Keep tablesaw???

[Randy Linton]

I will likely be moving to a new home and will need to transition to a smaller workshop. In years past I used primarily used power tools but over the past 3-4 years I have been rapidly moving to primarily using hands tools and truly love the transition. I no longer use plywood and most of my work is medium to small on size. I did recently upgrade to a high quality 16" bandsaw.

So my question.... How many of you no longer use a tablesaw? With my move I plan to build a new smaller shop ( roughly 16-18 x 20-22) and the absence of a tablesaw would obviously help this transition

Thanks your thoughts!

[Maurice Ungaro]

I have a couple of friends that do all their ripping on their bandsaws. So there's that. Personally, I still have my big Unisaw, with the large rails. My router is in the right table wing, and the whole thing is on a mobile base. It stays pushed against the wall until I need it, and then I swing it out into position. I'm working with a shop about your size.
How long are your rails? You might cut them down.

[David Weaver]

I once had a cabinet saw (or hybrid, actually) with a 50" bies and ditched it. I never really missed it. It'd be nice to have sometimes, but if you really need a TS, you can add a used contractor saw later for the project you need it for and then dump it. Just don't sell all of your blades.

[Jim Koepke]

I do not have a table saw and have seldom thought, "if only there was a table saw for this."

Some might suggest a good bandsaw is more useful than a table saw.

jtk

[Sean Hughto]

I do a lot of hand work, but I would miss my table saw.

I routinely appreciate it for getting me almost ready for edge jointing, quickly ripping unlimited feet of uniform sticks, forming molding on a wide board and slicing itoffwitha clean back,etc.

i go rid of my jointer, and never miss it.

Everything I mentioned can be done in other ways, of course. For me, those ways would take more time and be more of a pia.

[Keith Outten]

In order to stop using my table saw I purchased a Felder FB 610 band saw. Since last year I haven't used my table saw once. The new band saw does everything I used to do with my table saw from cutting pen blanks on a sliding table to ripping long wood pieces and cutting plaques and sign blanks. With a one inch blade the FB 610 will cut faster than my table saw ever did and it will resaw with very little effort since I installed a Trimaster 3TPI blade.

I also own a 10" Rikon band saw that I use for tight curves on small projects so I don't need to remove the one inch blade on my Felder band saw.
.

[Pat Barry]

For me the table saw is a go-to tool. I would miss it significantly. I use it too rip boards for edge glue ups (right off the saw), accurate cross-cuts, dadoing in both directions, making cove cuts (door panels), and the occasional tenon or 45 degree cut (lenghtwise or for picture frames). Are there other methods to accomplish these tasks? Of course. If yo love doing the grunt work then by all means sell your table saw and spend the money on better planes and chisels

[paul cottingham]

I have a Delta contractor saw, and rarely use it. My cheesy 12" sears bandsaw/sander gets way more use in my shop.

[Jim Matthews]

I have a circular saw and Eurekazone track for breaking down sheet goods, mostly.

My bandsaw is used less often than I would hope, given the cost.
If you really want to save space, sell the larger gear and buy lumber
that's already dressed close to the dimensions you like to work with.

If you're making lots of very long, parallel cuts - a tablesaw is ideal.
If you're making things with parts less than 48" long, it can be done
with much smaller tools that fit into a drawer.

Before you spring for a bandsaw in exchange for a tablesaw,
may I recommend you consider a modern tracksaw, first?

If that's insufficient, there are lots of Big Dogs in the Creek
that will steer you to the best value for money.

[Simon MacGowen]

The tablesaw is indispensable for me even though I teach hand tool classes. You can't beat it for efficiency when I do stock prep. So if speed isn't a concern for you and you don't quite have the space, you can make do with the bandsaw or handsaw. The tablesaw top is also good for assembly work after I put a plywood top on it. Efficiency is #1 factor for me and hand tools are just there for precision. The last project I did all by hand dated back to several years ago. If you plan to do things mainly by hand. get of the tablesaw (and the bandsaw down the road when you decide to go all the way).

