Jobsite Tablesaw Failings at Furniture

[Curt Putnam]

I am reasonably familiar (bleary eyed reading search results) with the arguments against a jobsite saw for use in furniture making. What I have not seen are specifics related to assertions of inferiority. I need specifics. Just how bad is a jobsite saw compared to a cabinet saw?

Are the cuts visibly worse? How bad is vibration? Noise? Fence lockdown? Adjustments? Sled use?

Or are they perfectly acceptable?

Obviously, I am trying to cobble together a coherent set of thoughts as to whether or not a Jobsite saw is appropriate for furniture making and I would appreciate your thoughts - with specifics please.

Thank you all in advance

[Lisa Starr]

Curt,
I think it all depends on the particular jobsite saw. My husband carries a Hitachi in his truck and it is not a quality saw. The fence will not lock square to the table, no matter what. Also, it tends not to hold the adjustment after aligning the blade to the miter slot. Of course, this saw get abused, but it has been problematic since day one. On the other hand, I've used a friend's Bosch a few times and the fence on his saw locks nicely and is square to the blade. I've had no experience with aligning the blade.

I use a older Grizzly G1023 in my workshop and it works well, though the original fence was finicky. I replaced it with a VSCT fence and now have no issues. I tuned it when I purchased it and it has never needed adjusting even after it was moved between homes.

Sorry I can offer any direct comparisons.

[Robert Engel]

Vibration, etc is going to relate to the particular brand. But even without using one, I have no doubt a Sawstop is a better saw than a Skilsaw or Ryobi.

Generally speaking, they basically a circular saw in a table. They are just as noisy too. Fences and accuracy are an issue.

Jobsite saws are appopriately named as they were never intended for a ww'ing shop, rather riding around in the back of a truck, used/abused at a construction site, and thrown in back in at the end of the day.

That said, I know there are people out there building amazing furniture with jobsite saws. Understanding the limitations and adapting work methods can make any inferior machine work.

IMO the only reason for a ww'er to buy a jobsite saw would be financial limitations. You would be much better off with a used contractor saw. Just my opinion.

[Richard Coers]

I hate the motors on the job site saws. Just screaming sound and low torque. Secondly is the tiny table with very little table in front of the blade. Things like using a sled to cut accurate miters is tough to balance in the little space.

[Alex Zeller]

When I got out of school I went to work for a glass company. The owner was kind of cheap and the tools were either cheap ones or very old and well worn. We did some great work but it was always a lot more work trying to meet our expectations. I think what you are going to find is that a quality contractor's saw will do most everything you want (I would avoid the type that looks like a upside down circular saw for woodworking) but you are going to work harder to get repeatable results. If it was me I would look for a used powermatic 66 over a contractor's saw if I was restricted by a budget.

[William Chain]

I started out with a Ridgid R4513 job site saw with the stand on wheels. It made my first few projects. The good... I could get it dialed in for the day, make some clean cuts (good thin kerf blade!), and have the fence square (enough) to the table and the blade. The next day? Check again. Motor was ok, I could cut 8/4 oak and walnut without too much trouble. Great? No, but good enough. The bad... My table was crowned from front to back. Now, I knew it was and I could compensate for that. I didn't like it, but I could work with it. It made using tenoning jigs tough though. But...could get there. The crown wasn't a major major problem for cutting grooves or the shoulders of tenons, because really all that mattered was the max blade height at the top of the crown. Annoying, yes. The tables were aluminum, so the heavy cast iron tenon jig I got second hand really dug in when I used it. You could tell how much I had used it. The worst bit though - it was an absolute nightmare to get the blade square to the table with the plastic gears/trunnions. That sucked. I checked maybe every third cut and probably resquared the damn thing every 9 cuts or so. If one is just doing job site work, whatever. But for furniture work, I had to move on. It served my purpose, taught me to set up a dreadfully out of square saw, and made me focus. With my sawstop PCS, I have it dialed and it stays there. Moral of the story - try to buy a cabinet saw, but the job site saw will work if you get a good one. If the store will let you check over the saw before going home, and opening a few to get the best one, great. If not, dice roll. YMMV.

