Portable Table Saws: Advice for Brands

[Thomas McCurnin]

I've got some out of the city work to do and while it is possible that a long guide and skilsaw 77 could do some ripping, my most recent idea was to purchase a portable table saw. I have a 20 year old Delta Unisaw in my shop, and I'm not about to lug that thing.

There are many brands, and my local brick and mortar power tool store recommends the Bosch 4100, and I am impressed. Not with the saw per se, but with the attention to detail in the accessories, such as an outfeed table and side extension table. The downside of this saw is its weight, which is near 125 lbs, although the 4100-10 has trimmed the weight down a tad. Nevertheless it is the heaviest saw in its class, and loading that rascal in and out of my pickup seems like a chore.

Other usual suspects include the DeWalt, Makita (a HD rental favorite), Rigid, and the Skilsaw, the Skilsaw being the lightest.

Does anyone have any real world experience with these types of saws and lugging them to and from a job site?

Thanks in advance for all who respond.

[Edward Dyas]

I've got some out of the city work to do and while it is possible that a long guide and skilsaw 77 could do some ripping, my most recent idea was to purchase a portable table saw. I have a 20 year old Delta Unisaw in my shop, and I'm not about to lug that thing.

There are many brands, and my local brick and mortar power tool store recommends the Bosch 4100, and I am impressed. Not with the saw per se, but with the attention to detail in the accessories, such as an outfeed table and side extension table. The downside of this saw is its weight, which is near 125 lbs, although the 4100-10 has trimmed the weight down a tad. Nevertheless it is the heaviest saw in its class, and loading that rascal in and out of my pickup seems like a chore.

Other usual suspects include the DeWalt, Makita (a HD rental favorite), Rigid, and the Skilsaw, the Skilsaw being the lightest.

Does anyone have any real world experience with these types of saws and lugging them to and from a job site?

Thanks in advance for all who respond.I have a little ryobi saw I'm satisfied with.

[Ron Citerone]

Love my Dewalt. Would recommend. I have not used any other ones lately. I have a carpenter buddy who go ives it good reviews too. My 2 cents.

[David Buchhauser]

I've got some out of the city work to do and while it is possible that a long guide and skilsaw 77 could do some ripping, my most recent idea was to purchase a portable table saw. I have a 20 year old Delta Unisaw in my shop, and I'm not about to lug that thing.

There are many brands, and my local brick and mortar power tool store recommends the Bosch 4100, and I am impressed. Not with the saw per se, but with the attention to detail in the accessories, such as an outfeed table and side extension table. The downside of this saw is its weight, which is near 125 lbs, although the 4100-10 has trimmed the weight down a tad. Nevertheless it is the heaviest saw in its class, and loading that rascal in and out of my pickup seems like a chore.

Other usual suspects include the DeWalt, Makita (a HD rental favorite), Rigid, and the Skilsaw, the Skilsaw being the lightest.

Does anyone have any real world experience with these types of saws and lugging them to and from a job site?

Thanks in advance for all who respond.

Hi Thomas,
Have you considered a track saw? Maybe battery operated with some folding saw horses to create a working surface. My Makita 36V is pretty light and works great with the Makita guide rails.
David

[Jim Becker]

What kind of work you intend to do really is going to affect your choice. If there's a lot of small detail cutting where a "table saw" is the best choice, then that Bosch may be worth the pain of the weight. But personally, I'd likely opt for a track saw, both for sheet goods work "on top of the material" as well as on a work surface with setup guides like one gets with the Festool MFT or similar setups from Kreg and others. That combination along with a decent miter saw on a stand can do a whole lot of remote work. Track saws are usually better setup for dust control, too, which can be important if you're working inside of a home.

[Andrew Hughes]

The Bosch with the gravity rise stand.
I had one for a couple years. Very good cuts it was little heavy getting in and out of the truck but it held its setting well.

Good Luck

[Dick Mahany]

I think most of the portable saws currently offered by the major manufacturers are greatly improved from earlier saws over the last few years. I wound up going with the DeWalt 7491 RS. When downsizing a few years back, my Unisaw had to go. I tried to replace it with a track saw which was a wonderful tool and a game changer for me, but I needed a saw that could more conveniently rip thin strips, face frames, and take a dado stack.

