Advice on portable table saws

[ByronH]

Hi guys, I'd like to pick some brains regarding a possible table saw purchase. Up until now I've made do with a B&D circular saw and after much frustration I reckon it's time to get serious.

I'm considering the Makita MLT100 table saw: product flyer



Has anyone worked with this saw before? Any opinions or recommendations will be appreciated

Cheers, Byron.

[Heinrich]

i was looking at that exact machine at makro yesterday.
i liked it a lot.
compares to everything else that makro has, it looked far superior.(not that makro has got the biggest range in the world)
i thought it was fairly priced as well.

[DRNB]

Triton workbench with a nice circular saw (not B&D).

[ByronH]

i was looking at that exact machine at makro yesterday.
i liked it a lot.
compares to everything else that makro has, it looked far superior.(not that makro has got the biggest range in the world)
i thought it was fairly priced as well.

Cool Did the machine at Macro include a stand? I see they're advertising the MLT100 online for R4,699.00 (VAT?), which is very attractive indeed.

Triton workbench with a nice circular saw (not B&D).

I do like Triton products, but I've about had it with modular systems using circular saws. Around a year ago I purchased a Tork Craft Workcentre 3 in 1 for jigsaw, router and circular saw:


(Mine's grey, not blue)

Now while this has proven useful at times, mostly it's a b***h to to get setup properly for accurate work. You literally spend at least an hour getting it all squared up and even then things don't go precisely as planned.

Before I bought this I was looking at a Triton Workcentre, but couldn't find one at the time and so I picked up the Tork Craft for a reduced price. Essentially this has ruined the concept for me

[chris]

I have a Triton work center, its not bad but its not to good either. I also looked at the Makita a while back and like all Makita tools it looks really decent. I just feel if you don't need a movable machine rather get a stationary one. They are built more robust and they are nice and heavy so they don't move around while you work (BIG problem with Triton). But then it all comes down to budget so get the best you can afford, and keep in mind its a long term asset.

[Heinrich]

Did the machine at Macro include a stand?

nope, no stand.but if possible i would also rather build a proper steel or wooden base for it and make it stationary.to me it just feels better.
my grandfather has a very old rockwell delta table saw,very solid saw, but it has wheels on and that does not always work very well.if you have the space, bolt it to the floor.

[JimGore]

Hi Byron,

I have a number of Makita tools, and all of them work well, are accurate, have good after-sales service, you can get spares, can take abuse, etc, etc.  One of my favourite tools is a Makita compound mitre saw - that thing is awesome, and accurate.

I have a Bosch professional table saw (I built a stand for it), and it is pretty damn good.  Obviously not in line with a 500 kg Jet with cast iron beds, but for what it is, pretty good.

Out of interest, how much is the Makita (I cannot open the attachment).

Thanks,
Ian.

[bbe22]

looks like a very nice unit - the Festool one even better
I use the ELU equivalent of this       http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee487/bbe22bbe/dew.jpg   and find accuracy and the small table and fence a problem with larger pieces, make sure the Makita works for your needs in those areas.
If you want to extend your circular saw capability consider the  EZ Smart   http://www.eurekazone.com   it works !

[ByronH]

Hi Ian, the attachment is just a product flyer, no price (try this link). At Macro it seems to be going for R4,699.00 sans stand but I'll have to call to make sure locally, else I see some driving around in my near future...

I have a Makita planer and it's built tank tough, so I can appreciate what you're saying. As far as a stand is concerned, I am happy to make one as Heinrich suggests or perhaps even use the Tork Craft base instead which is quite sturdy.

[JimGore]

That's not a bad price at all.

The one thing I would be slightly weary of is that the fence does not clamp front and back (as far as I can see).  This can cause some problems with flexing, etc.

Regards,
Ian.

[ByronH]

The one thing I would be slightly weary of is that the fence does not clamp front and back (as far as I can see).  This can cause some problems with flexing, etc.

Hmm, good thing you pointed that out as I missed that important detail. The Bosch Pro you referred to earlier, is this the 4100 10″ Worksite Table Saw?

[JimGore]

Not sure about the model number - I will check this evening.

It is very similar looking to this one:



Ian.

[ByronH]

Not sure about the model number - I will check this evening.

Cool, thanks Ian.

looks like a very nice unit - the Festool one even better
I use the ELU equivalent of this       http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee487/bbe22bbe/dew.jpg   and find accuracy and the small table and fence a problem with larger pieces, make sure the Makita works for your needs in those areas.
If you want to extend your circular saw capability consider the  EZ Smart   http://www.eurekazone.com   it works !

EZ Smart looks nice, just don't like the plastic base for own saw. Used a similar system for my router and it flexed too easily so ended up abandoning it in the end for a piece of 16mm MDF instead; rock solid

BUT, that's got me thinking along the lines of a rail saw...

Any opinions on this pretty piece of kit? Makita SP6000K (product flyer), R5,499 at Executool, R5,799 at Jack's Paints (local).
Kit includes a "Systainer" (Carry case) and a 1400mm guide rail.

[JimGore]

I have the Festool circular saw with all manner of aluminium guide rails.

Make no mistake - it is an awesome machine, but unfortunately there are things that a table saw is just much better at.

Think along the lines of cutting 10x exactly same sized panels, or the splines I made on the mitre joints for the IB buils I am currently busy with.  These things are very easy on a table, but not quite as easily done with a rail saw.

Regards,
Ian.

[ByronH]

Think along the lines of cutting 10x exactly same sized panels, or the splines I made on the mitre joints for the IB buils I am currently busy with. These things are very easy on a table, but not quite as easily done with a rail saw.

Good point Ian, and this is precisely the sort of thing I plan on using the saw for