Need suggestions on table saw/cordless drill, etc

[AnonymouseUser]

Originally posted by: dxkj

Originally posted by: AnonymouseUser

Originally posted by: dxkj
Also trying to figure out which cordless drill to get, i currently just have a corded black and decker.

I recently bought a new 18V cordless drill. My previous drill was a 7 year old 12V Milwaukee (used daily, original batteries), and I was quite impressed with that drill. Needless to say I intended to get another Milwaukee drill. That was until I met the new Makita drill...

18V, Lithium Ion battery, 15 minute charger, built-in light etc., but the best feature of all was the weight. This 18V drill weighs less (3.5lbs) than my previous 12V drill (4.3lbs)! I never thought I would buy anything other than a Milwaukee, but Makita changed my mind. The only downfall is the battery's capacity (1.5AH). That helps keep the weight down, but the 15-minute charger more than makes up for it's limited capacity.

$200 of pure bliss

how long does one battery last? I notice it comes with 2

That totally depends on how you use it. I can go almost a week on one charge (medium duty use), which is about the same as my 12V Milwaukee used to last. You can always get the 3.0ah batteries if you need them.

 

[jemcam]

In my opinion, (and I own both) Jet is of better overall quality than Delta. The fit, finish and again, overall quality is better. Compare the tables and edges of a Delta vs. a Jet. The Jet's tables are smoother, more finished and have less ragged edges. This can be fixed of course with a little sandpaper and elbow grease, but if the prices are comparable, why not buy the nicer stuff to begin with?

As far as fences, that is what makes the difference between a mediocre tablesaw and a good one. Go with the Beisemeyer or Beisemeyer copy. They are easier to adjust and they lock down a lot more positively than the cheaper ones.

Regarding cordless drills, I've owned Makita and DeWalt. The DeWalts are much nicer, better balanced, more ergonomic than the Makitas, and yes, I've owned both of them too.

I have quite a woodworking shop and build my own furniture for what it's worth.

 

[jemcam]

Originally posted by: JasonCoder
Go with the Ryobi BT3100 line. Belt driven & cheap. So popular it has it's own fan site.

Review

Fan Site

You'll thank me for it :beer:

I had one of those before I stepped up to a real table saw. I didn't like the sliding ALUMINUM tabletop, it was noisy, and making and buying jigs for it was a pain in the ass. My biggest complaint was the fact that it was so fvcking noisy because of the type of motor in it.

If you can buy any power tool with an induction motor instead of a universal motor, do it.

 

[jemcam]

Originally posted by: ZOXXO
Look into the Grizzly models before deciding.

I own a Grizzly jointer and it's the sh!t. I would definitely consider Grizzly again in the future.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: jemcam

Originally posted by: JasonCoder
Go with the Ryobi BT3100 line. Belt driven & cheap. So popular it has it's own fan site.

Review

Fan Site

You'll thank me for it :beer:

I had one of those before I stepped up to a real table saw. I didn't like the sliding ALUMINUM tabletop, it was noisy, and making and buying jigs for it was a pain in the ass. My biggest complaint was the fact that it was so fvcking noisy because of the type of motor in it.

If you can buy any power tool with an induction motor instead of a universal motor, do it.

There are no better saws for the price, or even close to the price, though. Lola got mine for $150 at HD last Christmas. It is noisy, but not any worse than anything else I have.

 

[jemcam]

There are no better saws for the price, or even close to the price, though.

I will grant you that, but it's hard to get real precision out of them and cutting thick hardwoods like Maple, Walnut, Cherry, and even Oak is difficult if not impossible with the underpowered motor it has.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: jemcam

There are no better saws for the price, or even close to the price, though.

I will grant you that, but it's hard to get real precision out of them and cutting thick hardwoods like Maple, Walnut, Cherry, and even Oak is difficult if not impossible with the underpowered motor it has.

I haven't found it to be underpowered yet. Did you have it on a good electrical circuit? Granted, the thickest I have cut is probably 3".

 

[jemcam]

OP, you would not be disappointed in this saw: Grizzly is the sh!t

 

[jemcam]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: jemcam

There are no better saws for the price, or even close to the price, though.

