New Table Saw or Build a Table Saw Workbench??

[Jack Frederick 135]

Hello all! Long time listener; first time caller here.

I am a rookie woodworker but seasoned DIYer and am excited to get this groups feedback. I have many tools, most are automotive and construction related. My table saw is a Ridgid R4513 job site saw.

Here is my situation...

My wife and I recently built a house and I have a third car garage with a good space to build a wood shop (~10'x20'). I am not an experienced wood worker, my background is automotive/diesel service and engine building, but I have always wanted to learn more in this area and it excites me.

My goal is to learn to build furniture and gift type things like coasters, cutting boards, picture frames, music boxes, mirrors, etc...

My specific question, now that you know a bit about me, is this:

Should I get rid of my Ridgid saw and replace it with a more accurate and stationary saw or should I take my existing Ridgid and build a table saw workbench around it?

If I replace my Ridgid with a new TS I will likely buy a Grizzy G0771Z. I was looking also at a Delta 5152 but am leaning heavily towards the Grizzly. Your feedback here is welcome!!

If I build a tablesaw workbench, this is my preference - https://www.remodelaholic.com/table-saw-workbench-building-plans-rockler-t-track-system/

So... thoughts?? Pros and Cons? I like both ideas, and honestly the table saw work bench is bad ass I think. However, the accuracy and long term life of my Ridgid is questionable, IMO. I have a ~$1500 dollar budget but ultimately want to buy/build/do he right thing, regardless of cost, for my long term use.

I am leaning towards replacing my Ridgid with a new TS and starting to build my wood shop from that cornerstone piece, however, I am not sold 100% that is the right idea... thus my post here.

I am eager to hear from you all. Thanks, in advance, for welcoming me to the group and for giving me your feedback!!

[Simon MacGowen]

Replace the tablesaw if it doesn't produce the results you want. A "tablesaw workbench" won't make your saw a better saw. After getting a better tablesaw, you can still enlarge the saw surface by adding an outfeed table and or a side table if desired.

Simon

[Carl Beckett]

Either way is a good way. You are a mechanic so have some sense of what you like to do (or not), and have an idea already of some things you would like to build. My approach is, 'go build some stuff'. Use the equipment you have and by doing so you will gain skill and knowledge and from there you will make decisions about equipment.

Some people upgrade equipment based on the need of the project they want to do at the time. If you can achieve the result you want (as simon says), good enough. After doing a few projects you will learn what convenience and accuracy requirements fit your style of work. I spent years on a contractor saw and built some great projects.

To that point one of your first 'needs' will be a worksurface. So a bench of some type is pretty useful. If you want to build it around your current saw you could. But imo, I would suggest you put your efforts around a better saw at the core of it since its a bit of effort. I would suggest a decent contractor saw at a minimum, or all the way to a cabinet saw. Personally I like buying used off CL.

Given what it sounds like you might like to build, you might soon be considering a router table - I would recommend saving some budget for it 'in case'. There are nice plans that incorporate this into the tablesaw workbench/ fence.

One of the first workbenches I ever built was from a shopnote plan using 2x4's and plywood. It is still in use to this day. I like having it separate and my concern around your tablesaw workbench plan is exactly what you are facing - what happens to the bench when you upgrade the saw?

[Jack Frederick 135]

Great feedback, thank you.

Any opinions on the Grizzly vs the Delta? I have read some pretty nasty review related to Delta but they seems years old... have they improved?

[phil harold]

As a mechanic you understand the value of good tools
Get yourself self a good cabinet saw 3hp

[Cary Falk]

I am in the camp with buying a better table saw. My choice would be the Grizzly because of the cabinet mounted trunions and it doesn't have the Delta logo on it. With a $1500 budget I would get the G1023RL. I have one and couldn't be happier. I wouldn't buy a table saw without a riving knife. A splitter is just not the same.

[Bill Space]

Like Cary, I also upgraded to a Grizzly 1023RL(WX model) from a craftsman contractors saw.

No comparison. Joy to use every time I turn it on. Last saw I will ever need.

If you can swing it, I would buy this saw or something similar. I would certainly buy again and have no regrets.

Also, as Cary said, having a riving knife is a very good thing.

[Jack Frederick 135]

Thanks guys! Help me here for a second...

First, what’s the difference in a splitter and a riving knife?

Second, based off the description of the two saws (G1023RL & G0771Z) they both have riving knifes but the 1023 also has a splitter guard.

