I know... everone has their favorite brand, just need a reasonable quality one for simple uses presently. Or ones to avoid. Looking at Rigid $299 R45171, Bosch $379 GTS1031, Dewalt $379 DWE7480, Ryobi $229 RTS22 or $159 RTS11 at the Home Despot at the moment. Rigid $498 R4513 seems overkill. The Ryobi $99 RTS10NS seems too lightweight but... Real need atm is shaving some trim pieces to various angles and thicknesses. Thoughts?
I have the larger of the two Dewalt saws you see, that I lug around, and use on the jobsite. It does what I need, in that capacity. Any of the ones you listed will do what you're asking. The key is keeping a clean, sharp blade in it. I have several Frueds and Amanas that I keep with it.
I've used the Rigid, Bosch, and DeWalt... Out of them all, DeWalt is the one I keep with me for a jobsite saw... Does most of what I need to do on a jobsite as long as I have a good blade in it....
Portable job site saws it's hard to be the Dewalt units or at least the one I bought 10 or better years ago still does a good job.
Not sure if you're looking for a saw that comes with a stand or not, but definitely get one. Makes a world of difference. I have one on and one off and I use the stand saw 95% of the time. Trim is a breeze. Oh, and I've got a Dewalt and a Makita...both are great. Dewalt is on the stand because it's a 12 amd she gets the brunt of use.
I have the little Dewalt. Good saw. The little angle sled runner thing is cheap. Other than that the saw is pretty awesome. “No Regerts”
Foo is right..buy a good blade. And keep it clean!!!! If you can't find blade cleaner, people use simple green or easy off. Scrub with a tooth brush! Buy a blade with the biggest carbide, or lots of cheap ones and throw then out regularly. I've used the same blades going on nearly 20 years with regular sharpening and tip replacements. Well worth the 125 bucks they cost. If you want a saw you can resell for what you paid for it, powermatic makes a model 64 that you can buy through Amazon.. Cast iron top and a kick ass 10" saw with a real fence. Keep it clean and you can likely sell it for nearly what you paid for it when you're done. I loved mine.
I've got the ridgid with the portable stand, I've used it to rip and trim a 4 inch thick pecan beam for a mantle and a lot of one and a half inch hickory for stair treads. and two inch hickory, walnut and maple for custom cutting boards. It handles the thick stuff well for a a portable saw. One of these days I'll have a nice big table saw but this one has held up well. I'd love a nicer fence but it works well.
I have a $99 Ryobi that we use occasionally on the job. We've used it to rip 1x and 2x material. It works surprisingly well for a cheapie.
I have a Porter Cable that's been good to me. If you lived locally, I would've just sold it to you on the cheap. With all of these saws, there isn't one perfect option. Decide what's important and go from there.