I will grant you that, but it's hard to get real precision out of them and cutting thick hardwoods like Maple, Walnut, Cherry, and even Oak is difficult if not impossible with the underpowered motor it has.

I haven't found it to be underpowered yet. Did you have it on a good electrical circuit? Granted, the thickest I have cut is probably 3".

Yes, I had a good circuit. What type of 3" wood were you cutting? Also, there's a reason that saw comes with such a narrow-kerfed blade.

I'm not slamming this saw, it's good for what it's intended to be. I just very quickly outgrew that saw and I saw it's weaknesses even moreso when I moved up to a heavier duty saw.

 

[JasonCoder]

Originally posted by: jemcam

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: jemcam

There are no better saws for the price, or even close to the price, though.

I will grant you that, but it's hard to get real precision out of them and cutting thick hardwoods like Maple, Walnut, Cherry, and even Oak is difficult if not impossible with the underpowered motor it has.

I haven't found it to be underpowered yet. Did you have it on a good electrical circuit? Granted, the thickest I have cut is probably 3".

Yes, I had a good circuit. What type of 3" wood were you cutting? Also, there's a reason that saw comes with such a narrow-kerfed blade.

I'm not slamming this saw, it's good for what it's intended to be. I just very quickly outgrew that saw and I saw it's weaknesses even moreso when I moved up to a heavier duty saw.

There's no doubt that there are better saws out there. But not for less than $700 - $800.

 

[jiggahertz]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
I intend on buying Ridgid cordless tools from here out. They include a lifetime replacement on the batteries.

I've been very happy with all my Rigid purchases.

 

[dullard]

At work, I've ordered nearly $5k of Grizzly parts. Decent quality (but certainly not top of the line) at rock bottom prices. If price matters, you can't beat Grizzly as far as I can tell. Biggest drawback is that you can't interpret the manuals which have been crudely translated from Chineese (if they were translated at all). If you are looking for top-of-the-line, then keep on looking as Grizzly won't have it.

 

[AbsolutDealage]

Out of curiosity OP, how did you run across that 20% coupon?

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: AnonymouseUser

Originally posted by: dxkj
Also trying to figure out which cordless drill to get, i currently just have a corded black and decker.

I recently bought a new 18V cordless drill. My previous drill was a 7 year old 12V Milwaukee (used daily, original batteries), and I was quite impressed with that drill. Needless to say I intended to get another Milwaukee drill. That was until I met the new Makita drill...

18V, Lithium Ion battery, 15 minute charger, built-in light etc., but the best feature of all was the weight. This 18V drill weighs less (3.5lbs) than my previous 12V drill (4.3lbs)! I never thought I would buy anything other than a Milwaukee, but Makita changed my mind. The only downfall is the battery's capacity (1.5AH). That helps keep the weight down, but the 15-minute charger more than makes up for it's limited capacity.

$200 of pure bliss

newer Milwaukee tools suck compared to old ones. And the warranty reflects the change.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: AnonymouseUser

Originally posted by: dxkj
Also trying to figure out which cordless drill to get, i currently just have a corded black and decker.

I recently bought a new 18V cordless drill. My previous drill was a 7 year old 12V Milwaukee (used daily, original batteries), and I was quite impressed with that drill. Needless to say I intended to get another Milwaukee drill. That was until I met the new Makita drill...

18V, Lithium Ion battery, 15 minute charger, built-in light etc., but the best feature of all was the weight. This 18V drill weighs less (3.5lbs) than my previous 12V drill (4.3lbs)! I never thought I would buy anything other than a Milwaukee, but Makita changed my mind. The only downfall is the battery's capacity (1.5AH). That helps keep the weight down, but the 15-minute charger more than makes up for it's limited capacity.

$200 of pure bliss

newer Milwaukee tools suck compared to old ones. And the warranty reflects the change.

You mean the 5 year warranty that Milwaukee has as compared to the 1 year warranty that Makita has?

One of my co-workers has a fairly new Milwaukee 14.4V drill. He had problems with both DeWalt and Makita in the past, and the Milwaukee seems like a really nice drill. I mainly bought the Makita for the weight advantage it has over the competition.

