Harbor Freight table saw is terrible

[JohnKuthe]

Lol thanks man.
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Keyhole saw!! Mad keyhole saw skillz!

John Kuthe...

 

[ChaseinBass]

This is the one I have:
10 in., 15 Amp Benchtop Table Saw

Does the fence clamp on both ends or just one end with other end free too slide back and forth ? I am thinking I would make that one work , you already got it ? Figure out a way to get fence to stay square, also check that blade is square first and start there. practice with it on a plie of scrap wood till you get it figured out. Also dont try to use the measurements on the table to do anything with , use your tape measure and measure from blade tooth to fence on front and back of blade. then try to tighten fence down and you should be good.

 

[Based]

Does the fence clamp on both ends or just one end with other end free too slide back and forth ? I am thinking I would make that one work , you already got it ? Figure out a way to get fence to stay square, also check that blade is square first and start there. practice with it on a plie of scrap wood till you get it figured out.

Yeah I already have it. My dad bought it. The fence only clamps on one side which is why it's so hard to make parallel.

 

[ChaseinBass]

Yeah I already have it. My dad bought it. The fence only clamps on one side which is why it's so hard to make parallel.

I edited my post too ? I would invest a little time and I am sure you can make work. Too bad you didnt live near me, I would be more than happy to help you out . Feel free to message me. I am an old guy and one thing I have learned is its not always the tools fault sometimes we need to practice with it even if it is an expensive saw.

 

[Based]

The bigger the table and more rigid the fence obviously the better and my craftsman is not it. I bought an entry level on sale and i gave up on it so I now stick to eye and hand circular saw. It works best for me after screwing up a few times with my table saw.

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Yeah I'm gonna try it with a circular saw tonight! My dad is in the process of "fixing" the table saw by making a guide out of plywood etc. I really have no interest in doing all that. If it were me I would just buy the good tool first instead of spending time and effort on making a ****** tool decent.

I'm gonna just clamp a piece of wood down for my guide for the circular saw.

 

[ChaseinBass]

Yeah I'm gonna try it with a circular saw tonight! My dad is in the process of "fixing" the table saw by making a guide out of plywood etc. I really have no interest in doing all that. If it were me I would just buy the good tool first instead of spending time and effort on making a ****** tool decent.
I'm gonna just clamp a piece of wood down for my guide for the circular saw.

Ya you can make a guild or clamp a board to it and do the math to make straight cuts, Like I was saying its easier than getting out the table saw most of the time. Here is the one i made and I made it a long enough to cut full sheets plywood. Works great.

How to Build a Simple Circular Saw Guide for Straighter Cuts

 

[mrpep]

Yeah I'm gonna try it with a circular saw tonight! My dad is in the process of "fixing" the table saw by making a guide out of plywood etc. I really have no interest in doing all that. If it were me I would just buy the good tool first instead of spending time and effort on making a ****** tool decent.
I'm gonna just clamp a piece of wood down for my guide for the circular saw.

You may not need to clamp anything down. You'd be surprised what one can do when working carefully and focused

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[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

You may not need to clamp anything down. You'd be surprised what one can do when working carefully and focused

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Yeah great suggestion. You gonna offer the same when one is running a router making "windows" thru the wood? No need to use clamps, just focus and go slow, go straight.

ALWAYS clamp down work when cutting. Only takes 1 little mistake to ruin your day/life. I've seen way too many accidents, to even the most experienced people.

 

[Based]

I just spent about 2 hours on my box. I made 4 cuts lol. I've never cut wood myself before and I was just trying my best to learn how to make straight accurate cuts. I'm getting better. I'm gonna finish my box tomorrow.

And yeah I clamp everything. And wear a respirator. And safety glasses. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

Helpful hint for ya: To get really straight cuts, check fence to blade at beginning of sawblade and towards the top. I've found that on my tablesaw at least that even when I press the wood against fence while cutting, it's not always gonna be straight every time. The fence I have is kinda cheap...and tricky to work with. Prob made in China lol But there's a tensioning screw on the fence itself.

 

[Based]

Helpful hint for ya: To get really straight cuts, check fence to blade at beginning of sawblade and towards the top. I've found that on my tablesaw at least that even when I press the wood against fence while cutting, it's not always gonna be straight every time. The fence I have is kinda cheap...and tricky to work with. Prob made in China lol But there's a tensioning screw on the fence itself.

I'm using a Ryobi circular saw and a straight edge clamp that I got from harbor freight. For some reason I cut a couple of the cuts I made like 1/8" too short. Idk why. It looked like the clamp straight edge was even at both ends (I measured it with a tape measure) but it came out short a couple times.

 

[mrpep]

Yeah great suggestion. You gonna offer the same when one is running a router making "windows" thru the wood? No need to use clamps, just focus and go slow, go straight.
ALWAYS clamp down work when cutting. Only takes 1 little mistake to ruin your day/life. I've seen way too many accidents, to even the most experienced people.

Where does the OP mention routers or windows ??

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[ciaonzo 5,000+ posts]

Where does the OP mention routers or windows ??

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You are deflecting. He used that as an example to illustrate how bad your advice was. But you knew that.

 

[ciaonzo 5,000+ posts]

OP, you might pick up a calibration disc and use a dial indicator or nice square to check how true everything is. Get the saw and table perfectly lined up with each other and then take a look at the fence. There should be adjustments you can make on the fence to bring it in true while it is clamped to the guide. Once you do all of that, you will be able to determine if there is real problem with repeatability of the fence clamp mechanism.

 

[mrpep]

You are deflecting. He used that as an example to illustrate how bad your advice was. But you knew that.

Lol, ok... for a standard ported box for a first timer who probably won't carpet or paint or stain and probably use big obvious screws and most likely won't be putting in windows and lights etc I personally think a hand saw is good enough. I've built a handful of boxes with no leaks and have had good luck with straight cuts with a circular saw. If I can do it I think most should be able to as well. But if he wants to spend 2 hours on 4 cuts clamping things down then by all means have at it buddy.

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