Can you get by without a tablesaw?

[Keith Avery]

I have been thinking lately that maybe I could do without my tablesaw. It has the largest footprint and takes up a lot of space. I have a Delta RAS with about 29" of crosscut capabilty and am considering a 24" bandsaw. What would I give up in the tablesaw? Only thing I can think of off the top of my head would be that ripped boards might need a trip to the jointer and sheet goods might be difficult.

[Michael Simpson Virgina]

It all depends on the other tools you have and the kind of projects you do. While a heavy duty RAS can certanly rip. It is no where as easy to setup for ripping or as accurate and consistant as a table saw. Also the table saw is magnitudes safer than a RAS.

All that said Since I purchased my Festool Panel Plunge saw and guides, as well as the Table. I find I only use the table saw for small rips. All large rips go to the panel saw. All other cuts go to other saws.

If you do cabinet work and a lot of dados, you cant beat a table saw for speed and accuracy.

[Gary Curtis]

Having a table saw more or less "invites" you to cut wood. Because you bring the work to the machine. Nowhere is this more true than in small pieces.

The Festool plunge saws (and I have one) are really safer for large plywood sheets or awkwardly long boards. And I found that cutting 4x8 plywood on my tablesaw was a challenge because of the weight of the wood. And when ripping that sheet, you are standing 8 feet away from the blade, so inaccuracies can creep in.

But, since you have the saw, why not get Festool's worktable (MFT/3). That is a really neat combo which mimics many tablesaw functions. For doing repetitive crosscuts it is actually better and more accurate than a funky miter gauge on a TS.

[Mats Bengtsson]

...But, since you have the saw, why not get Festool's worktable (MFT/3). That is a really neat combo which mimics many tablesaw functions. For doing repetitive crosscuts it is actually better and more accurate than a funky miter gauge on a TS.

The thread starter did not say he had the plunge saw. Even then I would doubt heavily on the advice to buy a MFT/3. Admittedly, it would depend on the table saw and the type of work to do. A table saw with a sliding table is good also at small crosscuts. So when weighing the table saw, the additional question "with slding table or not" is an essential one. That said, I agree with previous reply, it depends on what you do. As soon as you do a lot of repetitive ripping, specially on pieces suitable for cabinets, nothing beats the table saw.

I do have a Hammer 4400 bandsaw. The precision in straight rips between that one and a table saw is not comparable, and the miter gauge does not come even close to as useful as the sliding table. So for rips, except very large boards, the table saw remains central to me. For large boards, it is the plunge saw also for me(with Festool guides, and the FS-PA, but not the MFT/3). I do not see the bandsaw as a possible replacement for the table saw. It is better than the table saw for non-straight cuts, and for cuts higher than the table saw can do. But for straight cuts within the height of the table saw, the table saw wins against the bandsaw in all categories except safety.

--- Mats ---

[Mike Schuch]

I grew up learning woodworking on my father's 10" turret arm Delta RAS. It was the only stationary saw we had so we used it to build everything and we did a lot of woodworking. I have ripped several thousands of linear feet on a RAS and the worst problem I have ever had was a twisted board stopping the blade. I now own a Redstar (predisessor to Delta Turret arm) 7.5hp 16" RAS. Even though I own 10" and 12" Powermatic cabinet saws I make 80 to 90% of my cuts on my RAS.

The key to safe ripping on a RAS is a very large table, a well aligned saw and properly setting the kick back pawls. The table on my father RAS was about 8 foot with drop leaf extensions on each end. This table length along with a long fence makes ripping pretty easy on a RAS. I would be pretty giddy about making longer rips on a short table.

These days both my father and I have table saws for ripping and do prefer them for this operation but would not hesitate to rip on our RAS if needed.

I had a nice 18" bandsaw but didn't get much use out of it so I gave it to my father who later sold it. Some people love bandsaws I just never found a need for one.

[Carl Civitella]

I like both my TS and my BS.. Nothing is better then ripping down to size a cupped or twisted in the rough board then a BS before it goes to the jointer and planer. After it is squared it is a lot safer and easier to cross/rip it to final size on the TS. Carl

[Jim Matthews]

+1 on the edge guide/circular saw combination.

I'm only a hobbyist, but the Eurekazone track with my Porter Cable saw handles sheet goods easily.
As with most saws, matching the blade to your task is half the battle.

Anything less than 72" I rip by hand, as I'm not in production of any scale.

I think the repeatable accuracy of the tablesaw is unmatched for case work - but unnecessary in a small shop.

