# Help to choose between these two table saws



## volunteers (Mar 4, 2011)

I am a home DIYer and do some small projects, furniture, etc at my garage. I have a very small table saw and it could not give accurate cuts. That's why I want to upgrade to a better one. Usually I use it to cut plywood, tenons, crosscut. I may add a better fence system in the future. 

When you buy a table saw, what are the features are you looking at, priority from high to low?

For some reasons, I can only buy from Lowes. There are not many choices there:
Shop Table Saws & Accessories at Lowes.com

Finally I locked to following two saws, a Bosch and a PC:
Shop Bosch 15-Amp 10" Table Saw at Lowes.com

Shop PORTER-CABLE 15-Amp 10" Table Saw at Lowes.com

Both have fairly good reviews. Portable is not a big issue for me since I only move the saw around my garage. 

Does anyone have experience to compare these two saws? Appreciate it.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

The PC looks to have a longer rip capacity and it may be made to install your own table between the rails. However, you might want to check Kijiji or Craig's list for an older cast iron top saw. A friend of mine wanted to upgrade his old 10" Rockwell and sold it to me for $100. It still cuts fine and will probably outlast either one of those.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

_"For some reasons, I can only buy from Lowes."_
Well, that certainly caught _my_ attention! ?
Did you mean they're the only place that carries tablesaws within a reasonable drive?


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

I've used the Bosch you linked to for location work & it is a very good saw for the size. I would look around Craigs List or something & get a cabinet style saw like a Delta 3hp Unisaw or equivalent for the garage. 

A good blade is #1 one list for upgrades for any saw. #2 fence system like the Biesemeyer, but you are limited with the fence on the portable saws. #3 would be power (3hp). If you go with the smaller saw with less power then use a good thin kerf blade.


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## OPG3 (Jan 9, 2011)

Will, I live in Georgia and there are quite a few Lowes stores in my region. We are also convenient to numerous Home Depot Stores. I purchased my two table saws from Lowes. They are identical Hitachi C10FL 10" table saws. If I needed another table saw, I would go to whatever trouble necessary to get another one just like it. This is not a "jobsite saw", but rather is a good-sized saw on a great set of lockable casters. There is only one thing about this saw that needs improvement and that is the rate of slope for the plate that dust collection attaches to - their plate needs to be steeper for the shavings to slide better - but this hasn't presented any problems with wood in my home shop, but at my warehouse where we manufacture Pocket Form Isolator from IM plastic parts, the plastic shavings get a bit clogged in it. I got these saws for about $525.00 each. Please note: this is not the little jobsite tablesaw - it is a full-size saw.


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## volunteers (Mar 4, 2011)

Do you think the Biesemeyer fence system will work with that Bosch portable saw?



jlord said:


> I've used the Bosch you linked to for location work & it is a very good saw for the size. I would look around Craigs List or something & get a cabinet style saw like a Delta 3hp Unisaw or equivalent for the garage.
> 
> A good blade is #1 one list for upgrades for any saw. #2 fence system like the Biesemeyer, but you are limited with the fence on the portable saws. #3 would be power (3hp). If you go with the smaller saw with less power then use a good thin kerf blade.


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## Dmeadows (Jun 28, 2011)

Between those 2, I would go with the Porter Cable because it is belt drive and has a 3 yr warranty. If I needed portability tho, I would go with the Bosch!


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## WayneMahler (May 17, 2012)

I would look at building my own fence system. I had a an inexpensive Ryobi table saw to start out on. O made a fence and did a total tune up and it worked fine for small projects. I did keep a good quality blade on it and checked it on a regular basis. I got by with it for 5 years until I upgraded, and that was only because of the size of the work I was doing.


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## Big Steve (Feb 12, 2012)

Dmeadows said:


> Between those 2, I would go with the Porter Cable because it is belt drive and has a 3 yr warranty. If I needed portability tho, I would go with the Bosch!


What Duane said! That is based on the limitation you put on the choice being those two saws. In the price range of the PC are a number of good saws.

If portability is not an issue then... Heavier is better than lighter for stability; a good fence is VERY important; blade that comes with the saw is NOT important, you will want to upgrade the blade on any TS; size of table and cut capacity should be sufficient for what kind of work you anticipate.

safety, accuracy, power - in that order.


