10-Inch Portable Table Saws, continued
Bosch 4000K
Bosch Power Tool
877/267-2499
www.boschtools.com
Weight: 61 pounds (without stand)
Table size: 21 1/2 x 29 inches
Maximum rip right: 24 1/2 inches
Cutting depth at 90 degrees: 3 1/8 inches
Scale aligns for bevels: No
Amps: 15
No-load speed: 3,650 rpm
Electric brake: No (but has soft-start)
Street price: $499 (with stand and outfeed
support)
Place of manufacture: Taiwan
This saw is equipped with soft-start circuitry and electronic
feedback control. You can't see those features, but you can
hear and feel them when you use the tool. Most saws start with
a loud violent jerk, while the Bosch saw ramps up to speed
smoothly. It maintains a constant speed during cuts and doesn't
rev higher when you come out of a heavy cut.
The first time I used this saw, I
thought something was wrong with the motor because it took a
second to come up to speed and sounded way too quiet to cut
anything. But it cuts with as much power as any saw I tested,
with the possible exception of the Makita.
The rails and controls operate
smoothly, and the fit and finish are good. There are two ways
to use the fence: Narrow rips are indexed off of the front
scale, and wide rips off of the back scale. Rips 13 inches and
under are set in the traditional way by moving the fence along
the rails. For wider rips, you lock the fence at 13 inches and
adjust the cut by extending and retracting the rails.
A large cord wrap on the back of the
base makes it easy to stow the cord. The base keys into slots
on the stand, so the saw is less likely to tip when you support
long boards with the optional outfeed extension. This is one of
two saws with a shaft lock for single wrench blade changes.
The only thing I don't like about this
saw is that the rip scale is not accurate for bevels of less
than 90 degrees.
Craftsman
218030N
Sears
800/377-7414
www.sears.com/craftsman
Weight: 83 pounds (with stand; 63 pounds without)
Table size: 21 x 30 1/4 inches
Maximum rip right: 25 inches
Cutting depth at 90 degrees: 3 1/8 inches
Scale aligns for bevels: No
Amps: 15
No-load speed: 4,000 rpm
Electric brake: No
Street price: $399 (with stand)
Place of manufacture: Taiwan
This saw is very compact for a machine that comes with a
bolt-on stand. A retractable handle and a pair of wheels allow
you to roll it around like a piece of luggage. That's good,
because at 83 pounds, you wouldn't want to carry the saw and
stand by hand. The saw is stable when the stand is up, but the
wheels are close together, so it's not very stable when you
roll it across uneven surfaces.
The Craftsman comes with a built-in
extension that provides an extra 14 inches of support at the
outfeed side of the table. This saw has average power and is
capable of performing any standard carpentry task. The rip
scales are easy to read, though the rails don't slide as easily
as they do on other models. Bevels are set with a
rack-and-pinion mechanism and lock into place with a captured
nut. The most unusual feature on this tool is the automatic
cord reel that's built into the base.
DeWalt
DW744S
DeWalt Industrial Tool
800/433-9258
www.dewalt.com
Weight: 58 pounds (without stand)
Table size: 19 3/8 x 26 5/8 inches
Maximum rip right: 25 inches
Cutting depth at 90 degrees: 3 1/8 inches
Scale aligns for bevels: Yes
Amps: 13
No-load speed: 3,650 rpm
Electric brake: No
Street price: $499 (with stand)
Place of manufacture: Taiwan
The DW744 was the first compact job-site saw capable of making
24-inch rips. This was made possible by the development of
telescoping rails. DeWalt's version of this mechanism relies on
rack-and-pinion gears to fine-adjust rips and keep the fence
parallel to the blade. The fence is attached to a fixed
location on the rails, so all rips are set by extending and
retracting the rails. You can cut without a tape measure
because the scale and pointer are easy to read.
All the mechanisms on the DW744 saw
operate smoothly, and the fit and finish are topnotch. My only
complaint is that the 13-amp motor feels a little less powerful
than the 15-amp motors on other saws. The DeWalt comes with a
scissor-style stand and can be equipped with optional supports
on the left and outfeed sides of the table. The bevel is set
manually with a quick-action lever, and a pivoting shelf can be
used to support wide, thin stock during wide rips.
Hitachi C10RA2
Hitachi Power Tools
800/829-4752
www.hitachi.com/powertools
Weight: 61 pounds (without stand)
Table size: 19 5/8 x 34 1/8 inches
Maximum rip right: 15 inches
Cutting depth at 90 degrees: 3 inches
Scale aligns for bevels: No
Amps: 15
No-load speed: 5,000 rpm
Electric brake: Yes
Street price: $319 (with stand)
Place of manufacture: Taiwan
The C10RA2 is an updated version of a saw that came out in the
late '90s. Upgrades include a removable folding stand and a
cord wrap. The most unusual thing about this machine is the
large table, just over 34 inches across. This allows you to
make wider rips than are possible with other fixed-rail
machines. However, the maximum rips of 15 inches to the right
of the blade and 16 inches to the left are considerably less
than you can rip on a more compact saw with telescoping
rails.
