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Delta TS200 Shopmaster 10-Inch Portable Bench Saw | List Price: $193.03
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Brand: Delta
Binding: Tools & Hardware
Features: - Powered by a 13-amp, 120-volt motor for dependable cutting power
- Lightweight for portability
- Ample capacity to cut 3-inch at 90 degrees, 2-1/2-inch at 45 degrees
- Rip fence locks front and rear to maintain accuracy of cut
- 2-year limited warranty on machines, parts, and accessories
Excellent value and precision [Posted on 2003-01-10]
For the moderate woodworker or home remodeler, this benchtop table saw is excellent. The value and return-on-investment are tremendous. It is light weight, easily portable, and maintains its calibration and precision very well. I have one in my home workshop (garage), and my son uses his everyday on jobsites (wood flooring installations).
Great for the beginner weekend warrior! [Posted on 2003-03-18]
Great entry level 1st timer table saw. Good for occasional weekend warrior and looks impressive in the suburban garage woodshop. Seriously, mine has served me well. I bought this saw nearly 10 years ago. I built a moble cart to mount it on providing an extended table area and storage below. However, as my skills and demands on it have increased (i.e. ripping and dadoing LOTS of hardwood trim)it is no longer up to the task and finally died. I got every penny's worth out of it though!
You get what you pay for [Posted on 2005-11-15]
Update 6/21/2006 - I traded up to the Ryobi.
Original review from 2005:
Getting what you pay for works both ways, though. This saw is cheap, and for the money you get a cheap saw. You'll get a lot better saw for more money, but then you'll be paying a lot more for that better saw, won't you?
I've gone back and forth over owning this thing, sometimes thrilled to be using it and sometimes cursing its very existence. Ultimately I think I've made my peace with it.
On the plus side, its tablesaw-ness makes it a joy to use for many applications, things that would be impossible or dangerous or just plain annoying with the circular saw. Just set the fence and rip boards to the exact same width all day, or set a stop block and cross cut. To me, a machine, compared to a hand tool, isn't faster or safer or better if you're cutting just one piece, but it should enable you to repeat the cut exactly.
One the minus side, you absolutely must understand that this saw's mitre gage slots are not standard 3/8" x 3/4". You will not be able to use aftermarket accessories in these slots, which are 1/4" x 5/8". And while the arbor is indeed 5/8", it's a short arbor and will not hold a full-size dado set. Max dado width is 1/2", not 13/16". And the insert is not a standard insert, in width and thickness. You won't be able to buy or make zero-clearance inserts.
So, if you are at all able to, then bite the bullet and pay more to at least get the Ryobi BTS20. If you can't even afford that, then you'll do fine with this saw. You're not expecting a Unisaw, right? And you know you're not getting one either.
Barely recommended for rough framing [Posted on 2006-04-07]
I have been a wood worker for almost 35 years. Using this saw has been, without a doubt, the worst table saw experience I have ever had. My son bought this saw to use for making an addition to their home after making an addition to the family (my grandson).
Accuracy of cuts is _not_ easy with this saw. The miter gauge is so sloppy in the (non-standard in size _and_ spacing) miter slots that you're probably better off free-handing cuts.
I made a crosscut sled for this saw because we could not get a square cross-cut. I brought my sled for my Delta Unisaw but, of course, it doesn't even come close to fitting.
The table top on his saw was corroded when he got it. The retailer refused to exchange it since the saw worked and wasn't "broken". He bought this version of this saw (the TS200). We tried to buy the stand for it but found that the only way to get the stand in the Atlanta area is to buy one online (that took a week to get).
The rip fence is about as wobbly as they come. You have to measure the distance from the front and back of the blade to the fence using a combination square then _gently_ lock it down. You better check that it's still the right distance to the blade and still square after locking it down. It has a very annoying habit of drifting when you lock it down.
The saw does not have an induction motor and uses the same type motor (it's a direct drive saw) as circular saws. The saw, with the aluminium top and plastic casing is quite light. Consequently, when you start the saw, it really jumps hard. Even mounted on a very stable stand (I built one for it and weighted it down with two 50 pound bags of cement) the saw shakes so hard on startup that it's impossible to line up a cut before you power it on and have it still lined up after power on. So we just line up cuts after the saw is powered up.
The extension wing for this saw fits well but is pretty useless. The table top is so rough that most materials catch on the saw top as you try to slide it over it. This makes for very rough cuts.
Sure this saw is only about $100. But you'll probably destroy enough wood with bad cuts that it would be cheaper in the long run to buy a more expensive (and _much_ better saw) like the TS220LS which is unbelievably better for just $50 more.
How it looks is irrelevant if it can't cut the mustard (or your wood) properly. This saw is nearly impossible to upgrade to a saw that's both useful and not a huge time sink. Setting up each cut is misery and takes far longer than the actual cut.
As a long time Delta/Rockwell saw user and owner (I have a Rockwell cabinet saw), in my opinion this saw is not worthy of the Delta name and gives people the wrong idea about the quality of Delta table saws.
If your only criteria is that it looks good and it's cheap then this is the saw for you. If you're a beginner woodworker, I can't think of a better way to discourage yourself than to buy this saw. Even after 35 years of experience, I find it a challenge to make good cuts with this saw.
The crosscut sled is about all we use on this saw, now and I had to make that. I use my DeWalt circular saw and home-made straight-edge jig for ripping. I don't know what my son's going to do when I leave and take that with me unless I make one for him. I'm seriously considering buying him a much better saw like the Delta TS-350 and throwing this thing into the junk heap.
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