As my projects have gotten much larger and more advanced, I am thinking it will be soon time to upgrade from my BT to a full size saw. I want to buy a saw that I will be happy with for a long time and not wish I had spent more money and gotten something better. I am eyeing the Ridgid CS at Home Depot. I love that it has a mobile base, has decent dust collection, has the largest stock rip capacity of most contractor saws, and seems to get great reviews. The price is also closer to what I could realistically afford. But then there are the cabinet saws. Other than more power, what I am really sacificing by getting the Ridgid? I know I will have to spend $1000.00 and up to get a cabinet saw with the same rip capacity and a mobile base like the Ridgid. Will I reget not getting a cabinet saw in the future, or will I be able to do everyting I could on a cabinet saw on a contractor saw? Your help in deciding would be much appreciated!
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I'm extremely happy with my Ridgid TS3650. It takes a few hours of setting up, but once aligned it has stayed that way. It's near 300# weight makes it very stable and the herc-u-lift makes it easy to move around if you have a tight space (I pushed it 2 blocks down the street to my new house).
The only 2 things I would change are the mitre guage and a new blade (although both are quite workable and better than most stock ones). The dust collection is not that bad with a shop vac and I've seen a few people who have converted it to a 4" opening for a DC system.
I believe most of the HD's have them available for $499.00 which I believe is a fantastic bargain for the quality of the tool.
-=gos=-If it ain't one thing... It's 12 @#$%ing things! -
I've had both. The differences I've experienced is less vibration with a cabinet saw, and IMO limitation between the two lies in the motor size and the fence system. You can maximize performance with a contractors saw with a "T" square type fence with a longer front rail, and set up a top to the right of the blade, and an outfeed top (could be temporary or folding).
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I think its really a question of what you intend to do with the saw. I do not own a cabinet saw or the Rigid, although it was one of my choices when I purchased a new saw. I got the Craftsman 22124 on sale for $529. It is a hybrid (motor inside) and is probably the only real difference from the 3650.
It boils down to the space that you have, electrical power available and the accuracy of the saw. I find that I can crosscut and rip with very good results and with a nice Freud blade I have no regrets with this saw. It has adequate power, has never bogged when cutting and has decent dust collection. (I'm not trying to sell you on this particular saw)
All that said, I think the Rigid is a great saw which has received glowing reviews from various users and woodworking organizations. I doubt I would be disappointed with that saw. Unless I needed lots of power for cutting really thick hardwood I couldn't justify the expense of a good cabinet saw. I am currently building kitchen cabinets and have no problems using my current saw. Ken Massingale (member of this forum) has the TS3650 and loves it.
I could be wrong but my opinion is that cabinet saws are really intended for use in professional, production shops where they will be used much more than a hobbiest woodworker would use a saw. Everything is much beefier (is that a word?) and made to take the constant use/abuse of a production shop. One thing for sure if you buy a quality cabinet saw you probably will not ever have to buy another saw in your lifetime. Anyway, thats my $.02 worth.
RAGS 
Raggy and Me in San Felipe
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Like gos I have the Ridgid TS3650. I have no desire to get a cabinet saw. The 3650 is solid, no vibration when the saw/herculift are adjusted correctly. It not only passes the silly nickel test I can rip and crosscut with the nickel standing.
In the price range the fence is extremely adequate, I see no need to change it at all.
there is plenty of room on the right for a large router table extension if you want.
Also, Ridgid support has proven to be excellent when I had questions.
Good luck with your choice.
Feel free to PM me if your have other questions.Comment
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There's two big differences - one is how the motor is mounted, contractor saws have it outside in the rear and the other is the constrction and mounting of the trunions.
This question came up last January and Dustmight and others made some significant points and illustrated this wonderfully. See this dicsuiion thread:
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...light=trunions
Loring in Katy, TX USA
If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questionsComment
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IMO ... if you're asking these two questions purely from a standpoint of what the two designs can do ... No and Yes, respectively.
Now that Rags and Loring and two 3650 owners have given you their thoughts, I'll throw in a slightly different perspective that may or not help you make your decision. I recently purchased a cabinet saw -- a Powermatic PM2000, to be specific. My justification was simple: It's what I wanted. And I love it; I regard every penny it cost me as money well spent. But before I pulled the trigger, I made many many MANY trips to Home Depot and spent quite a bit of time standing in front of the 3650 on display, asking myself if I was nuts for even thinking about spending almost four times as much on a table saw as a 3650 would have cost me. The agonizing continued right up until the time I placed the order for the PM2000 ... indeed, even until I actually took delivery of the beast and started putting it together. As soon as I tore open the box, any lingering doubts I may have had evaporated.
Now, three months later, I still have no regrets. It's what I wanted. Just understand how heavily want figured into the decision. At the moment I'm strictly a hobbyist woodworker, with vague intentions of trying to someday make a little money off my hobby in order to supplement my retirement income. But I'm under no illusions about whether I really need the saw I bought, now or in future.LarryComment
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Happiness is sort of like wetting your pants....everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth.
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I recalled that you posted some great "under the hood" shots that most of us don't get to see when shopping or considering those kinds of saws.
Sometimes its just a matter of being able to search for the answer as
there's a rich resource here fueled by knowledgeable people like you.
Glad I was able to find it.Loring in Katy, TX USA
If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questionsComment
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I recently purchased the Jet cabinet saw that was on sale at Amazon for almost exactly the same reason. I thought about selling my BT but decided if I could find the room I'd keep it.It's what I wanted
One very nice thing about the BT with a Shark Guard is how easy it is to remove the guard for dado cuts. Removing the guard on my Jet means reinstalling and realigning it.
I wasn't unhappy with the BT but I wanted something a bit better and although I have a lot more in the Jet than I'd ever bargained for after paying to wire my garage for 230, I'm very pleased.Comment
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I also own the 3650 and I too agree it's a great saw... but I did notice a few minor annoyances. The motor is plenty powerful for what I do but on a rare occasion I do notice it bogs down. Because the motor hangs out the back and the design of the fence rails there aren't as many options for outfeed support as you would have with a cabinet saw such as flip up out feed tables that bolt onto the saw. The dust collection is good but looking back now I might have preferred an enclosed cabinet. Again these are very minor things I noticed and and if I had to do it again it would be a tough decision since I never originally considered a cabinet saw.Comment
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Let ammend my earlier post by saying this.
If my budget would have allowed me to purchase a quality cabinet saw, I would most certainly have one in my shop instead of the TS3650. But for my $500 and some change, there is no better (new) saw out there IMHO.
I opted for the Ridgid over the zip coders due to price (I missed the sale), reviews, mobility and availabilty (I wanted it now....)
I'm sure I would have been pleased with the C-Man TS, they are good machines, but the price of the TS3650 was the deciding factor in the end.
-=gos=-If it ain't one thing... It's 12 @#$%ing things!Comment
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I have a PM2000, it was costly, but I find it worth it. I've used contractor's saws, bench saws, the hybrids, and a couple of cabinet saws. Of those I've personally used, the PM2000 is the smoothest operating machine, with big power. The price is high though, for sure...
I like the hybrid saws personally, all of the convenience of a cabinet saw in terms of DC, fairly compact design as the motor isn't out the back, can be put on a mobile base easily and cheaply enough. Honestly if the delta hybrid has a riving knife, I probably would have bought it.
The Ridgid looks to be a very good contractor's saw, I just prefer the DC of an enclosed motor.
And sure, money being NO option, probably a Saw Stop in most shops.Keith Z. Leonard
Go Steelers!Comment
LCHIEN
I just reread the whole thread and thought that alot of good points were raised....well worth a read for a would-be saw buyer.
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