Apart from the table, the most important feature of the table saw is the saw blade itself. For vertical cuts, the table saw has a handle to raise or lower the saw blade. For angled (bevelled) cuts another handle can tilt the table saw blade up to 45 degrees to the left or right. A throat plate surrounds the saw blade to ensure dust does not fall past the blade’s edge through the slot in the tabletop to the arbor or driveshaft (if direct drive motor). A blade guard – ideally made of clear plexiglass – hinges to the saw table to protect the user from the table saw blade. Introducing the simple but sturdy Tooltronix PTL-91 table saw. Standing tall on a sturdy frame, you’ll be surprised at the power you can get from its 1,800 Watt motor. The cutting height and angle can be easily adjusted with the hand wheel and calibrated gauge. You can cut down to 83 mm with the blade in a vertical position and 58 mm if tilted to 45 degrees. Complex projects are no problem for this table saw either. It can accommodate common compound cuts with its 60-degree mitre cut and 45-degree bevel cut capacity. This is a more affordable, lighter, and more compact version of the top-of-the-range Bosch GTS 635-216 table saw featured above. The AdvancedTableCut 52 weighs just 8.5 kg, less than half the amount of the GTS10J. In this next section, we’ll discuss the most common safety features that are built into or come with the table saw. Then we’ll consider the common sense things you should be thinking about as the operator of this potentially dangerous piece of equipment. If your table saw does not come with the following features maybe you should look for another one that does. On-Off Switches that Keep You Safe

If space is at a real premium or you plan on doing seriously small-scale woodworking, this is the table saw for you. The NovelLife mini table saw is indeed a small bit of kit. It can’t compare to the full-size saws on my list like the Bosch GTS 10J, but for little jobs it’s hard to beat. These days, the best table saws come with a magnetic switch. This is a great idea because in the event of a power cut the magnet automatically stops the table saw from starting up when power is restored from the mains supply. This table saw can make vertical cuts to a depth of 52 mm (hence its name). It can also make horizontal mitre cuts of +/- 60 degrees and vertical mitre cuts of 45 degrees. It comes with a 1,200 Watt motor that can spin the blade up to a lightning-fast 4,800 rpm. This might be explained by the relatively small 210 mm blade that comes installed on the saw. You can cut to a maximum depth of 48 mm when set at 90°, and 45 mm at 45°. The best benchtop table saws are light and portable and ideal for DIYers, whilst the best contractor table saws have larger motors and sturdy stands. Cabinet table saws are the ultimate workshop table saw for professionals.Also with portable table saws, the saw blade is usually positioned towards the front of the table so there is less room to manoeuvre a mitre gauge for example. Rip fences are usually made to fit the table according to the manufacturer’s specific design so you can’t replace them with more generic aftermarket versions. Correct Table Saw Blade Selection The Evolution Rage 5S Table Saw stands out from its table saw competition thanks to its revolutionary 255 mm multi-material cutting blade. You don’t have to worry about extracting nails embedded in wood. This blade doesn’t care! It will rip through all kinds of material, from reclaimed wood and studwork to box section, RSJ’s and roof flashings! Solid parallel and cross stops help to secure the workpiece in place. If you’re performing cross-cuts the cross stop contains an angle scale of +/- 60 degrees to ensure accuracy. A dual-purpose handle controls both the height and angle of the blade. The blade guard is also transparent to provide greater visibility when cutting. The table saw can cut to a depth of 85 mm when positioned at 90 degrees and 65 mm when angled at 45 degrees.

Contractor table saws and benchtop table saws however are obviously not designed in that way. Even though most of their debris will also be diverted into dust collection ports (usually 2½” diameter) onto which you attach a vacuum hose, more sawdust will collect naturally due to the more ‘open’ design of the portable table saw (and fall from the base of the table saw to the ground). So further vacuuming will be required to keep your work area pristine. Table Extensions for Working with Larger Materials Weighing in at a respectable 22.2 kg, it’s not the lightest table saw on my list. It’s still very portable though, and the 250 mm blade puts out an impressive 5,000 rpm no-load speed.Cabinet table saws are the best-engineered, largest, heaviest, most powerful, and most accurate of table saws. These are stationary table saws. They consist of a cast-iron tabletop, most likely with table extensions to each side. The table saw itself sits on top of a heavy cabinet that encloses a belt-driven motor. The cabinet protects the motor and stops dust from escaping. This would be the table saw of choice for a professional workshop and costs many hundreds of pounds. Hybrid Table Saws And finally, if the on-off button is recessed behind a protective flap that mechanism protects the button from being accidentally pressed. Blade Guards Keep Your Hands Away from Danger Another excellent budget-friendly saw on my list is the Excel 210 mm portable table saw. Doing away with bulky stands, you simply put this table saw on your workbench, and get to work. It’s ideal if you’ve got a small workshop or you want to take the table saw to the job with you. The difference between these two isn’t noticeable without specialized equipment and therefore can’t affect the performance. But the noticeable difference is the fact that the 4100-09 comes with a so-called soft start motor – there’s no such thing on the Dewalt’s model. This could cause a remarkable load on the user’s power source and could affect other tools that are attached to the same source.

Because this is a benchtop saw, it’s surprisingly compact. It has a brushed aluminium table and features two slide-out sections that increase the overall working size but can still be stowed away when it’s not in use. On cabinet table saws the problem is relatively easily solved since dust collection takes place within the cabinet itself and the dust falls onto a slanting shelf that funnels it into a dust extraction port (usually 4″ diameter) to which a hose is attached. You then just apply suction from a vacuum. The aluminium fence clamps into place at one end parallel to the blade to ensure accurate rip cuts and the mitre gauge fits snugly into its slot on the table for accurate cross-cut work. A large carry handle is built into the machine for easy transport and there is a useful built-in drawer for storing saw blades and other accessories.But even though the German model is more cumbersome, it’s easier to move around and set up thanks to its robust rubber wheels and the unique Gravity-Rise Stand. Moving the Dewalt DW745 is effortless, but it’s important to note that it has no wheels and is assembled separately. The Gravity-Rise Stand of the Bosch saw can be raised into a working position with just one, fluid movement. There are a couple of provisos, however. This won’t work with wet wood (since wet wood is a better conductor than dry) and you will need to replace the blade and braking mechanism if the feature is used. On the plus side, you retain your thumb or finger! Further Safety Precautions