[Jason Lester]

I have a Bosch 4100 and a Sawstop PCS. The Bosch is a good saw, but definitely not as smooth or accurate as the Sawstop. It can't spin a full size dado head and the table size is very limiting. As others have said, a contractor or hybrid would be much better for furniture if you don't have the room or budget for a cabinet saw. On the other hand, if I'm helping a friend build a deck or put down flooring, the Bosch will definitely get the nod!

[Matthew Hills]

I started when a friend loaned me his Bosch 4000.
I think you can get a lot done with it. Cut quality was good with a thin-kerf freud blade and a homemade zero-clearance insert. A sled would be valuable. The fence locked reasonably well. Dust collection was better than what I have now.

The biggest limitation from my perspective was the limited table space in front of the blade -- this gave very little room for balancing material or registering against the fence before you reached the blade. I have seen some people come up with better infeed support or fence extensions to help with these issues, and I'd probably look into those if I was still using that saw. But I have liked having a slightly bigger saw (jet proshop hybrid).

Matt

[Bob Johnson2]

About 2 months ago I went from a 3 hp Unisaw to a Dewalt dwe7491rs jobsite saw. I obviously don't have a lot of time with the Dewalt but here's my thoughts so far.

Added wing and an outfeed table, which helps a lot.

Lower power, slows ripping hardwood, burns more too. Have changed to a thin kerf which helps for the power but leaves a rougher finish. So far I'm swapping back and forth, I go to my 1/8" blades when I need a better cut, and the thin kerf when it doesn't matter.

Biggest down side is the fence, going from a Biesemeyer. The Dewalt has the best of the fences that I looked at, but it's hard to clamp to. It's hard to explain, so I won't.

I miss the cast iron table, can't use the magnetic feather boards I have.

Only has a 2.5" dust collector port. The blade guard has sub par dust collection, don't care for it.

My Jessum miter gauge is too big for it, need to add an infeed table.

Adjusting the blade angle is a hit or miss thing, no geared crank. One needs a good way to verify the angle every time you move it.

Overall I'm happy with it, I've managed to find workarounds for it's short comings, other then the blade guard, I've noticed no vibration issue and if there is a noise difference it isn't noticeable to me. The mobile stand is sturdy enough, no issues.


At the moment I figure to replace it with a contractor/hybrid saw once we've moved in the not too distant future, but as it's working out fine so far that may change.

[Jim Becker]

"Which saw" matters. If you go higher end, you'll get a little better performance. Aside from noise and power, the fences at the lower end are particularly bad and inconsistent. That can affect safety and quality of cut. And their small size is harder to use to accommodate some furniture making tasks natively, so you'd want to have provisions for material support.

[Bryan Lisowski]

I have a Rigid job site saw and s contractor saw. I upgraded the fence on the contractor saw and it does all I need. However due to size of my shop I can’t do long rips. This is why I have both saws. I bought the rigid first and I can’t complain about. It isn’t as robust, but the mobility is a trade off. I can lock the fence square and stays there. It does have issues with 8/4 hardwood. This saw has funky inserts, so getting or making a ZCI is a pain. Stability is another issue, if trying to manage large sheet goods it can rock the saw, this isn’t a big issue since I use a track saw for breaking down. In the end instead of buying 2 saws, I wish I would have saved up for a cabinet saw.

[Phillip Mitchell]

I have the same saw and use it strictly as an on-site saw on job sites. I like it for that because of its portability on the wheeled stand. I set it up in front of a 4x8 plywood topped table that I built to be the proper height for outfeed support. Using that saw without outfeed support is pretty frustrating. I have it hooked up to a Dust Deputy / Fein Turbo Vac with 2 1/2" diameter flex hose. It does a decent job on a jobsite and is about 80% better than nothing, but nowhere near being in my shop with a 3 HP cyclone.

You nailed it regarding some of the other shortcomings. The fence is probably the best fence on a job site saw and is adequate for carpentry work, though it still leaves a lot to be desired in furniture making applications. Infeed is too short to really use a miter gauge or crosscut sled easily.