Simon

[Judson Green]

I tried selling mine earlier this year and couldn't get what I was asking so decided to keep it. If I was moving I'd consider selling it for what I could get. Right now I'm not hurting for room and do use it very infrequently, but mostly as a table. Its small but very well built. Guess its good to have just in case, but wouldn't miss it if it was gone.

Edit: my shop is bit shy of 400 sq ft.

[Lee Reep]

I have a small shop (actually, about the square footage of your new shop), and have had a contractor-style table saw for about 10 years. I got by without a table saw for years, being a huge fan of radial arm saws. I have one I bought new in 1976. It was my first major power saw.

I did all my ripping, crosscuts and miters on it for years. But, it was somewhat of a pain to switch back and forth, and change blades from a good crosscut, to a good ripping blade, and then back. I never really did try to find a combination blade that worked well for both. I found that I preferred to limit it to crosscuts once I got the table saw, and with some true-ups every few years, it is super accurate. The new compound miter saws are great for miters, and I have one of those as well.

Last year I was considering a SawStop cabinet saw, but went a different route. I bought a Festool track saw. That saw could make it possible to do without a table saw, but I've mostly used it for breaking down plywood sheets, and it definitely excels at that. I am not sure now that I'd ever really need a larger table saw. I put a premium blade (Forrest) on my contractor saw, and that made a huge difference on handling tough woods like oak.

Just my $.02 -- maybe you would not miss it. If my contractor saw ever dies, it would be hard to justify replacing it with a large cabinet saw, instead of maybe just getting another contractor-style model. O maybe doing without for awhile and see how bad I miss it.

[Kees Heiden]

I would love to buy a bandsaw and sell my tablesaw. But I never get round to alloate the money for this. I don't think I would want to go without a powered saw.

[John Coloccia]

When I brought the CNC into the shop, I sold the table saw and was like that for a year or two. Now that I had to switch back to more hand work for various reasons, I just brought a tablesaw back into the shop. Having been on both sides of the fence here, keep the tablesaw, at least for now. When you've gone a year without touching it, ditch it. I got by OK. Maybe you will too.

[george wilson]

I'm selling nothing !!!

[Maurice Ungaro]

I'm selling nothing !!!
I'm with George!

[Chris Hachet]

For me the table saw is a go-to tool. I would miss it significantly. I use it too rip boards for edge glue ups (right off the saw), accurate cross-cuts, dadoing in both directions, making cove cuts (door panels), and the occasional tenon or 45 degree cut (lenghtwise or for picture frames). Are there other methods to accomplish these tasks? Of course. If yo love doing the grunt work then by all means sell your table saw and spend the money on better planes and chisels

I am with Pat....there are times it just comes in handy!

However, I am thinking of upgrading to a better band saw for some of my ripping work.

[Chris Hachet]

I'm selling nothing !!!

To rephrase Colonal Clink from hogans heroes, "We sell Nothing, We sell Nothing...."

[Maurice Ungaro]

That was Sgt. Shultz!

[Daniel Rode]

I few years back I sold most of my power tools. Bandsaw, jointer, planer, etc. all sold. despite it's size and value, The table saw remained.

I use the table saw on just about every project. It's fast, accurate and versatile. I love working quietly with hand tools, but I have no love of making 20 identical cross cuts by hand or ripping 8/4" oak.

[David Weaver]

I am with Pat....there are times it just comes in handy!

However, I am thinking of upgrading to a better band saw for some of my ripping work.

If you get a good band saw, the only thing you'll really miss is the crosscut sled on the table saw. That can be made up for pretty easily by learning to mark a board square and plane the end grain to the mark.

Right now, I have a portable TS, but I don't envision having it too long. The BS rips as accurately (it just requires a couple of extra plane passes to remove the saw marks, but it can take some extra passes to remove saw marks from a TS, too, sometimes).

[Will Boulware]

I love my table saw. It makes an excellent flat assembly surface! :D

I'm with Daniel on the crosscut issue. They're pretty good for that, so mine stays.

