Choosing a Table Saw

Enlarge Image Image Gallery The author using a DeWalt DW 744S. It has a 19-by-26-inch tabletop, and sells for about $500. This 64-pound table saw can be easily removed from its folding stand. STEVE MAXWELL

Elation is what you feel when you first discover a good tool, and table saws certainly are good tools. In March 1982, I switched off my first table saw and, as the blade spun to a halt, I couldn't have been happier.

Table saws allow you to cut all kinds of lumber and plywood with great accuracy, safety and ease. I've owned three over the last 20 years, and used a half-dozen other machines while working professionally as a cabinetmaker and carpenter.

Straight, True and Square

If you're planning to build or remodel your home, make furniture or cabinets, or maybe begin a small-scale woodworking venture, you should consider making a table saw your first major tool purchase. Table saws are extremely useful because they create straight, smooth and accurate cuts in lumber, wood-based sheet materials and even some types of plastic. Radial arm table saws, which have the saw mounted above instead of underneath the table, make straight cuts, too, but not in as many different ways as a regular table saw.

Table saws (sometimes called bench saws) have three main parts: a horizontal table that supports wood during use; a circular saw blade that extends up through a slot in the table; and a rip fence that guides the wood over the spinning blade.

The spinning table-saw blade remains stationary during use while the fence slides the wood over it, allowing you to safely cut everything from small, narrow strips of solid wood, to full-size sheets of plywood and particleboard. This means that table saw results are more accurate than anything you can conveniently produce with a hand-held circular saw. And while accuracy has been a hallmark of stationary table saws, the midrange, portable table saws have become more versatile, powerful and safer in the last 10 years. A wide range of sizes are available, from small, ultra-lightweight models costing less than $100, to heavy-duty, nonportable cabinet saws that weigh 500 pounds.

Differences in quality, size and design mean that some table saw models perform better than others on a variety of tasks. The trick, as is usually the case, is "separating the wheat from the chaff" when you prepare to tool-up with a handy table saw.

Buy Quality

Buying tools that are too small or underpowered for the job is a common mistake. This is especially a concern when selecting a table saw because of the proliferation of small, inexpensive saws (less than $100 and 50 pounds). Typical cheap-saw problems are inadequate ripping capacity, insufficient power, flimsy controls and small work surfaces. These limitations lead to short-lived saw performance: Either the saw breaks or you get tired and frustrated with pushing a ma chine beyond its design capacity. Small table saws generally are not as safe to use as larger saws. Plan to spend at least $250 for a quality saw.