Member
A table saw is the most versatile saw on your list in a shop setting. With limited space I'd look for a decent contractor saw with a stand and wheels like the Bosch. Unless you are working with full size sheet good most of the cuts the other saws you mention can be made on a table saw.
What ever you do, best of luck.
Member
To me, the limited space criterion says track saw. I've been making wood dust for at least 50 years and most of that was without a track saw - I don't think they existed. But after getting one, I use it on almost all projects now. The only situation I would go straight to the table saw is if you know with great certainty that all your projects will be little.
I used to cut up full sheets on a table saw but that requires a LOT of space. It also requires a big saw - more space even when not being used. It is far easier to cut large things, sheet goods or solid wood, with a track saw. Just makes sense to move the blade when it is far smaller than the workpiece.
Earlier this year I built a 10 foot long dining table with a solid cherry top. Six boards form the 42 inch wide top. I cut all those glue joints with my track saw. I do not own a jointer long enough to effectively prepare boards 10 feet long. I've done this before on a table saw but would hate to do it on a 10 foot board. The fence of the table saw is tiny in length. I just finished a dresser with a solid cherry top a little over 5 feet long. Again the glue joints were prepared with the track saw.
There might be somebody who is good enough with a circular saw to do this kind of work but it is not me. Last Monday I had a teenage boy cut some boards to length with a track saw. It was safe because the tool is relatively safe and I was right there. I would not have had him use the table saw. I did not have him use the sliding miter saw - it was not a good one and required lots of tweaks to cut properly. Track saw was relatively fool proof.
I would not want to be without a table saw and I really like my PCS. But I would rather use a small portable table saw with a decent track saw than I would try and get by with my PCS. Even if the rip capacity was extended from 36 to 52 inches.
I also like my bandsaw and I know others do a lot of things with theirs. I just make curved cuts and cut wide boards to thickness with it. I was without one for a couple years and got by pretty well with my jig saw. But I need to make some dining room chairs and I need a bandsaw for that.
Contributor
I can and have run an entire cabinet shop with a table saw, a jigsaw, a router, and a drill. I think the argument for a track saw ignores the impracticality of discrete setup for every single cut.
Member
I buck lots of conventions here, and I'm a hack.
That said, I think tablesaws are essential only in high production shops with repetitive cut lists.
Tablesaws are expensive and dominate the space in small shops
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I would be curious to know if the Tablesaw is recommended by anyone under 30.
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I have a large bandsaw for the rare times I need lots of things "gang cut" to the same size. Similarly, long rips are easy enough with a proper fence.
A track saw guided circular saw handles sheet goods like plywood.
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I have yet to meet anyone (after more than 10 years as a hobbyist) with a serious injury from a Tracksaw or Bandsaw.
Last edited by Jim Matthews; 04-10-2021 at 7:52 AM.
Contributor
I have been making sawdust for 40 years with a table saw. Last year I got track saw and my table saw sees a lot less use now. As I get older, cutting sheet goods on the table saw is getting more and more difficult, but with the track saw, its pretty easy. The track saw is also great to get a straight edge on rough lumber assuming you have a track long enough. The track saw issue is for example cutting lots same width stock for rails and styles for example, that is the table saws domain. I don't see these 2 saws as "one or the other" but "as a compliment to each other" and would not have a shop without both. Get yourself a jobsite or contractor table saw and upgrade the fence right away. Also get yourself a track saw, that can be as cheap as a circular saw with some type of track attachment or home made track, or top of the line track saw, but for my shop its both.
Member
Actually, you can.Originally Posted by Dave Sweeney
https://www.virutextools.com/miter-table-saw-combo-tm33w-pid290#
Contributor
Johnny
Very good point.
"The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)
Member
YES!!! That is one of the fatal flaws of the track saw. Another is repeatability. To make one repeatable you have to use some sort of a jig, which is usually a large table, which is ironically the same size as the table saw that they are intended to replace.
Member
Advice is best from those who have tried a few things.
I'd wager that not many of us oldtimers are wasting $ on gimmicks either, so the marketing for the gee wiz gizmos is directed at you young whippersnappers.
Contributor
Mind posting a video of cross cutting 6" off the end of a 16' 4" x 6" with a table saw? I agree with those who advise your choice of best saw depends on what you are working with.
Member
Will you have someone else available to assist placing full sheets of plywood onto a table saw? Maybe consider a circular saw with straight edge for plywood breakdown. A contractor table saw for small rips and crosscutting. Those two can get you started.
Contributor
How many shop projects require a 15.5' length of anything, let alone a 4x6 timber. I'm in the middle of a 20 foot longconference table and don't need to cut anything that long. The OP is asking for advice that actually pertains to entry level activities. There's lithe point in discussing whether or not a 48" or 60" sawmill is more useful. In this particular case a tablesaw absolutely redunds everything about a circular saw.
Member
Repeat cuts on a track saw only require a simple jig to help position the track. I have two, one for when the workpiece is ahead of the track and the other for when the workpiece is under the track. There is a dado in a piece of 3/4 plywood that grabs the rib of the track and a movable stop block on the other end. I have them set up with a hairline pointer so I don't have to measure. You do have to reposition the track for each cut but I wouldn't consider that another setup. You don't have to clamp the track so moving it only takes seconds.
I would not claim this is easier that using my table saw UNLESS the workpiece is big - like most of a sheet of plywood. Big stuff gets cut by my track saw in my shop. It is more accurate for me working alone and it is much easier. Doing it efficiently only requires simple jigs made from scraps.
I would not like to cut little narrow pieces for cabinet doors on my track saw but I could. Just like I could cut up sheets of plywood on my table saw. But what I do is to use the tool that best fits the task I need to accomplish.
Track saws are, in general, not faster than table saws for much of anything. But they also are not much slower if you know what you are doing and make a few jigs. The key advantage is the reduced need to move large heavy things through a saw. That is hard to do by yourself unless you have good infeed, outfeed, and side support. I think it is also easier to accurately make cuts in large pieces with a track saw - because you are not struggling to guide the material through the blade.
Contributor
For making furniture, and dependent on style, but you may never need a miter saw. Most of them have accuracy problems and are more for building decks than furniture. Absolutely first for me is a table saw, then a track saw, and with a track saw you may never need a circular saw.
Contributor
How about if you needed a six inch piece and all you had was a sixteen footer? The point is, in some cases it is better to use a tool that you move to the workpiece rather than vice versa. I do almost all of my cross cuts on the table saw but if I'm breaking down long pieces I use my radial arm saw, jig saw or circular saw. In my small shop, anything longer than six feet is awkward on the table saw but no problem with either of the other three options. I'll bet if you need to put a edge profile on that table top you would use a hand held router not a table mounted router, same principle, sometimes you move the tool, sometimes you move the workpiece.
I assume "redunds" is a typo, what word did you mean?
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