Could you cope without a Table Saw?

[scgwhite]

I've never really bonded with my table saw. It is only a very small model - a Jet JTS-10. Whenever I turn it on, it makes me cringe, and it always feels like a dangerous machine to use.

48 hours ago, I had a VERY near miss which resulted in a pretty good cut / tear to the fleshy part of my left index finger. By some miracle, there is no apparent lasting damage save a whopping scar. There is no doubt that my near miss could easily have resulted in the loss of my finger or worse. It was almost certainly down to poor technique - but it happened so fast that I'm still not entirely sure what caused it.

Anyway, the decision is now made - I don't want to use a table saw again.

I'd be interested to know if a combination of large bandsaw, router table, large mitre saw and track saw could take the place of a table saw? The main thing I won't be able to do is rip down thin stock, but I suppose I could use a thicknesses for this process.

If you had to make do without your table saw, what process would you miss most?

 

[marcros]

what do you make?

There are certainly ways around a table saw.

 

[pcb1962]

48 hours ago, I had a VERY near miss which resulted in a pretty good cut / tear to the fleshy part of my left index finger.

Please share what happened / what you were doing at the time, it's always useful to hear so that we can either avoid that operation or at least be aware of the danger

 

[Mike.S]

I've just finished some doors (french) and windows without a table saw. I had considered buying one but didn't have the space. Instead I added a 3m track to my track saw and used that succesfully for ripping stiles etc - gave a clean finish straight off the blade. So, as I'm now armed with the items you list - bandsaw, router table, track saw and SCMS - I don't think there's much I can't do (ability aside ).

I've not used a table saw but repeat ripping to produce same sized planks/mouldings is one area I think it has an obvious advantage.

 

[doorframe]

Nope, couldn't do without the table saw. But, mine is built into a long bench, with 9ft before and 9ft after the blade, and about 28inch between the blade and the adjacent wall. My fences (choice of 3 interchangeable) are up to 8 ft long and lock at 2 points. It's a pleasure to use and I've never come close to having an accident (always use push sticks, feather boards when needed).

Previously, when it was just a stand alone saw, it was horrible to use. If you can build yours into a much larger table or bench it'll be much nicer to use.

 

[novocaine]

or, and this is just a suggestion so don't shoot me for it, you could go to your local college and get some training in safe use of said table saw.

there is very little that really requires a table saw, it just makes jobs quicker.

(note, I have a jts-10 and find it a genuinely good saw to use)

 

[DennisCA]

I would have a really hard time without it, to the point I would probably stop woodworking rather than do without. But it's also a vert good model with a sliding table & outrigger that I can use to cut down large stock.

I even prefer using the table saw in place of a router (loud obnoxious slow horrid etc) for things like dadoes and other simple cuts. I'd rather make multiple passes with a single blade on my table saw than fire up my router table to be honest. It's faster too when you need 2-3 repeats only. Like when I cut out the dadoes to hold a drawer bottom, I do it on the table saw even though I have a router bit that fits exactly.

 

[charlibalv]

Simple, No. Ripping, initial dimensioning; I cannot imagine having to all that by hand.

 

[RogerP]

... and there's a big difference in user experience between noisy, vibrating brush motored saws and relatively quiet, smooth induction motored table saws.

 

[yorkshirepudding]

Dare I suggest a Festool plunge saw?

 

[pcb1962]

Dare I suggest a Festool plunge saw?

Not great for ripping anything less than about 8" wide IME

 

[Ed Bray]

Could I cope without a table saw, yes, but it would be much less convenient. I especially like my table saw for the little things it is able to do.

Yesterday for example, I made a set of Iroko gauges, 2.0mm, 2.5mm, 3.0m, 4.5mm and 6.0mm, these were 50mm wide and 40mm long, this was all accomplished very easily and quickly.

It is great when using a crosscut sled for little bits of wood that would be difficult to cut square and safely using any of the other tools you mention. You could do it with a handsaw and a shooting board, but if you have a number of repeatable bits to cut, it would take some time, whereas its only minutes on the table saw.

 

[RogerP]

Plunge saws with a guide rail are okay for sheet materials but I hardly ever use that and I've not found much use for them otherwise.

 

[Ed Bray]

Dare I suggest a Festool plunge saw?

Not great for ripping anything less than about 8" wide IME

Using a tracksaw depends ore on the thickness of your stock rather than its length or even width, but will depend on what you are using to cut the material on.

Provided you can use an MFT type top and use a material that is greater than the height of a Veritas planning stop (about 6mm) you can cut it with a tracksaw. it takes a bit of setting up, but can be easily accomplished using some dawgs as stops.

 

[custard]

If you mainly use sheet goods you're pretty much stuffed without a table saw unless you have a very good circular saw and track system.