The DWE 7491 RS has been a delight to use. It has adjustments to align the blade to the miter slot and to square the fence as well as my old Biesemeyer did. It has a quick release side handle for easy riving knife/blade guard changes or removal for dado cuts. I have use full kerf Forrest blades and it handles an 8" dado stack with ease although feed rate will be slower than on a cabinet saw. The rolling stand sets up in seconds and has splayed legs which make it super stable. It also has on board storage for all of the accessories. Dust collection is excellent from the 2.5" lower port and the integrated blade guard dust collection works well, although dust collection hose management for the upper port can be challenging. I haven't needed the 32.5" rip capacity yet. The rack and pinion fence is absolutely wonderful and rock solid. The integrated flip fence does double duty at one height for thin stock ripping and a second height to support wide material ripping.

It will never be a 3hp Unisaw and the smaller table has obvious disadvantages, but compromises are made for portability. The addition of a portable out feed table, cross cut sled and infeed table have greatly enhanced the capabilities of this small saw. The weakest part of this saw is the miter gauge which is near useless due to slop and small size. Fortunately an Incra miter gauge solves that issue albeit at additional cost. Another compromise is that the bevel adjustment is not gear driven however with a tilt box to help set the angle, it stays put. The safety power switch is designed so that the saw can not be started after a power interruption without being reset. I haven't tripped a breaker yet, but it is a reassuring feature if I ever do.

The rolling stand design allows it to be tilted and loaded over a tailgate or van floor. It weighs 110 lbs. and isn't something I've done often, but it is manageable. In a confined space it is easily stored in a relatively small footprint.

I have many Bosch tools and was somewhat apprehensive of the DeWalt but no longer.

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[Lisa Starr]

My DH carries and old Hitachi in his work truck. It has held up to all the abuses well, but the fence is horrible. I used a friend's brand new Bosch over the weekend and was impressed. Of course, it is way too soon to see how durable it proves to be.

[lowell holmes]

I go to both Lowe's and Home Depot and shop. After a day or two I will make a decision and go buy the tool.
IIRC, most came from Lowes.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I have three, one Bosch and two Dewalts, there is pretty much nonstop use of one between the three between the different crews. Looked at the list you are before choosing Dewalt because I like the stand and the fence. They are tough, I ran over one part way with a telehandler and it only broke a piece of the stand which was easily repaired. One guy can load/unload easily (even me and I'm old compared to the crew). The switch is in a good place and easily switched with whatever you can bump it off with. The only sort of quibble I've had is the top coating wears off, but it doesn't hurt performance. The Bosch is ok, the stand is clever, but it's a lot heavier and no better in any way that I've found.

[Thomas McCurnin]

Nice shop made extension tables, Dick.

[Brian W Evans]

The Bosch with the gravity rise stand.
I had one for a couple years. Very good cuts it was little heavy getting in and out of the truck but it held its setting well.

Good Luck

This is exactly my experience. Never tried the DeWalts, though.

[Dick Mahany]

Nice shop made extension tables, Dick.

Tom, the aux tables install in seconds and are completely tool free. If you ever get over the hill out to the desert, PM me and I'd be glad to let you try it out :)

[Steve Fish]

We had dewalts at my last job and they took a ton of abuse. I would get another one if I had a need. . I picked up a rigid in a pinch and I’m actually pretty pleased with that saw as well for what it is. Not as strong but I like that the fence can be adjusted and locks in solid. Also has blade height lock. I’ve had to use some pretty crappy table saws with creepy blades and horrible fences in the past so it was nice not to have to measure the front and back of the blade constantly with either of these two

[Jim Andrew]

I have a Dewalt, probably 20 years old, and still works well, the fence works well and will rip wide, but is just a light weight motorized saw, not something to build furniture with. I used it on jobs, and it performed well for a tiny saw. I just got old and weak and could not move a heavy saw from job to job. Once you hurt your back, it may heal but will never be the same as it was before.

[Thomas McCurnin]

Saws in the area from Craigslist for a reasonable used price and like new condition include the Rigid that some people like and the Bosch. There are presently no DeWalts on craigslist. Given that the Rigids are around $300 and the Bosch's are about $350. There are also some stupid cheap no-name Chinese brands, probably from Harbor Freight under $200. I'm also trying to borrow one for week or two that I need it.

All this said, I'll probably opt for the Bosch. Darn that thing is heavy, but I'll have to deal with it.

Thanks to all who responded.

[Jay Champagne]

I have the Rigid, for probably 10 years now so I don't know what has changed.
I looked at all the options, I felt the Rigid had the best fence at the time.
I'm not a pro but I've given this thing quite a workout. Big dado's through oak, long repeated rips, some finer work has come out great on it as well. It's been a good tool.
My only knock, it's too light. But I don't travel with it either.