I have a Powermatic 66 and a Tannewitz Model U in my shop that are completely different beasts and vastly preferred if possible, but the Dewalt plays its part well enough for job site use.

I would never consider purchasing a new job site saw strictly for use in a shop with furniture making in mind. I would look for a used cast iron top contractor saw with a Bies fence. That's what I started with and used for a handful of years and made plenty of fine woodworking starting out with it.


About 2 months ago I went from a 3 hp Unisaw to a Dewalt dwe7491rs jobsite saw. I obviously don't have a lot of time with the Dewalt but here's my thoughts so far.

Added wing and an outfeed table, which helps a lot.

Lower power, slows ripping hardwood, burns more too. Have changed to a thin kerf which helps for the power but leaves a rougher finish. So far I'm swapping back and forth, I go to my 1/8" blades when I need a better cut, and the thin kerf when it doesn't matter.

Biggest down side is the fence, going from a Biesemeyer. The Dewalt has the best of the fences that I looked at, but it's hard to clamp to. It's hard to explain, so I won't.

I miss the cast iron table, can't use the magnetic feather boards I have.

Only has a 2.5" dust collector port. The blade guard has sub par dust collection, don't care for it.

My Jessum miter gauge is too big for it, need to add an infeed table.

Adjusting the blade angle is a hit or miss thing, no geared crank. One needs a good way to verify the angle every time you move it.

Overall I'm happy with it, I've managed to find workarounds for it's short comings, other then the blade guard, I've noticed no vibration issue and if there is a noise difference it isn't noticeable to me. The mobile stand is sturdy enough, no issues.


At the moment I figure to replace it with a contractor/hybrid saw once we've moved in the not too distant future, but as it's working out fine so far that may change.

[Felipe Mercy]

Things mostly depend on the saw you picked. I got one in the last month from Bosch and it looks good to me. I read some reviews online and found this worth spending money on. Can't remember the website I read the review on.

[Curt Putnam]

Thank you all for replying. It helps. Having had a contractor's saw, I do know I do not want that squaring hassle again. Therefore, if not a jobsite then I am looking at a hybrid as a minimum and then the question becomes whether or not to drop an extra $1,000+ on a Sawstop on which question there is a current and excellent thread. My advice there was that if a Sawstop is in the budget then that is the way to go. Defining "in the budget"is now the question and y'all cannot help with that.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Late to the party, but my $.02. We use jobsite saws a lot, the Dewalt ones are pretty much all that get used here. They are good little saws, we make some nice stuff with them. Downsides are that they are small to be portable. Table size decreases to do that, so you need to have auxiliary tables at your disposal sooner than if you were using a bigger saw. I don't advocate replacing a full size tablesaw with one, but if its all you have, they can be a good machine, especially the Dewalts. They are just a different tool than a cabinet saw and should be approached that way. The key on these is the fence.

[Phil Gaudio]

A good a place as any to tell this brief story: years ago, before I got into woodworking, I commissioned some furniture for our new house. During the build, the fellow making the furniture invited me to his shop to check on progress. When I got there, I was in shock. He worked in a very old barn/garage-like structure with no heat, very little light, and the structural integrity of a paper bag. The truly frightening element of the experience was the table saw: it was an ancient Sears Craftsman unit mounted on, wait for it......., and old rotting log. I was certain that any furniture that would come out of this shop would end up in the fireplace. In the end, this true craftsman made incredibly fine furniture which we have to this day and is still in our living room. You don't need the best tools to make the best furniture, and some folks can make the best furniture with the worst tools.

[Jim Becker]

Thank you all for replying. It helps. Having had a contractor's saw, I do know I do not want that squaring hassle again. Therefore, if not a jobsite then I am looking at a hybrid as a minimum and then the question becomes whether or not to drop an extra $1,000+ on a Sawstop on which question there is a current and excellent thread. My advice there was that if a Sawstop is in the budget then that is the way to go. Defining "in the budget"is now the question and y'all cannot help with that.