I do like the router table built in though!!

Thanks

[Doug Garson]

If you decide to go the route of building a workbench around your existing saw, make the workbench a collection of boxes that can be rearranged and repurposed if you get a new saw. You can include a router table in one of the boxes along with lot's of storage for router bits, saw blades and accessories. The process of building it will help you decide whether your existing saw is adequate for your needs.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I tried the jobsite/portable saw route back in 2007 when I first got into the woodworking aspect of house rehabbing.
I had a Hitachi with non-standard miter slots, total lack of any after market stuff, aluminum top, flimsy & weird shaped/size insert plate and a "too short for stacked dado" spindle...and also a somewhat lacking fence.

Decent saw for dragging to a rehab job, but, really limiting for any sort of serious wood working.

I replaced that saw with a Ridgid TS3660 - cast iron top, standard miter slots, heavy (due to cast iron top), decent fence (not the best, but -adequate), Leecraft has an aftermarket ZCI for it to use as a model to make more, the spindle is long enough to accommodate a stacked dado and due to the weight of the saw, it runs nice and smooth.
I also added a track saw (Festool TS55EQ) for breaking down sheets of plywood.

You might as well go ahead and replace the portable saw with a decent cabinet saw before you run into what you have being a limiting factor in what you hope to accomplish with a table saw.

(PS. - a riving knife follows the blade up/down and side/side on angle cuts. A guard mounted splitter just mostly gets in the way & get's hung up at the worst possible times.)

I've been thinking recently about adding a 220V circuit to my garage & upgrading my Ridgid contractor saw to a cabinet saw.
Either that or selling off all my WW'ing tools and getting out.

[Jim Dwight]

I used a Ryobi BT3100 for 10 years or so and built a lot of furniture with it. I added extension rails and had over 5 feet rip capacity. But the rip fence is short and the table is small. The sliding table doesn't work well IMHO. But I could make stuff. I see your Rigid as similar.

I still have the Ryboi, actually two, but added a SawStop PCS. It is a lot easier to use. Other than the safety system I think the Grizzly you are looking at would be similar.

My point is that the nicer saw will not let you do things you can't do with a smaller simpler saw but it will be easier with the nicer tool.

[Orlando Gonzalez]

The splitter sits near the back of your table saw, usually several inches behind the blade, can be hard to align properly, and are not always effective. A "riving knife" sits directly behind the blade and will also go up and down when you raise or lower the blade and will tilt with the blade although I have seen some saw splitters also tilt go up & down. With the riving knife you can cut slots without removing the knife. You can't do that with the splitter unless it's sits lower than the slot depth.

I have the Grizzly G0833P Hybrid which is similar to the G771Z. If I were to do it all over again, I would opt for the 1023RL/RLW. It's a 3hp full sized cabinet saw.

[Rick Potter]

I will let others advise you on the saw, but if you decide to build a table like that pictured, I would suggest not using so much T-track for holding things. I would rather use Kreg clamping track in at least one corner. It will hold things down much more solidly as it is bolted, not screwed to the table.

Check the youtube videos on the Kreg Clamping Table, and you will get the idea.

[Kevin Smira]

For what it’s worth, I just sold my Ridgid R4513 and bought the Grizzly G0833P (similar to the 0771Z). I have zero regrets. I was ok with the Ridgid until I wanted to trust it...it would do great on a job site (what it’s designed for), but I just couldn’t trust it to get a straight cut on anything. I could have spent money making jigs and buying stuff to make it “right”, but I instead sepent that money on a better saw.

[Jack Frederick 135]

Thanks to you all!

I ended up pulling the trigger on a G0771Z. I used the rest of my $1500 budget on a dust collector and accessories to make sure my space was clean and safe.

I’ve spent the weekend running new 20A circuits to my third car space (soon to be woodshop!).

Thanks again!

[Tom Bender]

Congrats on the new shop. Your listed projects are all small, that's good, 10 x 20 is a workable size if you manage it well. A giant tablesaw station in the center will pretty much wreck it, maybe not at first but as you add machines etc it will get real tight. My shop is 13 x 18 so it is similar to yours. My TS is slid to the right till it is against the wall. It works fine there. My bench 27" x 63" is in the center so I can work all around it. Everything else is around the walls and I don't have to move anything to use it. (nothing on wheels) It's a bench centered shop.

