A table saw is the centerpiece of any home workshop, and it’s often the very first power tool to be cranked up at the start of any woodworking task. They’re essential for the necessary task of sizing wood for each project – whether narrowing the width of boards, cutting plywood sheets, or tackling specialized cuts like grooves, slots, and tenons. Because of their important role in DIY and professional construction, choosing the right table saw is critically important. At BestReviews, we’ve researched table saws in depth. We’re here to help you decide which type of table saw will best meet your needs.
Size If you’re working out of your garage, you may not have room for a full-size, standalone table saw. There are several tabletop models available that provide a smaller (and typically less expensive) alternative with the same wood-cutting capabilities. However, if you do have room for a full-size model, these are generally more versatile and powerful.
sliding table saw
The professional level saws saw a separation as well and all were well ahead of the cutting power we saw with the value group. A middle tier of cutting performance started with Makita and Bosch’s 4100 while DeWalt was significantly better. Entering the fray with the only worm drive system, we had high hopes for Skilsaw’s entry. It was solid and smooth—definitely at the Pro level— and close to what the 4100 delivered.
This Ridgid table saw is a heavy-duty table saw that comes with its own stand with wheels. It has a strong 115-amp motor at 4000 rpm. It is an updated table saw with onboard storage for your tools like miter gauge, extra blades, rip fence and other saw accessories. This is a durable table saw for different projects and can even take 4 x 4 inches in just one pass. This has a front and back clamping fence to keep your material safe and sturdy as you work.
Not everyone needs to use the miter gauge on a table saw since there’s typically going to be a miter saw around. If you do, you’ll like the positive locking detents at common angles. This saw felt like it was the weakest when pushing our 2x PT material through. Despite the ranking, it doesn’t feel under-powered – you just need to take your time. You won’t find a lot of bells and whistles on this model, but for $279, we don’t have many complaints.
DeWALT DWE7480 is an excellent table saw, especially if you consider its price. It’s a step up from the highly popular DW745 and slightly more expensive, but I think the larger rip capacity and higher RPM are well worth the extra money. The DWE7480 is still in the lower price region though, and unlike the DW745 you can also get this one with a stand: the DWE7480XA!
If you’re looking for a machine with high capacity, the SKIL 3410-02 has a 3.5-inch cut height with the ability to cut through four times the material on each pass. The consensus among reviewers is that, for such a low price, you end up compromising on miter gauge and saw blade quality. Luckily both of those things can be replaced if you so choose.
Editor’s Note: If you’re using the Bosch REAXX saw without dust collection, you’re going to want to partially open up the clasp located on the bottom of the saw. This allows the sawdust to exit the blade chamber through a half-inch gap. Failure to do this will clog the output port in a very short amount of time. When you use a dust extractor you can keep this chamber fully closed.
My intention with this website is to provide you with everything you need to know about table saws. I have tried to remain as objective and as informative as possible, and I hope you will be able to tell that when reading the reviews. Hopefully, you will find them helpful when it comes time to choose a table saw for your workshop or home. Good luck and take care.