For 10 years, my "table saw" was a plastic cased Black & Decker 7 1/2" circular saw clamped upside down under an old Hirsch folding saw table. The weight of the saw soon dished the table's fiberboard deck, so I learned to calibrate the blade and fence to make square cuts. The math was tedious, but I had no money for a real table saw.

When I decided to do more serious projects, I shopped for a good, cheap, portable 10" table saw to use in my garage and lug to my worksite (a supperclub) where I build theatrical decor and kitchen work tables a couple times a year. Home Depot had the Skil Table Saw 3400 on sale for, as I recall, $149 and, given the stock carbide blade, seemingly sturdy spread-leg stand, and easy-clamp fence, it looked like a deal.

I've got more than my money's worth with this saw.

PROS:

* The seemingly flimsy fence is amazingly accurate IF you attach it right. (The owner's manual doesn't mention the following tip.) On my particular saw, I have to clip the fence's rear hook over the back of the deck, then push the front plate of the fence firmly against the square guide rail to assure the best cut. If I just slap 'n' clamp the fence, the cut's always bad. This could be a quirk of my individual saw . . . but I doubt it. When the fence is attached properly, the front/rear blade-to-fence measurements are right on for most honey-dos and projects that allow for a 1/128" fudge factor here and there.

* The saw is easily lifted to and from my truck bed. I just grab the deck ribs, swing the stand legs over the dropped tail gate, and lay the whole assemble on its face or back. And, yes, the miter does always slip to the ground from its convenient front-side storage slot. Oh, well, huh? The fence storage on the saw's left side, however, is nice: grips the fence securely and keeps it there during travel.

* The blade safety cutter/splitter is pretty darned good. It brags good clearance and easy adjustment. Every single time I've had a near miss safety-wise (a kickback that put a hole in the door to the kitchen, a piece of wood touching the still slowing blade as I removed it from the cut, etc.), the guard's been off the saw. I cluck my tongue at gamblers, yet I frequently use my table saw without the guard. And I consider myself to be intelligent? Duh.

* The deck has stayed pretty darned flat.

* Skill did a cool thing by designing this unit with a 15" pull-out outfeed bar. I use it constantly when ripping moderate lengths of lumber and when dividing sheet goods. The extension's leading edge is beveled to "catch and lift" stock that may sag slightly when it clears the rear edge of the deck. Yep, cool.

* The motor's okay. It's loud, but handles all my light-to-moderate cutting needs without complaint.

*Mine came with a carbide blade. Thanks, Skil/Bosch. Though it never yields planed surfaces, it does fine for non-cabinet quality work.

CONS:

* Being a direct drive, the motor jerks into life, causing stock to jump. Keep that stack of small pieces to be crosscut on an easy-reach table next to you--NOT on the table saw's deck: the jerk of motor start up may topple your pile.

* The supplied single side wing extension (a piece of stamped aluminum) bolts either to the left or right side and provides nice extra support for long stock crosscuts and sheet dividing; but, because of the saw's vibration and the flimsy nut-'n'-bolt attachment to the deck, that wing just won't stay even with the deck. It droops. I noticed threaded holes machined into the sides of the deck, presumable for optional extension wings, but the supplied wing doesn't use them.

* The blade up-down and tilt adjusters are probably typical for this inexpensive a saw. Prepare to wrestle.

*Since the bottom of the unit is open to the floor, I installed a ported plywood plate under it for my 4" dust collector hose. That means that I have to go through the blade slot to change blades or to retrieve long, slivered pieces or to vacuum the corner dust out of the box. The saw's blade slot is very narrow. It's design doesn't allow for typical homemade zero-clearance or dado inserts. That's been only a minor inconvenience for me, but for your intended use, this flaw alone may be a big negative.

===

I broke the motor yesterday! I was crosscutting a very green 4x4 and had the blade a tad too high. (I was going to cut on all four sides to compensate for the saw's less-than-3 1/2"-maximum-cut ability.) Too much of my blade was buried in the wood, so the cut siezed the motor and broke something in it. I asked at Home Depot what my repair options are. I was given the Skil/Bosch phone number and wished well in my self-help endeavor. While there, I spied the Ridgid (read "lifetime warranty") portable saw with rolling stand for $499. Hmmm . . . OR maybe my wife would see the wisdom in my having a contractor's saw in the garage and repairing/replacing the portable for my away gigs. Yeah. That's the ticket! "Honey, here's a great idea. . . !!"

Recommended: Yes