Hybrids are a nice solution for anyone who wants to move toward the cabinet saw style but has either power restrictions (120v required) or limited budget. The sizing is similar to a heavier cabinet saw, of course. Consider them a "prettier, upgraded" iteration of what historically has been called a "contractors' style saw"...not many contractors these days will drag that heavy of a machine to job site and many are moving to the battery operated portables for that purpose, too, so "contractors' style saws" have mostly been sold to woodworkers in recent times. No harm in considering SawStop for a North American design type saw...they do raise the level of blade safety.

[Justin Rapp]

So - on top of what other's said about vibration, fence or blade alignment issues, one issue I had on a jobsite saw was the actual table. It was aluminum to keep the weigh down for transporting. There was in no way to wax the table top to get it as smooth as a cast iron table. The added friction on the workpiece sliding on the table helps with does add to the accuracy issues. All of the inefficiencies add up, vibration in the table, vibration in the blade, fence and blade alignment and table friction all added together can cause accuracy issues in the cuts.

With that said, I know someone who uses a dewalt jobsite saw and has made some nice smaller pieces of furniture.

[Robert Engel]

All the guys buying SawStops have to do something with their old ones. :rolleyes:

[Richard Coers]

Thank you all for replying. It helps. Having had a contractor's saw, I do know I do not want that squaring hassle again. Therefore, if not a jobsite then I am looking at a hybrid as a minimum and then the question becomes whether or not to drop an extra $1,000+ on a Sawstop on which question there is a current and excellent thread. My advice there was that if a Sawstop is in the budget then that is the way to go. Defining "in the budget"is now the question and y'all cannot help with that.
I've been woodworking for 48 years. 37 years ago I sawed through a joint in on finger. I'd pay $5,000 more to not go through the two surgeries to try and stabilize the bone in that finger. The bone in that finger still sits at a 15 degree angle. At least the cold doesn't make it throb any longer.

[Rob Sack]

In the shop, I use a Sawstop ICS and my old Wadkins-Bursgreen just for dadoes. For a jobsite saw, I have the Bosch and for the money and portability, you can't beat it. With a good blade, it is quite accurate and with the addition of an out feed table, works well. When I bought the Bosch, the Sawstop jobsite saw was not available yet. If I had to do it again, I would opt for the Sawstop jobsite for its quality of construction and safety features.

[Curt Putnam]

A good a place as any to tell this brief story: years ago, before I got into woodworking, I commissioned some furniture for our new house. During the build, the fellow making the furniture invited me to his shop to check on progress. When I got there, I was in shock. He worked in a very old barn/garage-like structure with no heat, very little light, and the structural integrity of a paper bag. The truly frightening element of the experience was the table saw: it was an ancient Sears Craftsman unit mounted on, wait for it......., and old rotting log. I was certain that any furniture that would come out of this shop would end up in the fireplace. In the end, this true craftsman made incredibly fine furniture which we have to this day and is still in our living room. You don't need the best tools to make the best furniture, and some folks can make the best furniture with the worst tools.

A talented person can do wonders with little and/or poor tools. Mediocre woodworkers will do better with better tools. It helps the mind focus when you know it YOU and not the tool. Has worked that way for me most of my life. BTW, you last cabinet is sure purty.:cool:

[Phil Gaudio]

A talented person can do wonders with little and/or poor tools. Mediocre woodworkers will do better with better tools. It helps the mind focus when you know it YOU and not the tool. Has worked that way for me most of my life. BTW, you last cabinet is sure purty.:cool:

Thank-you kindly sir!

[Robert Engel]

A talented person can do wonders with little and/or poor tools. Mediocre woodworkers will do better with better tools. It helps the mind focus when you know it YOU and not the tool. Has worked that way for me most of my life.

I agree to the extent a highly skilled person may get a better result, but I completely disagree with "its you and not the tool". Focus all you want but that doesn't help you get good results using a lousy tool. Lousy tools create uncertainty, frustration and lack of confidence, and can turn ww'ing into a very frustrating venture. I am absolutely convinced about this, at least personally.

