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| Power Source: | corded-electric |
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Metabo table saw is good, but...,
Because I'm in the market for a nicer quality portable table saw, I just compared them side by side in a store. The brands include DeWalt, Bosch, Porter Cable and Metabo. All portable table saws make compromises when compared to a full sized table saw. Yet, for the higher end/quality portables, I think that it is fair to expect something that is a little closer to a full sized floor model than the less expensive models. All brands had nice solid fences (locked on far end to reduce movement). All had extending tables to increase cut width.The Metabo excelled in that it had a significantly deeper table than the others. This would be a great asset for ripping longer boards and large sheet material. The Metabo also seemed be a little more solidly built than the others: motor mounting was very good, tilt adjustment was better than the plastic gear system in the Porter Cable, etc. All of the above mentioned saws had standard miter gauge tracks (Unlike the smaller miter gauge tracks found on most other portable saws made - Makita, etc. - you can use a wide variety of commericially available jigs.). Porter Cable and Metabo both (Not DeWalt or Bosch) use a 'T' slotted miter gauge track. This allows you to much more easily cross-cut wood that is wider than the table top allows (the miter gauge holds in the slot even when the angle adjustment part of gauge is not resting on the table surface). However (AND THIS IS A VERY BIG HOWEVER), the Metabo miter gauge slot has not been sized properly. Of all the above mentioned higher end portable saws, the track on the Metabo saw is FAR looser than it is for the other brands. Both the DeWalt and Bosch saws have some moderate slop (probably too much also) in the miter gauge track (Porter Cable is best in this category), yet when precision is required for jigs or cross-cuts requiring the miter gauge track, the loose tollerance of the Metabo track is not acceptable. The fact that the bottom of the miter track is crowned (I believe that DeWalt and Bosch are also) further worsens performance. I can only presume that there was a metric to English (centimeters to inches) error made when sizing the miter gauge track. My bias is that I like to buy American tools; second choice is European (Obviously, I'm getting more disappointed by the year. Yet, I want to disclose my biases so that you can judge the rest of my review in that light). The Bosch, DeWalt and Porter Cable saws are made in Taiwan. I thought that in view that the Metabo saw is so expensive for a portable ($600 to $650; compared to approximately $500, $500 and $400, respectively, for the others), it might be made in Europe (Metabo is a European based company). No, the saw is not more expensive because of the higher salaries that they have to pay the employees that are working in Europe. The saw is made in China. In summary, the Metabo is definitely worth a strong consideration. It is a nice saw. Because of the Metabo's deep table, basic physics tells me that it will rip boards and sheet material easier and more accurately than any of the other saws mentioned. However, seriously think about purchasing either a full sized floor saw or one of the other saws mentioned if you plan to use the miter gauge slot for precision cross-cut or jig based cutting. Obviously, my review is based solely on the construction and features of each saw. If you have an opportunity to try each saw before purchasing it, that would be the best way to evaluate them. I think that there is going to be a different best saw for each individual depending on their intended use. Personally, I am planning on purchasing the Porter Cable saw. It seems to have the higher quality portable saw features (larger table, solid fence, extending table for large cut capacity, full sized miter gauge slot) at a less expensive price.
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