Contractors, cabinetmakers, home improvement enthusiasts and amateur woodworkers all use them. These are some of the best table saws you can buy.
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Buying a Table Saw
A table saw is essential equipment in the wood shop and on building sites. It isn’t the only tool that can rip wood to precise dimensions, slice and dice wood paneling, cut bevels and grooves and crosscut compound angles, but it’s the best choice for all those jobs.
A hand toollike a circular sawcan also handle these tasks, but not with the accuracy of a table saw. And accuracy is key for a quality finished product.
The stationary table saw (AKA a shop saw) you find in a wood shop is an extremely powerful and precise tool. But you don’t need all that power and precision for most home improvement projects, and you can’t move a stationary saw to a jobsite. Most table saws you see for home or jobsite use are portable.
Portable saws come in two types. Benchtop saws are the smallest and easiest to carry around, and true to their name can be set up on a work bench. They often come with removable stands. Contractor saws have bigger tables and more power, and are usually outfitted with wheels.
Whether you’re looking for a stationary or portable saw, here are some important points to consider:
- Power draw: Powerful motors draw between two and four amps of current, which can be enough to blow a breakerin your fuse box. Less powerful saws may not cut as cleanly or precisely but are fine for utility use.
- Size: Table width can vary from 25 to 50 or more inches. Small tables save space and are easier to transport, but they limit the width of the material you can cut.
- Weight: A convenient saw is lightweight and easy to transport, while an accurate saw is heavy enough to remain in place while you’re working. Look for a compromise that suits your needs.
- Stability: Contractor saws come with stands, and so do some benchtop models, The stand should be stable when placed on a flat surface and easy to set up. Avoid ones that wiggle.
- Fence: This must be sturdy and dead flat for accuracy. It should also be easy to adjust with an easy-to-read distance gauge, and lock securely.
- Miter gauge: The miter gauge slides back and forth along the table top and lets you make angled crosscuts. It should have a secure locking clamp and well-graduated angle scale that’s easy to read. It should also be sturdy.
- Blade adjustments: Table saws have a crank to set blade height, and the entire crank pivots to set blade angle. Both adjustments should be smooth (not sticky) and lock securely, and the angle scale should be easy to read.
Best Portable Table Saw
For sheer portability, you can’t beat the design of the Bosch Corded Table Saw with Gravity-Rise Stand. It’s incredibly powerful and can get the job done anywhere. The stand is lightweight and allows for easy setup and transport.
Best Contractor Table Saw
Delta is one of the most trusted names in power tools, and the Delta 5000 Series 10-inch Table Sawreinforces its reputation. If you want a saw you can wheel onto a jobsite and leave there for the duration of the job, this is it.
Though portable, this sturdy cast iron saw weighs 250 lbs., so it won’t wobble while the powerful 13-amp motor cuts through whatever you throw at it. The table extends to a whopping 52 inches, which makes ripping plywood a breeze.
Best Budget Benchtop Table Saw
Weekend warriors looking for a saw to mill trim, cut flooring boards or make fencing slats don’t need as much power as contractors do, and they’re usually budget-conscious. The Ryobi 8-1/4-inch Benchtop Table Sawwas made for them.
The 13-amp motor, though powerful, won’t blow any breakers. The 17-in. x 25-in. table provides enough space for most home improvement purposes, although it isn’t quite large enough to rip plywood or paneling. The easily accessible on/off switch is a bonus.
Best Cabinet Table Saw
A cabinet saw hides the motor inside a cabinet to protect it from dust. The SawStop 10-inch Cabinet Table Saw, a shop saw highly rated across the web, offers all the power a professional woodworker needs for precision cutting and high production. The three-horsepower motor runs on 240-volt power. Although the 380 lbs. unit generally stays where it is, you can move it if needed.
The 20-in. x 27-in. table can be expanded with a 27-in. extension table, which provides plenty of width for panels. The saw also has a four-inch dust-collection port. The blade stops instantaneously when you switch it off and also retracts below the table, a really nice safety feature that could prevent an injury from kickback.
Best Hybrid Table Saw
A hybrid table saw is a cross between a cabinet saw and a contractor saw. The motor is enclosed in a cabinet with a shorter drive belt than a portable contractor model, which makes for more power. A hybrid saw isn’t exactly portable, but it’s easier to move around the shop than a cabinet saw.
The Shop Fox W1837features a sturdy cast-iron table with a 30-inch extension table, and its two-horsepower motor runs on a 12-volt, 20-amp circuit. Tilt it onto the built-in casters when you need to move it.
Best Cordless Table Saw
If you’re looking for a cordless table saw for around-the-house use and you’re already committed to a battery system, best to choose one from the same manufacturer. If you aren’t committed or your manufacturer’s product line doesn’t include table saws (not all do), go for the Milwaukee 2736-21HD Cordless Table Saw.
This benchtop saw delivers the same 15-amp performance as a corded saw with a 8-1/4-in. blade. Use it in places a cord won’t reach.
Best Light-Duty Table Saw
If you’re a woodworking hobbyist who makes small wooden goods and picture frames, you don’t need a full-size table saw. Enter the Rockwell BladeRunner RK7323, an ultralight benchtop saw that only weighs 15 lbs.!
With a 15-3/4-in. x 17-in. table, it can share your work table with other tools, and it fits easily in the car. The blade is only four inches in diameter, but the 5.5-amp motor develops enough cutting power for most small woodworking projects. The table, fence and dust port are comparable to those on larger models.
Best All-Around Table Saw
A good all-around table saw should be easy to transport but powerful and sturdy enough to use in the shop. You get all this and more with the 15-amp DeWalt 10-inch Contractor Table Saw.
Wheels let you roll it to the work site, the folding legs splay out at a wide angle for extra stability, and the table telescopes to 32-1/2-in. wide. The fence is so easy to deploy and so accurate that one Lowe’s web site reviewer wonders why the design hasn’t been copied by other manufacturers.