THE biggest mistake I made starting out was buying the cheapest machines and tools I could. Not that I couldn't afford them, but b/c I didn't want to have a lot of money tied up in something I wasn't sure my dedication would be. All this accomplished was constant frustration and disappointment, thinking every poor result was my lack of skill -- me, not the tool. Try as I might, it was very easy to develop feelings of inadequacy and watching people get results with tools I simply could not duplicate. Then I began to take note of the tools they were using. It was not my lack of manual skills, or failure to focus, it was the crummy tools I was using!

[Phil Gaudio]

I agree to the extent a highly skilled person may get a better result, but I completely disagree with "its you and not the tool". Focus all you want but that doesn't help you get good results using a lousy tool. Lousy tools create uncertainty, frustration and lack of confidence, and can turn ww'ing into a very frustrating venture. I am absolutely convinced about this, at least personally.

THE biggest mistake I made starting out was buying the cheapest machines and tools I could. Not that I couldn't afford them, but b/c I didn't want to have a lot of money tied up in something I wasn't sure my dedication would be. All this accomplished was constant frustration and disappointment, thinking every poor result was my lack of skill -- me, not the tool. Try as I might, it was very easy to develop feelings of inadequacy and watching people get results with tools I simply could not duplicate. Then I began to take note of the tools they were using. It was not my lack of manual skills, or failure to focus, it was the crummy tools I was using!

Its easy to forget that there are those that may not be able to afford the best tools, and the reason I posted the brief story above was to give some perspective on a forum where it is not uncommon for large numbers of members to discuss their newest $5000 - $10,000 purchase of this Felder or that Minimax, etc. machine. I've seen amazing work done by people who had nothing more than a sabre saw and a ruler. You can make a very modest investment in tools and equipment and get great mileage out of this investment in terms of work satisfaction and work quality.

[Curt Putnam]

"its you and not the tool"

By that I meant that with poor tools, one is left wondering whether or not the tool was at fault when an error occurs. With good (not necessarily expensive) tools there is no doubt as to the source of the error.

[Douglas Mosman]

I too have the Dewalt job site saw. I haven't put it through its paces yet so i hope it's going to be be adequate.

But have a suspicion that if you spent a $150 on a decent old Craftsman with a flat cast-iron top and wings and then invested $350 in replacing the fence and tuning it up, you'd have a better saw ... if you have the space.

That was my issue. I had that Craftsman but it was always buried under a pile in the back of the garage and too much work to dig out to ever get used. So I figured that a jobsite saw that's accessible would work better than another table-saw that's never available. And maybe if I can spend more of my time woodworking instead of shuffling stuff around in the garage I might eventually get to a skill level where I can tell the difference! :D

[Frederick Skelly]

I started out going to the BORG and buying a little Delta jobsite saw for about $125. I quickly came to hate that saw. It was screaming loud, had a tiny table, a cheesy little miter gauge and a horrendous fence. Looks like they stopped making that model and that's all for the best.

For me, the most important features for funiture building are a solid fence, a high-quailty blade and a decent size table. I replaced that little jobsite saw with a used Delta Contractor saw that had a Biesemeyer fence. I put a Forrest blade on it and later added an INCRA miter gauge. Since I work primarily in soft woods that are less than 6/4 thick, this saw is right for my needs.

Remember: You don't have to break the bank to enjoy woodworking. Buy the best you can afford within your budget, learn to set it up right, and learn how to use it well. Then post pictures of what you build so we can enjoy them too!

Fred

[Patrick Varley]

Don't underestimate the flexibility/versatility of a job site saw.

450790

(Yes, I'm kidding)

[Thomas McCurnin]

I started when a friend loaned me his Bosch 4000.
I think you can get a lot done with it. Cut quality was good with a thin-kerf freud blade and a homemade zero-clearance insert. A sled would be valuable. The fence locked reasonably well. Dust collection was better than what I have now.

