Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => EQUIPMENT USAGE, EXPERIMENTATION, HIVE PLANS, CONSTRUCTION TIPS AND TOOLS => Topic started by: wd on February 17, 2010, 05:57:11 pm
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Thinking about buying 10" RYOBI portable table saw, any one use these? How are they?
checked the local craigslist, it has a 10'' radial arm that sparked my interest.
which do you prefer?
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Each type has it's advantages. Tell us what you will be building so we can make recommendations.
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yes, I guess each does have its purpose. To start with just some basic equipment for bees. I'm looking at the space factor. I can find a use for it but radial arm isn't a must have, I can get along fine with out it. it's more a question on uses by others for wooden ware and preferences. I'm going to stick to bees and equipment.
I am wondering how the ryobi portable table saw holds up.
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I would prefer the table saw over the radial saw for this purpose. I have never used a ryobi table saw so I have no opinion on it. Be sure the saw will accept a set of dado blades.
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thanks nella. guess I'll try a ryobi and see for myself
http://chico.craigslist.org/tls/1603936194.html (http://chico.craigslist.org/tls/1603936194.html)
http://chico.craigslist.org/tls/1604867582.html (http://chico.craigslist.org/tls/1604867582.html)
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The main thing about any small table saw (or big one for that matter) is the fence. Does it lock down tight and square without a lot of fiddling right on the measure? If it does then it's probably ok. As in everything else You usually get what you pay for.
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Radial arm saws have a tendency of wanting to "ride" up on the wood that you are cutting, I'd rather work on a table saw.
The Radial is good for cutting long pieces to size, but that's about it, I know that on the ryobi you can also rip and put a router bit, but in reality those features are a pain to work with...A Table saw will do the rabet, finger joints and rip to size, cut to length with a circular saw and you are all set.
And yes make sure you can put a dado blade on it. (stacks are better than wobbles)
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Ryobi table saws have nice motors and they hold up to even heavy use. They come with poor quality fences though, and the guides on the deck for a square are an odd size so you can't use a square from a different brand saw.
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If I can only have one, I'd have the table saw. And I do only have one and it's the table saw. But I've used radial arms saws and there are things they are good for. But for bee equipment, if I only have one, it's the table saw.
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I had a Ryobi table saw a few years ago. I bought it from Home depot and it didn't hold up. They will take stuff back for 90 days so I returned it, spent a few bucks more and got a ridgid. For light work it should be fine but I was building our 4000 squ ft home and used it more in a week than some would do in a year
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For many years I built all my equipment with an old Craftsman 10" radial arm saw. What is nice about the RAS is that you can do both ripping and cross cutting with the same saw. It served me well, in fact I still use it for cross cutting, but now have a cabinet saw that I use for ripping.
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It is hard to beat a good table saw and a sliding miter saw.
Steve
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We used a Ryobi table saw for a couple years, and we really abused it and it held up... for almost two years. The fence issue did not occur for me, as they always seem to get out of adjustment and unreliable. I just have the habit of always checking my fence to blade width with a tape measure and making sure the fence doesn't bend too much to the blade, as the wood will bind. I don't know the value of a radial arm saw. A good level, a couple clamps and a decent tape measure will do the same thing, you just gotta know how far from the fence your blade is.
We recently bought a Makita table saw because the Ryobi died, and the motor is awesome and the cuts are clean, but all the accutrements are breaking off. It will still serve us fine, but if you don't want a piece of garbage, the only solution is a nice steel table saw for the professional shop, and that could cost a couple grand. But as for your question, a table saw is way more valuable to me than a radial arm saw. And if you're not too stupid, the table saw will let you break some rules and do some other stuff too. Capability to put dados on the saw is definitely a plus.
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Thinking about buying 10" RYOBI portable table saw, any one use these? How are they?
checked the local craigslist, it has a 10'' radial arm that sparked my interest.
which do you prefer?
If you are going to do much wood working, you need both, but if you are only going to get one, get the table saw. But I have owned many, and now own a Ryobi table saw, and wish I had never ever seeen it. It is a great looking tool, but is a lousy one to use.
