out this stupidity.
You are missing the point. table saws are too dangerious to risk the cheap saw. Better to do without. Ther are alternatives that while slower are also cheaper.
i understand this is a lot of money. your fingers are worth it.
When my wife and I bought ours it was only 1.5x a comparable (similar motor/blade spec) DeWalt/Bosch, maybe 2x a comparable Delta. The only saws available at 1/5 the price were on Craigslist.
Yeah, it's more, but as hobbyists we figured we were (1) more likely to make a painful (and costly) mistake than a professional who's working with the thing day in and day out and (2) less likely to be able to restore/maintain a used saw of unknown age, provenance, condition, etc. Worth it for us, and IMO probably for most serious amateurs.