No table saw, am I missing out?

[urowho]

I suspect I can answer this myself but I have a tracksaw, band saw, mitresaw and router and a good selection of hand tools. What in the UK am I missing out on by not having a tablesaw? I am the victim of having read too many US posts. If I was to get one it would be the festool sawstop but I am struggling to find a justification!

Applications are general construction, cupboards, raised panelling etc.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Spectric]

I was in a similar position and after doing my homework I narrowed down the scope. If you do mostly man made sheet goods then the tracksaw is the better choice in a small workshop. If you use a lot of real timber and have to rip it down lengthways then the table saw is needed, I recently had to rip down a pile of 4x2's at 45° for a job, so my table saw was needed. BUT if you have the space and cash then a decent sliding table saw is the all round winner for sheet goods and real wood and makes the tracksaw obsolete but you will always need the mitre saw or a radial saw for cross cuts.

If I wanted a decent table saw it would certainly not be the Festool at that price, you have many other options and if the quality of the festool sawstop is anything like the Domino I would be running.

 

[Doug B]

I managed for a good while with the saws you have after I sold my Wadkin AGS, I only got another when upgrading my spindle moulder & opted for a combination saw spindle machine.
like most woodworking there are many ways of doing a particular task & whilst a table saw is nice to have it isn’t essential

 

[D_W]

no. I have one that hangs on the wall, but rarely use it. When I do, I have to use hand tools to correct the work. IT's less accurate than I can hand saw (one of the $500 bosch portable saws).

I do have a track saw and have found it useful with ply, etc, but unless you're in a situation where you're ripping 400 feet of 2.25" material for doors or something, I don't find a table saw to save me much time. I don't have a power jointer, either.

As a hand tooler, I find a portable thickness planer worth having for coarse work (the kind of work where you minimally joint a board and then just flip it over in the thickness planer and then make something like simple shelving for the house, etc.

 

[DBT85]

If you've not felt the NEED for one then you probably aren't missing out.

The sawstops are very nice, but expensive compared to others in the same class that don't protect your fingers when not using a guard. Also not available over here unless imported by yourself IIRC

I use a tablesaw and a tracksaw depending on the thing I'm making and the cut I need to make. I'd suggest a tablesaw that produces a less accurate or clean cut than a handsaw though might not be set up correctly in some way. No matter the wielder of the handsaw.

 

[Stanleymonkey]

They are a nice tool to have. I finally found an old record saw with an induction motor last year. It has been great for cutting up strips of MDF for certain projects (my bandsaw just won't cut straight!) Making rebates for drawers and small boxes has been a treat.

But they can be noisy, produce a lot of dust and you'll find that some of the American Youtube practises are a bit dodgy. You'll get set up to do something and realise that the guard has to come off for that cut and the riving knife is in the way for that method. I'm not trying to start a safety discussion. Just bear in mind that possibly 1/3 or more of what you picture yourself doing might actually turn out to be a bit unsafe or too nerve racking when you try it yourself. Do you really need it for 2/3 of the jobs that you might use it for?

Hope I am making sense - just my opinion anyway.

 

[Doug B]

I. Also not available over here unless imported by yourself IIRC

Not now Festool have bought them out
https://www.ffx.co.uk/product/Get/F...VFqVTuYo2ivP9wKGjD3UEhhbGo-wgSoxoC9UYQAvD_BwE

 

[Doug71]

I managed without a table saw for quite a while using just what you have, but you can't beat a table saw if you need to rip timber to size.

For me that is all a table saw should be used for, I am not a fan of trying to use a table saw for cutting rebates, finger joints, coving etc.

 

[danst96]

I would not be without a table saw, it's very useful as mentioned above when using a mix of materials manmade and solid wood. It also is so versatile and perhaps the best thing is the ease of repeatable cuts. It makes batching our cuts a breeze.

That festool option looks badly overpriced. Spend the money on a decent cabinet style saw if you have the space.

 

[DBT85]

Not now Festool have bought them out
https://www.ffx.co.uk/product/Get/F...VFqVTuYo2ivP9wKGjD3UEhhbGo-wgSoxoC9UYQAvD_BwE

Eugh. If I was spending on a sawstop I'd want one of the proper ones, not one of those. In the US $2500 gets you a proper cast iron top saw with a decent fence. I'm sure the Festool product is a good one as I'm not sure they make many lemons. But until they release an actual cabinet saw in the EU with the tech, they are wasting it imo.

I dread to think how much they'd want for one given the frankly absurd £2600 for that one!

A Fusion 3 comes in a lot cheaper than that little Festool.

 

[Sideways]

A high quality tablesaw will make long and deep cuts with reliable fractional mm accuracy better than anything else.
Sliding models will crosscut wider boards (e.g. 4') than a mitre saw can with as good or better finish and accuracy.
They will cut deeper than a tracksaw can - 3, 4, 5"+ or double that if you flip the timber
They will rip 8' sheet material without having to bolt tracksaw fences together and longer boards upto the limit of your space.

