I looking to pick one of these up. I need a fence and miter angled guide for cutting scale lumber.
Any recommendations on a decent one that won't break the bank?
Al
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I bought the Skill table saw and love it. I think it was only $150-$200 Here is the one I have!
If your gonna rip three or four 1x4's a cheap saw will do the job but if your ripping 2 inch material or plywood I would suggest a saw with some good amperage. I bought the cheaper saw to start with and I spent more time waiting on the reset to cool than I did actually sawing. Good used heavy saws can be found on Craigslist for little money.
A number of scratch builders I know use these. Pricey but if you plan to do a lot of modeling it can pay for itself in a few years.
Pete
Depends on how precise you want to be; I have used both the Micro-Mark and the Byrnes.
There is no comparison on precision; the Micro-Mark is toy and the Byrnes is a precision table saw with cuts much finer than even a Delta for small pieces.
I was told to check out Proxxon tools a while back when looking around for a benchtop mini saw. I mostly wanted to rip styrene and brass for making Kadee shims and adapters. I bought the one below and it works great for what it is. I bought a finer tooth blade for cutting brass and ended up keeping the blade on for styrene too. You can't change the blade depth nor the angle so that might be something to consider.
You can get these off eBay for about $150.
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I've never bothered to invest in a mini-table saw - very rare that I ever need one....
I just keep a huge inventory of scale lumber in my shop and try very hard to keep all of my fingers firmly attached to their original factory set locations.
After many years of having a sawmill and woodshop business, I shutter at the sound of any saw blade running, especially a table saw. Its not fun looking for an employees fingers in saw dust. One suggestion for table saw users that I can give, wear a leather apron, anti-kick back fingers don't always catch a board or edging that can get shot back at you. Besides fingers being cut off, a woman got her stomach impaled by an edging kicking back and a guy lost a testicle from a board kicking back. When asked where their apron was, the answer, in my locker. It also helps to keep the points sharp on the kick back fingers. They do loose their tips over time. I know we're talking mini here, but I'm sure you all use big ones too.
I like my Dremel table saw. There is a cottage industry of aftermarket accessories made for this table including more precise fences and miter gauges, sleds, blades and vacuum attachments. They can be bought on ebay for under $150.
Bob
Thank you Everyone for their suggestions. I am looking at the Proxxon saw. Seems to be what I need for the jobs I have in mind. It will make cutting sheet styrene much easier(and accurate I hope)lol
Al
AlbertsTrains,
You might also consider the Rockwell X2 Portable Table saw that I use for cutting FasTrack, works great and at any angle and size, never cut any styrene with it however! Works with jig saw type blades, not circular wheel blade.
If you are a Military Vet you can pick one up at Lowes for about $85.00.
PCRR/Dave
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