Recommendations for a table saw

  • Thread starter Thread starter paulb
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Hi Paul,
If it is a small table saw you are after you cannot go past the Byrnes saw, if you are mainly doing fine work it is truly wonderful to use.
To my mind there are several questions that you need to ask yourself, first is what is my budget. Second is what do I want to achieve.
In my opinion no one machine can do everything, personally I have a 10" table saw the Byrnes table saw a scroll saw and an old band saw, that is at my brothers now because I don't use it much, all of these machines are great at doing something.
Cheers,
Stephen.
 
I love my Byrnes saw it is my best tool but it is obviously limited in its capacity for handling larger sizes of timber,I have had mine for 5 or 6 years and am on my second motor but have recently been looking at larger table saws to handle bigger timber, I have an old scroll saw that needs updating, a jig saw and several hand electric circular saws, I would love to have a bandsaw and oh so many other tools.... what is it that they say “the man who dies with the most tools wins”
Best wishes to all. Tony
 
There is but one hobby saw, the Byrnes saw. It is worth the money and worth the wait for a temporary supplier problem. It does everything a modeler needs to do with a saw and does it extremely well. It has a number of accessories including a tilt table that no one ever seems to need. When you buy the best saw there is also get the sliding table, the ability to easily make repeated consistent very small and precise cuts pays for itself. I recently used it to make lap joints for three hatch covers at 1:64 scale, all 24 cuts were perfect. I’m also now ripping planks for my new model with equal ease. The high fence and mitre gauge are also excellent accessories. There are a couple of important blades to have, I’ve not used the one that came with it since I bought the saw 10 years ago and I’m still using the same motor.

All other options are a pale comparison to a Byrnes saw. You won’t find any owner regretting their purchase.
 
paulb said:
aren't shipping
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It’s a temporary Covid related supply problem. I’m sure he has the saws ready and will ship as quickly as his supplier delivers his motors. Jim and his wife are good people.

Another plus of the Byrnes saw is they are always there willing to answer questions, like recommending a particular blade for a specific job.
 
My Proxxon FET does what I need it to do. Just received the # 28730 saw blade which has 250 teeth. Can’t wait to install and see how it cuts.
 
I have had a Byrnes table saw for several years and have been very pleased with its cutting capacity and accuracy. In addition Jim makes several useful accessories (large table, tilt table, micrometer stop, etc.). A little pricey but well worth it and there are plenty of 4" blades on the market. Also check out his drum sander and disc sander- both quality items.
I also have several Preac saws and bought them back in the day when they were made on Long Island. I use solid 2&1/2" carbide blades on mine. The problem with the original Preacs is that they were grossly underpowered. I solved that problem by purchasing a larger motor from Ships Ahoy Models located in Sagus, MA that are specifically designed to retrofit the Preacs.. The Preacs also came with multiple different accessories including a larger table. You can still find them occasionally on Ebay in the $200-$250 range of variable quality.
Speaking of band saws check out the new Pegas Scroll Band Saw which has amazing capabilities. The saw was reviewed in ScrollSaw Woodworking & Crafts magazine Summer 2019 and there are also several YouTube reviews. A bit pricey at $1,440. I plan to use my stimulus check to get one before my wife uses it at Belks and Dillards!
Finally, for a true mind blowing experience check out the Swiss Precisaw made by H. Reinhard AG. It can be found at modellbaumaschinen.ch. Estimated cost around $20,000! My Swiss friend informed me "Yes that is the price without VAT"!
 
I have the micro lux tilting arbor saw. It is fair. Nothing to brag about. It also very much depends on what type wood you are cutting.
the blades are not the best either. Ok and fair. NOT a heavy duty machine. I am cutting through 1/4 inch thick birch planks and it is pain in butt and need to buy new blade. But I have ripped a lot. The motor is tough and have put it through a lot. So I can only recommend if for light hobby use. If I were going to cut my own marterial from billets, I would have to choose a different route.
 
I have a Byrnes saw with all the accessories. Yes it is pricey but you get what you pay for, QUALITY. I am pleased with it's cutting capacity. I have found I can cut wood twice the maximum of the saw by flipping it over. It will cut any wood even ebony without binding. The cut on all woods is very smooth and does not need much (if any) sanding.
Before I got my Byrnes saw I used a Unimat 3 table saw attachment. It was adequate for my use at the time but there is no comparison to the Byrnes saw. The Byrnes saw is one of the best tools in my shop. I also have his thickness sander and disc sander which are also great.
 