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## papawd (Jan 5, 2011)

I had the portable Porte Cable from Lowe's on one of those links it cut wood and was not a bad saw for the money,recently sold it and now have the Ridgid portable table saw and it is a much better saw for around $100 more. If I had to buy another it would be the Ridgid hands down


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## Jofuss 55 (Oct 17, 2011)

*Which Table Saw*

I have owned the Bosch 4000 for more than five years now. I find it outstanding. It has ripped 4x4 Ipe in one pass and not missed a beat.
I did make an error though , I did not buy the Gravity Rise Stand . I understand that the new 4100 has better shrouding for dust collection . 
By the way, blade selection is critical for all these saws. I use a Guhdo 50 tooth combination but have used a Forrest WWII and a Freud ( now owned by Bosch) Hi AT with excellent results.


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## thrinfo (Jan 21, 2012)

If moving is not a big deal, Steel City look quite good, I've got a Delta contractor saw with the 52" unifence, never regret my choice.
So Steel City is quite close of what I got.


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## mgmine (Jan 16, 2012)

I would only consider a belt driven saw and 1 1/2 hp at a minimum. If you are limited to Lowe's see if they can special order a better one. Consider getting one mail order or better yet from Craigs list. Try to ignore the price because a table saw (IMHO) is the most important tool in your shop. Buy a cheap one and you will never be happy.


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

When I was shopping, mobility and storability was high on my list and I opted for the Ridgid 4510 although the Bosch 4100 was very close in everything except the money:bad:
Safety features were also important and I liked the toolless blade guard and adjustable riving knife on the Ridgid. Bosch and foldup Porter Cable had similar but the Ridgid worked the easiest for me. Bosch worked pretty well but the Porter Cable I had to monkey with about 15 minutes on the display floor to get everything in place correctly. Granted, I had no experience with any of the systems but I firmly believe that enabling safety features should be intuitive and not require a lot of training.
Good Luck with your quest


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## aphead (Apr 1, 2012)

If you're buying from Lowes, make sure you get a 10% off coupon. You can usually find one in a 'change of address' packet from the Post Office. People sell them on ebay as well. You can even use the code on the coupon when you purchase at Lowes dot com and choose in-store pickup.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

When Stanley/Black & Decker sold the Delta product line to a company in China they released copies of the Delta tools with the PC name on them. Considering what they did to PC I will not buy anything new with the PC name on it. They destroyed the company that built the best American made tools just to make a profit. Besides that I think you will find that the Bosch has tighter tolerances and will last much longer regardless of the guarantee.


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## RT1000 (Jan 9, 2007)

Get yourself a belt driven saw and 1 1/2 hp at a minimum motor 3450 TEFC . With a Cast iron top, 27" deep They are much more stable ,safer and don't loose much value.
you should stay away from the plastic, aluminum top, blade on the motor, high rpm units.


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## TomB19 (Jun 27, 2011)

I'm not familiar with the PC but I have had both the Bosch 4100 and the DeWalt 744 at the same time. Both were excellent but I prefer the DeWalt without reservation.

For what it's worth, I also have a 3hp cabinet saw but if I was doing mostly construction, I would ditch the cabinet saw and just keep the benchtop DeWalt.

I might add that I use the Bosch gravity lift table saw stand on the DeWalt saw. It's been great but I see DeWalt has a really cool stand with a track system now. It looks like the same track as their chop saw stand. I've been thinking of going to that new stand. Back when I picked up the Bosch stand, the DeWalt stand was basically a black TV tray with "DeWalt" silk screened on the side. lol!


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## TomB19 (Jun 27, 2011)

Hmmm.... my last post didn't get the point I was trying to make across.

I could have easily selected the Bosch 4100 and been pretty much as happy. The key difference between the Bosch and DeWalt is the fence, IMO.

The Bosch benchtop is an excellent saw and I can see why some people prefer it to the DeWalt. I don't see how you could go wrong with it.

If you're building cabinets, go with a used contractor saw. If construction is your game, I'd get the Bosch gravity lift stand and mount one of the better benchtops on it for a surprisingly powerful saw that can be wheeled right up to any job site.


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## volunteers (Mar 4, 2011)

Is the fence system like the Biesemeyer working with the Bosch 4000?



Jofuss 55 said:


> I have owned the Bosch 4000 for more than five years now. I find it outstanding. It has ripped 4x4 Ipe in one pass and not missed a beat.
> I did make an error though , I did not buy the Gravity Rise Stand . I understand that the new 4100 has better shrouding for dust collection .
> By the way, blade selection is critical for all these saws. I use a Guhdo 50 tooth combination but have used a Forrest WWII and a Freud ( now owned by Bosch) Hi AT with excellent results.


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## Ray Y (Jan 10, 2012)

Look for horsepower and weight in the form of cast iron. There are a gazillion used saws for a lot less money out there and they are far better. Cherryvile Chuck and RT1000 know what they are talking about. I bought a 1 1/2 HP Walker-Turner cabinet saw for $50 and I got a 3 HP Delta Unisaw for less than the price of either of the "imitation" saws you are looking at. It was used for one unfinished project and sat for a couple of years until the guy's wife decided that he needed to get it out of the way.