Unlike the other saws I tested, this
one has a sheet-metal rather than the usual plastic housing.
The previous version of this machine was the first saw to come
with a rack-and-pinion bevel mechanism. This saw has average
power, and I like the folding metal stand. The fence slides
smoothly and locks evenly on a pair of aluminum rails, but the
clear plastic pointer is not easy to read, and the scale seems
to have been misinstalled because there was insufficient
adjustment to make the pointer match up with the rip.
Makita
2703
Makita USA
800/462-5482
www.makitatools.com
Weight: 44 pounds (without stand)
Table size: 21 x 27 inches
Maximum rip right: 12 1/4 inches
Cutting depth at 90 degrees: 3 9/16 inches
Scale aligns for bevels: Yes
Amps: 15
No-load speed: 4,600 rpm
Electric brake: Yes
Street price: $299 (without stand)
Place of manufacture: USA
This machine is an updated 10-inch
version of Makita's venerable model 2708 8 1/4-inch saw. The
2703 has a small footprint and weighs only 44 pounds, so it's
easier to carry and transport than other 10-inch models. Power
is above average.
The Makita is a simple, straightforward
saw with none of the bells and whistles that can be found on
other machines. The rails don't telescope, so rips are limited
to 12 1/4 inches or less. That's plenty for cutting standard
trim and framing lumber, but it's not enough for ripping 4x8
sheet goods.
The rails are integral to the top of
the saw, and the fence is of the basic clamp-it-on-and-rip
design. The rip scale is not easy to read, so I would use it
only as a rough guide. This saw can produce precise rips, but
you'll need to set them up with a tape. However, there's an
upside to the plain design of this machine: It's the only saw I
tested that I'd feel comfortable leaving out in the rain or
burying under tools and material in the back of my truck.
Unlike other models, it has no delicate parts to ding or
destroy. The 2703 wouldn't be my choice for building cabinets,
but I'd be happy to use it for framing and standard finish
work.
Porter-Cable
3812
Porter-Cable
800/487-8665
www.portercable.com
Weight: 63 pounds (without stand)
Table size: 19 7/8 x 25 1/4 inches
Maximum rip right: 24 3/4 inches
Cutting depth at 90 degrees: 3 1/4 inches
Scale aligns for bevels: Yes
Amps: 15
No-load speed: 4,000 rpm
Electric brake: Yes
Street price: $399 (without stand)
Place of manufacture: Taiwan
The rail extensions on the Porter-Cable saw slide smoothly and
are held in position by a lever-activated lock below the table.
Like the DeWalt, the 3812 has a single-piece top, so there's no
table under the fence when you extend it for wide rips. Wide
stock can be supported at the fence with a detachable metal
angle. I'm not wild about using a removable support, but then
the only time you need to is when you rip floppy material like
laminate or 1/8-inch plywood.
The 3812 has two scales that are
designed to be used with the rails all the way out or all the
way in. The saw is simple to use because all rips are set by
moving the fence. The fence itself is solidly made and slides
easily on the rails. If it ever needs to be squared, you can do
that by adjusting a couple of screws.
Bevels are set with a rack-and-pinion
mechanism and are locked in with a quick-action lever. The saw
comes with a T-slot miter gauge and can be equipped with an
optional folding stand ($79) and an outfeed support.
Ridgid
TS2400
Emerson Tool Company
866/539-1710
www.ridgidwoodworking.com
Weight: 120 pounds (with stand; 75 pounds
without)
Table size: 21 x 30 1/4 inches
Maximum rip right: 25 inches
Cutting depth at 90 degrees: 3 1/8 inches
Scale aligns for bevels: Yes
Amps: 15
No-load speed: 4,000 rpm
Electric brake: No
Street price: $499 (with stand)
Place of manufacture: USA
The best and worst thing about the TS2400 is the stand. It's
very stable and makes it easy to move the machine. But it's
also bulky and heavy, so the saw takes up a lot of room even
when the stand is folded. The saw footprint is smaller if you
store it on end, but there's not always room to do that under a
truck cap. This saw weighs 120 pounds including the stand.
The maximum width of cut is 25 inches,
and all rips are set by moving the fence along the telescoping
rails. A unique tape measurestyle scale automatically
extends with the fence, so you can keep the right-hand side of
the split table under the stock at all cutting widths.
The substantial fence slides smoothly
along the rails. The rails telescope by hand but don't move as
smoothly as on some of the other saws. Bevels are adjusted with
a rack-and-pinion mechanism and are locked in place by an
unusual cam lever lock. The blade guard can be removed and
installed without tools.