 

[jemcam]

Originally posted by: JasonCoder

Originally posted by: jemcam

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: jemcam

There are no better saws for the price, or even close to the price, though.

I will grant you that, but it's hard to get real precision out of them and cutting thick hardwoods like Maple, Walnut, Cherry, and even Oak is difficult if not impossible with the underpowered motor it has.

I haven't found it to be underpowered yet. Did you have it on a good electrical circuit? Granted, the thickest I have cut is probably 3".

Yes, I had a good circuit. What type of 3" wood were you cutting? Also, there's a reason that saw comes with such a narrow-kerfed blade.

I'm not slamming this saw, it's good for what it's intended to be. I just very quickly outgrew that saw and I saw it's weaknesses even moreso when I moved up to a heavier duty saw.

There's no doubt that there are better saws out there. But not for less than $700 - $800.

Yes, there is.

 

[dxkj]

There seems to be a huge price jump from 12 and 14v up to 18v+... is there much of a performance difference?

 

[NTB]

My first choice (for the drill at least - not sure if they make table saws) would be Dewalt. My dad has made his living for years as a carpenter, and every drill he owns is a Dewalt.

Nate

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Originally posted by: dxkj
There seems to be a huge price jump from 12 and 14v up to 18v+... is there much of a performance difference?

Yes, quite a bit of difference.

Higher voltage = higher torque + longer battery life + faster rpm + sometimes more features + usually heavier.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Originally posted by: NTB
My first choice (for the drill at least - not sure if they make table saws) would be Dewalt. My dad has made his living for years as a carpenter, and every drill he owns is a Dewalt.

Nate

I have owned drills from Dewalt, Bosch, Makita, and Milwaukee. Of those 4, the only brand I will never buy again is Dewalt...

 

[Kelemvor]

I have a Ridgid TS2424 table saw and I LOVE it. Works Great.

 

[Muse]

I have 3 cordless drills. If you use tools a lot, you will be happier with more than one so you won't have to continually change bits. On a lot of jobs you are drilling, countersinking, driving, etc. ... all require a different bit. I also have several cordless screwdrivers. Use them all the time. I like Black and Decker for them. In a drill, I like Dewalt, but also have a Panasonic but usually use the smaller Dewalt.

Were I you I would Google Groups this stuff. You will come up with loads of ideas. If you don't find out what you want, start your own newsgroup threads and crosspost various groups.

Originally posted by: dxkj
There seems to be a huge price jump from 12 and 14v up to 18v+... is there much of a performance difference?

The difference is in power and weight. The higher voltage cordless drills are proportionally more powerful but heavier. I use the lightest sufficient one I have handy.

 

[dxkj]

Originally posted by: Muse
I have 3 cordless drills. If you use tools a lot, you will be happier with more than one so you won't have to continually change bits. On a lot of jobs you are drilling, countersinking, driving, etc. ... all require a different bit. I also have several cordless screwdrivers. Use them all the time. I like Black and Decker for them. In a drill, I like Dewalt, but also have a Panasonic but usually use the smaller Dewalt.

Were I you I would Google Groups this stuff. You will come up with loads of ideas. If you don't find out what you want, start your own newsgroup threads and crosspost various groups.

Originally posted by: dxkj
There seems to be a huge price jump from 12 and 14v up to 18v+... is there much of a performance difference?

The difference is in power and weight. The higher voltage cordless drills are proportionally more powerful but heavier. I use the lightest sufficient one I have handy.

I only plan on having 1 good cordless drill for a while. I am used to changing bits a lot, and really like the black and decker corded models that let me switch entire chuck heads so I can go from drilling to screwing

Ive read several reviews for rigid where the amount of torque and adjustments arent much different between 14v and 18v... I guess I could just try the 14v and if that doesnt work get the 18v one.

 

[dxkj]

I've decided on a 24v Lithium Ion Ridgid and a Ridgid Table saw.

Any other tools I should grab while I am at it? Not looking for an excuse to spend money on this 20% off coupon, but I figure now is a good time to pick up a belt sander.

 

[dartworth]

24v...wow

seems like a bit of an overkill, but its your $


speaking of tools...I'm picking up this router table today:thumbsup:

Rockler's #1



please post reviews of your tools and pics