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## GulfcoastGuy (Feb 27, 2012)

I recently bought a Ridgid R4510 which is their direct competition to the Bosch 4100 but I NEEDED the portability and storage features in my situation. If you can manage a cabinet in yours that would be the better choice IMO. Far superior in terms quality, use, improvement, and future upgrades. And if you can get there for the same $$$ all the better.

GCG


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## alaskagypsy (Jan 31, 2009)

I use a table saw on the job a lot so I purchased a DeWalt - the older one which is larger than the new one. The old one is still not large enough for shop work - little in-feed room for jigs. Also, the miter slot is too big causing slop, even for the adjustable Incra Miter. The Bosch is probably a better unit - when I compare to others on the job - but still too small for the shop in my opinion. The PC is too small in size and power in my opinion. If you are using any jigs there is little room before the blade to safely mount the jig. I had to make an in-feed plate for my DeWalt - which makes it harder to get to the off switch. Get a bigger unit - more HP, more in-feed space for jigs and a flat metal top. And one where you can either mount a professional fence or build one. A carpenter friend once told me, decide what you want, price them out and buy one up from what you "want" to afford and you'll never be dissatisfied.


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## MikeMa (Jul 27, 2006)

Volunteers,
Most bench or job site saws, like the Bosch, are limitted to the fence that is included with them. I have seen one or two very creative people make a fence upgrade work for one of these saw, but I would not recommend this, and goes against the manufacturer's recommendations for the fence.

Nearly all (if not all) fence upgrade options are design to go on table saws that have a cast-iron top. I have an old emerson era Craftsman Contractor saw (cast iron top, belt driven motor and arbor, not to be confused with a bench or jobsite saw) that I put a Delta T-2 fence (basically a smaller more economical, but still very good, version of the biesemeyer) and it works very well. I did have to drill some new holes in my table saw's cast iron top, but with good planning, that is not a big deal. This was because Craftsman does not use the same screw hole spacing as Delta. 

The Porter Cable would support a better fence since it has the cast iron top. I have tried to verify without success if it uses the Delta (since they used to be apart of them) screw hole spacing. If it does, then putting on a biesemeyer, or T-2 will be fairly easy. If not, then there would be some drilling involved. If doing this to a new saw, check with the manufacturer to make sure it doesn't void the warranty of your saw.

Finally, I will say, I like Bosch products, I have two routers of their, and they are excellent. However, I cannot recommend that table saw for anything other than construction and DIY work. The saw will be an excellent choice for that. Before this saw came out, I bought the best jobsite saw craftsman had available (going on 8-9 years ago). It was great for this type of work, and I loved it. Then I started getting more into woodworking. And the saw's tolerances simply didn't allow for any real degree of precision. The aluminum table wasn't flat compared to a cast iron top, the trunions after awhile wouldn't hold the blade true, the fence was simply awful, and the mostly plastic body just didn't give it any real weight. Just before I went out to craigslist and bought a new (but much older) contractor saw, I spent a considerable amount of time fine-tuning that saw to make it useable before I gave up. I have been using that contractor saw ever since and have never looked back.


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## rcp612 (Oct 22, 2008)

*Lowes discounts*

If you are limited to Lowe's, then at least use their price match policy.
They matched price PLUS an additional 10% when I was shopping for my Bosch 4100.
Oh, by the way, that saw will do anything I need done, and I do just about all that can be done with a good table saw. I'm still wondering what others feel is wrong with the fence though. It locks tight front and back, has t-tracks built in, is square, that's already more than other fences can claim.
The 4100 comes with a full kerf blade, which I have since replaced with a Freud full kerf combo blade that I already had, and it has not shown any symptoms of being under-powered with that. I have been using a lot of hard maple and bubinga lately up to 8/4 with no problems what so ever.


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## volunteers (Mar 4, 2011)

Thank you guys for the replies. Now it is even tougher for me.
As I read the replies, sometimes I made the decision to buy the Bosch portable saw. Then after reading some later replies, I think I have to stay with the regular contractor saw. 
The reason I limited to Lowes is that I have many Lowes giftcards to use. Now I think I have to open to other stores. My budget ranges from $500 to $800. Any model to recommend? Thanks.
Again, I am a weekend home DIYer. The saw is going to stay in my garage for some furniture making.


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## MikeMa (Jul 27, 2006)

If you are not restricting yourself to Lowes, and that is your budget range, take a look at this one: G0715P 10" Hybrid Table Saw with Riving Knife, Polar Bear Series®


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## volunteers (Mar 4, 2011)

It looks like the Grizzly saw has very good review. 
I am wondering the price ($795+shipping) is at that range all the time, or it is on sale sometimes? 




