raucao, 11 months ago

@Gina A decent table saw is a great tool for precise and repeatable cuts!

However, in hindsight, I'm wondering if purchasing a good track saw first isn't the better investment. I recently got the battery-driven Makita track saw, and I'm still shocked by the precision and versatility. It's much nicer than a small table saw for cutting down sheet goods, but you can still use it for any other cut that a table saw can do. And battery-driven ones are so portable as well in comparison.

Gina, 11 months ago

I know we're not Black+Decker fans when it comes to drills, but how about for table saws?

https://www.karwei.nl/assortiment/black-decker-1800w-250mm-tafelzaag-bes720-qs/p/B148877?msclkid=41b136faa8b614caf1f15244cbcd575b&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=9.%20NB%20-%20Shopping&utm_term=4582970657335139&utm_content=Gereedschap&gclid=41b136faa8b614caf1f15244cbcd575b&gclsrc=3p.ds

jeroen94704, 11 months ago

@Gina you can do a lot with a tracksaw instead of table saw. Sometime ago I got the cordless one from parkside. Yes, I know, it’s from Lidl, but it’s become my preferred budget brand. Not everything from them is worth getting, but this one is actually pretty good: https://www.lidl.nl/p/parkside-performance-accu-handcirkelzaag-20v-zonder-accu/p100357953 (it says “handcirkelzaag”, but it really is a plunge track saw)

Gina, 11 months ago

@jeroen94704 Can you make 45 degree cuts with a tracksaw?

jeroen94704, 11 months ago

@Gina Yes, it tilts sideways, but if that is important and/or a significant part of your use cases then maybe look for an alternative since that is definitely not the Parkside's strong point.

Gina, 11 months ago

@jeroen94704 But then, why not just get a table saw? What's the advantage of a track saw?

jeroen94704, 11 months ago

@Gina For a couple hundred € you get a decent track saw with accessories that will let you do some high % of what a table saw can do. For that amount of money you’ll get a frustrating table saw that you’ll hate (at least, that’s my experience, YMMV).

gingerman, 11 months ago

As someone that started with a new DeWalt job site table saw and quickly replaced it with a much larger used delta, I agree with @jeroen94704

A cheap table saw is tiny and frustrating. You'll struggle cutting any large sheet materials. Whereas a track saw is virtually unlimited in capacity, you just have to add additional track if necessary. It's also much smaller and portable. You'll get much more quality for the same money.

fedops, 11 months ago

@Gina a table saw is the one thing where there are only two types:

1. huge, heavy, immobile, very expensive, and precise.
2. junk

There are different flavors of junk but everything that's affordable and especially mobile is unadulterated junk.

For reference I have the Bosch green one (forget the number) and it too is junk. I only went for it because it was affordable and there's a mobile stand available for it (I don't have the space for a permanent setup).