The biggest limitation from my perspective was the limited table space in front of the blade -- this gave very little room for balancing material or registering against the fence before you reached the blade. I have seen some people come up with better infeed support or fence extensions to help with these issues, and I'd probably look into those if I was still using that saw. But I have liked having a slightly bigger saw (jet proshop hybrid).

Matt


+1 on the Bosch. I borrowed one too, and loved it. Add an infeed, outfeed and side support table, and you can do almost anything with it.

[Mike Cutler]

At the end of the day, the real question is what do want a tool/machine to do.
Yes there are folks that have very minimalist equipment that can turn out fantastic pieces, but that will usually come at a price somewhere else in the process.
In my opinion, forget about the fence and the table top for a moment. Those can be rectified one way or the other. What you need is stability if you plan to make furniture, and that only comes with size and weight.
Do you need a 5HP, 1200lb. behemoth with a 14" blade? Probably not. Yeah it's nice to be able to rip 8/4 hardwoods with no effort, but how much 8/4 material is a person in home/garage shop ripping? Not much. Your 95% material is going to be 4/4, semi hard, domestic, hardwoods and plywoods, but some of those pieces of material can be wide, and long. They'll have weight, and the weight of the material needs to be supported and controlled. A bigger, heavier, machine, will provide more stability. Yes, you can come up with all sorts of outfeed tables and roller stands to overcome the limitation, but starting out with 500lbs. of support, sure does go a long way.
I tipped over a 6" Jet jointer with an 11' long, 14" wide, 4/4 piece of Brazilian Cherry, and during that same project, a different board, but just as heavy, almost tipped over my 300lb. General 50-220C Hybrid saw.
The Sawstop debate will go on, but if it is truly furniture and cabinets that you know you want to make, then start out with a 3HP cabinet saw. Give yourself the stability and mass from the very beginning.
Just my opinion.

To be fair though, some of those jobsite saws are really nice, and will produce a dimensioned piece of material every bit the equal in quality to a larger saw. The difference is that you will exceed what should reasonably asked of a jobsite saw rather quickly.

PS
To fix the weight limitations of my General Hybrid saw, it now has a Delta shaper for an outfeed table. Both machines combined are 650+lbs. with a 26"x 72" footprint, is very stable. ;)

[Wes Grass]

I had a DeWalt portable 20 years ago. It had its issues. It was too small, dust collection (didn't) sucked. The table wasn't flat, which was an issue with smaller pieces trying to keep things square.

I hate to admit this, but I think I did more with that little saw than I have with my Felder. Maybe ... surely ... didnt enjoy it as much, but ...

Currently standing in front of a pretty nice bench, IMO of course, that I made with it and a borrowed 4" Craftsman jointer.

Clear fir, the legs are rabetted into 'L's', stretchers are lap jointed, no exposed fasteners. I look at it now and think 'how the ... did I do all that.

[Ron Citerone]

Clearly higher end saws and other equipment is going to be better, especially if you are making bigger pieces. With that said, I built most of the furniture in my house as a young man with a Sears contractor type saw with a 4" jointer attached and a 1/4" router. I surely would have liked bigger better but didn't have 2 cents to rub together. Presently I have access to a shop with bigger better equipment and never want to go back. I do have a Dewalt Contractor saw for my remodeling work and have to say I am impressed with it considering the price.

Learn to use what you have. I do believe some of the hassles involved using the low end stuff taught me some problem solving skills that made me a better woodworker.

[Rick Potter]

IF you are thinking of a low cost saw for furniture making, I would suggest there are LOTS of cast iron Craftsman saws on Craig List for Under $150, and a really nice one can be gotten for $300, usually with some blades and accessories.

They don't take up much more space than a portable with stand, and are much more useable. If space is really tight, take off one or both wings.

Lots of nice furniture has been made on these. They are oft maligned, but a definite improvement over any new $300 portable.

[Bob Johnson2]

FWIW... I've been putting in some time with my Dewalt, something that just came up is when running a thin kerf blade the blade moves during the cut. Did a few cross cuts and I can see the blade move and also see the wobble on the cut itself. Don't know that it would be an issue, being as how it's only moving a smidge, but for now I'll go back to the full kerf till I run into an issue. If I go slow I can eliminate the wobble.

