Choosing a Table Saw

**Nifty Nev** · 16th March 2020, 11:03 PM

Well the time has come to replace the Triton table saw, and as such looking for a replacement unit.

Starting looking at second hand units, but so far have not seen anything that has really taken my fancy. So with some help from Socmo at the end of the month, I have decided to take the plunge on a new unit. Not long retired so will primarily use for small pieces of furniture, making of segmented wood turning pieces and assorted craft work. Looking for fairly reasonable accuracy and ease of use.

At the moment looking at three units as a starting point: - Sherwood 12in Hybrid Cabinet Saw ($1,699.00), Machinery House ST-254 – 10in Table Saw ($1,375.00) and Laguna Fusion F1 Table saw ($1650.00). The ST-254 and the Laguna saws are both 10in saws, whilst the Laguna is about to be released in Australia. Carbatec have a 10" Cabinet Saw but it is not Dado capable. Is this necessary or a nice to have?

I did consider portable contractor type saws but for a decent one you're up over $1k and for not much more money you can get a decent cabinet saw so figured this is probably the way to go. Currently at the moment I leaning to the Sherwood, but no stocks at the moment.

Would appreciate any comments from users or tyre-kickers to suggest a path to take towards purchasing. Any detail or comments you may make for a machine. Not looking to pay a fortune, but also don’t want a cheap and nasty. Are there other saws to consider or nice to have accessories to make the saw complete.

Thank you in advance. Nifty.

**riverbuilder** · 17th March 2020, 09:34 AM

Whatever you buy, it really must have a sliding table, so much better and versatile.

**tonzeyd** · 17th March 2020, 01:12 PM

Moving up from a Triton, any saw will be a massive upgrade. So don't over think it.

Go and have a look at each of the machines you're looking at and have a play. You'll quickly realise which of your brands is a worthy buy for your needs. As each of them are designed to fit a specific market depending on your budget.

At the end of the day they'll all do the job and significantly better than the Triton.

In terms of having dado functionality, this depends on what you're planning/like to build/how fast you'll like to build. As there are many ways to skin a cat. Personally I wouldn't miss it if I couldn't do dados, my dado set gets pulled out probably once every 6 months or so if that. Most of the time, because i do once offs, i just do multiple passes and clean up with a router plane or similar.

In terms of accessories feather boards, mitre fences (incra) or push blocks are worthy of mention.

**jazzy69** · 17th March 2020, 01:24 PM

+ an outfeed table. Whether you make one yourself or buy one. I would not operate a tablesaw without it.
Regards,
Ross

**samo** · 17th March 2020, 07:44 PM

My first (and only) table saw was a Carbatec 10" cabinet saw. It's a good saw but after a little while you start to notice little things that just arent quite right or could have been done better.

After looking at a Laguna saw in person I think that would have been the better choice. The Lagunas tend to be just a little less powerful for any given price point but I think the quality is up there.

Doesnt sound like you will be stressing the saw a lot so the 1.5hp motor should be fine in my opinion.

**Austin_Turner** · 17th March 2020, 08:41 PM

Definitely choose a saw with a riving knife (rises and falls with the blade, top is slightly lower than the blade), not a splitter so that it can be kept in place for non-through cuts and never removed and forgotten.

Make or buy an overhead mount from the rip fence side of the table that holds the guard above the blade and feeds the dust hose over the top, so you can keep it in place for all kinds of cuts and it doesn’t get in your way, like this (can be simpler, but this one is a good example) Axminster Trade Shark S-12 Overhead Crown Guard - Table Saw Accessories - Sawing - Machinery Accessories - Accessories | Axminster Tools & Machinery

**bueller** · 17th March 2020, 08:52 PM

Originally Posted by Austin_Turner

Definitely choose a saw with a riving knife (rises and falls with the blade, top is slightly lower than the blade), not a splitter so that it can be kept in place for non-through cuts and never removed and forgotten.

Make or buy an overhead mount from the rip fence side of the table that holds the guard above the blade and feeds the dust hose over the top, so you can keep it in place for all kinds of cuts and it doesn’t get in your way, like this (can be simpler, but this one is a good example) Axminster Trade Shark S-12 Overhead Crown Guard - Table Saw Accessories - Sawing - Machinery Accessories - Accessories | Axminster Tools & Machinery

Great advice. I just upgraded almost entirely because my old saw couldn't be fitted with a riving knife. The splitter was sketchy as hell, I'll be glad to put it out to pasture.

**Austin_Turner** · 18th March 2020, 10:51 AM

Just remember that if the splitter raises and lowers, you can grind it down to be the shape of a riving knife if you make an alternative overhead guard.

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