If you don't use much in the way of sheet goods you can easily get by without a table saw.

If you're a hobbyist making smallish sized projects you really don't need much of anything at all, you could make an acoustic guitar, an exquisite jewellery box, or a Guild Mark winning writing desk with no more tools than you could lift up and carry. And with all that money saved you'll have plenty to invest in the one critical ingredient that will allow you to actually get on and make quality items...hands on training!

 

[dzj]

Hypothetically, I could. There are more ways than one to do things in WW.
But realistically, why would I? The TS is the most versatile machine in the shop.
It can rip and crosscut, make grooves, rebates, dados, mortise and tenons, mitre cuts, box joints, dovetails...
Seeing how you already have the machine, as novocaine said, better to invest in " some training in safe use of said table saw".

 

[JakeS]

And with all that money saved you'll have plenty to invest in the one critical ingredient that will allow you to actually get on and make quality items...hands on training!

Or wood! It's not exactly cheap stuff, after all.

(That said, I'm definitely a hobbyist and I wouldn't get rid of my table saw. I could, but I wouldn't.)

 

[deema]

I think that there are two routes that could be gone down to do away with a table saw, the first is that you rip by hand which if you don't have lots of stuff to process is a real possibility.

The second, which I'm actually seriously considering myself is to purchase a large band saw or indeed a resaw (I'm considering a resaw). You need something that can take at least a 1" blade. The attraction is exactly what you've identified they have less foibles than a table saw, but still, if you let your fingers too close you won't make the same mistake twice with those digits. I have a Startrite 14S5 which can only take 3/4" blade and the throat is not sufficient for my needs as a main ripping saw. The blade is not wide enough and the motor not beef enough to make it a regular work horse for ripping timber, but it does do a good job on small stuff.

For panels the table saw is really not a good machine, unless you add lots of run in and run off tables. Most people simply don't have the room. Handheld circular saws tend IMO to be less well mannered than table saws, and I would try to keep away from them as much as possible if your not comfortable with a table saw. Unless your using a lot of sheet material, a panel saw will quickly reduce it down, most projects require relatively thin stuff with a maximum of say 18mm. A cheap disposable saw is IMO preferable especially if your cutting MDF which blunts blades quickly. JEqually a hand saw does not produce as much dust which also a great advantage. I cut all my sheet material up by hand.

There is a thread running about table saws, but one observation I've made from my own experiences is that modern hobby saws tend to have poor fences / shafts and bearings. This results again IMO in a saw that is significantly more liable to kick back than either a top of the range professional saw or indeed a secondhand Wadkin AGS, Startrite, Sedwick or Multico. Equally you need a really good blade that's been properly balanced and runs true to reduce vibration and snatching. Cheap stamped out blades with bits welded on as tips will run in a saw noticeably differently to a 'professional' saw blade.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

There's another advantage to using handsaws too - you free up space.

A single garage looks like a huge space for a workshop when it's empty. However, once you have a bench, a tool cupboard, storage for clamps, timber and bits and bobs sorted out, you reduce the available space by quite a bit. Put a couple of machines in - even smallish ones - and you can be pushed to find room to stand up in, let alone somewhere to stand a project. By keeping the machinery to a minimum by eliminating those that do only specialised tasks occasionally, you win yourself room to work in. Less spent on machinery (good machines cost good money; cheap machines are frustrating to use as a general rule) means more to spend on really good handtools (of which you don't need that many) and on wood.

Of course, not everyone will want to follow that route. However, it could well be worth doing a mental cost-benefit analysis for any given machine. For what do you use a table saw that you couldn't do just as well (sometimes better) a different way? For what proportion of workshop time are you using a table saw, and is it just a nuisance clogging up useful space most of the time?

The answer might well be that for you, the table saw is still a 'necessity'. fair enough - but it's worth at least thinking about it.

 

[custard]

I think that there are two routes that could be gone down to do away with a table saw, the first is that you rip by hand which if you don't have lots of stuff to process is a real possibility.

The second, which I'm actually seriously considering myself is to purchase a large band saw or indeed a resaw (I'm considering a resaw). You need something that can take at least a 1" blade.

The bad news is that manufacturer's claims about the size of blade that their machines can handle need to be taken with a very large pinch of salt. They'll often base it on a blade made from really thin steel, maybe something like a "meat & fish" blade. Consequently you get the wacky situation that reputable manufacturers like Felder and Hammer rate their machines to a lower blade width than many smaller, lighter, cheaper far eastern machines.

The good news is that you really don't need a 1" blade. Much of the furniture I make (and sell) is based on sawn veneers that I produce with a half inch blade, that's 150-250mm wide veneers in very hard hardwoods, day in day out. Absolutely not a problem if you've got the right blade and your bandsaw is properly set up.