Found my next "gotta have".

John Pollman

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Location
Rochester Hills, MI
I was at the BORG earlier today picking up a couple items when I ran across a new tool I've never seen before. I just about walked right by without giving it a second thought. Two reasons for this. First, it was in a Ryobi box and I've never really been impressed with that brand. Second, I was over in the flooring area and I thought at first that it was a tile saw. I've already got two of those so I don't need another one. :)

I stopped and looked closer and discovered that the box said "Flooring Saw". There was a stack of three boxes there on the floor but there wasn't one on display. I was intrigued so I took some more time to see just what it was. Basically it looks like a sliding miter saw. But it's got a nice table, fence, and miter gauge on it. It's a 5" saw that you can use to crosscut, miter, and rip laminate flooring up to 3/4" thick and 8" wide. It's got a dust collecting bag on it.

One thing I hate about doing laminate flooring is the mess it makes when you cut it. It's a VERY labor intensive job to install because I always end up having to go OUTSIDE to cut the product. I don't want to make a mess in the house because most of the flooring I do is in currently occupied homes and not new builds. It looks like this thing might be just the ticket because I can set up very close to the actual work area and save me a TON of time going back and forth to the cutting area. I haven't done any laminate flooring in a while but I know what I'm going to be buying next time I get a laminate install job!

I'm a little leery of the Ryobi brand but I don't do a ton of laminate flooring work so it's not like the thing will be getting a ton of use. Here's a link to some info...

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202336615/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

I'll make a full report when and if I ever pick one up.

Take care

John
 
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Skill was actually the first brand that I know of to come out with a tool like this. Really caught my eye, but I haven't ever needed to do flooring so never bought one. It does look really handy though if the dust isn't to bad.
 
I have a full line of the Ryobi 18V tools and have been very happy with them - as a hobbyist. I don't know how well they would hold up under constant hard use, but it sounds like you would only use it occasionally. It should be fine for you!
 
That's what I'm thinking. I think that Ryobi stuff is fine for the homeowner or occasional user. But I'm a contractor and tools get used a LOT. So I buy the best stuff I can afford and stay away from buying cheaper stuff. But for a tool that's not going to be used all of the time, it will probably be fine. Overall it looks like it will save me a lot of time and running back and forth so I'll be able to be much more productive and complete jobs quicker. You know what they say, "time is money". :)

John
 
A couple years ago I did a laminate floor for a customer. He was someone I "know" through a site like this one only it's an outdoor themed site. He lives a little further away than my normal job but I said I'd do it. Because of the travel time involved in getting to the job, I wanted to try to do it in one and no more than two trips. I bought one of those "guillotine" type cutters for laminate flooring. It did help and I was able to cut the product right there where I was working but I was less than impressed with its overall performance. A powered saw would be MUCH better. It looks like this saw might even work for 3/4 hardwood too which would be great. Even when doing hardwood I spend a lot of time going back and forth to the saw. I'm getting excited just thinking about it. I've got to start beating the streets and drum up some flooring work. I WANT A NEW TOOL! :rofl::rofl:

John
 
I'm doing a laminate floor in my daughter's bedroom very soon (read: the boxes are sitting in the family room right now) and was drooling over the Skil version at Home Depot. I know someone who has one--been meaning to ask him how he likes it and if he'd loan it to me for my project for all the reasons mentioned above. Even if I set my portable TS up on the front porch and use that for all the cuts, that's still a lot of walking back and forth. It looks like you could hook a vac to this thing and get most of the dust.
 
I wouldnt get your hopes up... they make it look good in the video but I doubt that its gonna last for more than one floor job. After using a good dedicated table saw it'll probably feel kinda cheap ripping with a little 7 amp motor. And the dust collect looks terrible in the videos, maybe a shop vac would help?

Take a look at the skil flooring saw too, the ryobi cuts on the back stroke and rips with the fence on the left. The skil might be alittle more familar with cutting on the push stroke and having the rip fence on the right of the blade, and the skil has a small riving knife which might be good for those solid wood rips
 
John,

Quick question, on the guillotine type, was it just that model that you were disappointed in or was it just that type that you were disappointed in? I've been looking at one. Just wondered how well they worked. They do go from low to high on price.

Brian
 
Brian,
It was pretty much just the model I'm sure. It wasn't an expensive unit. It did work but I'm sure that the higher dollar units would work better. Home Depot rents one that would work MUCH better I'm sure. But I think it sells for about $600-$800!

John
 
I may have a report sooner than later. Over the weekend I picked up not one but two possible laminate installation jobs. The first is fairly small and wouldn't make the investment for just that particular job. But a couple hours after talking to that client, the phone rang and I got another job to quote. That one isn't huge but a little larger. I'm thinking that if I end up with both jobs, (which is likely) I'll probably pick up one of these saws and give it a shot.

I'll let you know.

John
 
OK, so I had the opportunity to use my friend's Skil yesterday. I like it. Dust collection was good enough. Not dust free but no major mess until the bag gets full (watch that--then it pukes everwhere!) Easy to set up, easy to move around. Blades are inexpensive ($10 for the standard blade, $15 for the one recommended for laminate at Lowes.) Visibility is a little poor if you are notching a piece--have to get right down on the floor to see where to stop. I used this and my Rockwell Sonicrafter for all the cuts in the room. Installing laminate in an 11x13 room with part of that being closet and a corner of the rectangle taken away by the hallway it took me from 4PM until 11PM including cleanup and installing the threshold with a break for dinner. I'd say this saved a lot of time walking back and forth to a miter saw set up outside.
 
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