Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Power Tools). This thread is read-only.
Eric and Dan have just reviewed the Bosch 4100 Table Saw.
Let us know your thoughts and if you are in the market for a table saw does the easy tool less set up and ease of use make this a winner for you?
Maybe the gravity stand feature which means you wheel right from the truck or van to the job and in a few seconds you are set up and ready to go saving you time?
I have the earlier model of this saw. Yes, the stand is nice. It does chew up stairs if you try and drag it up them though. Bigger wheels would make this so much nicer to drag both up stairs and around the job site. I think most tool designers forget that these tools get used outside and have to deal with backhoes and bulldozers tracks not to mention the muck and the mud. The arbor on this saw is a little on the short side so you not going to be putting much of a dado stack on it. The rip fence stays true. The table extension, when extended, makes a nice place to mount a router that can use the saws fence, possibly eliminating the need to drag a router table along. The soft start is nice. If you hook it up to a shop vac, it collects 90% of the sawdust. I have heard of the outside armature bearing going out, as it is not sealed very well, but mine has not failed yet. I would buy another one if mine broke down.
I’ve really been watching this saw hard. I’m gonna buy a new table saw this winter and as of right now it’s my 1st choice.
I really like the Makita 2705 too, but the portability of the Bosch GTS 1031 is a really tempting feature.
Conductor562 wrote:
I really like the Makita 2705 too, but the portability of the Bosch GTS 1031 is a really tempting feature.
I think the littlest Bosch saw is really small and is limited to an 18″ rip. If you can live with that small form factor it could be the saw for you. On occasion I need to rip sheets of plywood in half and found saws in the size range of the 1031 would just not cut it.
After seeing someone use a Rousseau 2700XL Portamax table saw stand I also wanted to make sure I had a saw that I could use should I end up with one of them.
It’s appealing because I have more tools than I have garage (don’t we all). A table saw takes up valuable floor space. The vast majority of my hobby is carried out with 1″or 2″ x 12′ anyway, so a wide table capacity isn’t really all that necessary. I typically work alone so ripping a 4′ x 8′ sheet of anything is pretty much a no go. I do occasionally find need for a larger table, but it’s so infrequent that I’m not sure it’s worth the extra space and expense.
Conductor562 wrote:
It’s appealing because I have more tools than I have garage (don’t we all). A table saw takes up valuable floor space..
Don’t let the Shopsmith guys hear you talking like that. Still made in USA as well.
I looked at the DG model, but couldn’t see the benefit of the digital measure for the HIGH dollar cost. What do you think? Is there an alternate digital device?