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I'm looking at table saws and don't think I need a huge one. I am wondering if anyone here gets by with a smaller "jobsite" type table saw. There are one or two that will rip 4x material which is the largest I can imagine needing to cut through. Mostly, I think I'd use it with the fret slotting jig.

If anyone has experience (good or bad) with a smaller table saw, I'd appreciate hearing about it. I'm looking at the Makita, Bosch, and Jet 10" jobsite saws.

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Registered Architect (Texas, New York)
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Another fan of the Bosch saw, a thin sharp blade with stabalizers and it is ready for most everything, the soft start and electronics do great even at the end of a long extension cord. My only complaint is that the read out for the fence is behind the blade and the window is too small, so it is always full of dust and hard to read.

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Thanks guys - are you using the GTS1031 or 4100?

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Registered Architect (Texas, New York)
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4100 here, I have the stand too, but have never taken the saw any where, but I do need to wheel it out to cut a full sheet of plywood in my small shop.

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Not sure what things are like in your area but here in central Ohio, there's always older, used Delta/Rockwell saws on Craigs List. The older ones have cast iron tops and cast iron trunions - very simple & reliable machines.

My $0.02

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

These other guys will steer you towards good contemporary saws, but there's also the option of looking around for an older saw. I'm still using the saw my father bought in the mid-50s. It's small, but capable of very precise work--just not BIG work. In fact, mine was designed for a 7.5" blade which I can't even find locally any more, so I use 7.25" blades in it. Over the years I've had the motor rewired, put in new arbor bearings and upgraded the pulleys. I built extension wings for it to make it easier to handle longer stock, and I've never had the need for anything bigger. However, I'm not doing commercial work. You probably don't want to go that small, but the simple answer is, yes, a good small saw can work very well if you don't ask it to do the work of a 12" saw. There always seem to be lots of them around in estate sales. Last proviso: You never know how they've been maintained, so, yes, there would be some work involved to get the typical old saw running well and accurately.

Rockwell 10 in tablesaw circa 1980/s $75 off craigslist. Does a lot of shop chores a real workhorse, for a long time it had the diablo thin kerf 7 1/.4in blade.

I had the DeWalt yellow portable. It worked fine. Wish I would have kept it as a dedicated fret slotting saw.

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That's a good idea, Kevin - I usually do look there first. There are lots of tools around here but it can be tough for a person who does everything by bike. The cargo bike would probably work for a small/portable type table saw...not so much a 14" bandsaw!

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Registered Architect (Texas, New York)
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Hi all;
Not sure if this is exactly on topic but I thought I would throw it in "just in case".
I own a small ancient (1940ish) Sears 8 inch bench top that I picked up used 30 years ago. It's a tilt arbor with enough cast iron around it to make a lot of commercial units blush. Cost me a whopping $50. While parts are not available anymore I recently picked up the 10 inch version ($80/craigslist) for parts but after going through it I decided to put it to use. Neither have given me any problems and once adjusted cut straight and true. Keep in mind while small, these are quite heavy due to the cast iron aspect.
Just thought I'd toss in a plug for my little work horses.
John

I have an old Craftsman contractor TS that I use all the time. I have a Delta tennon cutter for it that I just used along with a miter T gage to cut a V neck joint with.

Now that we are slightly off-topic: Chris, you are going to have to tell me in detail how you set up that volute on the back of the neck in your picture!

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Registered Architect (Texas, New York)
LEED AP

Well it's a 1" X 2" V tennon with a 15 degree head angle more then just a volute, if I don't blow it there will be a volute when finished
viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=37438
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KocJHchKVZQ&feature=plcp
The youtube wasn't working for me so I pulled out the tennon jig and figured it out. Now you know what I know.

If you are not looking for the portability of a jobsite saw, you might want to look for an older Unisaw. If you remove the left extension table and use a short fence they have a smaller footprint than most contractor saws that hang the motor out the back. I replaced a jet tablesaw (which I still need to get rid of) with one, and cobbled together short rails for a T square (biesemeyer style) fence and a wooden mobile base.
I bought an used powermatic 66 for less than the price of the bosch and swapped out the three phase motor for a 2 hp (220V) single phase motor from ebay. It has plenty of power for the stuff I do and bolted right up to the saw.
As others have said the old cast iron craftsman saws are nice and usually sell pretty cheap. Their newer stuff not so good.
The Bosch saw looks like it is very good for its intended purpose - taken to a job site, set up and used, then packed up at the end of the day. The other saws I and others have suggested won't do this as well. Most job site saws are pretty junky. I use an old beat up Makita. It is a little bit on the heavy side and gets more so the older I get. If I used it on a daily basis it might make sense to buy the Bosch.