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Still doing some window shopping, someone selling a ridgid 10" popped in the picture, I'm going to go look at it when our schedules coincide .. tonight or tomorrow .. waiting on a radial arm saw
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I have an old Atlas cabinet saw like they used to use in high school shop classes. Has a huge motor which you simply cannot bog down. Only detractor is it's a 3 man job to load it and haul it. I built a castered base so I can roll it around. I also have a Dewalt sliding miter saw for cross cutting and these 2 tools will easily do all your beekeeping needs. You might consider checking your local schools for equipment as very few will offer shop classes any longer due to liability concerns. So, along with illiteracy, our kids no longer learn any manual skills.
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I have Rigid TS, 10" the one that has the wheels and the stand, I absolutely love it !
P.S: I am a contractor, it gets abused all the time.
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I have the Ryobi - had it for 3 years now. No problems, runs solid. I'm not in construction, but I would call myself a serious 'hobby' carpenter. I build all my own equipment, some things for the house (bookcases, end tables, etc). Haven't had the fence issue either.
The Rigid is definitely nice and I really liked the Bosch portable saw, but the Ryobi was less expensive and, I am betting that you can't tell which saw did the cutting once the hive body is assembled.
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I have the Ryobi - had it for 3 years now. No problems, runs solid. I'm not in construction, but I would call myself a serious 'hobby' carpenter. I build all my own equipment, some things for the house (bookcases, end tables, etc). Haven't had the fence issue either.
The Rigid is definitely nice and I really liked the Bosch portable saw, but the Ryobi was less expensive and, I am betting that you can't tell which saw did the cutting once the hive body is assembled.
I have had no trouble on my ryobe, with the rip fence, it works great, my complaint is with the stupid design of the miter guage for cross cutting. It looks great, and was the main reason I purchased the ryoby, but in use it is a piece of junk, plus a storage problem, when not using it.
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imho:
the only thing a table saw is better than a ras for is ripping boards.
other than that, a ras:
1. is much quicker to line up a cut
2. the workpiece is being pushed DOWN and AWAY FROM YOU with a ras rather than UP and TOWARDS YOU with a ts
the most important thing with a ras is quality....a little history (this is my understanding):
at one time, ras was the "one" saw many people had. as the diy market grew, books were written for the hobby builder...which of course, told how to build things with a ras. in response, inexpensive ras' came onto the market.....and this was the problem.
there is a huge ammount of force on a ras, and unless it's really solid and well calibrated, it can be a problem. the cheap ras (ie: most of the craftmans you see available used) are dangerous. after the hobby builders started getting injured, the ras was dropped in favor of the ts.
i have a mid 60's delta rockwell 10" RAS. $100 on craigslit, it's in great shape, and is a thing of beauty. a turret head and adjustments in all directions make any compound cut possible (with a quick switch from 45-90-45 degree cuts). using this is like using a machine tool, not a woodworking tool. i can be incredibly accurate without spending a ton of time double checking everything and making test cuts (a good ts with a fancy fence would offer the same thing).
i have a 8" craftsman ts that i got cheap that i use for a few things...but the ras is "the tool". it can be setup to rip, but the adjustments are touchy, and it's not convienent to do where it is setup. if i have to cutup plywood, i use a skill saw.
deknow
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It's nice to see that some people share similar views on a ras as myself, I grew up with a one.
I've used a circular saw, clamps and a straight edge if needed for just about everything. However, I'd like to get a little more serious. Besides bee equipment, I do have some small house repairs to do. So far, the radial arm saws on craigslist I've inquired about haven't worked out.
Someone on craigslist was selling a ridgid 10" ts (http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/TS3650-Table-Saw/) with a rail attachment still in the shipping boxes sitting on a pallet for about the same price as a new ryobi from home depot (http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100593232&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=100593232&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googlebase-_-D25X-_-100593232). I did take it home now it's time to see how it runs. I haven't seen the ridgid 10" ts listed online at home depot for awhile. This morning I ran into a recall notice on Ridgid 10-inch table saws, model R4511 (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09311.html)
Still window shopping
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imho:
i have a mid 60's delta rockwell 10" RAS. $100 on craigslit, it's in great shape, and is a thing of beauty. a turret head and adjustments in all directions make any compound cut possible (with a quick switch from 45-90-45 degree cuts). using this is like using a machine tool, not a woodworking tool. i can be incredibly accurate without spending a ton of time double checking everything and making test cuts (a good ts with a fancy fence would offer the same thing).
Good point. These are on CL all the time. I would rather have one of these old saws that 2 of the Ryobis. Some of the old saws might run on 220 volts, which may or may not be a problem for you.
I have never regretted buying the better tool, bee suit, extractor, ...