[Jack Frederick 135]

Thanks Tom! Any chance you could post a few pics? I’d love to get some ideas. I got my Grizzly TS together yesterday and I’m so glad I went that route vs building a huge table saw bench.

[Andrew Howe]

I went the route of a cheap craftsman that I sold after 2 weeks of use to a jet 10in proshop hybrid. Great saw for money. Now I am downsized to a small basement shop and going the route of festtool makita tracksaw, Bosch 4100 jobsite saw built into a table system. I also just downsized to a 14 in band saw as well. Big expensive table saws are nice, but not that necessary. Like you, I have many other man hobbies.

[Orlando Gonzalez]

Jack, my shop is 12x18 and, like Tom, I have my G0833P slid to right up against the wall. I also have a 6" jointer, planer, 15" bench top drill press, 14" bandsaw, and router table and other benches against the left side and back wall. I'll be making a 48" x 21" workbench soon.I got the wall mounted and mobile Grizzly dust collectors, mini-split A/C, and air filter. I'll take some pictures tomorrow. The set up works well, although a bit crowded at times where I have to move things outside of the shop to get some space.

[tom lucas]

A friend of mine bought the g0771 primarily because he doesn't have 220v. He's happy with it. He did have some issues with the fence, but Grizzly made it right. I think he put a thin kerf blade on it. The stock one is probably junk anyway.

[Jak Kelly]

I'd be somewhat hesitant to building a table around my saw. But my garage also houses the wife's car and a motorcycle, so I often find myself having to empty the garage out first (vehicles) so I can get to work. If you have a third bay that will be completely dedicated to your wood working desires that is great. You can build an out-feed table for your saw, attach it to the wall and hinge it so it will flip up and out of the way. I like keeping my options open and being able to manipulate those options as needed. Let's say you build a nice table/bench around your saw then discover that you need to rip some long material, like 12' long or more, that configuration may put you in a position to where you might not have enough out-feed room? Which is also why I have a set of those good saw-horses, with the metal legs that fold into the saw-horse for easy storage when not being used or needed, I also keep 8' 2x6's and 2 pieces of 7/16 OSB so I can assemble these items easily to be used as a catch for my out-feed. My throw together saw-horse table has held many of projects on it over the years, my flip down table has as well. I was able to keep the flip down table light as the top is a piece of quarter-inch thick aluminum, which makes it durable for most small projects, can double as an out-feed table when needed or can be flipped up and bungied to the wall while providing room.
If I were to put a lot of effort into a bench I'd probably prefer it to be somewhat similar to one of those nice wood working benches, complete with a screw vise and bench dogs.................separate from my table saw.
But everybody has their own ideas and opinions, so just throwing some options at you that might help.
Lastly - I had 2 table-saws before I bought the Grizzly cabinet saw, have had the Grizzly for over 10 years now and I do not know how people go thru life without having one!!

[Ed Henderson]

You ask...""My goal is to learn to build furniture and gift type things like coasters, cutting boards, picture frames, music boxes, mirrors, etc...

My specific question, now that you know a bit about me, is this:

Should I get rid of my Ridgid saw and replace it with a more accurate and stationary saw or should I take my existing Ridgid and build a table saw workbench around it? ""

My Opinion...You should have a saw that will give you accurate clean cuts. For what you plan to do, a good contractor table saw is minimal in my humble opinion. A very good cabinet table saw is ideal. The Ridgid is likely a good job site saw so keep it like I did in case you build a cabin or something.
Whatever you do you must have very good saw blades that are sharp and clean

[Orlando Gonzalez]

Here are the pics I said I would post. I have a 4x8 platform outside the roll up door where I can move things out of the way or use the router table.

[Jack Frederick 135]

Very nice, thank you for sharing

[John Goodin]

I had a Ridgid contractor saw and upgraded to the Grizzly 1023. It was the single biggest upgrade I have ever made in the shop. My shop is also a third bay in the garage and mobility and size is always a factor when when purchasing tools. I built a workbench on casters that is about 1/8" shorter than the table saw. When ripping long stock it is used as an out-feed table and then an assembly table as the project progresses. Lots of tool storage underneath too. A bench/table is a great project for people new to the hobby.

[Jack Frederick]

As I scanned the posts I saw this one pop up and initially went, "Hey, that's not me! I didn't write that post." I then saw the "135" postscript and settled down. I built a rolling router table that acts as an outfeed table for the TS. Works pretty well in that regard. I think you are going to want mobility in your space. Enjoy your new space, TS and welcome aboard.