I had a 10" contractors table for a lot of years (about 30) until parts failed and were no longer available.
As I was looking for a reasonable replacement, my son-in-law gave me a Dewalt 10" table-top saw. I was skeptacle at first, but I discovered that it is far better than I anticipated. I used my vernier calipers and a good square to precisely set all the adjustments as described in the owner's manual. I made some zero-clearance inserts for the saw blade opening and I built a special jig for making repetative cuts of thin stock; 5/64" planks for my lobster boat model. For fine work like that I use a 7 1/4" diameter, thin planer blade that came with my portable circular saw and it works beautifully! That blade is about 1/16" thick and cuts very smoothly.
Current price for the Dewalt DW745 on Amazon is $277, They also have a DW7485 that has a slightly smaller footprint for $279. Yes, there are bigger, and smaller, saws, but I am very happy with this one. When properly adjusted, it is very accurate and it holds its settings very well. There are millions of other options and I encourage everyone to simply consider their needs and choose whatever satisfies those best.
Happy Modelling to all.
Steven
 

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Hi everybody. It is absolutely true that Proxxon turns out a lemon from time to time. I have the previous version of their table saw, the FKS/E model. It arrived with a hopeless alignment error. The entire motor/tilt assembly was way out of alignment with the miter grooves in the cast aluminum machine top. Obviously the top was badly machined at manufacture. Of course we all know that Proxxon gets great reviews, but their quality control does sometimes slip. As I sit here writing this, just thinking about how disappointing it is to receive a new anything that's defective or damaged, and having to return it -- makes my stomach churn! .............................................. okay I'm better now.

I was reading a lengthy series of reviews a while back and there were many complaints about the accuracy and stability/strength of the Proxxon FET. The conclusion was that the previous FKS/E had been a considerably better saw and since the Microlux tilt-arbor saw is essentially the FKS/E, they were suggesting that anyone shopping for such a saw at this time should buy the Microlux Tilt-arbor.

While we're on this topic, I also heartily recommend the Microlux Accuriser II vernier rip fence. I've had one for years and don't know how I got along without it. You can easily adjust it a couple of thousandths at a time and it is solid strong. It's entirely made of metal but if you get one, you can make it way way more useful (longer and higher) by adding a wooden face to it. I made mine out of pear wood, 10" long, 1/2" high and 1/4" wide. I super-glued it to the Accuriser II and it has never shifted.
 
paulb said:
Hi there. I'm wondering what kind of table saws you use and what recommendations you would have. I currently use the MicroMark saw shown below. It's nice but limited. Please don't suggest the Proxxon FET as I've already gone that route and returned it because it was out of alignment and can't be adjusted. Thanks for your helpView attachment 149612
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I switched to this, Skil 3386 9" bandsaw. I have various blades but tend towards a 6 tooth, It gives a better finish than the FET, safer to use and far more versatile. I had it shipped to the UK from the States for £120 ($150) I wouldn't swap it for a circular.3386-01_1.jpg
 
donfarr said:
Hi ZOLY, an example of multi task, I have a lot of high quality material, PEAR, BOXWOOD, WALNUT and a few others some are like 1 inch or a little more and needs not only thickness sanding but a total cleanup of material with the righrt bade i can probably get some pieces 1/2 inch to 5/8 inch and the put it on the thickness sander clean it up and get the material to 1/8 inch or even 1/16 inch, change blade and cut strips to 3/32 inch or less with no problems, COST $129.00 for BAND SAW and $220.00 for my thickness sander, hobby tools $350.00 to $400.00 for table saw, $400.00 plus or minus, for thickness sander, and still know re-sawing abilty., just my opion every one to his own like and dislikes it is what makes this hobby so wonderful ie POB or POF, kit build or scratch build, can go on, ALL GOD BLESS AND STAY SAFE. Don
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There is only one mini table saw for a serious modeler, and that is the Byrnes saw. Mine is 10 years old, runs 2 to 5 hours hours per day, 6 days a week. I can cut 0.002" x 0.002" strings all day. I cut 7/8 s4s maple boards with no problem. Byrnes did a great job in developing this saw. I can thank David Antscherl for suggesting that it was a good tool for the money. Great advice. I would defend the position that nobody can cut two mil square strings on a ten inch table saw and come away with all ten fingers (and perhaps other body parts) intact.
 
Has the Byrnes got a speed control so that you can cut plastics and if you want to cut mitres for hatch ways can it cut them, just wondering,
Best regards John,
 
The Byrnes table saw does not have a speed control but I would check with Jim Byrnes to see if you could use a Variac and if so what type to get (there are loads of them on Ebay). I use a 20 year old one for my Anker duplicator motor and it works fine- also helps calm my nerves so things are not rotating at 20 million RPMs!.
 
neptune said:
Has the Byrnes got a speed control so that you can cut plastics
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The Byrnes Saw does not have a speed control and is not intended for plastics. It uses a 110V AC single speed motor. The saw offers several attachments to include miters, fences, sliding table, tilting table, rip taper, micrometer stop, vacuum port, and multiple blade kerf options. But the main thing about a Byrnes Saw is their precision and quality. These are professional tools and not cheap. They also have a 230V version of the saw.
 
Thank you for that very precise description, I have the older model Proxxon with the variable speed control which I bought from a friend the only thing that I changed was the fence, I bought a new one from Micro Mark it's a lot better and you can lock it at both ends, thanks again for the info,
Best regards John,
 
neptune said:
Micro Mark it's a lot better and you can lock it at both ends
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Yup, I like Micro Mark stuff as well. For most hobbyists the Micro Mark and Proxxon tools are just fine. The Byrnes would be more on the high end, professional side or for folks who are doing a lot of cutting.
 
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