Re: please help on table saw purchase

i think its a ryobi that chin made for them. i've noticed quite a number of table saws exactly the same as ours but i noticed that they are ryobi.

The rockwell table saw also looks like the ryobi/chin as well.

Btw, what is the dimension of the Chin's table?

Re: please help on table saw purchase

Hi rosy,

The Chin brand TS is from Taiwan. Built is decent, with the basic safety features (anti-kickback pawl, blade guard, riving knife).

The two major negatives (for me) are the 12-inch rip capacity and the all-plastic body. However, the jig in the pic will allow you to extend the rip capacity. And the plywood base will stabilize the plastic body and also protect it from damage.

I'm getting Chin soon, hopefully.

HTH.

While that statement is true, one must know how to properly set it up. Outboard fences like the one pictured is what makes a circular saw mounted under the table unsafe. I know it doesn't use a cs on the picture, but the application of the fence makes it perform the same way. Please be careful and know the hazards before trying them out...

Also, most contractor saws or portable types have plastic bodies. I don't really think it poses issues in performance. Metal body does tend to rust and will offer shorter life, plastic will only shorten its lifespan if it is transported often and mishandled (otherwise would last forever)...

Re: please help on table saw purchase

Thanks for the safety reminder, timber. I'll read more before trying it out. Matagal pa siguro yun.

@jarod
Left and right rip capacity are both 12 inches. That makes the width maybe 24-25 inches. Depth I think is 16 to 18 inches.

Re: please help on table saw purchase

The rockwell table saw also looks like the ryobi/chin as well.

Btw, what is the dimension of the Chin's table?

actually, that looks like the one on chin's manual but the brand is durq.

Re: please help on table saw purchase

does the chin table saw accept dado blade?.. thanks

Re: please help on table saw purchase

does the chin table saw accept dado blade?.. thanks

I guess kasi sa manual naka indicate yung pag gamit ng dado blades.

Re: please help on table saw purchase

@ lhannz04

what's the arbor size of blades.

Re: please help on table saw purchase

That is a nice setup. Whether it's a benchtop or a cabinet saw, I found that the limiting factor is the
1) the table size (it has to accomodate 8x4)
2) the fence (i needed a 4' fence to accurately cut 8x4) I used a gator clamp and cut as the fence and.

I had great results cutting panels with my benchtop jet, but that's because we extended the table width to 4', and put rollers to support the outfeed. Needless to say, the setup took more space than a car.

The blade guard and riving knife.... We eventually ditched them. They worked but were more of a bother.

What's missing in the picture? The cloud of sawdust generated by the saw. I always used a particle filter mask when dealing with the table saw.

Re: please help on table saw purchase

The blade guard and riving knife.... We eventually ditched them. They worked but were more of a bother.

We actually never recommend removing the safety features. can you tell us how the riving knife or splitter bother you?

Re: please help on table saw purchase

I believe that as long as the operator knows what he's doing, he will be safe. But as anyone would guess, there is no such thing as over protection and human error is never 0%, so just be safe whenever you use the saw without the safety tools but put them as much as you can.

This is just a friendly concern, please do take my suggestions with a grain of salt. To each his own.

To all those newbies who may be reading my reply, some people here have already a great background in what they do so they know what they are doing. But for you novices, you would never know what could happen wrong. In power tool safety, there is no room for a single small mistake. A small inconvenience from a bothersome safety tool could save you your life or your loved ones.

I would always promote safety.

Re: please help on table saw purchase

@ lhannz04

what's the arbor size of blades.

Chin's arbor size is 5/8 inch. It does have a washer/flange/bushing that will allow you to use a blade with 1 inch arbor but I don't think it'll work for a dado blade.

So your dado blade has to be 5/8".

Re: please help on table saw purchase

We actually never recommend removing the safety features. can you tell us how the riving knife or splitter bother you?

The blade guard was a bother because we eventually started to measure from the blade itself and not from the fence rail. This was because we preferred a 4' clamp and cut for ripping 4x8. It's the extra long fence ensured enough contact with a 4x8 to make long rips square, that way there was zero lateral movement and consequently no binding. This, plus the table extensions, increased the accuracy of the saw by a huge factor. Since the fence never budged, we were absolutely sure that each panel cut on the saw would have exactly the same dimensions - measure once, cut many sheets.

