Table saws for small home workshop

[memzey]

You can certainly make do without a table saw although things like ripping are much easier and quicker once you have one. If you don’t have the space though, then the point is moot - you are in the land of making do. Nothing wrong with that and I’m sure many such woodworkers make better stuff than I can with my table saw but if you have the space and can afford a good machine, why be without one?

Edit to add - bandsaws are also very useful and one can obviate much of the need for a TS to a point as long as you don’t work sheet goods. They are useless at those.

 

[woodbloke66]

You can certainly make do without a table saw although things like ripping are much easier and quicker once you have one.
Edit to add - bandsaws are also very useful and one can obviate much of the need for a TS to a point as long as you don’t work sheet goods. They are useless at those.

I should have added that when I worked in the trade as a pro maker, the way I illustrated was more or less how we used to convert very large boards of say, Euro oak which were just too damn heavy to get anywhere near a tablesaw. They were put on battens on the floor and then sliced up with a circular saw into more manageable chunks. We had a huge Altendorf (or similar) panel saw at the time which was reserved for for precision stuff (and you wouldn't believe how accurate it was :shock: ) and some really fancy cutting (joints between lippings for elliptical tables) so it was strictly forbidden to get rough timber anywhere near it. Eventually we got hold of a big old Multico with a rip blade but it was still a two bloke job to lift large chunks of timber anywhere near it.
Agree about bandsaws though M - Rob

 

[memzey]

Interesting.

When I have large boards to work I will; mark out the rough (oversize) dimensions in pencil or chalk, make the cross cuts on my RAS then; do the rough rips on my bandsaw. Once I’ve got that initial dimensioning out of the way I’ll surface, joint and thickness those rough components before ripping to final width on the TS and cutting to final length (normally on my RAS). Each of these power tool actions has at times been replaced with a hand tool action, although I haven’t had the Goldilocks combination of enough time and the right project to do a project from scratch without molesting electrons. I’ve done the above with some pretty meaty boards but it sounds like you were working stuff bigger than that. What sort of sizes were those boards out of curiosity?

 

[woodbloke66]

Interesting.

What sort of sizes were those boards out of curiosity?

If I recollect some were maybe 4m x 500mm x 50mm thick; really too heavy manhandle comfortably off the floor - Rob

 

[memzey]

Wow! 14’ x 20” and 2” thick! That is some serious timber. I can appreciate taking tool to wood being preferable to the other way around with boards of that size. They must be a rarity though as I don’t think I’ve seen any that long and wide before.

 

[MikeG.]

That's right 'G' cramp a known straight edge to the board and crawl up the board whilst trying to keep the circular saw on line, catch the cord on the end of the board and pull the saw to one side, or run it through a table saw, hard choice, now which way to go?

Or organise yourself properly, keep control of the cable (Rule 1 of power tool use), and save the huge space that a table saw occupies (all for 10% of the cost) whilst producing cuts of the same accuracy. Now, which way to go?

 

[woodbloke66]

Wow! 14’ x 20” and 2” thick! That is some serious timber. I can appreciate taking tool to wood being preferable to the other way around with boards of that size. They must be a rarity though as I don’t think I’ve seen any that long and wide before.

As I say, it was a few years ago but the boards in question were enormous and way too heavy to lift up onto a table saw - Rob

 

[thick_mike]

Space is the main limitation most of us hobbyists work with. Track saw isn’t as quick or convenient as a table saw, but it wins on footprint.

 

[woodbloke66]

Track saw isn’t as quick or convenient as a table saw, but it wins on footprint.

Agreed, the track saw is a brilliant bit of kit, but it's more of a precision tool and best suited to board material that's dead flat. If the track were to be clamped to a plank of rough sawn timber which probably won't be flat and true, it's going to come to grief quite smartly - Rob

 

[memzey]

In my (limited) experience track saws are very good at wide cross cuts of sheet materials. I haven’t found them to be worthwhile on narrower stock or solid. I wouldn’t even consider ripping something like 5” wide boards of oak down to a narrower dimension. If I’m making the finish cut then it’s the table saw all day long, otherwise the bandsaw for more approximate sizing.

The one I absolutely wouldn’t want to be without is my table saw. It’s obviously possible to make superb furniture without one or, indeed, without any machine tools at all but their usefulness and versatility is such that I’d miss it the most.

 

[Ttrees]

Those Harvey tablesaws have a titanium nitrite coating on the tables, like what you would see on those gold drill bits.
They have a double trunnion, slots either side of the blade, riving knife and an induction motor.

Pricey compared to a Startrite or Wadkin for sure though, which in the long run, could be had for the price of 2 or 3 of those handheld circular saws.

I wonder does any other makes of tablesaw have that TIN coating?

 

[woodbloke66]

The one I absolutely wouldn’t want to be without is my table saw. It’s obviously possible to make superb furniture without one or, indeed, without any machine tools at all but their usefulness and versatility is such that I’d miss it the most.

When I had my table saw(s) I didn't find them particularly versatile and everything I could do on a table saw I could (and still can do) on my bandsaw(s) and a lot more besides (say, deep cutting for veneers, turning round bowl blanks etc). If the tablesaw user is prepared to remove the riving knife and guard it then becomes possible to do a lot of other stuff (ie with a so called 'sled') but that's something that I point blank refused to do so I found other ways to work - Rob

 

[SammyQ]

Post withdrawn after mature reflection.

