: Hello all,

: My friend has the Ridgid stationary table saw with belt drive and
: it had trouble ripping strips out of mahogany and pine. Granted
: the blade wasn't the newest but it was a fairly good blade. The
: motor constantly got hot and shut down. The Home Depot on island
: appears to be getting rid of most of their large tools and
: focusing on the portable stuff. They're down to the Ryobi and
: the Ridgid direct-drive portable contractor saws. I may be able
: to also get a Dewalt contractor saw at another hardware store
: for way more than list. I prefer to go to HD because their
: prices are much better.

: I have no problem with a direct-drive saw- I would actually prefer
: the smaller portable saws except I'm wondering will it handle
: ripping lots of strips from mahogany? Most of the table saw cuts
: will be ripping, so I am just a bit worried about getting a
: contractor saw home and finding it won't do the job. I would
: actually prefer the portability due to the nature of my shop as
: mentioned in other posts. Everything has to roll out on the
: porch for use.

: Anyone out there got experience doing lots of ripping with a
: portable contractor style table saw?

I am not all that in tune with whats currently out there but back when I was a finish carpenter I use to own an 8-1/4" Makita (the older green and grey thing) table saw that was a beast. It would cut through anything, no hesitation. I had it mounted in an after-market table/stand type thing that improved the fence system but yet was still portable. I think I would look for Bosch, Makita, Hitachi, type tools that I consider real "contractor" tools, even if they're used. Delta, Rigid, Sears, type stuff doesn't seem to cut it for longevity.