NiceG316 said:


> If you are not restricting yourself to Lowes, and that is your budget range, take a look at this one: G0715P 10" Hybrid Table Saw with Riving Knife, Polar Bear Series®


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## GulfcoastGuy (Feb 27, 2012)

Nice, but a mobile base and shipping would push him to just shy of $1000.

GCG


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## MikeMa (Jul 27, 2006)

That is the normal price on the saw, and I haven't seen it on sale. Grizzly tends to do introductory prices for new products and close out pricing. They also have tent sales every spring/summer that you can get some good deals as well (though they maybe scratch/dent specials)


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## volunteers (Mar 4, 2011)

The price between following two saws are about $300. I really don't know how much different they are (1.5HP vs. 2HP). But is it a good decision to buy the cheaper one and use the extra money for accessories, like a better fence system, or just buy the expensive one?

Shop STEEL CITY 1.5-HP 10" Table Saw at Lowes.com

G0715P 10" Hybrid Table Saw with Riving Knife, Polar Bear Series®


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## MikeMa (Jul 27, 2006)

If it were me, I would still go towards the grizzly. It is a bigger, heavier saw, with a more powerful motor. I have heard good things about that fence, so there may not be the need to upgrade it.

The only potential issue with the Grizzly, is power requirements. It will run on a 110 circuit, but it is pretty much going to require a dedicated 20amp circuit. A 220 circuit would be preferred.


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## bosox (Jun 12, 2012)

Yeah, Grizzly band saws are good but have you heard of Trajan saws? If what you need is a saw that is bigger, heavier and more powerful, you might look at them? Check it here on this site if you want to know more about Trajan saws – Band Saw Links.


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## volunteers (Mar 4, 2011)

Thanks for the info. However, we are discussing table saws in this thread. 



bosox said:


> Yeah, Grizzly band saws are good but have you heard of Trajan saws? If what you need is a saw that is bigger, heavier and more powerful, you might look at them? Check it here on this site if you want to know more about Trajan saws – Band Saw Links.


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## volunteers (Mar 4, 2011)

Found two Delta unisaw 36-953 on local CL. One is new and the other is slightly used. The prices are $1400, $1000, respectively. Both come with fence system, no mobile base. Which one is a better choice? The following is the pictures of used one: Thanks for comments.


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## Fabitfast (Jun 14, 2012)

volunteers said:


> Thanks for the info. However, we are discussing table saws in this thread.


Sorry, I forgot reading the title of the thread.


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## matermark (Nov 28, 2011)

So, it's been a while...

Which saw did you get?

I bought the Bosch 4100-09 with a Lowe's price match and additional 10% off--I did an address change to forward mail for me [only] from a relative's house to my house and got a 10% off coupon (I do this every year.) I think that dropped down to 480-something, plus tax, with the gravity rise stand. Matter of fact, I bought a few sheets of plywood and some other tools at the same time, including the Bosch 1617EVSPK router kit with both bases and case, since the 10% coupon was for everything, not just one item like some other stores.

I went with the Bosch because I needed to be able to move it around, but also because of its features too. It has a really nice blade guard with riving knife, anti-kickback pawls, and independent-moving-sides clear blade guard. Move a lever and you can retract the riving knife if needed, like when doing dadoes. 

Also, everything stores on the saw--blade guard, push stick, blades, miter assembly, fence, etc.

I don't know if this feature is advertised, but you can use it at two different heights--a low setting is easier to feed plywood sheets. I'll have to measure it but I think it's somewhere between knee height and 24 inches, while fully extended height is around 36" I think.

It also has many optional upgrade parts available, for instance, outfeed extension kit, left side extension kit, dust bag, dado insert, zero clearance insert, even a molding cutter head insert--I have bought many of these Craftsman cutters & kits on ebay, they do many things routers do, and some things routers can't do. Some of the inserts were under $10, of course, you could spend some time and make your own.

I used some of the money I saved to buy a set of Freud blades--it was supposed to be 24, 50 & 80-tooth blades but somehow turned out to be 50/80/80T delivered... it may have been $89 or $99 for the set, it's been over a year ago.

The fence is really great--it locks at where you set it without any slop or play. It also has a built-in T-track slot! I waited for Amazon to have a Bosch sale--$20 off $100--and bought the digital fence kit for around $80 plus free shipping.

I haven't used it very much yet but happy I bought it. My second choice was a Ridgid contractor type saw, but it weighed too much for me to move it when needed.

I hope you enjoy whichever saw you bought.


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