Which Table Saw?

[Woodboy]

Ok, I am one of those guys that rarely splurges - little bit of that depression mentality from my folks. In a week I will be 57, I make an above average income, the kids are all out of the house and educated and employed and I just inherited some money. I am always torn between the save for a rainy day desire and thoughts of "when do you start living your life" Call me middled aged only if I live to 114, and odds are those last few years may be activity limited.

I built a nice workshop in a walkout basement 14.5 feet by 30. Finished walls, lots of light and upgrades to the electrical (110 and 230). I have a built in miter saw station with work bench cabinets and a nice large work table on wheels (both Norms). It's filling up fast and of course my trusty BT3100 has been there from the start. I am constantly frustrated these days in always having to do work arounds, however to cut 4x8 foot sheet stock - needing to cut those with jigs and a circular saw. As I move into more furniture I also want a more accurate fence. Other tools: nice new DeWalt planer, small drill press, 12" band saw, nice 12" compound miter saw and I will inherit a nice floor sized drill press and jointer soon from my father-in-law. Finishing Norms router table now and then the shop will be very close to done. Space will be in much shorter supply, but I want a 52" table extension on the new saw if I can swing it. Perhaps a portable / storeable extension would be the most practical for only when I really needed it.

So, If the budget lies somewhere between Grizzly to Sawstop to Delta Unisaw to Powermatic and anywhere in between - what would you all recommend and why. I want to maximize mobility, dust control and safety - like most of you.

Please give me your comments and suggestions.

[twistsol]

You have a couple of competing criteria here. Ability to cut 4x8 sheet goods as well as maximum mobility. FWIW I bought the Festool TS75 and have the 102", 55" and 26" tracks for it. I also built a Eurekazone like cutting table. When breaking down sheet goods, it is fast and easy and I haven't used the extra space on my wide BT3 in a couple of years.

I'm sort of recomending what you're already doing, but there is no comparison between using a dedicated track saw vs. a regular circular saw with a straight edge or a saw board. The festool's dust control cannot be beat.

Before I went with the Festool though, I seriously looked at the PM2000, the professional Sawstop and the new Unisaw. Everything about the Unisaw seemed better made with the SawStop a close second. If my BT3 ever dies, I'll probably go either the Unisaw or Sawstop route, but I don't think I'll go with the 52" fence even though I have the space for it.

[justaguy]

About 2.5 years ago I upgraded my table saw to a Powermatic PM2000 with the 52" rail so I could break down sheet goods. About 6 months ago I purchased a Dewalt Tracksaw. I was tired of fighting with full sheets of plywood on the PM2000.

I still love my PM2000 but some time in the next couple of weeks I'll be removing the long rail and table extension and installing the short version.

Some times we think we know what we want .. until we get it and live with it a while.

[toolguy1000]

being a value oriented individual, i'd go with grizzly and maybe steel city. jet and powermatic are overpriced for the average tools they are today that are primarily trading on their past reputations. if you want to go used, than the older the better.

as an example, i have an emerson electric built 2003 10" ridgid 2412 contractor saw. i lke it a lot. last year, i cobbled together an emerson electric built craftsman 10" contractor saw with a delta t-2 fence that dates to the early 70s (top, motor and trunion assembly). both saws are configuratively the same, from the same manufasturer just ~ 30 years apart. the mass of the older c-man provides much more vibration dampening and smoother operation. i'm not advocating an older unisaw because i don't care much for right tilts, but if you're used to the bt3, RT shouldn't be an issue.

all the saws you mentioned will cut wood. i'd decide on a budget first and go from there. and stop acting like 57 is old. 60 is the new 40.

[WoodTherapist]

The Powermatics, SawStops, etc. are great machines, but I’m with twistsol on this one for a small shop. My shop is also very small with no central dust collection so I went with the Festool system for making most saw cuts, except for small parts which are cut on the BT3100. Because of that, I have no need for a larger, more expensive table saw. The track saw system is safer as well. Additionally, once you have the basic system, you can add additional tools (their sanders are really sweet) as funds allow. If the BT3100 eventually bites the dust, I would probably go with a small SawStop for safety reasons. I’m hoping SawStop has some competition by then.

[vaking]

My workshop is a little smaller than yours. In it there is a BT3100 with wide table kit (uncut) on a mobile base. This thing stands full 84" long with rip capacity of 66" to the right of the blade. This setup can crosscut full sheet of plywood but - it never gets to do it. I agree with others who are saying that a table saw is a wrong tool to cut full 4X8 sheet even if you have adequate capacity. My BT with wide table kit is the largest surface in my shop, it includes a router table and is used for lots of purposes but crosscutting full sheets is not one of them. Pushing a heavy 4x8 sheet of plywoood or mdf throught a table saw just feels unsafe. When I need to deal with full sheet - I either try to make the first cut at store or I have an 8' long straight edge with a strip of hardboard attached to it and trimmed with my circular saw. This customized straight edge is very accurate and easy way to break a full sheet. Some circular saws also have a dust collection, like Porter-Cable. Of course a real Track saw or panel Saw will be even better, but more expensive too.

