Popular Woodworking 2009-10 № 178, страница 23
Benchtop Table Saws Bosch 4100 The Bosch 4100 saw was near perfect right out of the box. The blade-to-miter-slot parallelism was off only .001"" so no adjustment was neces sary. the fence is set up for jigs in that no screws or bolts extend above the top and that allows smooth sailing for any fence-riding jigs - think tenon jig. And, it needed no adjustments. Blade changes are a one-tool task because the saw has an arbor-lock lever. Simply pull the lever up and toward the front then move the blade by hand until the lock engages. The saw comes equipped with a Bosch 10"", 40-tooth general purpose woodworking blade that has an alternate top bevel (ATB) design. The Bosch guard and pawls are smooth and easy to operate as is the table extension. And when the extension is locked, there is no movement whatsoever. Dust collection was very good through a 2" dust port and the saw handles up to a 13/16" dado stack. A test of the decibel level at the front edge of the blade guard registered 93 dB - the lowest of the saws reviewed. BOSCH boschtools.com or 877-267-2499 Street price: $420 TS200 Stand: $198 Craftsman 21828 The blade-to-miter-slot parallelism for the Craftsman's benchtop table saw was .042"". We double-checked the readings to make sure it wasn't a mistake. The second reading confirmed the problem. But the adjustment to bring things back in line is easy to do: Loosen two bolts then turn a third bolt to effect a change. The fix brought things parallel. What really caught our attention with this saw is that the two miter slots were not parallel to each other - there is no adjustment for that. And the height adjustment for this saw turns counter-clockwise to raise the blade - reverse of the most saws. The saw comes equipped with a 36-tooth, no-name ATB blade. A dado stack for this saw is limited to V2" according to the owner's manual and the company recommends a 6""-diameter dado blade. And the blade guard and pawls have to be removed whenever a blade change or riving knife adjustment is made. This is the only saw in the group with built-in wheels and a telescoping handle. Both made moving the saw very easy. This 15-amp motor has a no-load speed of 5,000 rpm (the highest speed in the review), which may account for the highest decibel reading (101 dB) as well. CRAFTSMAN craftsman.com or 800-349-4358 Street price: $300 No stand available DeWalt dw744xrs The great feature on the DeWalt benchtop table saw is the locking mechanism on the throat plate - this design should be adopted by all manufacturers. it's easy to use and secures the plate effectively. The most unique feature of this saw is the fence arrangement. While the fence is positioned to the right or left of the blade, it is latched to the rails and moves only when the rails move. And due to the work-support extension, you can't use fence-riding jigs. This saw was .020" out when discussing blade-to-miter-slot parallelism, but the four-bolt fix made it simple to align. The DeWalt 744 saw can handle a 13/16" dado stack and includes a 10"", 24-tooth general purpose DeWalt saw blade. Blade changes require two wrenches (included), one slips on and locks the arbor while a second wrench works the arbor nut. The DeWalt saw is available only with one of two stands: the DW744XRS (a sturdier stand) or the DW744X (a more economical stand). There is a $120 price differential between the two setups. The decibel reading for the DeWalt saw was 97 dB. DEWALT dewalt.com or 800-433-9258 Street price: $649 (DW744XRS) $529 (DW744X) 36 ■ Popular Woodworking October 2009 |