[Mike Allen1010]

I had a table saw for years and couldn't imagine doing without it until I moved into a shop without enough space. I've been without a table saw for 10 years now and I don't miss it at all. I have a cheesy 14 inch Taiwanese bandsaw that I use for ripping when I have a number of rips I need to do, however truth be told I enjoy dimensioning with handsaw's. I appreciate the exercise and I get results every bit as accurate as the table saw without the noise and the lost shop space. You have to commit to keeping your saw sharp, but once you have that under your belt I find handsaw's really liberating. I even have one I use for plywood – gasp!

I never was very good at setting up the table saw to be accurate so maybe that's just me.

Mike

[Ryan Baker]

When did 16-18 X 20-22 become small? That's almost twice the size of my shop (which is a lot bigger than anything I had before). I have a full array of machines along with the hand tools, and despite being tight for space I wouldn't get rid of the table saw. Table saw, jointer, planer, band saw grouping make quick work of stock prep,even when most of my other work is increasingly by hand. I have prepped stock by hand before, but I simply don't have the shop time to waste doing that prep by hand.

I agree with the earlier advice. Keep the saw for now. If you go a year or more without using it, and only tripping over it, then you can think about selling it. You are more likely to regret getting rid of it if you do it now. And at least table saws make good work tables in the mean time.

[Mike Holbrook]

I have a General Contractors table saw with table extension and nice fence. For the last few years the metal surface has served as a place to level things with 3M sticky paper. I am considering letting it go, if I could find someone who would give me something for it and pick it up.

Like Jim above, I find a track saw a more serviceable tool. I cut many piles of sheet goods with an Eurekazone fence and circular saw before I bought a Festool saw. The Festool saw is much faster and safer. Faster because the fence does not require clamping. Safer because of the many enhancements to the Festool saw, table and vacuum systems. The Festool saw also makes a much neater cut.

With my Festool saw and table, for my purposes, I can replace: a jointer, table saw and chop saw. In many ways my Festool saw does a better and or faster job than the three tools it replaces. The Festool table, with it's clamps and jigs is a very helpful table/bench for many hand tool jobs. The Festool saw with it's: splinter guard, riving knife and auto retracting blade is, most importantly to me, a much safer tool. The cut my saw makes is cleaner/straighter with less splintering than any cutting tool I have. A bandsaw may be a better tool for long thick rips but not for the majority of small to medium cuts. I use my Festool saw and table more than any other tools in the shop and they are the last power tools I would part with. If I had bought the Festool saw and table before buying the table saw I never would have bought the table saw.

I find the process of using Festool tools on a Festool table to be much more like the hand tool process. One brings the tool to the work instead of taking the work to the stationary machine. The Festool vacuum system is excellent at keeping the air, floor and work surface clear of sawdust. The Festool saw plugs into the vacuum and both machines turn on at the same time when the trigger on the saw is pulled. This is another similarity with the hand tool process, the air is cleaner. The vacuum system actually improves on hand tools in that almost all of the sawdust is sucked into the vacuum before it gets into the shop.

[Randy Linton]

Many thanks for your great input and advice. As mentioned by many, I will likely take a "wait and see" approach after moving into my new space. This will give me a chance to see if I can "survive" without the table saw. Thanks again!!

[john davey]

I think you answered your question when you said i know longer use plywood. I can rip close enough on the bandsaw and then hit it with my #8. But I am currently building a bunch of cabinets for the shop. Plywood ones and the tablesaw is my friend for that. I do not have a track saw so I cannot compare to that....John

[glenn bradley]

If you have a solid, reliable bandsaw you can do without a tablesaw for a lot of furniture building. Personally, I'm in no hurry; the people waiting for their stuff sometimes see things differently so, I prefer not to do without one as I can do so many things so much quicker and more accurately with one. ;-)

[Christopher Charles]

I also have a shop of similar size and have been eyeing my TS. Don't plan to eliminate anytime soon for all the reasons stated previously and also recommend putting a blanket on it and calling it an assembly table for a year. If a project comes along that really needs it, you'll want it.

Cheers,
C