[Mike Henderson]

When I started woodworking, a friend gave me a Craftsman Contractor's saw without a motor. I got a motor and did a lot of "tuning" on the saw and produced some good furniture. But I prefer the cabinet saw I have now.

One big place where a tool is a lot faster than hand work is preparing stock. When i started woodworking, I didn't have a jointer so all my stock was prepared by hand. Once I got a jointer, stock preparation was a LOT faster and more accurate. Jointing an edge to glue two pieces of wood together is nothing when you have a power jointer. By hand it takes time and it's hard to get two really good edges.

Mike

[Jim Dwight]

I think my first table saw was made by AMT. It had a tiny cast iron top but I made a plywood extra top so it had enough space to do something. When the blade tilted the motor did not. So it threw the belt. But for 90 degree cuts it worked. But I also had to make a better fence than it came with and it still wasn't that good.

Then I built a "Gil built" at least that's what I think the name was. It was better but it was all plywood with some metal parts. With an old heavy 1hp motor, it cut pretty well. But the table wasn't flat, fence needed checked etc.

The third saw as a Ryobi BT3100. It was kind of like a jobsite saw. It had a small aluminum top and a sliding table that didn't work very well. But the rip fence was great, short but great. Locked square every time. The top it has was flat. But it had a design weakness. The height adjustment depended on a steel threaded rod going through an aluminum casting. The casting eventually wore out. I had a heli coil to fix it but I decided to just buy a PCS instead.

I rigged the BT3100 with extended rails in a big mobile base and had about 60 inches rip capacity. But after several years of use I tried a track saw. That eliminated the need for the extension rails. My shop is small - both current and former. A track saw with a smaller capacity table saw is a good combination IMHO.

So I am happier with my PCS than I ever was with my other saws. All these changes occurred over about 50 years. I always could make furniture we considered nice despite whatever tools I did or did not have but it is definitely easier now with better tools. My PCS also saved me from a more significant injury last year when I got stupid for the first time on a table saw. They are expensive but they are also good saws. They make a jobsite version that is less expensive. But definitely they are more than other otherwise quite usable saws.

If I decided I could not afford the PCS I would probably have gotten a Grizzly hybrid.

My PCS has the 1.75hp motor and a 36 inch fence. I am good with both but I had to switch to thin kerf blades. Full kerf worked fine with 1 inch material but rips on thicker material, even softwood, were sometimes problematic. But not with a thin kerf blade. I am currently using a Freud Fusion and it gives me good cuts in hardwood, softwood and sheet goods. I've ripped 3 inch softwood with it but I don't think I've done anything over 2 inches in hardwood. But I also have a thin kerf rip blade if I need it.

[Wes Grass]

Yeah, the fence on the DeWalt was great too, just really short. Rack and pinion drive at both ends, always locked up straight. In that respect, better than some larger saws I've used.

I thought about trying to flatten the table. Pulling it all apart to machine it wasn't a reasonable option. But I thought about roughing it up, slathering it with Devcon, and turning it upside down on something flat. With mold release of course ;-)

[Eric Schmid]

I run full kerf blades on job site saws; table & miter. One of my saws, a Dewalt compact, has been in service for about 7 years. It’s never had a thin kerf blade on it. I gave another away last year that is 14 years old. No issues with either saw.

I learned this some years ago when trying to rip some 4x4 hickory posts at 22.5 angle. The thin kerf blade would deflect over 1 degree in the cut. This deflection actually makes the motor work harder than the extra blade width.

Using the correct blade for the work being done helps a lot too.

[Harvey Miller]

I was watching Phil Lowe's 'Build a Basic Workbench with Built-in Storage' on youtube recently (highly recommended just to see how he worked along with his 'The Art of Woodworking' youtube series). One thing that I noticed is he never cut to a line; he always cut 1/16 wide of the mark and hand trimmed to the mark. I think he could have used almost any tablesaw.