 

[MikeJhn]

I can't be bothered to ague with someone who cuts holes in his bandsaw to give clearance to a bearing when all that was needed was a washer under the bearing carrier.

 

[SammyQ]

Post withdrawn after overnight contemplation.

 

[MikeJhn]

I'm sorry you have lost your toys, perhaps you where bullied in the playground and lost them there, or had them taken away from you because you could not play with them properly. :roll:

 

[Bodgers]

In my (limited) experience track saws are very good at wide cross cuts of sheet materials. I haven’t found them to be worthwhile on narrower stock or solid. I wouldn’t even consider ripping something like 5” wide boards of oak down to a narrower dimension. If I’m making the finish cut then it’s the table saw all day long, otherwise the bandsaw for more approximate sizing.

The one I absolutely wouldn’t want to be without is my table saw. It’s obviously possible to make superb furniture without one or, indeed, without any machine tools at all but their usefulness and versatility is such that I’d miss it the most.

I find a track saw useful for trimming the edge off slabs to establish a flat edge before breaking down at the bandsaw

Sent from my Redmi Note 5 using Tapatalk

 

[memzey]

The one I absolutely wouldn’t want to be without is my table saw. It’s obviously possible to make superb furniture without one or, indeed, without any machine tools at all but their usefulness and versatility is such that I’d miss it the most.

When I had my table saw(s) I didn't find them particularly versatile and everything I could do on a table saw I could (and still can do) on my bandsaw(s) and a lot more besides (say, deep cutting for veneers, turning round bowl blanks etc). If the tablesaw user is prepared to remove the riving knife and guard it then becomes possible to do a lot of other stuff (ie with a so called 'sled') but that's something that I point blank refused to do so I found other ways to work - Rob

Bandsaws are great at certain tasks and as I said earlier can obviate the need for some of the tasks a table saw can do but they cant cover the whole gambit. They can’t really work sheet stock or do rebates, grooves or housings and the limitations arising from the throat mean cross cuts are out of the question. Personally I’m prepared to use the machine without splitter and guard for certain tasks and will take precautions to keep safe in such situations, although I appreciate that stance isn’t for everyone. Bandsaws are very handy at ripping solid though, throat allowing, especially when it comes to uneven stock. I like my bandsaw. I like it a lot. I just think, for what I do, if I had to choose one, it would be the table saw.

 

[SammyQ]

After mature reflection:

MikeJhn, we are two retired gentlemen of professional backgrounds, Yes? Well, that means we should be able to discuss "and agree to disagree" as you put it on another thread? Absolutely. In that spirit, I was not proud of myself, with last night's baiting posts; they were nigh-on cyber-playground posturing. I hereby apologise. Posts above have been withdrawn.

What I will do, is explain myself. On pages 1 and 2 of this thread, we were debating woodworking; your posts at the bottom of page one and top of page two, in reply to Rob Stoakley (WoodBloke) were assertive, almost - in my view - to the point of being dogmatic, that your way was right to the exclusion of others. Rob was much more sanguine than I was some months ago, and put forward a different viewpoint, based firmly on experience and training.
"Some months ago" indeed, we were debating the original Axi. TS200's vs 'old iron' Wadkins and Sedgewicks. Here you asserted that the modern offering was better than the older designs; readers may wish to look up that thread for details, but essentially, I had had BOTH saws in my workshop and knew the difference, knew you were manifestly mistaken in your sweeping comment and (I must admit) I undiplomatically corrected your posting. Apologies again, I will learn from Rob's excellent example above.
Since then, you have established yourself as a proponent of the 'new' Axi. TSsomething and built up a valuable collection of data and information about it. Well done. The saw is too small, clumsy, and lacking power for what I do, but, and this is important, it IS perfectly suited to those on here who work in smaller workshops, thinner sections and softer woods. So, your published threads are valuable, if working in that neck of the woods. See? No one size fits all?
In that vein, I have noticed - on another thread - you further asserting NuMatic extractors without parallel and no sensible woodie should buy anything else? Ah, no, I have had, or had experience of, several extractors, including Numatic's and their clones and they are not the only choice out there. Please allow dissent in the face of experience.
I am not having a go at you Mike, just trying to say: "if it worked for you, great, grand, champion. But, your gear works for what YOU want to do, in your workshop, for your woodworking. There are OTHER ways and gear to do things and those ways have just as much validity and credence as yours. They may not be the way you choose to do it, but it works for them".
In that vein, I have the screaming heebiejeebies, imagining myself climbing up on a work table to circular saw raw timber as Rob does, but that's because I am an ungainly, clumsy, ejit likely to khamakhasi off the table with the saw still running. But, it works for him. The Americans put it nicely: "Your mileage may vary".

I am recovering from a general anaesthetic, and the post-op morphine has probably not helped my discretion and judgement; so sorry again for my posts. I want only to make the point that, "there is more than one way to skin a cat".

Yours, humbly, Sam

 

[thick_mike]

Just thought I’d say that I pulled the trigger on the Dewalt 745 yesterday when I saw ebay had 15% off stuff from FFX. Managed to get it for £395 delivered.