what saw to buy ?

[Mr.Ian]

Ok, so im new to this

just about to start my new project, and not sure what saw to buy ?

I have a jigsaw, now im looking for something that can cut a straight line, as im hopeless with the jigsaw unless its for small cuts

so far i have been thinking about either of the following, so asking for pros and cons about each

Table saw - this should give me a true and straight cut everytime, thing im worried about is cutting the inside square for the monitor cutout

compound saw - again this will make a straight cut, but figure its a bit more flexible, could make internal cuts, not to the edge, but enough to finnish off by hand (sanding) or with the jigsaw

Any help, or other suggestions would be fantastic


Mr.Ian

[drventure]

Lots of straight cuts, you might think of a circular saw+sawboard combination.

I almost always use a guide with a jigsaw myself, too.

A compound sliding mitre saw is a fantastic tool to have around, but I haven't found mine very useful for cab building. Other stuff, it's extremely useful for though.

Tablesaws are good for some things, too, but they're big and for what cutting is typical of a cab build, I imagine they're overkill.

[r32]

Circular Saw is probably your best bet. Use metal straight-edges and clams to get perfectly straight cuts for both your circular saw and jigsaw.

Miter Saw isn't going to be very useful for this project, other than inside support pieces, but your Jigsaw or Circular could easily take care of those too.

Table Saw is going to be very expensive and unless you plan on doing more woodworking projects, I would avoid getting one.

[Mr.Ian]

Thanks for the replies, I may end up grabbing a circular saw, and see if i can get a sliding compound saw too, especially if they are on special !!!

Cant have too many toys Tools !!

[Kurt]

Jigsaw to cut close to the mark and a router with a flush bit + straight edge you cant go wrong.

I never used a router in my life until i started my project and its the best tool by far to have when making cabs.

[UberCade]

Another vote for a circular saw. It's the most versatile cutting tool for building a cab. Jigsaws in and of themselves are borderline worthless for making straight and true cuts, even with a guide, especially when you need to make a long straight cut. You can get circular saw blades with an ultra thin kerf which will make about as thin a cut as a jigsaw blade. I picked one up at my local Lowe's. Cost me $20 but it makes an incredibly thin cut, less than 1/16 of an inch. Plus an added bonus for using a circular saw is you can start cuts in the middle of a piece of wood, like for cutting out an inside square like you mentioned.

You will also want to invest in a router for sure. You'll never understand how incredibly useful they are until you actually have to use one. Worth every penny.

[Necro]

Just my thoughts:
- Circular saw or a decent table saw is a must.  Circular saw is the way to go unless you're doing some serious woodworking later.  Make yourself a guide-board (google straight edges/guides for cirular saws - really easy to make) and you can do cuts better than a cheap table saw would.
- Router: Pay the extra money and get a plunge router.  It will save you the cost of buying a while new router later if you need the 'plunge' feature.


Definitely don't overestimate the benefit of a table saw unless you get a good one.  A cheap one can give you pretty crappy cuts overall and you'd still need to do hand 'repairs' to make sure everything is perfect.

I have a larger (12" I think) miter  saw and that handles all my mitering needs over a compound miter saw (I don't like them for some reason - would rather just have a straight up radial saw).  Nothing cab related yet (I'm doing a retrofit however, but Is till don't think I'd have used it) but it's one of the best saws for doing some rough carpentry (building benches for the deck) and work inside the house (trim, in-closet shelves, etc.)