[Lee Schierer]

I think you will get cleaner cross cuts with a TS than you can get on a RAS. you can always have a zero clearance insert on a TS to eliminate tear out, but you can't have one on a RAS. Plus unless you really dig into the table, the teeth on a RAS don't clear the sawdust out of the cut as well as a TS will. Sawdust control on a RAS is more of an problem as well.

My experience with a RAS is that the accuracy is questionable for angled cuts. Maybe that accuracy would improve with a digital angle gauge like the Wixey or other, but I can't think that you could improve the cross cut accuracy of a TS with a quality miter gauge.

Finally sheet goods on a RAS are a challenge. They have to be lifted higher and the cutting capacity is limited.

In my shop, I would sooner give up my RAS than my TS any day of the week.

[Myk Rian]

I won't get rid of my TS. No way, no how.
I use the RAS for cross and miter cuts.

[Doug Colombo]

I won't get rid of my TS. No way, no how.
I use the RAS for cross and miter cuts.
+1 for Myk comments. I have both a TS and RAS in my shop. I just purchased the Bosch Glide miter saw a few months ago and with that purchase my RAS is on it's way to my brother in law (who has no stationary tools). I would not consider getting rid of the TS - it was the first tool that I got and would be the last to go ! I use it almost every time I am working in my shop.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Can you get by without a tablesaw?
Me?
No.

Others?
Probably. It's been discussed here in the past in great depth.

[David Hostetler]

Can it be done? Sure, lots of folks do. There are lots of other methods for rips, crosscuts, dadoes, rabbets etc... Accuracy may suffer, and certainly speed / efficiency will suffer. But it CAN be done...

[Brian Kincaid]

I have no table saw in my studio (garage). I work fast and safe with my setup, but since I have a large table dedicated to the tracksaw, bridge, and fence system it does not have any (not-in-use) footprint advantage over a table saw. It runs double duty though because all my wood storage is under the table.

In operation the footprint for my setup might be the width of the offcut for the tracksaw, but is 2x the length of the cut for the tablesaw. Here are a few examples:


Operation

TS

my tracksaw



cut a 4x8' sheet in half 4x4'

4' infeed + 4' outfeed = 8' feed + 4' offcut support

needs 4' offcut support



rip a 4x8' sheet 2x8'

8' infeed + 8' outfeed = 16' feed

needs 0 becasue the sheet covers the table already in place





I think your question was can a bandsaw replace a table saw for most operations? For solid wood yes and it has more capacity, but you might give up a little on cut quality. For sheet goods and cabinet work no, but a tracksaw can fill in this gap very well.

Here are some typical operations you might want to do in cabinet work and hardwood furniture


Operation

TS

no TS



straight-line rip

SLR sled?

tracksaw



hardwood rip to width

fence

bandsaw or tracksaw with fence



crosscut panels

crosscut sled

tracksaw



rip panels

fence

tracksaw



dado

dado stack

router on track



bevel cuts

fence

tilt tracksaw



miter cuts

miter gauge

tracksaw



resaw

up to blade capacity

bandsaw or tracksaw up to blade capacity





-Brian

[Trent Shirley]

I think your question has been thoroughly answered and probably was probably a moot question since we know a lot of very nice woodworking has been done long before the table saw was invented. The more pertinent question might be how well would YOU do without a table saw.

I saw something recently that I had never seen before. An old fold out table that your circular saw could mount underneath with the blade above the table so you could use it as a table saw. You could do something like this if you really needed to setup a nice straight repeatable cut. You could mount it on the end of a work bench even if necessary but you would lose a lot of the power a TS would provide but if it was only for occasional use it might be sufficient.

[Jim Rimmer]

I think your question ...probably was probably a moot question since we know a lot of very nice woodworking has been done long before the table saw was invented. The more pertinent question might be how well would YOU do without a table saw.
+1 - ask this question in the Neanderthal forum. :D

As for me, I don't want to try to get along without a TS.

[scott spencer]

Not me, not now... :D

[Jeff Monson]

Not me, not now... :D That makes 2 of us!

[Derek Gilmer]

I think there was a thread or two on this with lots of good discussion. Seems like it always boils down to:

1. Yes you can, but it isn't for everyone.
2. Research other tool that can do what you do with the table saw.
3. If step two seems easier/better go for it.

[Harold Burrell]

Can you get by without a tablesaw?

Yes.

I did for 45+ yrs.




Of course...I wasn't woodworking then...

;)

[Steve Griffin]

If I could have only one machine, it would be a table saw.

IT was the first stationary machine I purchased, and would be the last thing I'd take out of my shop.

I could see a small shop living without drill presses and bandsaws and chop saws, but not a Table Saw.

Build it with a big outfeed table, and it doubles as a workbench. Put a router in it, and you can save space of having a router table.