As to the riving knife, in the JET design, the riving knife also supports the blade guard. It curves above the blade, preventing dado cuts. The TS actually did not support a dado blade, but using a sled we made multiple passes in order to make half lap joints. We avoided kickback by using the miter guide only for the smallest pieces, and by using a sled most of the time. The sled's much better since it also kept the cut edge cleaner as well.

Is it more dangerous without the safety features? Of course it is. A table saw is a beast.
Before I even turned on the table saw for the first time, i read and read about how to use a TS safely, and rehearsed it in my mind. I saw the ghastly photos of what happens because of kickback, and other things that go wrong when you misuse a 3hp spinning blade.

The decisions we made were done after careful consideration. Kickback and binding wasn't a big problem given the wide kerf blade and soft plywood we were working with. Ear protectors and respirators were de rigeur when doing table saw work (the sawdust is very bad for you).

Safety features are nice, but they won't substitute for being very very careful.

Re: please help on table saw purchase

funny that I just remembered a story that willyfernando told us and a similar incident in the Cebu ww company that I went to to help. That they will remove a fence and it will see the trash bin no matter how good or bad it is (since they prefer a clamped on type since this is what they are used to). Using a gator clamp for convenience is even worse since it moves even when heavily clamped. This clamp allows its head to move to allow cuts at 22.5 degrees.
There is another way of measuring cut even if the blade isn't exposed. You can mark the blade cut with a pen on the front part of the blade on the table using a ruler to mark the kerf and make it a reference. that way you can always keep the blade guard or splitter on.
I would understand that removing and reinstalling the guard to be a hassle (if you are cutting grooves or dadoes) but do you think using two clamps and a piece of wood is easier than using the supplied fence? Keep in mind that the clamp on fence will have to be square (or slightly skewed opening near the blade end to prevent pinching) for the cut to be safe and efficient (which also mean that your infeed table will have to be square to the blade and secure for it to be used as a reference point for the fence). But if is bec you need a wider cut than the ts will allow, math is often the solution...
cutting soft and thin plywood will also make all the solutions easier and safer at that.
There are lots of ways to be safe, yes third party add ons are expensive but there are work arounds for it that invloves less expense. Shortcuts are often unsafe and bad practice.
But in the end it is up to you and we can only recommend.
We strongly oppose this practice because people with little to no background in ts's could easily think it is a good practice.

Re: please help on table saw purchase

the gator i got had no play, dunno why. i stopped trusting the table's squareness and directly measured the front and back of the blade. i would have used clamps and wood but the gator did the job.
it was a 2 man job. one fed, the other guided the feed and kept an eye on the fence.
oh, and we used rollers on the outfeed. otherwise the friction would cause binding.
i agree, a panel saw is better. i'd get one if i had to make cabinets again.
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Re: please help on table saw purchase

what i would like to say is...

in my little own experience with a table saw...

if my work will require a safety feature (i.e. riving knife, splitter etc) then by all means i will use it.

but if the safety feature cannot allow the TS to perform the intended task then i remove it.as simple as that.

good thing nowadays, removing these safety features are quick and no brainer...but it adds to the cost of the tool.

i dont do woodwork when i am hungry, feeling tired, have a headache.

and when i do woodwork, i want to be wholly immersed in the process without any distractions.

even if those safety features are all in place.. i still maintain a nominal level of stress hormones in my blood to keep me quick to respond to a mishap...and you dont have to buy it from your favorite drugstore..all you have to do is be alert...that alertness can all make the difference.

sometimes, it makes sense to be an obsessive compulsive..when someone checks everyday if the arbor nuts are tight...even if the manual says nothing about it...since it is absurd to think that the nut will unwind and toss the blade spinning at 4000 rpm hitting your chest much the like a horror movie shown 25 years ago.

if you work in the industry..if you had an accident without the safety features in place..you dont get reimbursements for hospital bills..

the bottom line..i dont earn from it...because it is just one of my hobbies!

if i ruin my finger or hurt my eye, i will not be able to perform my line of work efficiently. if i dont work, i dont get paid. therefore i wont be able to buy new tools, materials and worse i may not do woodwork anymore.

if your line of work is just woodworking and you earn from it..by all means you practise safety...for you have no other resort.

for at the end of the day...just a deep sigh...a lesson earned the hard way..and a lost body part never to be seen again.

i love my TS btw.

do you want to know what i fear most?

the router bits!!!!