Even for an old one you will probably be paying £2,000 upwards for the privilege.
A high end tablesaw is a great tool to use.

A small, tablesaw is very convenient for ripping and crosscutting furniture size hardwood components as long as the tables are flat and big enough, the fences are rock solid, square and deliver better than 1/2mm accuracy.

If you don't need or want any of those, you're not missing much and your existing setup maybe more compact and possibly more versatile for your needs.
Good tracksaws are great for sheet materials.

 

[Doug71]

It would be interesting to know how well the Festool TKS 80 is selling, I really struggle to see where it fits in the market.

 

[Doug B]

It would be interesting to know how well the Festool TKS 80 is selling, I really struggle to see where it fits in the market.

I suppose if you employ operatives then a sawstop site saw shows you are doing your utmost to prevent injuries when it comes to insurance/hse
Plus if its like the majority of Festool products it will be well thought out & be highly accurate, though like you I often wonder who buys their big ticket items the new power pack being a prime example
https://www.ffx.co.uk/product/Get/F...y7-RhEFOqikgNtgvTE9QDzRMI0LPFjyBoCAekQAvD_BwEThe reviews I’ve seen so far look excellent & I know a couple of folks who have them on order but with the range of cordless tools out there it does make me wonder

 

[clogs]

If you have the room and the money go and get one.....a proper old one not this modern rubbish........
You can NEVER have enough tools.........hahaha.......

I have a 14" bench/cabinet saw at the mo.....
as soon as my new workshop is built will buy a decent 10" saw as well......
I have a 9" Sheppach as well but thats only used for delecate stuff.....(Grand Father clocktype work)..
Machines and tools......I just love em.....
beside buying qual items is better than money in the bank right now.......

I had to sell my workshop full of Wadkin machines because I could just not afford the cost of transporting them to Greece.......
Sold em after 10-12 years of proff use and made a PROFIT......

 

[johnnyb]

I simply love my table saw its a dw746 I brought it secondhand years ago. I reckon high quality american style saws are a revelation esp to people using compact stuff. to give an idea of the general quality of saws in the US many many people complained the 746 was not high quality and a bit shonky. I can say they are really good quality and us cabinet saws must be well made to compete. yes a different beast to the euro slider but they are very well made.

 

[Daniel2]

I'm not intending to belittle any safety feature.
But, if I understand correctly, the Sawstop functions as a total
destruct mechanism. When it is tripped, it trashes itself and the sawblade,
both of which then need to be binned and replaced. It is not resettable.
It seems a rather dramatic way of doing things to me

 

[Bigbadmarky]

Morning All,
I managed for a year or so before buying my first table saw. I managed fairly wall with a band saw and mitre saw and used my planer thicknesser to dial in the dimensions of any timber I need.
I've now bit the bullet and bought a table saw and, so far, I'm pretty impressed with it. Terrified by it, but impressed. I bought the Evolution R255pts as I don't earn enough pocket money to shop at Festool! It has the sliding mitre carriage but I rarely use it. The fence is rock solid and cuts really accurately. Not bad for £250.
Cheers,
BBM

 

[Jacob]

I'm not intending to belittle any safety feature.
But, if I understand correctly, the Sawstop functions as a total
destruct mechanism. When it is tripped, it trashes itself and the sawblade,
both of which then need to be binned and replaced. It is not resettable.
It seems a rather dramatic way of doing things to me

I thought it was an improved version of the crack-pot American design. Could be wrong. Save money and be even safer: use 2 push sticks.
TS is brilliant (as spelled out by Sideways above). Even better with a long sliding table.

 

[Lazurus]

I waited 20 years untill I got my Scheppach TS4010 - what a revelation and time saver. I dont use it often but when I do it makes cutting a pleasure not a chore.

 

[Doug71]

I suppose if you employ operatives then a sawstop site saw shows you are doing your utmost to prevent injuries when it comes to insurance/hse
Plus if its like the majority of Festool products it will be well thought out & be highly accurate, though like you I often wonder who buys their big ticket items the new power pack being a prime example
https://www.ffx.co.uk/product/Get/F...y7-RhEFOqikgNtgvTE9QDzRMI0LPFjyBoCAekQAvD_BwEThe reviews I’ve seen so far look excellent & I know a couple of folks who have them on order but with the range of cordless tools out there it does make me wonder

I could never spend nearly £3k on something so portable, I would need to employ an apprentice just to sit on it all day to make sure it didn't disappear!

I preferred it back in the day when nobody had heard of Festool, the light fingered brigade would walk past a Festool to steal the shiny yellow DeWalt stuff