I have never used Unisaw or Sawstop so I don't know how accurate they are, but I do know how accurate my BT3100 is. When I made a mobile base and installed wide table kit I took time to calibrate the rails and a scale on it. I never move the rails and I completely trust the scale. With this scale I just set the fence where I want it and I guarantee accuracy of at least 1/64 of an inch, most likely better. I say 1/64 of an inch because the graduation on a scale is 1/32, so beyond that I need to trust my eyes. My wife always makes fun that all joints I make are as tight as if I am trying to mount a ball bearing on the shaft. I am mechanical engineer by education and it reflects in woodworking even though I know that woodworking does not need to be as accurate as machine parts. So in my opinion - if you want a 52" capacity on your table saw and increase accuracy of your fence - keep your BT3100. Add a wide table kit and make a good mobile base. It will also allow you to cut full sheet but I still recommend to find another way to do it.

[jabe]

If you have the wall space, I'd recommend a Panel Saw. I have a Saw Trax full frame 64"panel saw. It has a 8" Makita saw, it replaced the original PC. I connected a Delta 1 1/2 hp 50-760 dust collector with a Thien separator and Grizzly remote switch. I use Tenryu blades and it cuts square & clean with no or very little tear outs. Saw Trax has a rotating Saw insert so you can rip or crosscut by rotating the saw. The midway fence allows for waist high cuts so U don't have to bend down to cut smaller pieces. It's adjustable and have many options and very SAFE.
If space is an issue, the Festool system is a good bet. DeWalt/Makita has similar systems should be more affordable. Don't know if they're better than the Festool. Any of the above would be safer than trying to cut 4 x 8 sheets on ANY[/[TABLE SAW.

[wardprobst]

If you primarily work solo and want to cut 3/4 or thicker ply or MDF, then it'a a plus one for the track saw rather than the table saw. If you have shop help, a table saw will work okay. We can pretty much have any kind of saw in our shop without too much worry for budget. What we ended up with was a BT3000 (with a backup for parts), MM20 bandsaw and a tuned up DeWalt 8 1/2 inch circular saw with a saw board and table. We have looked at track saws and that may be in the future but as of now those three plus a decent assortment of hand saws do the job.
DP

[mpc]

A while back I built 2 large infeed extensions and 2 outfeed extensions for my BT3... they attach to the underside of the rails and rest on the rails; they can be slid anywhere along the rails (I have a wide table kit too) and are about 3 feet long. They pivot to hang vertically from the undersides of the rails for saw storage. With these extensions I can balance a large sheet pretty easily such that I don't have to support/hold any weight myself. My hands are dedicated to pushing & guiding the workpiece - after I lift that heavy sucker onto the extensions in the first place. Even with the extra support though it was uncomfortable to handle a full sheet on the saw. I don't have an extended fence; maybe that would help too. Even with this setup I've run into "I need bigger yet" situations. The most recent was trying to cut a miter along both ends of a not terribly big panel... getting the fence on the correct side of the blade (so stuff wouldn't be trapped under the blade) meant I needed the wide table kit on both the right and left sides of the blade. Lots of time shuffling rails around... And if the plywood needs to be crosscut in half (e.g. 4 ft by 4ft sections, not 2ft by 8ft sections) that means you'll have a fair bit hanging off the left side of the saw - either a 3rd set of rails for BT3s or a few work stands/sawhorses, etc. Even the big saws still can have situations where the table top isn't wide enough on both sides for the cut. My "ideal" BT3 (or any other saw for that matter) would have the equivalent of a wide table kit on both sides plus about 1 more foot of infeed support and at least 3 to 4 feet of outfeed support so I could make any cut in any sized plywood/MDF sheet without having to first re-configure the saw or set up extra support stands. While I'm dreaming I'd also like...

I too find it easier and safer plus I get cleaner cuts with a plain old circular saw with a sawboard; my Porter-Cable circ saw has a port for dust collection that gets most of the sawdust too. Laying plywood sheets on a couple 2x4s on the floor is a LOT easier than lifting them several feet into the air without bashing into things. I also have 4 Ridgid "Flip Top" stands; they're wonderful things. Way more versatile than basic sawhorses. I've used those to support big panels as well for cutting. They're my go-to for supporting stuff hanging off the left side of the BT3 too. By the way... with the PC saws and their dust port I can get most of the sawdust right away; cutting large panels on a table saw means overhead dust collection if you want to capture the dust at the source. Dust collection hoses often get in the way of large panel cuts unless the hose is hanging from the ceiling or something like that.

From a safety point of view... once the workpiece gets beyond a certain size or weight it just seems like it would safer to have it stationary and instead move the tool: panel saws & sawboards are two such methods.

I've never tried the new tracksaw systems though I've seen them in action: just set it down and go - the base is grippy enough that you don't even need to clamp them (at least the ones I've seen). For some folks that time savings might offset the tracksaw costs. Not for me though; the sawboard is dirt cheap and quick enough.

Not too long ago dad and I worked together on a project that gobbled up many sheets of plywood. We just left them stacked in his pickup... sliding them part-way out one at a time as we needed them. Sawhorses supported one end; the truck bed & tailgate the other, and a sawboard was used to make the cross-cuts. We didn't even have to carry full sized sheets into his shop this way.

mpc

[cabinetman]

I've had the top of the lines Powermatic and Unisaw. The Unisaw is hard to beat. But if your budget allows, I would opt for a Sawstop, with the extension and a mobil base. It's nice to have that surface for sheet stock. I don't think anyone has a collapsible 50" fence yet, so that may be your fixed dilemma.

Outfeed tables make for good support can be fold up, or mobile.

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